sN^^ ,,^' OO* ^'h,. y^ '^^- S^' ,-•5* C.I-V vV •%. ■^^ o 0' < -7*, CO ,v ''(' f^L v^- xV^- v^-^ -% V ^ ^^ % ^^ ^>. .^^' '% %:, .^■^ "*^- >"^ '*'^. ... ■/ •^/■.. U •* ^0- ■ o V ^ A-' '<■ :4^. % cp" .' ^/- K '>- c»^\^ -^ -^ V*^ ■ ^ ,0' ,^~^ •^^:. v*"^ '% .'■% ^' %^' %^ aa ^\ ■/ ./■ S.X- •'bo'^ ..■,v;^. %■- % .^^• ^<^^ \ :;^: "o 0^ 5 ! -^ "o o'^' i's " .^•^ -%. :• " '^^ "" .0 ^ ^-. »: .^ . o >".,''= '^/- >^ .v" -Si. % .<^ .^ 'P. V, ^ .A /- , I 1 • <. xO°^. 1 r- ,0- -o 0> s-"°t'' -\>^ - ,• .iie-'^v7' ■f-^ "■!■ ,^^'*' *, ■ NJ"*^ * ./ •>* A 1 ^ ^ •O - ' • 'co^ .s. v^"^ •^^.. * "'-■ , ■■ -r .^ ^ ^^i ■ ■% ^^' ■^ ^0^ V < Q Z > an Ui 2 o U UI (O o X I- cc o O ¥ 2- HISTORY -OIP- FAYETTE COUNTY f M IDl A M A Containing a History of ttie County; its Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, Churches, Industries, Etc.; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men ; Biographies ; Etc., Etc. ILLUSTRAO^RD CHICAGO : WAKNEE, BEERS & CO., 1885. r ^ • , f?^ y^^ PEEFACE. ^HE evening of the last year of four-score since the Carolina colony explored the Whitewater country and graced its beautiful hills and valleys with their cabins is now closing. More than three-quar- ters of a century have come and gone since the Indian trader, Conner, established his trading-post ^p-3 on the banks of the Whitewater, amid the red men of the forest, and the hunter, Simpson, close by reared his cabin near the stream which his name still honors. The hardy men who first settled the lands of Fayette County have nearly all been called from the stage of action and gone to their final rest. They pitched their tents and raised the log-cabin where " nothing appeared but nature unsubdued." " Bold for- est settlers," they encountered the dangers and endured the privations of pioneer life, and with rifles by their sides, cut away the forests, drove back the wild beasts, and made the wilderness " blossom as the rose," giving to those coming after them fruitful fields. " Gratitude to the pioneer is alike honorable to those who give it and to those who receive it. The people generally appreciate his sacrifices, recount his deeds and honor his services. This gives to history its fairest page, and to simple virtue and patriotism the honest commendation they merit." It is the purpose of this volume to present to the present generation, as well as to succeeding genera- tions, many of the names of such as were identified with the early and more recent history of the county, including pioneer, civil, ecclesiastical, educational, commercial, agricultural, statistical and biographical matter. The volume is herewith presented to our patrons in a form which it is believed will prove satis- factory to all, being in strict accordance with the announcements made in the prospectus issued nearly a year ago. The outline history of the county, city and township histories were prepared by F. E. Weakley, of Lebanon, Ohio, who has spared no pains in extended research and investigation into all matters pertaining to the early explorations and settlement of the Whitewater Valley, and the subsequent development and growth of that portion of it under consideration. The libraries, both State and city, at Indianapolis, and that of the neighboring city of Richmond were visited, and all volumes throwing any light on every important field consulted. The archives of the county which originally comprised the greater part of Fayette, have been examined; private correspondence has been held with men acquainted with the history of the county; news- paper files, court records and Justices' dockets have been examined; local laws, books, pamphlets, agricult- ural reports, church records, etc., etc., have been consulted; manuscripts and obituary notices read, grave- yards visited, and the oldest and most reliable citizens have been called upon. In its preparation great care has been taken to arrive at accuracy, but undoubtedly errors will be found, owing to almost numberless causes, among which are inaccurate and ambiguous records and manuscripts, meager public documents and numerous conflicting traditions. While free to admit that some unavoidable errors may be found, on the other hand it is claimed that the work is up to the standard of our promises, and more accurate and compre- hensive than could be anticipated in the beginning. With what fidelity to facts and patience of research the task has been performed is left to the judgment of those in whose keeping the traditions of the past remain. Sources from which much of the data came have been indicated throughout the work. The sketches in the biographical department were prepared by a corps of men well fitted for the work, who visited, in person, the various families, and faithfully aimed at correctness. This part will be found an important feature of the work, for in the personal and family histories given in these sketches are traced the descent of families and recorded individual achievements, which in succeeding years will be found to possess interest and value. To the county and city officers, editors of the newspapers, officers of the various societies and churches, and many intelligent citizens of Fayette County, the publishers are indebted for favors and generous assist- ance in the preparation of the work, which they hope will meet the approval of an intelligent people. Special PREFACE. thanks are due the county officials for their unreserved kindness in giving access to the records under their charge. Much assistance has been derived from the files of the Connersville Times and Connersville Exam- iner, and their editors are entitled to a grateful recognition for frequent access to their tiles. Acknowledg- ments are due to Hon. Samuel Little, of Pawnee City, Neb.; Hon. Elijah Hackleman, of Wabash, lad.; Hon. Ryland T. Brown, M. D., of Indianapolis; William Green, Esq., of Brookville; Josiah Mullikin, Esq., Charles Williams, Thomas 'Burton, John Savage and S. N. Hamilton, M. D., of Connersville; Nathaniel Hamilton, A. B. Claypool, Thomas Hinkson, and Calvin Burton and wife, of Connersville Township; Joseph Caldwell and C. A. Meeker, of Harrison Township; Maj. Thomas Simpson and wife and Jacob Troxell, of Waterloo Township; John Newland, of Jennings Township; Azariah T. Beckett, Enos Williams and James Smith, of Jackson Township; John A. White and wife, of Columbia Township; Hon. W. W. Thrasher and Josiah Piper, of Fairview Township; John P. Daniels and wife, of Orange Township; Linville Ferguson, Esq., of Milton, Ind. ; George Van Buskirk, of Posey Township, with whom Mr. Weakley as compiler of the general history was more particularly associated. THE PUBLISHERS. CONTENTS. HISTORY. PAGE. CHAPTER T.— Outline History of Indiana — The French in In- diana—George Rogers Clark's Conquest of the British Posts — The Northwest Territory — Indiana Territory — Condition of the Terri- tory at its Organization— The First Governor — Tecumseh and the Prophet — Apprehension of Indian Hostilities — The Battle of Tip- pecanoe — The Slavery Question in the Territory — The War of 1812 — Indiana Admitted Into the Union — Progress of the New State 13-24 CHAPTER II.— The Indians of Indiana and Early Expedi- tions Against Them — Names of the Tribes in Indiana — The Miami Confederacy — Little Turtle Quoted — Indian Villages — Indian Agri- culture — Moral and Intellectual equalities — .-Vntoine Gamelin's Mission — The Indians Demand the Ohio for Their Boundary — Col. Lochry's Disastrous Defeat — Treaty of Fort Finney — George Rogers Clark's Expedition Against the Wabash Indians— Gen. Charles Scott's Expedition — Col. .lames Wilkinson's Expedition — Gen. Josiah Harmar's Expedition — St. Clair's Defeat — Wayne's Vic- tory 25-33 CHAPTER III.— Pioneer History— The Dawn of Civilization Upon, and First Settlement of the Whitewater Valley — Position of the Lands of the County— John and William Conner and Other Early Settlers— Pioneer Life— Friendly and Hostile Indians 34-46 CHAPTER IV. — Early Religious and Educational Movements— Old School Baptists — Methodism — Presbyteriauism^The Christian Church— Schools 47-53 CHAPTER v.— Physical Features — Geography — Topography — Geology 63-56 CHAPTER VI. — Civil Organization of the County— Boundaries — Location of the County Seat— County Buildings 57-60 CHAPTER VII.— The Courts and Civil List— Circuit Court— The Bradburn Trial- Probate Court— Court of Common Pleas— Associate Judges — Probate Judges — Sheriffs — Clerks of the Courts — Recorders — Auditors — Treasurers — Justices of the Peace — County Govern- ment and Early Proceedings— County Commissioners 63-73 CHAPTER VIIL— Internal Improvements- Roads— Mail and Stage Routes —Whitewater Valley Canal — Hydraulic Company— Turn- pikes and Bridges— Railroads 73-76 CHAPTER IX.— Agriculture— Implements— Cattle— Horses— Hogs- Sheep — Agricultural Societies and Fairs 77-85 CHAPTER X.— Political— Results of Elections, Political Extracts and Notes— Members of Congress— Members of the General Assem- bly 85-90 CHAPTER XL— The Press— First Effort— The " Fayette Observer " —Abraham Van Vleet— The " Political Clarion" and its Successor, The " Indiana Sentinel "—The " Watchman "—The " Indiana Tele- graph "—Daniel Rench— William Stewart— The " Christian Casket " —The " Ladies' Temperance Wreath"- The " Connersville Times " —The " Connersville Examiner "—The " Connersville News" 90-95 CHAPTER XII.— Miscellaneous— Post Offices— Status of the County in 1830 and 1840— Statistics— Population of the County by Town- ships 95-98 CHAPTER XIII.- The Bench and the Bar— Circuits and Judges- Early Prosecuting Attorneys— First and Later Lawyers at the Fay- ette Courts — Reference to the Lawyers and Practice of Early Indi- ana-Resident Lawyers 98-104 CHAPTER XIV.— The Medical Profession The First Physicians —District Medical Societies— Early Charges for Medical Services- Later Physicians— Fayette County Medical Society and the Profes- sion 104-108 CHAPTER XV.— Distinguished Dead— Oliver H. Smith— Jonathan Mccarty — Caleb B. Smith — Samuel W. Parker— James C. Mc- intosh 109-124 CHAPTER XVI.— The Civil War, 1861-66— Public Sentiment and Action in the Beginning — County Expenditures— Departure of the Fayette County Union Guards- Drafts, Bounties, Etc.— History of the Organizations and Regiments— Ladies' Aid Society, Donations, Etc.— Closing Scenes 125-135 CHAPTER XVII.— The City op Connersville— Location and Origin —The Early Village— Independence Day, 1831— The Status of Con- nersville in 1833— The Succeeding Decade— Reminiscences— The Town in 1858-59— Streets— The City Hall— The Methodist Episcopal Church Building (formerly Opera House)— The Andre Opera House— Grave-yards and Cemetery— Connersville a City— Growth and Progress— Water Works— Fire Department— Banks— Indus- tries— Schools— Churches— Societies 135-164 CHAPTER XVIII.— Connersville Township- Organization and Boundaries— Land Sales— Early Settlement and Incidents— Early Schools, Early Mills, Distilleries, Etc.— Churches and Grave-yards— East Connersville— Maplewood— Half-Century Citizens 164-172 CHAPTER XIX.— Harrison Township— Boundaries, Organization and Description— Land Entries— Pioneers and Pioneer Settlement —Independence Day, 1829— Industries— Schools— Churches— Half- Century Citizens 173-183 CHAPTER XX.— Jennings To^vnship- Boundaries and Organization Land Entries— Early Setllement and Pioneer Biography— Alquina —Early Schools— Churches and Grave-yards— Mills and Distilleries Half-Century Citizens 183-190 CHAPTER XXL— Columbia Township— Boundaries and Organiza- tion—Land Entries— Pioneer Settlement and Biography— Mills and Distilleries— Schools— Churches and Grave-yards— Hamlets— Half- Century Citizens 190-199 CHAPTER XXII.— Jackson Township— Boundaries and Organiza- tion—Land Entries— Early Settlement— Industries— Early Schools —The Old Rock at Poplar Ridge — Churches and Grave-yards— Ever- ton— Half-Century Citizens 199-210 CHAPTER XXIIL— Waterloo Township— Organization, Boundaries and Description— Original Land Purchasers— Pioneers— Schools- Waterloo Village — Churches— Springerville- Half-Century Citi- 2:ens 210-217 CHAPTER XXIV.— Orange Township— Organization and Bounda- ries—Land Sales— Pioneers— Schools— Mills, Distilleries, Etc.— Churches and Burying-Grounds—Fayetteyille— Half-Century Citi- zens 217-221 CHAPTER XXV.— Posey Township— Boundaries and Organization —Land Entries— Pioneers and Pioneer Notes— Schools, Churches and Grave-yards — Half-Century Citizens 222-226 CHAPTER XXVI.— Fairvikw Township— Organization and Bounda- ries—Land Entries— Early Settlement— Schools— Churches and Grave-yards— Villages— Half-Century Citizens 226-230 CONTENTS. BIOGRAPHIES. ConneraTille City, Alphabetically Arranged.. PAGE. .... 231 Fayette County, Alphabetically Arranged.. PAOB. 255 PORTRAITS. Andre, D. W 151 Baker, John ■ 71 Beckett, A. T Ill Bundrant, C. H 191 Caldwell, Joseph 31 Creelman, George 131 Ellis, Lewis 161 Freeman, William 181 Gamble, J. S '. 141 Hacktemau, Hawkins 91 Hamilton, Nathaniel 21 llussey, Jonathan... Kemmer, Samuel J.. McConnell, Ellis D... Moffitt, Andrew , Nash, Richard Piper, Josiah Rea, James C Shipley, S.J Thomas, Benj Thrasher, W.W , 201 , 229 171 , 211 . 121 . 61 . 41 , 81 . 51 , 101 View Fayette County Court House.. MISCELLANEOUS. Frontispiece ) • Map Fayette County.. CHrcAGo: John Morri8 Company, Printerb. 1S8B. ^AP Of CmWTT HISTORY OF Fayette County, Indiana CHAPTER I. OUTLINE HISTORY OF INDIANA. THE FRENCH IN INDIANA— GEORGE ROGERS CLARK'S CONQUEST OF THE BRITISH POSTS— THE NORTHWEST TER- RITORY-INDIANA TERRITORY— CONDITION OF THE TERRITORY AT ITS ORGANIZATION— THE FIRST GOVERNOR — TECUMSEH AND THE PROI'IIET— APPREHENSIONS OF INDIAN HOSTILITIES— THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE— THE SLAVERY QUESTION IN THE TERRITORY— THE WAR OF 1812— INDIANA ADMITTED INTO THE UNION- PROGRESS OF THE NEW STATE. INDIANA, as a civil division bearing the name, dates its existence from July 4, 1800, when the act of Congress creating Indiana Territory went into effect. It then included Michigan, Illinois and Wis- consin. The United States census of 1800 found in Indiana 5,641 inhabitants. In 1805 Michigan Terri- tory was struck off, and in 1809, Illinois; from the latter year Indiana dates its present limits. On December 11, 1816 the Territory was admitted into the Union as a State. From its first exploration by white men Indiana constituted a part of New France until 1763, when it was ceded by the French to the English. In the treaty of 1783 Indiana was included in the territory yielded by Great Britain to the United States. While it belonged to the English it was a part of the Colony of Virginia, and was ceded to the United States bj' Virginia in 1784, from which time until the formation of Indiana Territory it formed a part of the Northwest Territory. Virginia acquired title to the great territory northwest of the Ohio by its several charters from James I, and especially from the one bearing date of May 23, 1609 in which was granted all the territory along the coast for four hundred miles and extend- ing "up into the land throughout from sea to sea.'' Virginia first attempted to exercise authority over this extensive domain in 1769, when the House of Burgesses passed an act establishing the connty of Botetourt, with the Mississippi Kiver as its western boundary. Fincastle, Va., was the seat of jus- tice of this extensive county. In October, 1788, a Virginia statute provided that "all the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia who are already settled or shall hereafter settle on the western side of the Ohio, shall be included in a distinct county, which shall be called Illinois County." Col. John Todd served under appointment of the Governor of Virginia as Civil Commandant and Lieutenant of Illinois, until his death at the battle of Blue Licks in 1782. THE FRENCH IN INDIANA. The first explorations and settlements of the whites were by the French, and were the results of the enterprise of LaSalle, who set out from Canada in 1679, and passing across the lakes descended the Illi- nois River. The Indians inhabiting the country at that time seem to have made little or no opposition to its occupancy by the neW-comers, and several important French towns were established on the Illi- nois and Wabash before the eighteenth century was far advanced. The missions and settlements of the French were of necessity established along the routes of travel from Canada to the mouth of the Missis- sippi. The only mode of travel was by canoes. 14 HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. Among the portages over which the French carried their canoes from one navigable river to another, one was of three miles' length in St. Joseph County^ Ind., from the St. Joseph River to the Kankakee; another was from the Maumee near Ft. Wayne to the Wabash. The exact period of the first French settlements cannot be ascertained. Early in the eighteenth cen- tury a party of French Canadians descended the Wabash, and several settlements were soon established along its banks; among others Vincennes. Many dates have been given of the establishment of Vin- cennes, some of which are mere conjectures. Volney conjectured the settlement to have been made about 1735; Bishop Brute speaks of a missionary station there in 1700; Bancroft says a military post was formed there in 1716, and in 1742 a settlement of herdsmen was made; Judge Law dates the post back to 1710 or 1711, and the New American Cyclopedia says the party of French Canadians descended the Wabash in 1702 and established towns along the river. At one time the French settlements were rep- resented as in a flourishing condition and this par^ of New France was described as a new paradise, but the settlers degenerated, became ignorant and sloth- ful, and but little superior to the Indians among whom they lived. GEN. Clark's conquest of the bbitish posts. During the Revolution most of the Western In- dians adhered to the British. The possession by the British of the posts established by the French at Detroit, Kaskaskia and Vincennes gave them easy and constant access to the Indian tribes of the Northwest. The bold plan of defeating and expelling the British from their Western posts was conceived and brilliant- ly executed by a Kentucky backwoodsman, George Rogers Clark. By spies sent for the purpose, who were absent from April 20 to June 22, 1777, Clark satisfied himself that an enterprise against the West, ern settlements might easily be successful. He went to Virginia and submitted his plans to the Govern- ment of that State. Gov. Patrick Henry gave him written instructions, authorizing him to enlist seven companies to serve under his orders for three months- Clark's rank at this time was Lieutenant-Colonel. He raised three companies at Pittsburgh, and descended the Ohio to the falls, where he was joined by another company of Kentucky recruits. He loft the falls with four companies on the 21th of June, 1778, dur- ing a total eclipse of the sun. He descended the river to Fort Massac, and thence proceeded by land to Kaskaskia, a distance of over 100 miles. Heavy rains had fallen, and were succeeded by hot, sultry weather. Their route lay through a wilderness with- out a path. On the prairies a July sun beat upon them. Their guide became bewildered. On the 4th of July this party of invaders, with torn and soiled garments and beards of three weeks' growth, came in sight of Kaskaskia. The town contained about 250 houses, and the inhabitants were mostly French. Clark sent forward some 'of his men who could speak French to pass through the streets, making proclama- tion that all the inhabitants must keep within their houses, under penalty of being shot down in the streets. The next day the little army of invaders marched into the town in two divisions, and in two hours all the inhabitants surrendered and gave up their arms. Not a drop of blood was shed, but the victory was complete. A few days later Clark sent a detachment mounted on French ponies to Cahokia, thirty miles distant, and obtained a surrender of the fort and garrison at that point. An embassy was sent to Vincennes, and in a few days the American flag was floating from the fort and the French inhab- itants brought over to the United States. Clark was compelled to leave only a diminutive force to hold possession of Vincennes, and the British Lieutenant-Governor, Henry Hamilton, then at De- troit, formed the plan of retaking the place, in which he succeeded without difficulty. The latter had a considerable force of British regulars, French volun- teers and Indians. Clark with his main force was at Kaskaskia, and his position was one of great peril. His number of men was too small to stand a siege and his situation too remote to call for recruits. He formed the bold and hazardous scheme of capturing Governor Hamilton and retaking Vincennes. On the 7th of February, 1779, Col. Clark with his little army commenced its march from Kaskaskia to Vincennes. Their route lay through prairies and points of timber. The winter was unusually wet and the streams all high. On the 13th of February they arrived at the Little Wabash and Muddy Rivers. The raius fell every day, and here the men were com- pelled to wade to their waists and sometimes to their armpits in mud and water. On the 18th, eleven days after their departure, they heard the morning gun of the fort at Vincennes. On the evening of the same day they were at the Wabash, below the mouth of the Embarrass. The party was now in an exhausted con- dition; the river was out of its banks and all the low grounds covered with water. Again making their way through deep waters they arrived in full view of the town a little before sunset on the 21st. In order to make his force appear formidable Clark ordered his men to march and countermarch i n such a manner that from the intervening ground the enemy were led to count them twice or thrice. Ten or twelve pairs of colors were so displayed on long poles as to be seen HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 15 above the intervening high land and from a distance made no despicable ajspearance. Gov. Hamilton was awed into a surrender, which was formally made on the 24th. The expedition of Col. Clark was not excelled in difficTilty, daring and heroic endurance by any during the Revolution. The march from Kaskaskia to Vin- cennes was one of extraordinary hardship and enter- prise. The whole expedition resulted in the success- ful reduction of all (he British military posts between the Ohio and Mississippi, gave tranquility to the fron- tier settlements and secured to the United States the whole of this vast territory. The Virginia Legisla- ture passed a complimentary resolution to Clark and his men for their victorious campaign "whereby great advantages may accrue to the common cause of Amer- ica, as well as to this Commonwealth in particular." THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. After Virginia and other States had coded to the United States their claims of jurisdiction and soil to the territory lying northwest of the Ohio, it became necessary for Congi^ss to establish civil government in the new extensive region. Accordingly in the summer of 1787, while the convention which framed the Constitution was in session at Philadelphia, Congress at New York passed an "Ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio," which has come to be beat known as "The Ordinance of '87." This was the most important act of Congress under the Arti- cles of Confederation. For nearly twenty-nine years it was the fundamental law of Indiana. S. P. Chase in his history of Ohio said of it: " Never, probably, in the history of the world, did a measiu'e of legisla- tion 80 accurately fulfill, and yet so mightily exceed the anticipations of the legislators." Its object was declared to be to " extend the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty which form the basis whereon these republics, their laws and constitutions are erected; to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions and governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory; to provide also for the establishment of States and permanent government therein, and for their admission to a share in the federal councils on an equal footing with the original States at as early periods as may be consistent with the general inter- est." The territory for which this ordinance provided a government embraced all the land then belonging to the United States northwest of the Ohio. It ex- tended from Pennsylvania to the Mississippi, and from the Ohio to the Great Lakes. Five States have been organized from it: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Territorial Govern- ment was organized soon after the passage of the ordinance and at first was vested solely in a Governor and Judges. The first Governor was Gen. Arthur St. Clair who was President of Congress when appointed. In 1788 he entered upon his duties at Marietta. During the continuance of the first grade of govern- ment, there was no capital of the territory in the proper sense of the term. Laws were passed by the Governor and Judges wherever they happened to be assembled. Some were enacted at Marietta, some at Cincinnati and a few at Vincennes. About the Ist of January, 1790, the Governor, with other officers, descended the Ohio from Marietta to Fort Washington, at Cincinnati, where he organ- ized Hamilton County, which embraced the western part of the State of Ohio. On the 8th of January the Governor and Secretary arrived at Clarksville, at the falls of the Ohio, on their way to Vincennes. From the falls they proceeded by land along an Indian trail to Vincennes, where they organized the county of Knox, the fourth county organized in the North- west Territory. It comprised all the territory along the Ohio between the Great Miami and the Wabash. V^incennes was made the seat of justice. Thence they proceeded to Kaskaskia, and there established the County of St. Clair, comprising all the territory from the Wabash to the Mississippi, and named by the Secretary, Winthrop Sargent, in honor of the Gov- ernor. Knox and St. Clair Counties were organized for the protection of the French inhabitants, and to carry into effect the agreement in the ordinance of 1787 with reference to the preservation of their rights under the laws and customs alreading existing among them. At Kaskaskia the Governor issued a proclama- tion, calling upon the French inhabitants to exhibit the titles to their lands, in order to have them exam- ined and confirmed and their lands surveyed. INDIANA TERRITORY FORMED. The great extent of the Territory made the ordi- nary operations of government extremely uncertain, and the efficient action of courts almost impossible in the western parts of the Territory. In the three western places of holding courts, Vincennes, Cahokia and Kaskaskia, there had been held but one court having criminal jurisdiction in the five years from 1795 to 1800. Offenders against justice having no fear of punishment, the French settlements became an asylum for the most vile and abandoned crimi- nals. A committee of Congress on March 3, 1800, recommended a division of the Territory into two distinct and separate governments. Accordingly, on May 7, 1800, an act was passed by Congress making such division, by an act which took effect from and 16 HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. after the succeeding 4th day of July. The western division was called Indiana Territory. The Hrst boundary of Indiana Territory on the east was not the same as the eastern boundary of the State. The ordinance of 1787 provided that the mid- dle State which should be formed out of the North- west Territory, should be bounded on the east by a line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami River, and the committee of Congress which proposed the division of the Territory recommended that the division should be made by this line. The act of Congress, however, made the Greenville treaty line as far as Fort Recovery, the boundary line. The line of division was described as " beginning at the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it shall intersect the Territorial line be- tween the United States and Canada." The Green- ville treaty line is found marked on some of the maps of Indiana. Fort Recovery was in Darke Coun- ty, Ohio, about one mile east of the State line. When Ohio was made a State the line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami was made its western boundary, and the lands between this line and the Greenville treaty line were attached to Indi- ana Territory. CONDITION or THE TERRITORY AT ITS ORGANIZATION. At the time of its organization Indiana Territory comprised a vast region almost uninhabited except by savages. The only settlements of white men were so widely separated that it was impossible for them to contribute to their mutual defense or encouragement. These settlements were four in number. The first was at Clark's grant, at the falls of the Ohio opposite Louisville; the second the old French establishment at Vincennes, on the Wabash; the third comprised a series of French villages, extending from Kaskaskia, seventy-five miles below the site of St. Louis, to Cahokia, five miles below St. Louis; the fourth was Detroit on the Detroit River. The capital was at Vincennes, at this time often written Post Vincents. Numerous tribes of war-like Indians were scattered throughout the northern portion of the Territory, whose hostility to the American settlers was inflamed by the intrigues of British agents and fi-equent out- rages by American hunters and traders. Clark's grant in Indiana was a reservation by Vir- ginia in her cession of the Northwest Territory to satisfy the claims of Gen. Clark and the ofiicers and soldiers under his command in the conquest of the British posts of Kaskaskia and Vincennes. The quan- tity of land in the grant was stipulated not to exceed 150,000 acres to be laid off in one tract, the length of which was not to exceed double the breadth, and in such place on the northwest side of the Ohio, as a majority of the officers should choose. The tract was selected and located about the falls of the Ohio, and distributed among the claimants according to the laws of Virginia. An act of the Legislature of that State was passed " to establish the town of Clarkes- ville, at the falls of the Ohio, in the county of Illi- nois," by which a Board of Trustees in whom the title of the town was vested in trust. They were directed to sell lots of half an acre each at public auction, subject to the condition that the purchaser should within three years from the day of sale erect a dwel- ling house " twenty feet by eighteen, with a brick or stone chimney." The Trustees located the tovsm im- mediately at the foot of the falls. Its position at the head of keel-boat navigation on the lower Ohio was supposed to give it great advantages, and it was for a time a rival of Louisville. Jeffersonville, at the head of the falls, occupied the site of Fort Steuben. Mid- way between these places and on the opposite side of the river was the then unhealthy town of Louisville, which in 1800 contained a population of 359 souls, and about 150 houses, a printing office and a postoflice. From the falls of the Ohio, settlements spread over Clark's grant. Vincennes, the capital of the Terri- tory, is described by contemporary writers at the period of the establishment of the Territorial Gov- ernment, as a handsome town of about 100 houses, some of which were built of freestone. From Cin- cinnati, settlements extended up the Whitewater Val- ley. On the first Monday in April, 1801, the first sale of lands west of the Great Miami was held at Cincinnati. In the closing years of the last century, before the establishment of a land ofiBce for the sale of any lands in Indiana, squatters had begun to occupy Government lands in the southwestern' part. Land offices, at which lands in Indiana were sold, were established by the United States as follows: At Cincinnati, May 10, 1800; at Vincennes, March 26, 1804; at Jeffersonville, March 3, 1S07; at Indianap- olis and Crawfordsville, March 3, 1819; Fort Wayne, May 8, 1822. From Cincinnati, the most important town in the eastern division of the Northwest Territory, to Vin- cennes, the capital of Indiana Territory, was a laborious journey through a wilderness. A common method of making this journey was to embark on the Ohio in a Kentucky boat, sometimes called an ark, with horses and provisions, proceed as far as the falls, and thence by horseback to the Post, more than 100 miles un- marked by a vestige of civilization. THE FIRST GOVERNOR. The first Governor of Indiana Territory was Capt. William Henry Harrison, afterward Major-General HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 17 and President. At the time of his appointment he was twenty-seven years old, yet he had already served under Wayne against the Indians as Lieutenant, and distinguished himself for bravery; had been the first delegate in Congress from the Northwest Territory, and had served as Secretary of the Territory. As the Sec- retary was ex officio Lieutenant-Governor, he had for a considerable time performed the duties of Governor of the Territory before its division, Gen. St. Clair, the Governor, being rarely in the Territory at that time, his residence being in Pennsylvania. When the office of Governor of the new Territory of Indiana was first proposed to young Harrison, he expressed himself as much adverse to accepting it, because he had reason to believe that Gov. St. Clair would soon be retired from the Government of the more populous Eastern Division (now Ohio), and that he would be strongly recommended as his successor. It happened, however, as Gen. Harrison himself has narrated, that two influential supporters of John Adams' administra- tion were desirous of that position, and by their man- agement he became the Governor of Indiana Territory. The Governors were appointed for three years. Har- rison was appointed by President Adams in 1800; upon the expiration of his term he was re-appointed in 1803 by President Jefferson; in 1806 he was again appointed by Jefferson; in 1809 he was re-appointed by Pi-esident Madison, and in 1812 again appointed by Madison. The Territorial Governors were ex officio Super- intendents of Indian affairs within their Territories. A few months after President Jefferson came into ofllice he nominated Gov. Harrison a Commissioner to make treaties with the Indians, and the nomination was confirmed by the Senate. The custom of the Government in treating with the Indians had been to appoint two or more persons to represent the Govern- ment as Commissioners. The reason given by the President for this departure from the usual course in the case of Indiana Territory was that Louisiana had been ceded to the French, and the French under- stood the management of the Indians better than any other nation; that to guard against their intrigues it was necessary to form settlements on the Mississippi, the lower Ohio, the Wabash and Illinois Rivers, which could only be done by extinguishing the Indian titles, and this could not be done at once, but by watching opportunities. The President, therefore, did not wish to embarrass the Governor with a colleague. Thus it was that Harrison was the sole representative of the United States in the negotiations with the Indians by which the Indian title to most of the lands of Indiana was extinguished. Gov. Harrrison held this important commission during the entire period of his government of the Territory. He negotiated thirteen treaties, and obtained the cession of over 50,000,000 of acres in the Northwest, more than double the land now included in Indiana. While acting as Commissioner, Harrison was allowed, in addition to his pay as Governor, $6 per day and his expenses, and he could assume the char- acter of Indian Commissioner whenever he thought proper. He was indeed necessarily almost constantly acting under it. The charges he made for pay as Commissioner, however, were only for the time actu- ally employed in specific negotiation. All the com- pensation he received for these services during the twelve years he held the commission did not exceed $3,000. His charge for one important treaty was $44. It is said that no man over disbursed so many and such large sums of public treasure with so little difficulty in adjusting his accounts with the Govern- ment as Harrison while Governor, United States Com- missioner and Superintendent of Indian affairs in Indiana Territory. He wisely avoided keeping the public money on hand, and always made his payments by drafts on Washington. Some of the more important of the early treaties by which the ownership of Indiana lands was trans- ferred to the United States Government are here mentioned. In the treaty at Greenville, August 3, 1795, only a small portion of the lands in the south- eastern part of the State was included. On Sep- tember 17, 1802, Gov. Harrison entered into an agreement at Vincennes with the chiefs of various tribes by which the bounds of a tract at that place said to have been given to its founder were settled, and on June 7, 1803, at Fort Wayne, the same chiefs ceded the lands about Vincennes to the United Stales. Other treaties were concluded at Vincennes in August, 1804: at Fort Wayne in September, 1809; at St. Mary's in October, 1818, and Tippecanoe in 1832. TECUMSEH AND THE PKOPHET. The troubles with the Indians commenced early in the history of the Territory. In July, 1801, the Governor referring to the lawless acts of vagabond whites, wrote to the United States Government: "All these injuries the Indians have hitherto borne with astonishing patience, but though they discover no disposition to make war upon the United States, I am confident that most of the tribes would eagerly seize any favorable opportunity for that purpose, and should the United States be at war with any Euro- pean nations who are known to the Indians, there would probably be a combination of nine-tenths of the northern tribes against us, unless some means are made use of to conciliate them." President Jefferson did everything in his power to protect the Indians and to induce them to cultivate the soil and adopt 18 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. the arts of civilized life. Congress was powerless to prevent the atrocities committed by the worthless white men who are ever found prowling along the verge of civilization. The outrages were deplored by thousands of good men. Early in the history of the Territory Tocumsoh planned his scheme of a confederation of all the Indian nations, by which the whites were to be restrained in their acquisitions of lands. This remarkable man, the most bold and accomplished warrior and diplomatist the tribes of red men ever produced, was for much of his active life a resident of Indiana. He was born not far from the site of Springfield, Ohio, and belonged to the Shawnee nation, his father and his mother being members of different tribes of that extensive people. In 1795 he became a chief. He resided in different parts of the Miami country, in what is now Ohio, until 1798, when he accepted the invitation of the Delawares, then residing in part on White River, Ind., to remove to that region with his followers. Here he resided a number of years, and gradually extended his influence among the Indians. Tecumseh's brother, known in history as the Prophet, was scarcely less remarkable a man; he was an orator of great power and a religious teacher. About 1804, according to the accounts usually given, the brothers began to work in unison on their grand project of uniting all the Western Indians in one confederacy. Their avowed objects were two- fold: first, the reformation of the savages, whose habits unfitted them for continuous and heroic efforts; sec- ond, a union which would make the purchase of land by the United States impossible without the consent of all the tribes, and would give the Indians a strength that would be dreaded. In case of war with the whites a simultaneous attack could be made upon all the frontier settlements, so that white troops could not be sent from one to the aid of another. In 1805, through the influence of the Prophet, a large number of Indians collected at Greenville. In 1806 both Tecumseh and the Prophet were at Greenville, and were visited by representatives of many tribes. APPREHENSION OP INDIAN HOSTILITIES. In the spring of 1808 the brothers removed to a tract of land on the Tippecanoe, a tributary of the Wabash. Here on a spot probably never visited by white men, about 100 miles northwest from Fort Wayne, was the Prophet's town, containing only about 130 souls. Representative Indians from remote parts here visited the Prophet, who continued his efforts to reform his brethren by preaching temper- ance, depicting the fearful evils the fire-water of the white men had brought upon them, and announcing his commission from the Great Spirit to extricate his red children from the utter ruin with which they were menaced. Tecumseh traveled from tribe to tribe, strength- ening his influence and organizing his league. With the enthusiasm of Peter the Hermit, he journeyed over thousands of miles, visiting remote nations of red men. He visited all the northern tribes on the west bank of the Mississippi, and upon the Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan. In 1807 Gov. Har- rison, alarmed at the movements of the two brothers, sent a message of inquiry and remonstrance, couched in severe terms. The Prophet sent a reply, denying that he had any purpose to rouse the tribes to another war. His plan of saving the Indians, he constantly asserted, was by reforming them froai intemperance, uniting them and encouraging industry. In July, 1808, the Prophet went from Tippecanoe to Vincennes, a distance of hundreds of miles, on a pacific message to the Governor. He came with a large number of followers, whom he frequently harangued in the presence of the Governor on the evils of war and intemperance. No persuasion of the whites could induce any of them to touch intoxicating liquors. The Prophet again declared that it was his desire to live in peace with the whites, and called the Great Spirit to witness the truth of his declaration. Whether the Prophet was a religious fanatic or a vile impostor, can never be settled. Throughout the year 1809 Tecumseh and the Prophet continued to strengthen themselves both openly and secretly. Notwithstanding the.se solemn and repeated declarations of peaceful intentions, the Governor suspected their ultimate designs, and was preparing to meet any emergency. In June, 1809, • Tecumseh with about forty followers again visited the Governor. The Governor wrote to the Government that suspicions of his guilty intentions were strength- ened rather than diminished by every interview dur- ing this visit of the chief. In September, 1809, the Governor met the chiefs of several tribes at Fort Wayne, and purchased of them more than 3,000,000 acres of land on the Wabash. Tecumseh refused to sign the treaty, and threatened death to those who did. In the year following he visited the tribes as far south as Tennessee, exhorting them to lay aside sectiona jealousies in the hope of preserving their hunting grounds. THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. The Governor stood firm and sent for a few sol- diers and organized the militia. In July, 1811, the citizens of Vincennes and its vicinity met while the Legislative Council was in session and memorialized the President on the subject, not so much for a mill- HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 19 tary force from the Government as for permission to fight the Indians in their own way. The Indians began to prowl through the Wabash Valley. Harri- son was promised strong re-enforcements with orders, however, to be backward in employing them. On the Ist of August he advised the Secretary of War of his plans, which were to again warn the Indians to obey the treaty of Greenville, but at the same time to prepare to break up the Prophet's establishment, if necessary. Having received his re-enforcements, the Governor, as Commander, advanced from Vin- cennes up the Wabash. On the 5th of October he was at Terre Haute, where he built Fort Harrison. Here one of his sentinels was fired upon. On Octo- ber 31 he was at the mouth of the Vermilion River, where he built a block-house. He then advanced toward the Prophet's town, still, however, offering peace to the Indians. When within a few miles of the Prophet's town Harrison was met by the Indian embassadors, who expressed surprise at his advancing upon them and said that an answer to the Governor's demands upon the Indians had been despatched to him by a Pottawattomie who had left two days before to meet him, but had missed him by taking the road on the south side of the Wabash. Harrison informed them that he had no intention of attacking them until he found that they would not comply with his demands. It was agreed that the army should en- camp for the night and in the morning an interview with the Prophet and his chiefs should take place, and in the meantime no hostilities should be com- mitted. Before daybreak of the morning the treacherous savages crept upon the camp, burst upon the sleep- ing army like demons, and before the light of day was far advanced the battle of Tippecanoe was fought. Harrison had risen at a quarter after four o'clock, and the signal for calling the men would have been given in two minutes, when the attack commenced. Nineteen twentieths of the men had never been in an action. They behaved well, took their places without confusion, under an exceedingly severe fire, and fought with bravery. The camp fires affording the enemy the means of taking surer aim, were extinguished. With coolness and deliberate valor the white men stood their ground in darkness against the ferocity of the savages, until daylight, and then routed the red men in vigorous charges. The next day they burned the Prophet's town and returned victorious to Vincennes. The battle of Tippecanoe was fought on the 7th of November, 1811. The whites had in this action not more than 700 efficient men — non-commissioned officers and privates; the Indians were supposed to have had from 700 to 1,000 men. The loss of the whites was thirty-seven killed on the field, twenty-five mortally wounded and one hundred and twenty -six wounded; that of the Indians about forty killed on the field, the number of wounded not being known. Among the killed were two Kentucky officers, Col. Joseph H. Daviess and Col. Owen. The battle ground was a piece of dry oak land, skirted on the west by Burnet Creek, with marshy prairies covered with tall grass on the east and west. At the time of the battle Harrison held no raak in the army, but as Governor he was Commander of the ludiaaa Militia, and uader the authority of the War Department he took com- mand of the whole force. The victory made the Commander famous, and twice, in 1836 and in 1810, Indiana cast her electoral vote for " the hero of Tip- pecanoe." At the time of the battle Tecumseh was among the southern Indians. When on his return he learned that his brother had brought on the attack and had been defeated, he was exceedingly angry, and it is said reproached the Prophet in the bitterest terms. The defeat had destroyed the power of the brothers, and crushed the grand confederacy before it was completed. Six months after the battle the United States declared war with England. Tecumseh left ladiana for Fort Maiden, ia Upper Canada, joined the British standard, participated in S3yeral engage- ments against the Americans, and for his bravery and good conduct was made a Brigadier-Geueral. He was killed at the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813, in the forty-fourth year of his age. Harrison, with whom he had so often conferred, was. the commander of the enemy against whom he foaght in his last battle. THE SLiVERY QUESTION IN THE TERRITORY. Before the formation of the State constitution several efforts were made to introduce^Africau slavery in a modified form into the Territory of Indiana. Slavery had been introduced into the Illinois country by the French as early as 1720. The ordinance of 1787 prohibiting slavery in the Northwest Territory was a subject of complaint by some, who, by memo- rials to Congress from time to time, made efforts to obtain a suspension of the restriction for a limited period. The first petition to Congress was from four persons in Kaskaskia in 1796, asking that slavery might be tolerated there. Before the division of the Northwest Territory and while the first Territorial Legislature was in session at Cincinnati in 1799, pe- titions were presented by Virginians, who owed lands northwest of the Ohio, asking that they might settle with their slaves on their own lauds. These peti- tions were promptly rejected, as the Legislature had no power to suspend an ordinance of Congress. Many of the early settlers of Indiana were from 20 HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. Virginia, Kentucky and other slave States. A large proportion ot the population of the Territory, while not desiring to make Indiana a slave State, believed that a temporary employment of slave labor would greatly encourage immigration and promote the growth and improvement of the country. Early in 1803 a Territorial Convention was held at Vincennes to deliberate on the interests of the Territory. Gov. Harrison was President of the convention. A memo- rial was sent to Congress, together with a letter of the President of the convention, declaring the as- sent of the people of Indiana Territory to a suspen- sion of the clause of the ordinance of 1787, forbid- ding slavery. John Randolph, from the committee of Congress to which this letter and memorial were referred, reported as follows, March 2, 1803: "That the rapid population of the State of Ohio sufficiently evinces, in the opinion of your committee, that the labor of slaves is not necessary to promote the growth and settlement of colonies in that region. That this labor, demonstrably the dearest of any, can only be employed to advantage in the cultivation of products more valuable than any known to that quar- ter of the United States; that the committee deem it highly dangerous and inexpedient to impair a provi- sion wisely calculated to promote the happiness and prosperity of the northwestern country and to give strength and security to that extensive frontier. In the salutary operation of this sagacious and benevo- lent restraint, it is believed that the people of Indi- ana will, at no very distant day, find ample remuner ation for a temporary privation of labor and of immi- gration. " This report was made at the close of the session and the subject was brought up again at the next ses- sion. The report, together with the letter of Gov. Harri.son and the memorial of the inhabitants of Indi- ana, was referred to a new committee, of which Csesar Rodney, of Delaware, was Chairman. This committee on February 17, 1804, made a report in favor ot the prayer of the memorial and offered the following resolution: "Resolved, That the sixth article of the Ordinance of 1787, which prohibited slavery within the said Territory, be suspended in a qualified manner for ten years, so as to permit the introduction of slaves born in the United States, from any of the individual States; provided that such individual State does not permit the importation of slaves from foreign countries. And provided, further, that the descendants of all such slaves shall, it males, be free at the age of twenty-five years, and if females, at the age of twenty-one years." This resolution failed to pass and the subject came up again in February, 1800, when another report was made in Congress in favor of the tempo- rary suspension of the prohibition of slavery on the ground that the people of Indiana universally desired such suspension. At the session of the Legislature of Indiana Territory in the winter of 1806-07, resolu- tions on the subject were adopted and presented to Con- gress. Another committee of Congress reported in favor of the suspension of the slavery clause of the or- dinance for ten years, but the measure was again lost. A committee of the United States Senate re- ported on November 13, 1807, that it was not expo- dient to grant the request of the Indiana Legislature. To avoid the restriction in the ordinance against slavery, the Territorial Legislature passed an act Sep- tember 17, 1807, entitled " An Act concerning the introduction of negroes and mulattoes into this Terri- tory." It legalized the introduction into the Territory of persons of color who were slaves in the States or Territories by requiring the owner or possessor to enter into indentures with his slave, the latter stipu- lating to serve as an indentured servant for a certain period, at the end of which he was to become free. A record of the indenture was required to be made in the Court of Common Pleas within thirty days after the introduction of the slave or slaves. Children under fifteen years of age were required to serve their former owner or possessor, if males, until the age of thirty-five years; if females, imtil the age of thirty- two years. Many slave-holders in Virginia, Ken- tucky, and other slave States, desiring to manumit their slaves, migrated to Indiana and availed them- selves of the privileges of this law. In Indiana slaves before the expiration of their term of servitude were termed under the law "indentured servants." This form of servitude was done away with in Indiana by judicial decisions and in Illinois by a clause in the State constitution. Had it not been for the firmness of Congress in resisting what seemed to be a popular demand, Indiana might have been a slave State. The demand that slave-holders who owned land in Indiana should he permitted to employ their slaves in clearing the forests from their own lands seemed just and reasonable to many persons who were not in favor of the extension of slavery. THE WAR OF 1812. At the commencement of the war of 1812 Indi- ana Territory had a white population of about 30,000 souls, chiefly in the southern portions of the Territory. All the settlements in Indiana as well as those in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Illinois were much exposed to Indian depredations. The Government had hesitated to employ force against the Indians in Indiana lest all the tribes of the Northwest should be combined against the United States in case of a war with England, which was imminent. Although Gov. i^^n-uutJ ^^^c^^^io^kA^-^^^^^^ HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 23 Harrison wrote a few months after the battle of Tip- pecanoe, " The frontiers never enjoyed more perfect security," yet as soon as hostilities between the United States and England commenced there were gloomy fears of the Indians all along the western frontiers, which rose to universal consternation when the intelligence was spread abroad that the whole of our army under Hull, with Detroit and Michigan, had been surrendered to the combined British forces, commanded by Brock and Tecumseh, leaving our entire outposts in the Northwest almost defenseless. Three points needed protection, fort Wayne and the Maumee, the Wabash, and the Illinois. The troops intended for Fort Wayne were to be put under Gen. Winchester, a Revolutionary officer residing in Ten- nessee, but little known to the frontier men; those for the Wabash were to be under Harrison, whom the bat- tle of Tippecanoe had given a military reputation in the West; those for the Illinois were to be under Edwards, Governor of Illinois Territory. Such were the intentions of the Government, but the action of the authorities of Kentucky frustrated them and for- tunately led to the elevation of the Governor of Indi- ana to the post of Commander-in-chief of all the forces of the West and Northwest. Gov. Harrison while at Cincinnati received from Gov. Scott a request to repair without delay to Frank- fort. Arriving at the capital of Kentucky, he found a large number of influential citizens of Kentucky assembled, some to witness the inauguration of Gov. Shelby and others by invitation of Gov. Scott, the retiring Governor. A grand council had been held upon the course to be adopted for the defense of the Northwestern frontier, and it had been determined to request Gov. Harrison to take command of the troops on the march and to appoint him aMajor-Gen- eral in the Kentucky Militia. He accepted the com- mission, took the oath required by the laws of Ken- tucky and in a few hours was on horseback to over- take the troops and assume command. Gen. Harri- son afterward said that he looked upon this as the most honorable appointment he had ever received. A great State, already distinguished for the talents of her sons, some of whom were Revolutionary officers, placed the Governor of another Territory in command of her troops for a difficult and dangerous expedition. On September 17, 1812, Harrison was appointed by the Government Commander of the Army of the West. After the surrender of Detroit and Fort Dearborn on the site of Chicago, Forts Wayne and Harrison, in Indiana, were the only military stations on the north- western frontier in the hands of the Americans. These were re-enforced. The defeat of Hull and the victories of the British and Indians in the Northwest awakened throughout Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky a determina- tion to wipe out the disgrace which had stained our arms, and to avert the desolation that threatened the frontier. In August several regiments which had been raised in Kentucky were directed to the aid of Indiana and Illinois. Vincennes was made the prin- cipal rendezvous, and Gen. Hopkins was appointed Commander of the troops on the Wabash. It was arranged that Gen. Hopkins, with between four and five thousand mounted riflemen, should move up the Wabash to Fort Harrison, cross over to the Illinois country, destroy all the Indian villages on the Wabash, march across the prairies to the head-waters of the Sangamon and Vermillion Rivers, and then form a junctionwith the Illinois rangers under Gov. Edwards, and sweep over the villages on the Illinois River. On September 29, Hopkins wrote to the Governor of Kentucky: "My present intention is to attack every Indian settlement on the Wabash, and to destroy their property, then fall back upon the Illinois; and I trust, in all the next month, to perform much service. Seri- ous opposition I hardly apprehend, although I intend to be prepared for it. " In accordance with this deter- mination, Hopkins set out from Fort Harrison with this raw militia-men on October 15, and marched some eighty or ninety miles in the Indian country without obtaining sight of the enemy, when he was compelled to return on account of the insubordination among his men and some of the officers. Deeply chagrined at the failure of his expedition, Gen. Hopkins did not return to Kentucky, but remained at Fort Harrison to await the raising of another and better disciplined army. On the 11th of November he set out from Fort Harrison with about 1,200 men on an expedition against the Indians of the upper Wabash. Lieut-Col. Butler, with seven boats loaded with supplies and provisions, at the same time ascended the river. On the 19th the army arrived at the Prophet's town, and 300 men were sent to surprise the Indian towns on Ponce Passu Creek, but the villages were fouud evacuated. On the 20th a Kickapoo town containing 120 cabins was burned, and all the winter provisions of corn in the vicinity destroyed. The cold weather of winter was rapidly coming on, many of the men were, as the General said, "shoeless and shirtless," and as the ice in the river began to obstruct the passage, it was deemed prudent to return. The conduct of this detachment contrasts favorably with Hopkins' first army. The military system under which the wai" of 1812 was carried on would by no means have answered the purposes of the Government in the greater war of the Rebellion. The terms of service for which the men were called out were generally short, not exceeding six months. In many cases the raw militia-men had scarcely learned to drill as soldiers when their term 24 HISTOKY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. of service expired, and they were succeeded by fresh, untrained recruits. The West, aud especially the region of the Maumee and Lake Erie, was the prin- cipal theater of the war. In many parts of the United States there was much opposition to the war, but th^ pioneers of Indiana Territory were enthusiastically in favor of the declaration of war and its vigorous pros- ecution. Although the population was not large, in every vicissitude of the contest the conduct of the people of Indiana was patriotic and honorable. They volunteered with alacrity, and endured the hardships of the campaigns on the swamps of the Maumee and the St. Marys with patience and cheerfulness. Peace was made with Great Britain by the treaty at Ghent, December 24, 1814. The Indians, deprived of their British ally and having lost their great leader, Tecumseh, renounced all hope of arresting the advance of the white man. Tribe after tribe during the year 1815 entered into treaties of peace with the United States and acknowledged themselves under the protection of the Government. Confidence was restored to the frontier settlements and immigra- tion again began to push into the forests and prairies. The campaigns of the rangers and mounted infantry who had traversed the rich and delightful lands along the Wabash, the Sangamon and the Illinois, served as explorations of new and fertile countries and opened the way to thousands of pioneers and the formation of new settlements. Although large numbers passed westward to the prairies of Illinois, yet Indiana re- tained a large share of the rapid immigration. From 1810 to 1820 Indiana increased in population from 24, 520 to 147, 178, an increase of 500 per cent, a rate of growth at that time unexampled in the growth of American States. INDIANA ADMITTED INTO THE UNION. In December, 1815, one year after the close of the war, the Territorial Legislature petitioned Congress for the privilege of forming a State constitution and admission into the Union. A bill for these purposes was passed in April, 1816; soon after a convention met at Corydon and on June 29 adopted the first con- stitution of Indiana. This constitution was formed at a time when there was a lull of party violence and when the era of political good feeling prevailed. On December 11, 1816, the State was admitted as a sov- ereign member of the Union. Jonathan Jennings, who had long represented the Territory, as Delegate in Congress and had presided over the convention which formed the constitution, was the first Governor. In January, 1821, the Legislature located the seat of government at Indianapolis, and at the same time appointed Commissioners to lay off a town at the site selected and gave it its present name, formed by add- ing the Greek word polis, meaning a city, to the name of the State. PBOGKESS or THE NEW STATE. In the decade from 1820 to 1830 the sales of gov- ernment lands in the State were rapid, amounting to more than three and one-half million acres; and the population increased 133 per cent. From 1830 to 1840 the population was doubled. In 1833 the Wa- bash & Erie canal was commenced; in 1834 the State Bank with ten branches was incorporated. The result of these undertakings and others into which the State entered was a debt of over $14,000,000 and a general bankruptcy which retarded the progress and development of the State. In 1846 measures were taken to pay the accumulated interest'on the State debt; in 1850 a new constitution was adopted, and soon the whole economy of the State was changed and prosperity returned. The State is the smallest of the Western States, having an area of 33,809 square miles, but in population it ranks sixth in the members of the Union. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 25 CHAPTER 11. THE INDIANS OF INDIANA AND EARLY EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THEM. NAMES OF THE TRIBES IN INDIANA— THE MIAMI CONFEDERACY— LITTLE TURTLE QUOTED— INDIAN VIL- LAtlES- INDIAN AGRICULTURE— MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES— ANTOINE QAMELIN'S MISSION— THE INDIANS DEMAND THE OHIO FOR THEIR BOUNDARY— COL. LOCHRY'S DISASTROUS DEFEAT— TREATY OF FORT FINNEY— GEORGE ROGERS CLARK'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE WABASH INDIANS— GEN. CHARLES SCOTT'S EXPEDITION— COL. JAMES WILKINSON'S EXPEDITION— GEN. JOSIAH HARMAR'S EXPEDITION— ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT— WAYNE'S VICTORY. T HE Indian tribes resident within the bounds of whites were commenced were the Miamis, the Shaw- nees, the Delawares, the Wyandots, and Pottawatto- mies. The Weas, Eel Rivers, and Piankashaws, also found in the State, were really branches of the Miamis. In the treaty at Greenville Gen. Wayne recognized the Weas and Eel Rivers as distinct tribes from the Miamis in order that they might receive a large share of the money which was stipulated to be paid by the United States. Gen. Wayne thought it just that the Miamis and their allied tribes should receive more of the annuities promised by the Government than they would be entitled to as a single tribe, because he recognized it as a fact that the country ceded by the treaty was really their property. The Indians were so frequently at war with each other and so often moved from one region to another that it is difficult to locate them and impossible to fix definite bounds to their possessions. According to the map of Indiana giving the Indian names of rivers, towns, etc., prepared by the late Daniel Hough, of Wayne County, and published in the Indiana Geo- logical Report of 1882, the northern portion of the State is assigned to the Pottawattomies; the Wabash and Maumee valleys to the Miamis; the head-waters of both branches of White River to the Delawares; the south-eastern part of the State along the Ohio to the Shawnees, and west of them the Wyandots. Of these tribes the Miamis were at one time by far the most numerous and powerful. Their territory embraced all of Ohio west of the Scioto, all of Indi- ana and part of Illinois. They had numerous villages on the Scioto, the head-waters of the two Miamis, the Maumee and throughout the whole course of the Wabash as far down as the town of Brushwood, now Vincennes. Before the arrival of the whites west of the mountains, it is believed that the Miamis could assemble a larger number of warriors than any other aboriginal nation of North America. The ravages of the small-pox had largely reduced their numbers before the commencement of the Revolutionary war. Little Turtle, the famous Miami chief, during the negotiations which preceded the treaty of Green- ville, spoke with pride and yet with sadness of the former greatness and dominion of his tribe. His words are preserved in the Americau State Papers: "I hope you will pay attention to what I now say to you. You have pointed out to us the boundary line between the Indians and the United States; but I now take the liberty to inform you, that that line cuts off from the Indians a large portion of country which has been enjoyed by my forefathers time immemorial, without molestation or dispute. The prints of my ancestor's houses are everywhere to be seen in this portion. It is well known to all my brothers present that my forefather kindled the first fire at Detroit; from thence he extended his lines to the head- waters of Scioto; from thence to its mouth; from thence down the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash; from thence to Chicago on Lake Michigan. At this place I first saw my elder brothers, the Shawnees. I have now informed you of the bound- aries of the Miami nation, where the Great Spirit placed my forefather a long time ago and charged him not to sell or part with his lands, but to preserve them for his posterity. This charge has been handed down to me. I was surprised to find my other brothers differed so much from me on this subject; for their conduct would lead one to suppose that the Great Spirit and their forefathers had not given them the charge that was given to me; but on the contrary had directed them to sell their lands to any white man who wore a hat, as soon as he should ask it of them." Little Turtle took pride in the antiquity of his race, as well as in the extent of territory controlled by his ancestors. In 1797 this Miami chief met Volney in Philadelphia. The French philosopher explained to the savage orator the theory that the 26 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Indian race had descended from the dark-skinned Tartars, and, by a map, showed the supposed com- munication between Asia and America. Little Tur- tle replied: "Why should not these Tartars, who resemble us, have descended from the Indians ? ' ' INDIAN VILLAGES. Long before the first settlements of the English- speaking whites in Indiana the habits of the Indians had been modified by their contact with the Euro- peans. The traders had supplied them with fire- arms, Bcalping-knives and iron tomahawks. They had iron pots and brass kettles for cooking and sugar making. They had learned to like strong drink, and were given to great excesses in eating and drinking. Many of the inhabitants of some of their more important villages were French. The Wea Prairie or plains a few miles below the mouth of Wea Creek, and not far fi'om the site of Lafayette, contained some of the most extensive improvements ever made by the Indians within the limits of the State. On the opposite side of the Wabash was the Indian town Ouiatenon, or Wah-wee- ah-tenon in the Indian tongue. When it was de- stroyed by Col. Wilkinson in 1791 he found there a number of French books, letters and documents, showing that the place was in close connection with Detroit. For richness of soil and beauty of natural scenery few places in the West can compare with the Wea plains. The town of Tippecanoe, orKathtippaeamunck, on the north side of the Wabash, at the mouth of the Tippecanoe, was also a celebrated Indian place. In 1791 the village consisted of about 120 houses, eighty of which were shingle-roofed. The best houses belonged to the French traders, whose gardens and improvements round the town are described as delightful, and indeed not a little wonderful. There was a tavern with cellars, bar and public and private rooms; the whole was marked by considerable order, and evinced a small degree of civilization. The town of the Eel River tribe was scattered along the Eel River for about three miles, on an uneven scrubby- oak barren, intersected alternately with bogs almost impenetrable, and impervious thickets of plum, hazel and black-jack. Col. Wilkinson found the head chief at this place guarding a number of prisoners and families at work digging a root which they substi- tuted in place of the potato. INDIAN AGEICULTURE. The agriculture of the Indians in Indiana, as well as in most other parts of North America, was confined chiefly to the growing of corn and beans, to which potatoes were afterward added. The extent of their corn-fields on the Wabash and the Maumee was greater than is generally supposed. A journal of Gen. Wayne's campaign, kept by George Will, under the date of Augusts, 1791, says: " We have marched four or five miles in corn-fields down the Auglaize, and there are not less than 1,000 acres of corn around the town." The same journal describes the immense corn-fields, numerous vegetable patches and old apple trees found along the banks of the Maumee from its mouth to Ft. Wayne, and discloses the fact that the army obtained its bread and vegetables for eight days, while building Ft. Defiance, from the surrounding corn and potato fields. One of the chief objects of the military expedi- tions against the Indian villages was the destruction of their corn, which would compel their warriors to devote more of their time to hunting as a means of subsistence, and thus prevent marauding expeditions against the white settlements. Gen. Harmar, in his unsuccessful expedition in 1790, burned and destroyed nearly 20,000 bushels of corn in the vicinity of Ft. Wayne. Gen. Charles Scott, in his expedition against the Wabash Indians, destroyed a considerable amount of corn about the Ist of June, 1791. In August of the same year Col. Wilkinson, who marched against the same villages, found that the Indians had re-planted their corn, and it was in high cultivation, several fields being well plowed. Wil- kinson reported that besides burning a respectable Kickapoo village, he had cut down at least 430 acres of corn, chiefly in the milk, and that the Indians, left without houses, home or provisions, must cease to war, and would find active employment in subsisting their squaws and children during the coming winter. MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. Gen. William H. Harrison speaks of the moral and intellectual qualities of the Indians of the North- west in his discourse before the Ohio Historical and Philosophical Society on the "Aboriginees of the Ohio Valley," as follows: " The Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees and Mia- mis were much superior to the other members of the confederacy. The Little Turtle of the Miami tribe was one of this description, as was the Blue Jacket, a Shawnee chief. I think it probable that Tecumseh possessed more integrity than any other of the chiefs who attained to much distinction; but he violated a solemn engagement, which he had freely contracted, and there are strong suspicions of his having formed a treacherous design, which an accident only pre- vented him from accomplishing. Similar instances are, however, to be found in the conduct of great men in the history of almost all civilized nations. But these instances are more than counterbalanced by the HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 27 number of individuals of bigh moral character which were to be found among the principal and secondarj chiefs of the four tribes above mentioned. This was particularly the case with Tarhe, or the Crane, the great sachem of the Wyandots, and Black Hoof, the chief of the Shawnees. Many instances might be adduced to show the possession on the part of these men of an uncommon degree of disinterestedness and magnanimity, and strict performance of their engage- ments under circumstances which would be consid" ered by many as justifying evasion. ' ' By many they are supposed to be stoics, who willingly encounter deprivations. The very reverse is the fact. If they belong to either of the classes of philosophers which prevailed in the declining ages of Greece and Rome, it is to that of the Epicureans. For no Indian will forego an enjoyment or suffer an inconvenience if he can avoid it, but under peculiar circumstances, when, for instance, he is stimulated by some strong passion. But even the gratification of this he is ready to postpone whenever its accom- plishment is attended with unlooked-for danger or unexpected hardships. Hence their military opera- tions were always feeble, their expeditions few and far between, and much the greater number abandoned without an efficient stroke, from whim, caprice, or an aversion to encounter difficulties." He adds : "When, however, evil comes which he cannot avoid, then he will call up all the spirit of the man and meet his fate, however hard, like the best Roman of them all." ANTOINE GAMELIn's MISSION. While Gov. St. Clair was engaged in organizing the western counties of the Northwest Territory in 1790, he made a praiseworthy effort to conciliate the hostile tribes on the Wabash. Antoine Gamelin, an intelligent French merchant of Vincennes, was em- ployed to carry the messages of the Government to the Indians, and to acertain their disposition and sentiments. Antoine traveled across the State and visited all the tribes along the Wabash and as far east as the junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's, at the site of Fort Wayne. His journal, which for- tunately has been preserved, gives much information concerning the Indians of Indiana in the earlier period of the history of the Northwest Territory. Setting out from Vincennes on April 5, 1790, the first Indian village he arrived at was called Kicka- pougoi, inhabited by a tribe then peaceably disposed toward the whites. The second village he found was at tbe river Vermillion, and inhabited by the Pian- keshaws, who looked upon the Miamis as their elder brei.hren, and could not give an answer to the mes- sage until they had consulted that nation. On the 11th of April Gamelin arrived at a tribe of the Kick- apoos, who also regarded the Miamis as their elder brethren. On the 18th he arrived at Eel River. The village of Eel River Indians stood about six miles above the junction of that stream with the Wabash. The chief of this tribe was absent, and no answer to the message could be obtained. On the 23d of April he arrived at the great village of the Miamis, at the site of Fort Wayne. The chief of the Miamis at this time was called LeGris. At this place were both French and English traders. While Gamelin re- mained five Pottawattomies arrived with two negro men, whom they sold to the English traders. Blue Jacket, the great warrior chief of the Shawnees, was at the Miami town. Both LeGris and Blue Jacket were disposed to insist that the Ohio River should be made the Indian boundary, and the report of Gamelin was unfavorable for the maintenance of peace. INDIANS DEMAND THE OHIO FOR THEIR BOUNDARY. The Indians of the Wabash and Maumee were hostile to the formation of the earlier settlements northwest of the Ohio, and made incursions upon the whites along the Ohio in what is now the State of Ohio, and often passed into Kentucky on expeditions of plunder and murder. These Indians were united in claiming that the whites had no rights to any lands northwest of the Ohio; that the treaty of Fort Stan- wix in 1768 made the Ohio River the boundary, and they refused to regard the treaties of Fort Mackin- tosh in 1785, and Fort Harmar in 1789, as binding, because not satisfied by all the tribes. In 1793 President Washington instructed the Commissioners appointed by him to negotiate a treaty of peace with the Northwestern Indians, to use every effort to obtain a confirmation of the boundary line established at Fort Harmar, and to offer in payment $50,000 in hand, and an annuity of $10,000 forever. The Indians refused the money, claimed that the treaties already made were void because not sanc- tioned by all the tribes, demanded that the Ohio River should be considered the boundary, and that every white settlement should be removed from the Northwest Territory. The paper containing these views of the Indians was signed by the chiefs of the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Miamis, Mingoes Pottawattomies, Ottawas, Connoys, Chippewas and Munsees. The Commissioners explained to them that the United States Government had sold large tracts of land northwest of the Ohio, and that the white set- tlements and improvements were numerous, and had cost much money and labor, and could not be given up; but the Government was willing to pay a larger sum in money and goods than had been given at any one time for Indian lands since the whites first set 28 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. their feet on this continent. The Indians gave as their final reply: " Money is of no value to us, and to most of us is unknown. As no consideration whatever can induce us to sell the lands on which we get sustenance for our women and children, we hope we may be allowed to point out a mode by which your settlers may be easily removed, and peace thereby obtained. " We know these settlers are poor, or they never would have ventured to live in a country which has been in continual trouble since they crossed the Ohio. Divide, therefoi-e, this large sum of money which you have offered to us among these people. Give to each, also, a proportion of virhat you say you will give to us annually over and above this large sum of money, and, we are persuaded, they will most readily accept it in lieu of the land you sold them. If you add, also, the great sums you must expend in raising and paying armies with a view to force us to yield you our country, you will certainly have more than sufficient for the purpose of repaying these settlers for all their labor and their improvements. " We shall be persuaded that you mean to do us justice if you agree that the Ohio shall remain the boundary line between us. If you will not consent thereto, our further meeting will be altogether un- necessary." The Commissioners on the part of the Grovernment said "That they had already explicitly declared to them that it was now impossible to make the Ohio River the line between their lands and the lands of the United States. Your answer amounts to a decla- ration that you will agree to no other boundary than the Ohio. The negotiation is therefore at an end." Nothing remained for the Government but a vig- orous prosecution of the war. The Indians were defeated by Gen. Wayne in August, 1794, and in August, 1795, a treaty of peace was ratified by all the tribes. The treaty of Greenville was the first one since that of Fort Stanwix, which was regarded as binding upon the Indian confederacy. It was observed by them in good faith, atid there was no further war between the red men and the whites until the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. COL. lochry's disastrous defeat. One of the most disastrous battles which took place on the soil of Indiana was the surprise and defeat of Col. Archibald Lochry by the Indians, on August 24, 1781. Lochry was the County Lieutenant of West- moreland County, Penn. , and was requested by Col. George Rogers Clark, to raise a military force in the summer of 1781, and to join him in a movement then contemplated against the Indian ti-ibes of the North- west. Col. Lochry raised a force of 107 mounted men. and on the 25th of July set out for Fort Henry, at Wheeling, where they expected to join Col. Clark. When they arrived at Wheeling they found that Clark had proceeded down the river, leaving directions for Lochry to follow him. They passed down the river, and on August 24 reached the mouth of a creek which empties into the Ohio about ten miles below the Great Miami. This stream has since been named Lochry's Creek. Here was an attractive spot, and the Colonel ordered the boats to land on the north side of the Ohio. The horses were turned loose to feed, while some of the mea were sent out to cut grass for the horses on their way to Louisville. Oue of the party had killed a buffalo, and all, except a few, who were cutting grass ur guarding the horses, were engaged round the fires, which they had kindled for cooking a meal. Suddenly they were assailed by a volley of rifles from a large party of Indians. The men seized their guns and defended themselves, until their am- munition was exhausted, and then took to their boats, when they were fired upon by another party of Indi- ans in canoes. The result was the death of Lochry, and forty- one of his men. The whole detachment were either killed or taken prisoners; not one escaped. Some were killed after being taken prisoners. The pris- oners were taken to Canada, and were not set at lib- erty until after the peace of 1783. Col. Lochry's party was composed of the best men of the Pennsyl- vania frontiers. TREATY OF FORT FINNEY. Congress resolved in March, 1785, to hold a treaty with the Indiana of the Wabash and other parts of Indiana at Vincenneson June 20, 1785. The place of meeting was afterward "changed to the mouth of the Great Miami, where a temporary work of defense was erected and named Fort Finney. The representa- tives of the United States were George Rogers Clark, Richard Butler and Samuel H. Parsons. Various circumstances caused the time of the negotiations to be changed to the winter of 1785-86. The Wabash Indians refused to attend, on account of a growing spirit of hostility. Some chiefs and warriors of the Shawnees and a few Delawares and Wyandots finally met the Commissioners, and after some time spent in negotiations, the treaty of Fort Finney was signed on January 31, 1780. The United States stockade pending the deliberations, mustered seventy men. There were present some 300 of the finest warriors of the Shawnees. By the treaty the United States were acknowledged to be the sole and absolute sovereigns of all the territory ceded to them by the treaty with Great Britain in 1784. Hunting grounds lying chiefly in Indiana were allotted the Shawnees as fol- lows: HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 29 " The United States do allot to the Shawnee nation, lands within said territory to live and hunt upon, beginning at the south line of the lands allot- ted to the Wyandots and Delaware nations, at the place where the main branch of the Groat Miami, which falls into the Ohio, intersects said line; then down the river Miami to the fort of that river next below the old fort which was taken by the French in one thousand seven hundred and fifty- two; thence due west to the river De La Panae; then down that river to the river Wabash; beyond]which lines none of the citizens of the United States shall settle, nor disturb the Shawnees in their settlement possession." The treaty failed entirely in securing peace, as the tribes more distant than the Shawnees were in no way disposed to cease their incursions. GEN. Clark's expedition aoainst the wabash Indians. The first important expedition which passed over the Territory of Indiana against the Indians was the unsuccessful one of George Rogers Clark against the Wabash Indians in 1786. Many depredations had been committed in Kentucky by marauding bands crossing the Ohio, plundering, burning and scalping. The bands were chiefly from the Miamis and the Wa- bash. Congress having failed in its efforts to secure peace with the Indians by the treaty at Fort Finney, ordered two companies down the Ohio to the Falls and on June 30, 1786, authorized the raising of mill, tia in Kentucky for the invasion of the country of the hostile tribes. The expedition was organized into two parties, one under Gen. Clark to march against the upper Wabash country; the other under Col. Benjam- in Logan was to proceed against the villages on the head-waters of the Great Miami. Col. Logan, with 400 or 500 mounted rifle-men, crossed the Ohio near Maysville, Ky., and passing northward succeeded in destroying some Indian vil- lages in what is now Logan County, Ohio, killing about twenty savages and taking about seventy pris- oners. Gen. Clark was not so successful. With about 1,000 men he marched from the Falls of the Ohio for Vincennes and arrived near that place in October. His supplies were to be forwarded to that place by boats. Nine boats had been freighted with stores to descend the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash and then to as. cend to Vincennes. The low state of the water re. tarded the arrival of the boats. The army lay en camped awaiting the arrival of provisions. Day after day passed. One thousand hungry men consume much food. The men were put on short allowance. Many became restless and mutinous. At last, after waiting nine days, the boats arrived. But to their disappoint- ment the meat was found to be spoiled by the hot weather. There were sound rations only for three days, and there was a march before them of 200 miles- The mutinous spirit became more apparent. Gen. Clark urged an immediate and rapid advance. The Kentucky volunteers were re-enforced by a number of the inhabitants of Vincennes and the army started on its march up the Wabash. On reaching the mouth of the Vermillion it was found that the Indians had de- serted their villages on that stream. Disappointment, hunger and fatigue now led to open mutiny and 300 men with some officers of high rank mounted their horses and left for their homes. Neither the com- mands, the entreaties nor the tears of the command- ing General could avail. Nothing was left to Clark but the abandonment of the expedition. With the remainder of his half-starved men, the unfortunate commander worked his way back to the Falls, covered with shame and confusion. This was the last expedi- tion of the brilliant military genius, George Rogers Clark and the first one which resulted unfortunately. GEN. CHARLES SCOTt's EXPEDITION. In January, 1791, President Washington laid be- fore Congress his views of the proper measures for protecting the wegtern settlements from Indian depre- dations. He expressed a very decided opinion that another campaign against the Wabash Indians was indispensable. These tribes were estimated at 1,100 warriors, to which were to be added 1,000 belonging to more distant tribes. The President held that, although winter imposed peace at that time, unless the attention of the tribes was directed to their own country, they would spi-ead desolation over the frontier on the open- ing of spring. Congress authorized the President to raise an army of 3,000 men, to be placed under the command of Gov. St. Clair, who was appointed a Major-General, and also a corps of Kentucky volun- teers for the purpose of a rapid march and immediate attack on the Wabash. This corps was placed under the command of Gen. Charles Scott. On the 23d of May, 1791, Gen. Scott, with a force of about 800 mounted men, crossed the Ohio at the mouth of the Kentucky and commenced his march for the Wea towns. They pressed forward with the utmost celerity, but the rain fell in torrents and wore down their horses and injured their provisions. The country was intersected and made rough by four branches of the White River and other smaller streams, many of them having steep and muddy banks. On the 31st of May they had made 135 miles from the Ohio. On June 1, at a distance of 150 miles from the Ohio, they came in sight of two small villages on their left, at a distance of two and four miles respectively, the main town being about five miles in front. The General sent a detachment 30 HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. under Col. Hardin to attack the villages on the left, while he pressed forward rapidly toward the main town in front. When the main army arrived at an eminence overlooking the villages on the Wabash, the enemy were discovered in great confusion cross- ing the river in canoes, having been apprised of the approach of the whites by one of their warriors who had seen them on the preceding day. All the sav- ages in live canoes were destroyed by a well-directed tire. The Wabash, at that point, was too high to be forded, and the Indians kept up a vigorous tire from the Kickapoo towns on the opposite bank. Two com- panies passed down the river and crossed over and drove the enemy from the Kickapoo village. In the, meantime, Col. Hardin successfully executed the order to take the villages on the left. He also dis- covered a third and stronger village which he also captured, and joined his commander before sunset, having killed six warriors and taken fifty-two pris. oners. The next day Col. Wilkinson, with 360 men, marched to the Tippecanoe village, which he took and destroyed, together with a large quantity of corn, peltry and furniture. On the same day, the Wea and Kickapoo towns were burned, and the gal- lant army reached the Ohio on the 14th of June, hav- ing accomplished the great object of their expedition without the loss of a single man killed and only four wounded, and having killed thirty-two of the savages and taken fifty-two prisoners. The General testified that not a single a(!t of inhumanity had marked the conduct of his men. COL. JAMES Wilkinson's expedition. The expedition of Gen. Scott having been suc- cessful, on the recommendation of Gen. St. Clair, the Kentucky Board of War resolved to organize another without loss of time to destroy the Eel River towns. This expedition was placed under the command of Col. James Wilkinson. . On July 20 Col. Wilkinson reported to Gov. St. Clair at Fort Washington with 525 men well mounted and equipped. The march began from Cincinnati on August 1. They took with them provisions for thirty days. Instead of taking the direct course toward the Eel River villages, in order to mislead the enemy, the army directed its course toward the site of Fort Wayne. The hunting grounds of the Indians in the southwest part of In- diana, and the most common paths traveled by them were thus avoided. For three days the northwardly course was pursued. After about seventy miles from Cincinnati had been made, their course was turned northwestward. On the 6th they captured a Dela- ware living on the Maumee. On the 7th the army reached the Wabash near the mouth of Eel River. The troops crossed the river and charged upon the town. The enemy being completely surprised, was unable to make the least resistance; sis of their war- riors were killed and thirty- four prisoners taken. Unfortunately in the hurry and confusion of the charge, two Indian women and one child were killed. A white captive in the village was released. The whites lost but two men killed and one wounded. The next day the corn was cut down and the cabins burned. Col. Wilkinson then took up his march toward the Kickapoo towns in the prairie, by way of the Tippecanoe village. Reaching the latter place, which had been destroyed by Gen. Scott in the pre- ceding June, it was found that the Indians had replanted their corn and beans. These were again cut down. While at this place the commander learned of some murmuring and discontent among his men, growing out of a reluctance to proceed further in the enemy's country. This induced him to examine the state of the horses and provisions, when he learned to his mortification that 270 horses were lame and jaded, and barely five days' provisions left for the men. Most reluctantly was the Colonel compelled to abandon his design against the Kicka- poos of the prairie. He, however, marched against a village of the same tribe, about three leagues west. This town, consisting of about thirty houses, was destroyed, with a considerable quantity of corn in the milk. On their homeward march the army fell into Gen. Scott's homeward trace, and arrived at the Falls of the Ohio on August 21. The men were mostly Kentucky volunteers, and great praise was awarded by the commander to the whole detachment. Their entire march from Cincinnati to the Indian towns, and then to the Falls, was by accurate computation 451 miles, and was accomplished in twenty-one days. Among the prisoners taken by Col. Wilkinson were the sons and sisters of the king of Ouiatenon nation. GEN. JOSIAH HARMAR S EXPEDITION. The largest and most important expeditions against the Indians of the Northwest Territory were directed against the Miami towns at and near the junction of the St. Mary and St. Joseph, where they form the Maumee. The region about the site of Fort Wayne was probably more thickly populated with savages than any other in Indiana. The junction of the rivers was the site of an old and important town of the Miami tribe. The importance as a strategic point of the site of Fort Wayne struck Washington's sagacious mind, and one of the objects of the cam- paigns on the Maumee was to establish here a fort which was to be connected by intermediate stations with Fort Washington at Cincinnati. %. %s I'VIWfr' ^ V HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 33 The first of these campaigns was under the com- mand of Gen. Josiah Harmar. He marched from Cincinnati in September, 1790, by a circuitous route, which he was told by guides was the shortest and best to the head of the Maumee. He had in all about 1,300 men, three-fourths of whom were raw militia, badly armed and equipped. They were badly supplied with axes and camp-kettles; their arms were largely out of repair and almost useless; many muskets being brought in without locks with the expectation of being repaired in camp. Many of the militia were substitutes unused to lire-arms, who at the first sight of the Indians threw down their arms and ran. On October 13, the army being within about thirty miles of the site of Fort Wayne, Col. John Harding, with 600 militia men and one com- pany of regulars, was sent forward to surprise the enemy and keep them in their forts until the main body with artillery would come up. On reaching the villages, however, they were found deserted. On the 17th the main body arrived, and five or six towns were destroyed and about 20,000 bushels of corn in the ear cut down. On the 2l8t the army started on its homeward march. Unfortunately, on the next day it was resolved that Col. Harding, with a detachment of 340 militia and sixty regulars, should return to the burned villages on the supposition that the In- dians had returned thither. They succeeded in find- ing the Indians early the next morning. A severe engagement ensued; the savages fought with bravery. The troops were defeated, many of the militia and most of the regulars being killed. Dispirited by this misfortune and dissensions among his officers, Har- mar returned to Cincinnati. The expedition is known as Harmar's defeat. In its purpose of intim- idating the Indians it was entirely unsuccessful, but in its object of destroying the Miami villages it was completely successful; the towns were taken and 300 houses and wigwams burned without the loss of an American soldier. The subsequent efforts to defeat the savages in battle were unsuccessful. The Indians looked upon the expedition as a failure and defeat and it was followed by vigorous efforts on their part to harass and break up the American settlements. To carry out their purposes more effectually, Little Turtle, chief of the Miamis, Blue Jacket, chief of the Shawnees, and Buckongahelas, chief of the Del- awares, engaged in forming a confederacy strong enough to drive the whites beyond the Ohio. ST. CLAIB S DEFEAT. The unfortunate expedition of Gen. St. Clair was organized during the year 1791. He was instructed by the War Department to march for the village at the head of the Maumee in order to establish a strong and permanent military post at that place, and to establish such posts of communication between that place and Fort Washington as he should judge proper. "The establishment of such a post" said the Secre- tary of War, " is considered as an important object of the campaign, and is to take place at all events." On September 17 St. Clair, with about 2,300 men, marched from Ludlow's Station, near Cincinnati. On November 3 the army arrived at a creek running to the southwest, and which was supposed to be the St. Mary's, one of the principal branches of the Maumee, but was afterward found to be a branch of the Wabash. Early on the morning of November 4, the army was surprised and met with a most disastrous defeat. Of the 1,500 men engaged in the battle more than half were either killed or wounded. It was the greatest calamity to the disheartened and greatly harassed pioneers of the Northwest Territory, and the most dis- astrous defeat of the Americans by the Indians. The battle occurred near the Indiana line in Mercer County, Ohio, the battle-field being afterward known as Fort Recovery. Wayne's victory. Immediately after the defeat the Federal Govern- ment took steps to raise another large army to oper- ate against 'the hostile tribes. Nearly three years passed, however, before the confederated hostile tribes were met by Gen. Anthony Wayne, whose army num- bered more than 3,000 men, well disciplined and finely officered, 1,600 being mounted volunteer troops from Kentucky commanded by Gen. Charles Scott, of that State. Wayne's decisive victory occurred August 20, 1794, near the Maumee rapids in Wood County, Ohio. The battle is known as the battle of the Fallen Timbers, though sometimes called the battle of the Maumee. Had not the Indians apprised of the approach of the armies of St. Clair and Wayne gone forth from their principal villages to meet them, the disastrous defeat of the one and the decisive victory of the other would have taken place on the soil of Indiana and not of Ohio. Cessation of the long and bloody Indian war followed Wayne's victory, and a peace was secured which continued unbroken until the battle of Tippecanoe sixteen years later. 34 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. CHAPTER III. PIONEER HISTORY. THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION UPON, AND FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE WHITEWATER VALLET— POSITION OF THE LANDS OF THE COUNTY— JOHN AND WILLIAM CONNER AND OTHER EARLY SETTLERS— PIONEER LIFE- FRIENDLY AND HOSTILE INDIANS. aENERALLY speaking, from the east and south upward marched the van of civilization to the fertile valleys and beautiful hills of the Whitewater country, explorers and immigrants coming from the direction of the Miami country, Cincinnati, Harrison and Lawrenceburg. John Gleves Symmes had landed at North Bend on the Ohio early in the year 1789, and in 1795 several families had settled on the site of Lawrence- burw, and a small settlement had been made at Arm- strong's Station, in Clark County. Cincinnati was laid out in 1789; Hamilton, at Fort Hamilton in 1794; Dayton in 1795 and in the spring of the following year permanent settlements commenced. Gen. Wayne's victory over the Indians, August 20, 1794, put a check to their depredations but did not at once reduce them to absolute submission. In March, 1795, one man was killed and eight horses stolen in the village of North Bend. The treaty of peace at Greenville, concluded August 3, 1795, put an end to the murder of white men by Indians in the Miami country and was signalized by rapid immigra- tion thither and opened the way for further explora- tion and immigration to the territory of eastern and southern Indiana. It is not improbable that the Whitewater Valley was as early explored as the division to which it be- longs. It is a matter of record that from 1796 to 1799 many settlers had established themselves throughout Dearborn County. The Rev. Allen Wiley, one of the pioneer preach- ers of the Whitewater country, and well known to many of the pioneers yet living in this section, in 1845-46 wrote a series of articles which appeared in the Western Christian Advocate published in Cincin- nati, titled " Introduction and Progress of Method- ism in Southeastern Indiana." Mr. Wiley was a man of unusually large experience and knowledge of the people and times whereof he wrote. He says: "In the autumn of 1804 my father came to Indiana and settled aboi;t three miles above where Harrison now stands, I being then in my sixteenth year. The country was then somewhat densely settled along the river up to what was called the Lower Narrows, six or seven miles above where Whitewater leaves Indi- ana. As well as I remember there was one family on the southwest side of the river opposite the before mentioned narrows; another family on the same side opposite the narrows above the present town of New Trenton, and another on the same side in the bottom below the present town of Rochester, now Cedar Grove. Three-quarters of a mile above Big Cedar Grove Creek, Mr. John Conner, an Indian trader, had a store kept by a Frenchman, hence the store was called the ' French store.' "I have now gone to the ultima thule or verge of the white population in the Whitewater Valley in 1804. There were a few families on Johnson's Fork. In the spring of 1805 two settlements were formed on the Bast Fork of Whitewater; the one a little north of the town of Richmond, in Wayne County, was called the Kentucky settlement, because most of the families were from Kentucky; the other was some distance above the town of Brookville, near where Fairfield now stands, and was called the Carolina settlement because the most of the families were from South Carolina. The same spring Mr. William Tyner, a Baptist minister, settled about one and one-half miles below Brookville and Mr. Thomas Williams one mile above on the south side of West Fork. At that time I presume the land on which the flourishing town of Brookville now stands was the property of the Gov- ernment. At the period of which I now write (1805) the only mill for all the upper Whitewater country was on the edge of Ohio, owned by Mr. Thomas Smith, of Kentucky, so that the Kentucky settlement had to travel some fifty miles to mill, and the Carolina set- tlers twenty-five. Sometimes, perhaps, the former went across through the wilderness to Four and Seven Mile Creeks, near the Great Miami, because they were some nigher." Of the two settlements referred to by Mr. Wiley the " Carolina Colony" was composed of the following named heads of families: Robert Hanna, Sr., John Templeton, George Leviston, William Logan, Joseph Hanna, John Ewing and Robert Swan. These fam- HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 35 ilies as early as the year 1801 had settled on the Dry Fork of Whitewater River, near Harrison, and there remained until the spring of 1805. However, in the meantime the male members of the families had ex plored the country along East Fork, and doubtless elsewhere and determined upon the sites of their future homes. Then returning to their families on Dry Fork, there remained until the summer or fall of 1804. These families were nearly all related, and the party was under the leadership of Robert Templeton and Robert Hanua. In the summer or fall of 1804 they started for the Whitewater region, their route being a "blazed" one and was ever afterward known as the "Carolina Trace." The first of the cabins built is believed to have been the one subsequently occupied by Robert Templeton and family and was located in Fairfield Township, Franklin County. Nine cabins were built extending along East Fork through what are now Fairfield Township in Franklin County and Harmony and Liberty Townshijas in Union County. The cabins were occupied in the spring of 1805. Concerning the Kentucky settlement Mr. A. W. Young, author of the "History of Wayne County," published in 1872 writes: "In the year 1805 the first settlement of white men on the banks of Whitewater was commenced and the first rude cabin built. In the spring of that year George Holeman, Richard Rue and Thomas McCoy, with their families, from Ken- tucky, settled about two miles south of where Rich- mond now stands. Rue and Holeman had served under Gen. Clark in his Indian campaigns several years before the formation of the Northwestern Ter- ritory under the ordinance of 1787. Both had been captured by the Indians and held as prisoners about three years and a half. Both also lived on the lands on which they settled until their deaths, far advanced in age. Rue was the first Justice of the Peace in this part of the country. '\Holeman and Rue selected and entered their lands late in 1804, at Cincinnati, on their way home. Early in the winter they retiu'ned to build cabins for their families, bringing with them, on their horses, such tools as were necessary in that kind of architecture, and a few cooking utensils. Holeman's two eldest sons, Joseph and William, then about eighteen and sixteen years of age, accompanied their father, to assist in his initiatory pioneer labor. In a very few days two cabins were ready for occupancy. Rue and Holeman, leaving the boys to take care of themselves, started again for Kentucky to bring their families." In 1879 William McClure, whose father, coming from Kentucky, settled near Cleves in 1804, said: "I learned from Capt. Isaac Fuller, of this county, (Franklin), that his father lived as early as 1794 or 1795 at North Bend and in the Big Bottom, and that he helped to raise the first patch of corn that was ever raised by white men in the Big Bottom. He also told me he had a brother about sixteen years of age taken by the Indians from North Bend, about 1795. He had been sent after the cows. The Indians decoyed him by using a bell. His father alone followed them to near Brookville, and stayed all night on the place on which 1 now live, and watched the movements of the Indians, but was unable to effect his son's release. The Indians took him to the Upper Wabash country and he remained with them about two years. He was left by his master at the camp with the squaws, with directions what to do, but after the Indians left, one of the squaws, a half-sister of the celebrated Tecum, seh, ordered him to work at something else, which he refused to do, when she tried to kill him. He kept out of her way for the time, believing she would kill him if she had an opjjortunity. Soon after he went with her fishing, and watching an opportunity, he struck her with a club on the back of the head and knocked her into a deep hole of water, where he sup- posed she was drowned. Then he struck out for Detroit, where he arrived in about a week, subsisting himself as best he could, being followed by the In- dians all the way, whom he succeeded in eluding. After he arrived in Detroit he found a friend, who secreted him for a day or two, until the Indians ceased hunting for him, when he conveyed him over to Maldon, on the Canada side of the Detroit River, from which place he went to Buflfalo, N. Y. , and from there he went home through New York and Pennsyl- vania, and down the Ohio River." As many of the early settlers of Fayette County had first settled in what is now Franklin County and territory further south and subsequently removed further north and settled permanently, we will give the names of some common to both counties. As early as 1802 or 1803 on Dry Fork lived the Athertons; in 1804, the Cottons near Harrison; at Harrison and below, the Cooleys, Aliens and the Backhouses; above Harrison, John Caldwell and the Eads; further north were the Hacklemans, the Mc- Cartys and Adairs; about New Trenton in 1807 lived the Rockefellars, and in the vicinity settled early the Brownlees; the Higgs and Blades settled early on Blue Creek. POSITION OF THE LANDS OF THE COUNTY. The lands of Fayette County are composed of two distinct tracts ceded to the United States Government by as many different treaties. What is known as the " Twelve-Mile Boundary Line " is a line which begins at Fort Recovery, in Ohio, extending thence in a due 36 HISTOKY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. southwesterly direction until it arrives at a point twelve miles distant from the " Indian Boundary Line," thence parallel with said "Indian Boundary Line," until it intersects the Grouseland Boundary Line at a point a little west of the southwest corner of Franklin County. This boundary was established by a treaty held at Fort Wayne in 1809. This line passes through Fayette County, entering it at a point in the northeast corner of Posey Town- ehip, passing in a southwesterly direction and out of the county at a point in the southeastern corner of Orange Township. The lands of the county lying east of this boundary are in the " Twelve-Mile Purchase," and were surveyed and ready for market in 1811. The lands lying west of the boundary are in what is known as the "New Purchase," which was ceded to the United States Government by a treaty concluded at St. Mary's, Ohio, October 3, 1818. These land were not surveyed and ready for market until 1820. The greater portion of the territory of the county lies within the "Twelve-Mile Purchase." The land office for the sale of the " Twelve- Mile Purchase " was located at Cincinnati, Ohio, while that of the New Purchase was situated at Brookville, Ind, JOHN AND WILLIAM CONNER, AND OTHER EARLY SETTLERS. It is our belief that no account of the first settle- ment made within the present limits of Fayette County has ever been given to print, and if narrated the lips from whence it came have long since been sealed and the parties to whom given have taken their final sleep, and none live to-day to satisfactoi'ily present it. There is, however, little doubt but that the trad- ing-post established by John Conner (or possibly by both of the Conners) on the present site of the city bearing his name, marked the first white man's cabin and from it gleamed forth the first ray of civilization from the surrounding wild forests of, perhaps, four score years ago. In 1788 or thereabouts there resided in the State of Pennsylvania a family by the name of Conner, which at that time were taken captives by the Indians (theShawnees,we believe,) and carried away to Detroit, remaining in state of captivity sufficiently long to become thoroughly acquainted with the Indian lan- guage, customs, etc., etc. They were finally, through the interposition of some French residents at that place, liberated, the father remaining a permanent resident of that city. In 1798, at the age of eighteen years, William Connor left his paternal hearth-stone and sought to carve out for himself his own fortune, and with this view he settled at Saginaw Bay and there commenced trading with the Indians. At this early period of Western history the trader was both a traveler and a hunter. To lay in his stock of goods it was necessary to make long and wearisome jour- neys through the forest upon horseback, and the trans- portation of his goods was eflfected upon pack-horses. In his journeyings his eye was attracted by the nat- ural beauty of scenery, the richness of the soil, the abundance of game of the fur-bearing species, and the commanding locality of Hamilton County (Indiana), and in 1802 he settled in a beautiful prairie, which has ever since borne his name (located a little below Noblesville). Here he established a trading post, which for many years was the great central mart at which the various tribes inhabiting central Indiana did their trading. o At what time John Conner left Detroit and where he first began his trading with the Indians is not known to the writer. It may be that he accompanied his brother William, for the Hon. Elijah Hackleman, of Wabash, in a contribution of " Reminiscences " to the Rushville Republican in 1884, speaks of the two as building. a trading house in what is now Franklin County, in the early history of the Whitewater Val- ley. Whether the two were together or not, it is rea- sonable to presume that as each followed the same business in those early times, they were at least in intercourse with each other. The first definite knowledge we have of John Con- ner's presence in the Whitewater country is given in the writings of Rev. Allen Wiley, heretofore spoken of. In speaking of the year 180-1 Mr. Wiley says: "Three-quarters of a mile above Big Cedar Grove Creek, Mr. John Conner, an Indian trader, had a store kept by a Frenchman, hence the store was called the French store." William McClure, from whom we have elsewhere quoted, as nearly as we can judge of the year 1807, writes: " John Conner and Pilkey, Indian traders, had a store in the bottom, where John T. Cooley for- merly lived." And the author of the "History of Franklin County " says of this store: "There is little doubt b^^t this trading post was the first white man's establishment within the limits of the county. No traditions of an earlier one are found among the peo- ple of to-day." The next point for consideration is the establish- ment of the trading-post of Conner, or Conner & Pilkey, further north in Fayette County, on the site of the city of Connersville. From what has been said above Conner is known to have been above Big Cedar Grove Creek in 1804, and probably in 1807, but the time of his removal or abandonment of that post for the one further up on the frontier can only be arrived at by tradition. Thomas Simpson, now a resident of the county, aged eighty-four years, with a clear mem- ory and vivid recollection of the past, is authority for the saying that John Conner had his trading-post HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 37 here at Connersville in the year 1808. Mr. Simpson's father was through the county at that time, and found Conner here; so it is fair to conclude that the post was established here some time between 1804 and 1808. About the first of the present century the Conners were found among the most expert Indian traders of Indiana Territory, and soon attracted the attention of Gov. Harrison, who in his intercourse with the Indians employed them as interpreters. As early as 1805, at the treaty of Grouseland, August 1, we find that John Conner acted in that capacity. From that time on to the treaty of Wabash, October 23, 1826, and during the interval, in which ten treaties had been held with the Indians, one and sometimes both of these gentle- men were employed as interpreters, and during the war William Conner was the principal military inter- preter of Gov. Harrison. After the battle of the Thames, in which he was engaged, he was specially deputied by Gen. Harrison to recognize the body of Tecumseh, with whom he had long been acquainted. John Conner is said to have had for a wife an Indian woman and a son by the name of James, a half-blood. The Indian wife died about the close of the last war with England, and he then married Lavina, daughter of Jabez Winship, who lived on Little Cedar Grove. In 1813 he laid out the town of Connersville, and had, as early as 1810, a grist and sawmill in operation near the trading-post, which was probably two hundred yards up the branch from the A. B. Conwell mill building, on Eastern Avenue. In 1816 he served in the State Senate, and was the first Senator for this county and the first Sheriflf. He was an active business man in early Connersville carrying on milling, farming and merchandising. He removed from the village he had founded to the vicinity of Noblesville, this State, in 1823, and, it is said, some years later died while on a trip or visit to the city of Indianapolis, which city he had, in com- pany with nine others, selected and located the per- manent seat of justice of the State. Concerning the Conners, we give the following from the pen of Hon. Samuel W. Parker, written in 1855: "Some twenty-five years ago, a stranger of venera- ble and martial appearance by the name of Rankin, from Kentucky, passing through the country stopped and dined at Sample's Hotel, now the Bate's House in this town, where I was then boarding. The name of our town reminding the stranger of his old friends, the Conners, he inquired after John and William, evidently with much interest; he then observed that ho had made their acquaintance during the late war with Great Britain, and knew them well; remarked that in a perilous march he made under Gen. Harrison up toward the lakes, the Conners were selected for the guides of the army; that they had a deep stream to cross over a difficult and dangerous ford, where the Indian ambuscade was apprehended; that Gen. Harrison came to him before they entered the stream, and observed: 'I think those Conners are true, but some -stories to their prejudice have come to my ears, and from the fact that they have been among the British and Indians the most of their days, I must confess to enough of suspicion to be on the lookout. They say they understand this ford, and can and will conduct us safely over. If they could be in league with the enemy and betray us, here is the place for it to be done. Do you fol- low close after them with your hand upon your hol- sters, and should they for a moment lead us into water too deep for fording, shoot them down.' They entered the stream, Rankin close after, and the whole army following. Near the middle the horses of the guides stepped into a deep place. In an instant, both exclaimed, as Rankin's cocked pistol was pre- sented: ^Hold! the ford is changed. We' II be right in a moment!' In a moment they were right again, and all got safely over. 'And that moment,' said the narrator, 'saved the life of the proprietor of your town, and his brother, William; whom,' said he, 'I afterward found to be as true and noble Americans as ever I knew.' " Mr. Parker remarked that the incident was given as substantially received, saying: "I can't vouch for its authenticity, having never seen or heard of it else- where; nor seen nor heard of the strange Kentuckian before or since, but I know of no reason to question its accuracy." In 1808-09, Thomas Simpson, Sr., a native of Maryland, was employed as hunter to, and accom- panied the surveying party, while they were engaged in surveying the lands of the "Twelve-Mile Pur- chase," at which time he traversed the territory of the county throughoiit, and in the month of Decem- ber, 1809, removed his family to a cabin house, which had previously been erected for the surveying party, and stood on what is now the northeastern part of Jennings Township. Daniel Green, it is said, while prospecting for land further south, in what is now Franklin County, in the year 1809, was attracted by the sound of a cowbell, and on following its sound he came to a cabin, occupied by John Eagan and family, situated along the river in what is now Jackson Township, some little distance south of the bridge over the river at Nulltown. Mr. Eagan was an Irishman, but came from Maryland here, and both he and Simpson remained permanent settlers. At what time the Eagan settlement was made is not now known, yet it is quite probable that it did not 38 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. precede the trading-post of Conner. The account of this settlement is purely traditional and the date un- supported by family record or other history, so far as we can learn; yet it is not at all improbable, as John Eagan and his brother William were very early set- tlers along the river, the former entering land in Jackson Township in 1811. The settlements of Conner and Simpson are the earliest made in the county of which anything defi- nite or satisfactory can be ascertained. Family traditions concerning the early settlements often confound the date of the tirst visit of a pioneer to his lands, or the date of his purchase, with that of his settlement. Many of the pioneer settlers of the county tirst stopped in the county south (Franklin), and subsequently moved further north and made set- tlements within the present limits of Fayette County. Family traditions of such frequently confound these dates. From known facts we can safely assume that there were few settlers within the present limits of the county prior to 1811, at which time the tide of immi- gration set in. The details of the early settlements belong to the several townships, where they will be found. PIONEER LIFE. The first dwellings of the pioneers were the round- log-cabins, constructed as follows: Round logs of proper size were selected, notched at the ends, the spaces between the logs being filled in with pieces of wood and daubed with clay. The roof was made by laying small logs or stout poles, reaching from gable to gable, suitable distances apart, on which were laid the split clap-boards after the manner of shingling, showing two feet or more to the weather. These clap-boards were fastened by laying across them heavy poles, called weight poles, reaching from one gable to the other. The floor was of puncheons split from logs several inches in thickness, hewed on the upper side. The chimney was made of sticks laid up cob-houso fashion, gradually narrowed in at the top and plastered with clay. For a window, a small opening was made and greased paper, for admitting light, was pasted over it. The door was of clap- boards hung on wooden hinges. Such a house was built by a neighborhood gathering, with no tools but the axe and the frow, and often was completed in a single day. The internal arrangements of one of these rude dwellings has thus been described: "The door is opened by pulling a leather string that lifts a wooden latch on the inside. (The inmates made themselves secure in the night season by pulling the string in.) On entering it (it being meal-time) we find a portion of the family sitting around a large chest in which their valuables had beeu brought, but which now serves as a table from which they are partaking their plain meal, cooked by a log-heap tire. In one corner of the room are two or more clap- boards on wooden pins, displaying the table-ware, consisting of a few cups and saucers, and a few blue-edged plates, with a goodly number of pewter plates, perhaps standing singly on their edges, leaning against the wall, to render the display of table furniture more conspicu- ous. Underneath this cupboard are seen a few pots and perhaps a Dutch oven. Not many chairs having been brought in, the deficiency has been supplied with stools made of puncheon boards, with three legs. Over the doorway lies the indispensable rifle on two wooden hooks, probably taken from a dog- wood bush and nailed to a log of the cabin. Upon the inner walls hang divers garments of female attire, made of cotton and woolen fabrics, and, perhaps, one or two blue and white calico dresses which had done long service in the Carolinas before their transportation hither." Rev. William C. Smith, in his " Indiana Miscella- nies," thus speaks of one way of lighting these primi- tive homes: "During the day the door of the cabin was kept open to alford light, and at night, through the winter season, light was emitted from the fire- place, where huge logs were kept burning. Candles and lamps were out of the question for a few years. When these came into use they were purely domestic in their manufacture. Candles were prepared by taking a wooden rod some ten or twelve inches in length, wrapping a strip of cotton or linen around it, then covering it with tallow pressed on with the hand. These "sluts," as they were sometimes called, answered the purpose of a very large candle, and afforded light for several nights. Lamps were pre- pared by dividing a large turnip in the middle, scraping out the inside quite down to the rind, then inserting a stick, say three inches in length, in the center, so that it would stand upright. A strip of cotton or linen cloth was then wrapped around it, and melted lard or deer's tallow was poured in till the turnip rind was full, when the lamp was ready for use. By the light of these during the long winter evenings the women spun and sewed, and the men read when books could be obtained. When neither lard nor tallow could be had, the large blazing fire supplied the needed light. By these great fire-places many cuts of thread have been spun, many a yard of linsey woven, and many a frock and buckskin panta- loons made." The second-class dwelling was the hewed-log-house, more pretentious in looks and more comfortable. These could be made as comfortable as any kind of building. Log-cabin raisings and log- HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 39 rollings were occasions of great social intercourse. Preparations for such occasions were made in advance of the appointed day; trees were selected and felled, the logs dragged in, the skids and forks made ready and the foundations laid. At the time fixed upon for the raising the neighbors assembled for miles around, captains were chosen and the work progressed with great dispatch, and amid much glee and merriment, iintil the walls were up and the roof weighted down. The land of this region in its primitive state was covered with heavy timber, beneath which was an undergrowth of various kinds, such as spicewood, leatherwood, elderberry and some bearing fruits, as grapes, pluma, gooseberries, pawpaws, crab apples, etc., with plenty of nettles, grass, peavine and weeds in the summer. The labor of opening up a farm was no little task; the trees were to be felled, the branches severed from their trunks, and the underbrush gathered together for burning. The trunks of the large trees were to be divided and rolled together and reduced to ashes. It is said with hard labor the unaided settler could clear and burn an acre of ground in three weeks. Different methods and practices of clearing land have been resorted to» by the pioneer of different localities. In some States it was the custom to cut down all the timber at lirst, but this did not prevail here. The bushes were either cut down or grubbed out, and the smaller trees were chopped down. The large trees were left standing, and "deadened" by girdling. On this subject Dr. Mason, who settled in the county in 1816, says: "I had a fine creek bottom of some ten acres, a portion of which had been grubbed of the underbrush, and I determined upon clearing and fencing five acres of it to put into corn. The timber had been deadened and was light, except some large sycamore trees. Around those I piled brush'and built tires, and in this way killed most of them." Flax was cultivated and sheep raised, and there- from by the spinning-wheel and hand-loom wearing apparel manufactured. Carding wool by hand was not uncommon. "Both men and women were clad in linen and linsey, all of their own manufacture. Some wore buck-skin breeches and moccasins, but they gen- erally had linen for every -day wear, and a man was fortunate who could get 'six hundred linen' for shirts and pantaloons for Sunday. The women would color the linen thread with copperas, or some cheap dye, and stripe or cross their dresses, and when they got them on they were about as proud and put on as many airs as they do at the present day. Once in awhile one of the more fortunate ones would get hold of six yards of calico, which was a full pattern in those days, and when they got it made up with two strings sewed on to the waist behind, and brought before and tied, it would do you good to see them spread them- selves, and unless a man had jilenty of dollars he could not shine with them." The breaking up of ground and cultivation of crops was attended with difficulty. The bar-share and shovel plows, and later the bull plow with wooden mouldboard, husk collars and tug, and rope traces and withs; the sickle lirst, then the cradle and scythe, and threshing with a flail or treading out with horses, and cleaned by means of a sheet by the aid of several per- sons, characterized the implements of farming. Almost the only modes of travel in those times were on foot or on horseback. Corn and wheat were taken to the mill on horseback; friends and relatives in the distant East were visited on horseback. Salt iron and such other commodities as were indispensable were frequently carried by means of pack-horses: and often settlers came to their forest homes by this moans. Lawyers and preachers made the circuit in this way, and the roads were mere paths with notched or blazed trees as a guide. The procuring of bread was often a hardship to the pioneer; mills in early times were few and far between and of rude construction, making it often a journey of miles through an almost trackless forest and over bridgeless streams, the trip fraught with danger on every hand. At the time of its settlement this region was in- habited by deer, wolf, bear, wild cat, fox, otter, por- cupine; occasionally a panther, turkey, raccoon, skunk, mink, rattlesnake and blacksnake. Almost countless numbers of squirrels were to be found in the woods and great watchfulness was re- quired on the part of the settler to protect his corn- fields from destruction both from these and other ani- mals, and from birds. Blackbirds in large flocks were destructive to the corn while yet soft, and later on the raccoon and squirrel. Squirrel hunts were frequent and prizes paid in corn to those killing the greatest number. We have before us a paper showing the names of persons engaged in a squirrel hunt on the 11th and 12th of August, 1820, with the number of squirrels killed by each and the number of bushels of corn each received. The number killed was 502. The social gatherings were attended by all, the settlers were mutually dependent upon each other, and more hospitality was the result. As we have heretofore remarked, at the log-rollings and house- raisings the whole neighborhood was present, and at the quiltings and huskings the same spirit was char- acteristic. The long winter evenings were spent in contentment, but not in idleness. In speaking of pioneer days in this county Hon. Samuel Little, of Nebraska, thus wrote in 1879: 40 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. "To recount the toils of the past, enumerate the privations and note the pleasures of pioneer life in Fayette County, and contrast the ' then ' of the past with the ' now ' of the present, must produce a glow of honest pride in the breasts of the aged few who yet remain to recount the past and survey the present. ' ' Each of you for self can look at the present as it lies before you, and I will not attempt to picture it, but hope to recall somewhat of the condition of the county in 1833, when I located among you. "That portion of the county lying east of the ' old boundary line' being settled ten years earlier than the west side, had nearly passed the stage of log-cabins. Every farm had its occupant, many had comfortable frame or brick dwellings, and some had barns and fruit-bearing orchards; but nearly all the improvements on our western border were of a primi- tive character, and it is mainly of this part of the county, in which I lived for forty-throe years,. I would speak. "Farms ranged in size from a forty-acre tract to a quarter section, and nearly all of them had some improvement. The log-cabin was the prevailing dwelling, and it was almost alivays surrounded by a cleared patch, or deadening, ripening for the lire, by whose agency it was cleared up for the plow. So dense was the forest that the only evidences of other occupied farms near by was the sound of the ax, the crowing fowls or barking watch-dog. " Paths leading from cabin to cabin passed around large trees or logs and over streamlets, led us through the tangle of spice-wood or pawpaw in our neighbor- ly visits, and highways were marked out and cordu- roy bridges bore us over marshes on our way to mar- ket, public worship, or to mill in our wagons, up hill and down the same, and through streams, which were all without bridges. The stumps, roots and logs gave the beaten track a serpentine direction, which re- quired great skill in the teamster. If Levi Conwell were here he could tell you all about it, or if you ask Uncle Billy Simpson how he used to freight A. B. Conwell's whisky and flour to Cincinnati and return with a load of store goods, he can describe it better than I can. Pork and the articles named were our staple productions. Cincinnati was our only market. Our pork was driven on foot, requiring an average of eight days to roach our destination, three to close out the sale, and two more to return. The entire trip consumed about two weeks' time. Wheat sold in Cin- cinnati in 1834 at 50 cents per bushel, flour for $2.75 per barrel, and Uncle Abe can give you the price of whisky; as I did not handle it my memory is at fault. We got but little money, and we spent lit- tle. Our food grew on our farms, and our clothing was mostly home made, growing in the flax patch or on the sheep's back, and its manufacture was mostly domestic. The flax-pulling and wool-picking were frequently done by combination or neighborhood frolics, and were occasions of great social pleasure. There are mothers present who could tell how they used to race with their sweet-hearts at the flax-pull- ings, and some of them recollect how the points of their fingers ached after pulling the burs and stick- tights out of the wool. Yes, and how they enjoyed their trip on foot to the spelling-match or singing- school with their boaux by their side, just to help them over the fences and mud holes. Or, perchance, they rode behind on the same horse, so that if the horse stumbled they could hold on! I can answer for the other sex that a girl behind me on a stumbling horse was rather awkward, but not at all unpleasant. "Don't you grand-dames recollect how the flyers of the flax wheel hummed whilst your gent sat by you, or how your bare feet tripped over the puncheon floor to the sound of the big wheel as you drew out those long threads of yarn which were to be converted into the winter's wear. I assure you it was a pleasure to sit by whilst the shuttle flew from hand to hand as that yarn grew into cloth. The wheel and loom did not sound so refined as the organ and the piano, but their product was far more useful. Most families were thus clothed. We used but little tea or coffee, and the sugar camp furnished our sweets. Our log- rollings, house-raisings and harvesting cultivated a social spirit and placed us all on an equality, as we were mutually dependent. Men and women did their own work with but little hired help. Wages were low (from 110 to $12 per month), but money was scarce. I reaped with a reaping-hook, in the harvest of 1834 for 62J cents per day, and cradled the fol- lowing harvest for $1 per day. Our farm tools were quite simple, but cost but little money. We used the 'bull' plow with wooden mould-board and iron share for turning the soil, and the single shovel- plow for cultivating the crop. This, with a swingle- tree and harness, trace-chains and back- band, fur- nished out our rig. We had no cultivators, single or double, nor riding plows. We had never seen a reaper, or mower, nor could we have used them among the stamps. Nor had we any threshing machines. Our small grain was threshed out by flail or tramped out by horses on an earthen floor prepared for the purpose, and cleaned by a fanning mill with wooden cogs. The fall season was mostly occupied in burn- ing off the rubbish of our deadenings, and keeping our ' niggers ' busy in preparing the logs for rolling in the spring. Our logs were rolled into heaps and burned in the spring, the rails or fencing having been made during the intervening winter. Stormy days and winter nights were used to make and repair the ^^AO^ / a^ ^^6c.^-t^ Sf ^^^-^-e^-^ HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 43 family shoes from leather tanned in our county, and largely made by the farmers at their own firesides, which were wide and warmed by a bountiful supply of fuel. If some of you old folks will mentally take an inventory of an average dwelling of those days, you would lind as a part of its appendages a shoe- bench, with needed tools, spinning-wheels, for flax and wool. The hand loom and warping-bars, the wash-tub, in which the clothes were cleansed without even a washboard, the Dutch oven, in which the corn- pone and chicken-pie were baked, and by its side a dinner-pot, skillet and tea-kettle, but no cook stove. A Bible and some school-books, added to some furni- ture of home-make, almost complete the picture. The active men and women here today were born and reared in just this kind of place. Our streams were bridgeless; our commerce had neither turnpikes nor railroads; our business was done without telegraph, and we talked without telephones, and when you take a survey of your surroundings, the present generation, your offspring, your rich and beautiful farms, villages, cities, and their manufactories, together with all your moral, social and religious advantages, don't you think that we did well, and don't you join me in the wish that our children may do better? " FRIENDLY AND HOSTILE INDIANS. At the dawning of civilization upon the White- water country, the series of conflicts with the Indi- ans that had been carried on to the east throughout the Northwest Territory for a long period of years had hardly been allayed; and the early settlers were for a time considerably annoyed by the Indians. The pio- neer was frightened by open menaces and actual mur- ders. The Rev. W. C. Smith, author of "Indiana Miscellanies," recollects of having heard an Indian relate the first one of several instances of his taking the lives of white persons. At the age of about four- ■ teen, he was permitted to accompany a party of "braves" going to a white settlement to scalp and plunder, on a promise that he would be brave. The first night he and another young Indian were sent to reconnoitre a cabin. They returned and reported that there were in it but a man and woman. They were ordered to go back and kill them. They returned to the cabin, and shot through an opening of the jambs, entered the cabin and scalped them, and returned to their comrades with the bloody trophies. We quote again from Mr. Wiley, whom it will be remembered settled in the Whitewater country in 180-1: " In all the upper Whitewater country, the Abo- rigines were numerous and used to come among us for trafiic, but their great headquarters for that purpose was the before- mentioned store owned by Mr. Conner. When they visited us they behaved civilly, and we had no difficulty with them at that time." Through- out the valley horse-stealing and other depredations were occasionally committed by them. A campaign against the Indians was inaugurated by the United States Government in 1811, and on the 7th of November of that year the battle of Tip- pecanoe was fought under Gen. Harrison. The settlements along Whitewater were frontier posts, and ere the declaration of war against Great Britain was proclaimed, blockhouses were built extending along the main stream and each branch and point of settlement further west, through what are now Frank- lin, Fayette, Union and Wayne, and perhaps other counties. Beginning at the south there was a block- house about half a mile above Johnson's Fork on the bank of the river; one three and a half miles below Brookville on the farm of Conrad Sailors; one each on Pipe and Salt Creeks, and perhaps several on West Fork' Ijefore entering' what is now Fayette County; several on East Fork extending through Franklin and Union Counties, one of which, an important one too, was located where the village of Brownsville now is, in the vicinity of which a com- pany of volunteers had been raised under Capt. Myers and performed service on the frontier. There stood a block-house just below Nulltown, one in the north- ern part of Harrison Township, and several through Wayne County. Maj. Helm, who resided near the block-house at Nulltown, was in command along the frontier. It is not presumed that at each of these several block-houses were garrisoned United States soldiers; the fi-ontier was somewhat guarded, and perhaps for a time might have been stationed at the larger and more outward posts, troops. While the settlers resorted to this means of defense or protec- tion, we believe no engagements or encounters at them ever occurred with the Indians, especially within the limits of Fayette County. During the war Indian alarms were frequent and the settlers were kept con- stantly in a state of disquiet. Rev. Mr. Smith, in giving a description of one of these block-houses says, " They were made of two rows (sometimes but one row) of split timbers, twelve to fourteen feet long, planted in the ground two and a half or three feet deep. The timbers of the second row were so placed as to cover the tracks of the first. Small cabins were erected inside of the stojkades for the accommoda- tion of the families; usually one block-house was built in each fort. These block-houses were two-sto- ries high, the upper story projecting over the lower, say two feet, with port holes in the floor of the pro- jection, so that the men could see to shoot the Indi- ans if they succeeded in getting to the walls of the block-house. There were also port holes in the walls of the upper and lower stories, through which shoot- 44 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. ing of much execution could be performed as the foe was advaneinfj." Several murders committed by the Indians oc- curred throughout the Whitewater Valley, but none, we believe, happened within the limits of Fayette County. Says the author of the "Wayne County History" published in 1872, "In 1811 John Short- ridge was shot by an Indian south of the present town of Germantown and about a mile east of Milton, while riding on horseback, in company with George Ish. This, however, is said to have been done by mis- take. The Indian had had some difficulty with a man by the name of Isaac Drury. Shortridge, having on Drury's overcoat, was mistaken for the owner, and shot on his white horse. He was carried about a mile to a fort which had been built half a mile south of whore Germantown now is. Word having been sent to the fort north (Boyd Fort), Samuel K. Boyd and Larkin Harding went down and attended Shortridge until his death the next day. For the want of boards to make a coffin, puncheon floor planks were used for the purpose. " Two men, Tune and Stafford, were killed by the Indians in what is now Franklin County in the spring of 1813. Mr. McClure in his notes speaks of the killing as having occurred at the same time while they were engaged in burning brush on Salt Creek. The date of the murder as fixed by Hon. Elijah Hackleman was MarehU3, 1813. Charles Morgan, residing near the stream now called Morgan's Creek, and two boys or youths, his half-brothers, named Beesly, were killed near a sugar-camp by Indians in the evening. The leader or principal in this murder is supposed — perhaps gen- erally — to have been the notorious Indian, John Green. This supposition is probably based upon the fact that a mutual hatred existed between him and Morgan. The writer has been'informed upon author- ity which he cannot doubt, that Morgan, under the apprehension that Green was meditating his murder, intended to take the life of Green in order to save his own, and that he once started from home with the avowed intent of waylaying his adversary for this purpose. Although Green had probable designs against Morgan, and perhaps was accessory to the murder, there is strong presumptive evidence that he was not present when it was committed^. The sus- pected murderers, four in number, were traced toward Muncietown and overtaken, and one of them shot; the others escaped. Morgan and ,his brothers were all scalped. The murder was committed in the spring of 1813. This occurrence induced many families to take shelter in the forts erected for their protection. — A. W. Young. Mr. Hackleman fixes the date of this murder on the same night, March 13, 1813, with that of Staf- ford and Tune, and remarks: "Early next morning the militia of the vicinity, under Maj. William Holm, were on the trail of the Indians, but were unsuccess- ful, as they were never able to overtake them. A few weeks afterward a part of Capt. Brysoa's com- pany had a brush with some Delaware Indians near Strawtown, where Morgan's tent and clothes were found in the deserted camp. " Below is given an account of the captivity and subsequent life of Miss Tharp, which occurred in Fayette County, as narrated by Hon. Elijah Hackle- man, of Wabash, Ind., in 1884: " With the history of this captivity I am but lit- tle acquainted, as I do not recollect ever seeing the same in print. And yet, from my earliest recollec- tions, the story was as familiar in every family in southeastern Indiana as household words. Moses Tharp lived somewhere in the upper valley of the Whitewater. On the fatal evening, his children were playing near his cabin, when suddenly his little girl mysteriously disappeared, and was nowhere to be found, although diligent search was made. On close examination by expert pioneer hunters, fresh ' signs ' of Indians wore discovered, and the trail was fol- lowed to the White River country, to the vicinity of Muncietown. There appeared to be no doubt that the girl had been stolen by the Indians. She was never recaptured. After the close of the war, when peace was restored, Mr. Tharp spent several years of hia life in hunting for his lost child. He visited most of the Indian tribes in the north part of the Territory, under the guise of an Indian trader, but specially for the purpose of discovering the location of the object of his affections. His efforts were not crowned with success, until the girl had grown up to womanhood and had married Capt. Dixon, a Miami Indian, who was living at the mouth of Grant Creek, on the Mississinawa River, near the old Josi- nia Village, in Wabash County, two miles west of Ashland. Here Mr. Tharp and his wife finally dis- covered and recognized their long-lost daughter some time after her marriage with Capt. Dixon. "I have been informed by Hon. Jacob L. Sailors, of Wabash County, who was a neighbor of Capt. Dixon, on Grant Creek, that about forty years ago, he (Sailors) recollects of Mr. and Mrs. Tharp visiting their daughter at Capt. Dixon's for a few days. What finally became of Mr. Tharp I am not informed; but I have heard it stated that ho spent the decline of life somewhere in the Wabash valley. " This Capt. Dixon was a thriftless, quarrelsome Indian, when drunk, and spent most of his time in drinking and fighting, at such places as he could procure whisky. But Miss Tharp (or, rather, Mrs. HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. 45 Dixon), although uneducated, was kind and affection- ate with her family, and polite and lady-like with her white neighbors. Mrs. Dixon manifested a desire to have her children educated, and did for a time send her son, Charlie Dixon, to a school, taught by Mr. Sailors, in the vicinity, where he made some progress in reading and writing. I have often seen the Captain and Mrs. Dixon at their Indian home. "Finally, about the year 1851 or 1852, in one of his drunken fights with a Pottawattomie Indian, in the town of Ashland, Capt. Dixon received a blow with a hoe, that happened to be near by, cutting his head open. The wound was dressed by my friend, Dr. E. D. Mauzy — then of Ashland, but now of Oakland, Cal., — and although it was a terrible wound, the Doctor expressed his opinion that if the patient could be kept perfectly still, there would be a chance for his recovery. "The Indians then in town wanted to take Capt. Dixon home the same evening, but Dr. Mauzy told them that he would die before reaching his home, although it was only about two miles distant. The next morning, however, the Indians came in great numbers, and demanded that he should be taken home immediately. Of course no resistance was made. The Captain was put on a sled, and when last seen, was going pretty lively over the rough roals. The journey was accomplished in good time, but on reaching'the wigwam, it was found that Capt. Dixon was cold and stiff in death. "About this time — I am not sure whether it was before the death of Capt. Dixon or afterward — Miss Tharp, the wife of Capt. Dixon, in a lit of despon- dency, left her Indian home, and walked down to the Mississinawa River, a half mile distant, to a place called 'Hog Back.' This romantic spot is caused by a long detour of the river, then coming around with a long sweejj into conjunction with Grant Creek, which runs within eighty feet of the waters of the Mississinawa above the detour, and then flowing off and joining the waters below, enclosing several hundred acres of land. Between these two waters is a rugged hill or ridge, eighty feet high and one hundred yards long, bearing the euphonious name above noted. Here Miss Tharp, the captive white woman, paused a few moments, and then deliberately plunged into the blue waters of the Mississinawa River, and was seen no more alive. And here let the grief, anguish and melancholy aching of a heart as pure as yours or mine remain forever." On the above subject many years ago in the vil- lage of Lebanon, Ohio, Rev. David Sharpe, who as a Methodist preacher traveled the old Whitewater Cir- cuit in 1813, remarked to a resident of Connorsville " that he preached occasionally at Tharp's, near the river, about one and one-half miles above Conners- ville. At one of his visits, in the fall or winter of 1813-14, while sitting in the cabin with Mr. and Mrs. Tharp, they were startled by the screaming of the children, who were out playing between the house and the river. As they all ran toward the river, they met the youngest two children crying and running to the house; they heard the screams of the oldest, a little girl some eight years old, as if she was being carried off. They followed, but the voice became more and more faint, and soon they lost the trail. The Indians had made their escape with the child." The territory in the western portion of the coun- ty belonging to the Indians until in 1818, Con- nersville and the settlements to the west were strictly speaking on the frontier, and from the fact of the long established post by Conner, both below and on the present site of the city, the county and neighbor- ing territory were often the scene of many bands of wandering tribes of Indians, whither they had come principally to barter their furs and exchange traffic at the " post," and, perhaps, in the earlier period, to hunt and fish. Conner was a great man among them, and exerted considerable influence over them, and the post was an attractive place. Mr. Conner when dressed in their costume, and painted, it was diffi- cult to distinguish him from a real savage. On one occasion, says Oliver H. Smith, he came to Anderson- town (Franklin County), then the lodge of a large band of Indians, under Chief Anderson. He was dressed and painted as a Shawnee, and pretended to be a representative of Tecumseh. As is usual with the Indians, he took his seat on a log barely in sight of the Indian encampment, quietly smoked his pipe, waiting the action of Anderson and his under chiefs. After an hour he saw approaching the old chief him- self, in full dress, smoking his pipe. I give his language. " As the old chief walked up to me I rose from my seat, looked him in the eyes, we exchanged pipes, and walked down to the lodge smoking, with- out saying a word. I was pointed to a boar skin, took my seat, with my back to the chiefs. A few minutes after, I noticed an Indian by the name of Gillaway, who knew me well, eying me closely. I tried to evade his glance, when he bawled out in the Indian language, at the top of his voice, interpreted: 'You great Shawnee Indian, you John Conner.' The next moment the camp was in a perfect roar of laugh- ter. Chief Anderson ran up to me, throwing off his dignity: ' You great representative of Tecumseh,' and burst out in a loud laugh." Indian trails or paths crossed the county leading from the trading post to their villages to the north and northwest, among which was the one located in 46 HISTORY OF FAYETTP] COUNTY. the center of the " Thorntown lloservation," in Boone County, and another at Oldtown, near the jjresent city of Muncie. In the early history of the territory the site of Waterloo is supposed to have been an Indian camp. In 1808-09 a band of Indians were encamped along Simpson's Creek in northern Jennings Town- ship, in the vicinity of the spring still there; and in the neighborhood was located an Indian place of burial. The pioneers of Fayette County were not molested or troubled to any considerable extent by the presence of these wandering red men, saving a little occa- sional thieving, although subjected now and then to a fright. As late as 1820 Oliver H. Smith remarks that " Connersville was filled with them every day." At a period not much later than this, they were un- frequent visitors. We judge that the Indians of this locality during the early settlement of the valley belonged to the Delaware and Pottawat- tomie families. Numerous traditionary accounts of thieving Indians in this section have come to our ear during the investigation of this subject, and the accounts of the killing of several of them, but as nothing definite or satisfactory could be obtained relative thereto, a narration is withheld. Concernino' the disappearance or killing of Chief Ben Davis, who was one of the Delaware tribes of Indians, and had located in the Whitewater country, and was there residing during the early settlement of the country, and after whom was called the stream still bearing that name, in Kush County, the name of which chief was for years a household word throughout the val- ley, is given below the account as published in the Rushville Republican some years ago, written by Dr. John Arnold, of that city, an old and highly esteemed pioneer of that vicinity: " Personally Ben Davis was a large and powerful Indian warrior, a deadly foe to the whites; and he had frequently led his braves on raids into the dark and bloody ground — the debatable land of Kentucky. In most of the battles for the possession of the pres- ent States of Ohio and Indiana, he had taken an active part. He was true to his friends, implacable to his foes, fond of firewater, and when under its influence, regardless of his surroundings, would boast of his prowess, and the number of scalps he had taken. In shprt, he was a representative man of his race, a fair type of the brave, crafty and boastful Indian warrior. ''After the defeat of the Indians at Tippecanoe, they were compelled to sell their lands, and again move westward. But Old Ben Davis, although well aware that he was looked upon with dislike and sus- picion, by the white settlers, still, occasionally revis- ited his former hunting-grounds. In the year 1820 he had encamped on Blue Creek, some three miles from Brook vi lie. He had been there, perhaps a week, daily visiting the town and drinking too much whisky. One day in the Widow Adair's tavern, he was boasting of his bloody deeds, unmindful of the angry glances of the crowd around him, and among other things how he with his band surprised a lonely settler in Kentucky, killing him with all his family except one boy, who happened to be a short distance from the cabin, when attacked, and who, although hotly pursued, eluded his enemies and escaped. Now in that crowded bar-room there was one intensely interested listener, a stern man, who heard from the lips of the old chieftain the particulars of the story of his family's massacre; for he was that flying boy who had saved his life by fleetness of foot when all his kindred fell. Without a word he left the room. The next day Ben Davis did not make his appearance in Brookville; but it excited but little remark, for he was erratic in his movements. The second day some one passing his camp found the old chief cold in death, with a bullet hole in his forehead, and his pipe fallen by his side, for he had been sitting by his fire, smoking, when he received his sudden mes- sage to visit the happy hunting-grounds of the Indi- an's paradise. It was a fitting death for so fierce a spirit, for though he had escaped the whistling shot and trenchant steel in many a battle, he finally fell a victim to private vengeance. Public opinion, while unanimous as to the author of the deed, recognized the terrible provocation, and justified the act more readily, as many had lost friends by the hands of the red man. No judicial investigation was ever had, and the young man still held a respectable standing in society." Ben Davis never forgave or forgot an injury. When his tribe, broken and defeated, was compelled to cede his lands, he held himself aloof, refusing to join in any treaty, though sullenly submitting to its requirements, and, while bowing to the decrees of an inexorable and restless destiny, declined by word or deed to approve or sanction them. His name will be perpetuated by that lovely stream, which waters some of the best lands of Eush County. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 47 CHAPTER IV. ^ EARLY EELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL MOVEMENTS. OLD SCHOOL BAPTISTS— METHODISM— PRESBYTERIANISU— THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH— SCHOOLS. IT is the purpose of this chapter to present briefly and in a general way some little knowledge of the introduction of religious societies into the county, and give an idea of the early educational system of the State, leaving a more detailed sketch of the vari- ous churches and schools to the chapters on the city and townships in which they are located. OLD SCHOOL BAPTISTS. In a previous chapter it has been shown that the tide of early immigration to the Whitewater Valley generally proceeded from the South and East. The larger portion of the people settling early in Ohio west of the Great Miami River, and in the southern Whitewater country hailed from the South, and among them were many Kentuckians, among whom prevailed the Baptist denomination; and from the State of Kentucky were sent to the region of country in question many popular ministers. Much of the pioneer preaching was by these Kentucky ministers. Says Rev. Allen Wiley, "It is presumed that the first meeting house ever built in Whitewater Valley was on Lee's Creek, a small branch of the Dry Fork of Whitewater, a log-house located about three miles east of Harrison." Another of the early places for holding meetings was at the house of Joseph Hackleman, above John- son's Fork. A church society was constituted here in the spring or summer of 1805, and William Tyner, who resided south of Brookville, became the pastor. Probably within a year a log meeting-house with gallery was erected on Mr. Hackleman's land, "the first meeting-house ever built in the Whitewater Valley on the Indiana side of the line." The next place of worship was a small log-house situated some three miles below Brookville, a little below Little Cedar Grove Creek. This building in a few years was destroyed by tire, and in 1812 was replaced by a medium sized brick which still stands. Among the early Baptist preachers of the southern Whitewater country were Ezra Ferris at Lawrence- biirg, Jeremiah Johnson at Hackleman's, James Remy at Johnson's Fork, Moses Hornady at Indian Creek, Lewis Deweese, William Tyner and John Blades at Little Cedar Grove, and William Wilson on West Fork. Between 1806 and 1810 several arms grew out of this church and became separate organ- izations. These were located principally in what is now Franklin County, with perhaps one or two in Union County. As the territory became more thickly populated other arms and new societies grew with the march of settlement uutil the country was pretty well dotted over with the cabin meeting houses of the Old School Baptist denomination. The first churches of this denomination constituted in Fayette County were in ISl-l, Franklin below Nulltown, New Bethel in northern Jennings Town- ship and the Lick Creek Church south of Harrisburg. METHODISM. Says Rev. Allen Wiley, "When I came to the Whitewater in the fall of 1804, there were only two men oh it so far as I know, who had ever been Meth - odists. These were James Cole and Benjamin Mc- Carty. The latter had been an exhorter or local preacher in Tennessee. He settled on Whitewater in the summer of 1803, at which time he had rather fallen from his religious engagements. He after- ward became a local preacher of medium talents. Subsequently he connected himself with the United Brethren. "Enoch Smith came in the fall of 1805 or winter of 1806 and lived on my father's farm. His wife was a most devoted and pious woman, who was one of the main pillars in the church after its formation. These persons, with a few others, sent a petition to John Sale, who was their Presiding Elder in the Ohio district. In their petition they asked that a regular traveling preacher be sent to them to preach and form societies. After the petition had been sent in, McCarty began preaching in the neighbor- hood, and the people were taught something of Methodist doctrines." In the spring of 1806 Rev. Joseph Oglesby was sent by the Conference to form a new circuit west of the Great Miami River, to be known as the White- water Circuit. On the east side of East Fork some four miles south of Richmond, in what is now Wayne County, had settled in 1805 a man by the name of Hugh Cull, who built a shanty of logs with bark covering. His wife bad been a Methodist in Ken- tucky. Soon after this his dwelling was visited by a 48 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. preacher from Hamilton, Ohio, the neighbors called in and services were held, which resulted in the formation of a class, of which Mr. Cull became leader. He subsequently became a local preacher and that locality became a regular preaching place. Mr. Oglesby preached in several places in Ohio and in the Kentucky settlement in Wayne County, and from thence he went down Whitewater to Mc- Carty's, more than forty miles distant. At this place Mr. Oglesby formed a flourishing society, which remained many years. In 1807 Revs. Thomas Hel- ium and Sela Payne were appointed to the circuit- In the spring of 1807 Charles Waddle and two or three other families settled in what is now the eastern part of Uuion County, and formed themselves into a class. In the autumn of 1809 Revs. Thomas Nelson and Samuel H. Thc)mpson were appointed to the Whitewater Circuit, John Sale being Presiding Elder. At the Conference of 1812 the Whitewater Circuit was divided, and that part of it east of Brookville was called Oxford Circuit. John Strange was sent this year to the Brookville Circuit, which then embraced much of the present Franklin County, the settled pait of Wayne and, perhaps, a part of Fayette County. The preacher then traveled from block-house to block-house, with his gun on his shoulder for pro- tection against the Indians. The first Methodist meeting-house built in the Whitewater country is said to have been a small log-hause that stood on Clear Creek east of Salisbury, in Wayne County. This was erected in 1811. The earliest evidence we have of Methodist preach- ing within the present limits of Fayette County, is contained in the following scrap of history related many years ago, in the village of Lebanon, Ohio, by Rev. David Sharpe, who traveled the Whitewater Circuit in 1813 (it was a six weeks' circuit): " Mr. Sharpe began his work at Brookville, and preached there his tirst Sunday; from there on Mon- day to Williams' on Deer Creek; Tuesday, to Bryson's Block-house, about four miles below Laurel; Wednesday, to Roberts' Blockhouse; Thursday, to Montgomery's, in Wayne County; Friday, atMoffitt's, on the East Fork of Whitewater; Saturday, in Hugh Cull's neighborhood; Sunday, at John ISIeek's, on the east side of the East Fork of Whitewater; Monday, in the court house in New Salisbury; Tuesday, at Hardy Cain's; Wednesday, at Abijah Cain's; Thurs- day, name of the place forgotten; Friday, at Eaton, Preble Co., Ohio; Saturday, six miles north of Eaton; Sunday, at Widow Sharpe's, on Twin Creek; Monday, at Stephens', four miles south of Eaton; Tuesday, at Hanna's, on Hanna's Creek, Indiana; Wednesday, at Nott's, west of the East Fork of Whitewater; Thurs- day, at Jones' Schoolhouse; Friday, at Bright's, eight miles above Brookville; Saturday, at Johnson's, on the West Fork, four miles above Brookville; Sunday, in the schoolhouse in Brookville. "At each of the above named appointments, he preached once in six weeks, except Brookville, where he preached every three weeks. " There was no preaching at that time at ' Con- ner's Station,' but he preached occasionally at Mr. Tharpe's, near the river, about one and one-half miles above Connersville." The progress of Methodism in the country prior to 1823 was not raj)id. There were two societies only east of the West Fork that were in progress at that time. In 1821 a circuit was formed by Rev. John Havens, a local preacher, which included the village of Connersville and was styled Connersville Circuit, and came into the Conference the following year. This was under the Presiding Eldership of Rev. Alexander Cummins. Rev. James Murray was appointed to the circuit in 1822, and in 1823 Rev. Aaron Wood. The following is a copy of the plan of the circuit in 1823: Fayette County — Connersville, Hankin's Hink- ston's, Hardey's. Franklin County — Con well's. Grist's, Alley's, Lewis'. Decatur County — Miller's, Emley's, Sholt's. Rush County — Grigg's, Young's, Taylor's, Groves'. Fayette County — Patterson's, Jacob Lower's. Henry County — Killes, Morris', New Castle, Stan- ford's, Leonard's. Fayette County — Joe Lower's, Briggs'. One of the early ministers in a communication to the writer remarked that "the proprietors and first settlers of Connersville were skeptics on religion, and it was a hard place for any Evangelical religious influence. The towns of Centerville and Brookville were much in advance of Connersville in Methodist societies." Without undertaking to give the various changes of the circuits, districts and conferences, which have since comprised the numerous churches of the county, we will state that in general the churches east of the West Fork of Whitewater River have been connected with circuits to the east, while those west of that stream have been attached to the Connersville Circuit, and circuits growing out of it. The following list contains the names of the preachers who traveled the circuits of which the churches of the county formed a part, for a quarter of a century, beginning with 1823, both east and west of West Fork: 1823 — Revs. Bigelow and Gatch, east; Rev. Aaron Wood, west. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 49 1824 — Revs. Evert and White, east; Rev. James Havens, west. 1825 — Revs. Stephens and Griffith, east; Rev. N. B. Griffith, west. 1826 — Revs. Havens and Jones, east; Rev. Robert Burns, west. 1827 — Rev. Havens, east; Rev. Robert Burns, west. 1828 — Revs. Hitt and Scott, east; Revs. William Evans and I. N. Ellsbury, west. 1829 — Revs. Thompson and Robinson, east; Revs. Amos Sparks and William Hunter, west. 1830 — Revs. Havens and Smith, east; Revs. Ancie Beach and Wesley Wood, west. 1831 — Revs. Taylor and Kimball, east; Revs. Asa Beck and Elijah Whitten, west. 1832 — Revs. McReynolds and Dailey, east; Rev. J. W. McReynolds, west. 1833 — Revs. Tarkington and Griss, east; Rev. J. W. McReynolds, west. 1834 — Revs. Bonner and Bobbins, oast; Revs. J. W. McReynolds and J. S. Harrison, west. 1835 — Revs. McReynolds and Harris, east; Revs. Robert Burns and L. M. Burns, west. 1836 — Revs. Burwick and Stallard, east; Rev. F. C. Holliday, west. 1837 — Rev. Phelps, east; Revs. D. J. Cox and J. W. Altman, west. 1838 — Revs. Beswick and Hartie,east; Revs. James Scott and John Kiger, west. 1839 — Revs. Beeks and Kelso, east; Revs. D. Stiver and Seth Smith, west. 1840 — Revs. Kiger and Landy Havens, east; Revs. M. Miller and G. W. Bowers, west. 1841 — Revs. Kiger and Perkins, east; Revs. E. Whitten and A. Wilkinson, west. 1842 — Revs. Tarkington and George Havens, east; Revs. J. Kiger and J. Bruner, west. 1843 — Revs. Hibben and Reeves, east; Revs. James Hill and J. Bruner, west. 1844 — Revs. Bruner and Anderson, east; Revs. W. W. Hibben and G. H. P. Ash, west. 1845 — Revs. Bruner and Wallis, east; Revs. B. T. Griffith and J. C. Reed, west. 1846 — Revs. Griffith and Wallis, east; Revs. R. S. Robinson and L. C. Crawford, west. 1847 — Rev. Sullivan, oast; Revs. W. Terrell and E. H. Sabin, west. 1848 — Revs. Hayes and Jackson, east; Revs. W. W. Snyder and B. Y. Coffin, west. Connersville and Whitewater Circuits were favored with the labors of a large number of talented and industrious local preachers, prominent among whom was James Conwell, the proprietor of Laurel. He conducted a dry goods store, and annually di-ove a great many hogs to Cincinnati, and is said to have been the first man ever known to keep the Sabbath while driving hogs to market. He was one of the early and zealous advocates of a system of internal improvements in Indiana. The Whitewater Canal owed its construction and was in a measure due to his influence. He served as a member of the State Legislature. Says Rev. Aaron Wood of him, "He was a very sympathetic man, cried a great deal while he was preaching, and usually made his hearers cry before he was done." From 1824 to several years afterward, James Conwell, John Havens, Joel Havens, Thomas Silvey, John Morrow, James Gregg, John Linville, James Linville, Robert Groves and Thomas Leonard were all within the bounds of Con- nersville Circuit. Dr. Wood remarks, "Every variety of gifts were exemplified in these men. They were strong in doc- trine, wise in discipline, critical in letters, bold in reproof, and pathetic in exhortation; and at a camp- meeting their labors were very efficient for lasting good on the entire community. John Morrow was a scholarly man, and spent most of his life as a school teacher. Joel Havens was chiefly noted for his won- derful gift of exhortation. Few men knew how to play on the emotions and passions of an audience as did ho. Charles Hardy, William Patterson and William Hunt were also talented local preachers within the bounds of Connersville Circuit." PRESBYTEHIANISM. The following in substance, concerning early Presbyterianism,i8 extracted from the writings of Rev. Liadlow D. Potter: ' 'The first Presbyterian minister of whose labors in this region we have any record was Rev. Samuel Baldridge, who organized a society of seven- teen members at the house of John Allen, near Har- rison, where he preached steadily until 1814. From 1810 to 1814 he worked as an itinerant missionary in the Whitewater Valley, having various preaching places from Lawrenceburg to Dunlapsville. He preached at Brookville and at Robert Templeton's, and at Mr. Hanna's, near Banna's Creek. At that time there were several families here who were adherents to the Presbyterian faith. Among these were Mr. and Mrs. Barbour from Ireland, Judge Arthur Dixon and wife and brother from Harper's Church in Washington County, Va., Mr. Young (who kept what has since been called the "Yellow Tav- ern" and who was from Pennsylvania), John Vincent and wife, Robert Templeton and wife, the Knights, and Mr. and Mrs. William McCleary, who were from Frederick County, Md. All of these resid- ed in town except Mr. Templeton, the parents 50 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. of Mrs. Ryburn and one of the Dixons; the latter lived on the Rushville road at the foot of Boundary Hill. He afterwards moved to a farm near Conners- ville and a few years afterward united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Arthur Dixon was a blacksmith. He removed to Connersville in 1823 and his wife was one of the early members of the church organized there. After the removal of Mr. Baldridge from Harrison, there was occasional preach- ing in HarrisoD, Brookville, Somerset and adjacent settlements by Rev. Robertson, of Kentucky, Rev. James Dickey, of Ohio, and others, for four or live years, during which period other families had settled in various parts of the country. From 1816 to 1825 efforts were made to gather these people in churches. This resulted ia the organization of churches at Brookville in 1818, Mount Carmel in 18— Somerset about 1823, and Bath in 1825." During this period, besides occasional supplies from Presbytery and various itinerant clergymen, the friends of Presbyterianism were much encouraged by the faithful and zealous labors of two young minis- ters, who were fi'om the East as domestic missionaries. These wece A. W. Piatt, of New York, and' W. W. Barton, of New Jersey. After spending three or four years traversing the country from Lawrenceburg to Richmond, these brethren, to the great grief of the people, saw fit to return to their native States. In 1824 the Cincinnati Presbytery (Old School) sent Rev. Daniel Hayden to Connersville to preach and if practicable to organize a church. Mr. Hayden arrived in the village October 2d, preached in the Court House on the 3rd and on the 4th an organiza- tion was effected. THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. About the year 1828 the teachings of the Church of the Reformation, commonly known as Campbellism, were being preached in Kentucky with almost un- bounded success by the Rev. John Smith, whose elo- quence was making converts by the hundreds, if not by thousands. We refer particularly to Bracken County, which had been the former home of an able and eloquent young Baptist preacher, by the name of John P. Thompson, who had settled in Rush County in the spring of 1822. Mr. Thompson immediately became the pastor of the Baptist Church at Little Flat Rock. It was not long until his reputation as a speaker had spread over the country, and through his influence Baptist Churches were organized in differ- ent parts of the surrounding country. The excitement in Kentucky over the doctrines of the Reformation disturbed the young Baptist preacher of the Little Flat Rock Church, and he concluded to visit his old home and investigate things for himself, so he went, carrying with him the full confidence of his own church in his power and ability to meet and annihilate the new doctrine. Suffice it to say, that Mr. Thompson returned a convert to the doctrines of the Church of the Reformation, and it was not long until notice was given that there would be a meeting at the house of Elias Stone, near Danville (now Fay- etteville) Fayette County, on Sunday, October 5, 1828, and at that meeting it is said the first sermon of the Reformation was preached in eastern Indiana by John P. Thompson, who immediately began a pro- tracted meeting at Little Flat Rock Church. In a few weeks he had baptized upward of 100 persons. For a time all of the Baptist Churches acquiesced in the new order of things; but finally a reaction came, and throughout eastern Indiana, and, in fact, the whole country, religious controversies were the order of the day, which resulted in a division of the churches. For a number of years Mr. Thompson devoted all of his time and talents for the cause of the Reforma- tion, and organized a number of chiu'ches, the first being the Christian Church at Fayetteville, which dates from July 4, 1829; another at the house of Judge Webb, in the vicinity of Nulltown. An effort was made iu the spring of 1830 by the Little Flat Rock Church to expel Elder Thompson, but lacking a majority it failed, and a division of the church was the result, and from May 23, 1830, dates the organi- zation of the Little Flat Rock Christian Church. In 1832 Elder John O'Kane settled in Milton, com- ing from the village of Lebanon, Ohio, though by birth a Virginian. He engaged in school teaching, and on Sundays preached the doctrines of the Ref- ormation. He was a co-laborer with Elder Thomp- son, and one of the most eloquent preachers of the Reformation. These two gentlemen traveled through eastern Indiana, and made many converts every- where, forming the nucleus around which have gath- ered the flourishing churches of to-day. Benjamin F. Reeve, R. T. Brown, George Camp- bell, Elias Stone and John Langly were among the early preachers of the Reformation in this section of the country. SCHOOLS. Subscription schools were the only schools known to the pioneers of Fayette. The schoolhouses were not unlike the cabins of that day; first was the round- log-house with its puncheon floor, door and seats, the latter backless; its heating apparatus, a huge tii-e- place in one end of the room, or, perhaps, a contrived receptacle for tire in the center of the room with no exit for the smoke other than an opening in the roof, and the only means of light through greased paper. Next came the hewed-log-house, and finally the neat frame and the substantial brick. Says a pioneer: i^: t '¥v '^ jre paid in wheat at 37 J cents per bushel, or corn at 8 or 10 cents and deliv- ered — which was done on a sled, very few having wagons. In fact, they had no use for any, as every- body made his own sled, and that was sufficient." In order to be a teacher then, the person mast be able to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to the single rule of throe. This was the standard of loam, ing that the teacher had to attain in order to be classed as an educator. It was plainly to be under- stood that the people of those times wanted nothing better. Under provision of Congress, one square mile in each Congressional township was reserved for edu- cational purposes. The Territorial Legislature on October 26, 1808, invested the Courts of Common Pleas with powers to lease such lands, the proceeds resulting to go to the benefit of educational enter- prises. By further enactments, Trustees were ap- pointed to take charge of those school lands. In 1816 the General Assembly passed an act providing for the appointment of Superintendents. Numerous subsequent acts from time to time for the advance- ment of education in the State have been passed, and the result is the present high degree of excellency. By the law of 1824, for building schoolhouses, each voter was made a builder. When a schoolhouse was to be built, the people would meet and each was assigned to some particular class of work — there were choppers, masons (daubers), hewers, etc. A fine of 37^ cents per day was required of those who did not work or pay an equivalent. One section of the law provided that each schoolhouse should be eight feet between the floors, and at least one foot from the sur- face of the ground to the first floor, and finished in a manner calculated to render comfortable the teacher and pupils, with a suitable number of seats, tables, lights, and everything necessary for the convenience of such schools. The law creating the office of County Superin- tendent was enacted in 1872-73, prior to which time the duties of that officer devolved upon the School Examiners, excepting school visiting. In the pioneer day, the Trustee of the school dis- trict, by virtue of his office, was the examiner and sole judge of the qualifications of the teacher, and in all probability a majority of the Trustees wore wholly incapable of deciding the merits of such qualifica- tions; in fact, little attention was paid to this branch of the subject. Some years later, a little subsequent to 1833, says Uncle Sammy Little ' ' when I taught I was examined verbally by Dr. R. T. Brown, while he strapped his razor in his own parlor." The following resolutions were adopted at a meet- ing held at a schoolhouse near Col. Crisler's, in Col- umbia Township, December 31, 1829, for the purpose of taking into consideration the practice of barring out school teachers on Christmas and New Years. Col. Crisler presided; Benjamin Smith acted as Sec retary, and Dr. Philip Mason delivered a lecture on the subject. Resolved, That in our opinion it is botli immoral and impolitic to celebrate tlie 2.itli day of December, and the 1st day of January, as is the practice of some persons, and par- ticularly in stopping the neighborhood schools on those days. Resoloeil, Also, that it is the I)ounden duty of parents, who are subscribers to schools, to pre.sent, as far as is in their power, their cliildren from the various injurious practice of barring out school teachers. CHAPTER V. PHYSICAL FEATURES. GEOGRAPHY— TOPOGRAPHY— GEOLOGY. FAYETTE COUNTY is located in the southeastern portion of the State, and is bounded on the north by Henry and Wayne Counties, on the east by Union, on the south by Franklin, and on the west by Bush. Connersville, its seat of justice, is in latitude 39° 36' north, and longitude 7^ 54' west, being by rail distant 67.2 miles a little south of east from Indianapolis, and 57.1 northwest of Cincinnati, Ohio. Fayette is one of the smaller counties of the State, and contains an area of 211 square miles, as given by the "Indiana Gazetteer." TOPOGRAPHY. The surface of the county is rolling in the east and south, and level or gently undulating in the north and west, with a large proportion of bottoms, and every part of the county is susceptible of profit- able cultivation. Dense forests of ash, sugar-tree^ beech, walnut, poplar, oak, sycamore, elm, hackberry, buckeye and Cottonwood originally covered most of the county, which is well watered and drained by per- manent streams. The principal water-courses are tributaries to the Whitewater River, and reach that 54 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. river through the West Fork of the same river, which is the largest stream in the county, and passes from north to south nearly through its center. Of the several notable tributaries of West Fork, Lick Creek, the most northern, has its source in eastern Posey Township, flows in a southeastern direc- tion out into and through Harrison Township, to a point near its southern boundary, where it makes a turn and flows nearly north for about one mile, then east, and empties into West Fork, which serves as the boundary line between the townships of Harrison and Waterloo. The next water-course south is' Little Williams Creek, which has its source in Harrison Township, flows southeasterly through Harrison and Connera- ville Townships, and joins Williams Creek proper about one mile from the latter's mouth at West Fork Williams Creek proper rises in the northwestern part of the county, flows south for some miles through Posey, Fairview and Harrison Townships, when it enters Connersville Township in the extreme north- west corner, and takes a southeasterly course and con- veys its waters into West Fork, a little south of the dividing line between Connersville and Columbia Townships, at a point about five miles from the Franklin County line. • South of Williams Creek is Fall Creek, which takes its beginning in the western part of the county, near the line dividing Orange and Connersville Townships, flows east and joins West Fork. At the mouth of Williams Creek, Garrison's Creek, which is understood to have taken its name from Samuel Garrison, who settled at its mouth during the war of J812, being the first settler in that vicinity, rises in Orange Township in the western part of the county, flows in two separate channels about one mile apart in a southeastern direction, and parallel with each other for as much as six miles, when they unite at a point in southeastern Columbia Township, and con- tinue by one stream for about a mile, where its mouth is reached probably one mile above Laurel, in the county of Franklin. The tributaries to West Fork from the east are Nolan's Fork, which h.is but about one mile's course in the county, flowing from Wayne County, and waters a portion of Waterloo Township; Village Creek, flowing in a southwestern direction from the eastern part of the county, Jennings Township; Wilson's Creek from Jennings, flowing west through Jackson Township, and Bear Creek, nest south, through the same township. Other than these, in the eastern part of the county, are the sources of Simpson's Creek, Turkey Creek and Ellis Creek, all of which are tributaries to the East Fork of Whitewater, and drain small portions of Waterloo, Jennings and Jackson Townships. The Whitewater River is a very rapid stream, having upon an average, a fall of six feet to the mile from Hagerstown, in Wayne County, to Elizabethtown, in the State of Ohio. The West Fork has not quite so great a fall as this, yet all along its course it affords an ample power to propel almost any amount of machinery. It is said that in former times the stream was bordered by trees, and the water was so trans- parent in the fall and winter, that the bottom could be seen at a depth of twenty feet. It is still a very clear stream, but by no means equal to what it was formerly. None of the streams furnish upon an average more than one-third of the amount of water they did forty or fifty years ago. This failure is caused by the destruction of the forests, and by draining the flat uplands. Whilst the surface was covered with trees, brush and leaves, the water after rains was prevented from flowing rapidly into the streams, so that the rises were gradual; but since the side hills have been cleared and set in grass, and the level lands drained, the water rushes rapidly into the streams, causing great floods, which wash the banks, overflowing many of the bottoms, and as quickly sub- side, leaving a deficiency of water as compared with former years. These floods have gi-eatly marred the beauty of the river, by washing away the banks and leaving great accumulations of gravel and sand in its widened bed. The Whitewater was once a navisrable stream for some miles, and some of the early settlers were possibly engaged in trafficking upon its bosom. There is a legend that as early as 1813 the first Terri- torial Legislatiu'e made an appropriation for improv- ing the navigation of the Whitewater, and that W. H. Eads was the Commissioner for expending the money. Mr. Eads had been a member of the convention from Franklin County which had formed the State con- stitution, and had acquired quite a reputation for business capacity, and it is possible that he might have wanted such an appropriation. It is within the recollection of the living that several boats were built and launched at Brookville, but as to their size, description, and whether any ever succeeded in get- tinw out of the river, the writer has no knowledge. In support of the statement that the river was navigable, it was recorded and classified as such in a Geography and History of the Western States, pub- lished in 1828, wherein the number of miles of navi- gation was given as forty. The following description of the river was given in that work: " Whitewater is a branch of the Big Miami, and is a very interesting river. It rises near Fort Green- ville, in Ohio. Not far from its source it crosses in- to Indiana, and in its devious course waters a large extent of fertile country. The West Fork unites HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 55 with it at Brookville, thirty miles above its entrance into the Miami. This beautiful stream is supposed to water nearly 1,000,000 acres of land. It abounds in fine lish, and exceeds all other rivers of the coun- try in the unusual transparency of its waters. It has its source in copious springs, and its waters are uncommonly cold. The people in its vicinity have an idea that its waters are too much wanting in spe- cific gravity, or from other causes_too little buoyant, for ordinary swimmers to trust themselves to bathe in." In further support of the early navigation of the Whitewater, we quote from the notes of Rev. Thomas Goodwin: " One of the early acts of the Territorial Legisla- ture was to make the Whitewater a ' navigable stream.' This was done as early as February, 1813. This may provoke a smile, but the West Fork up to the vicinity of Waterloo, and the East Fork to Dun- lapsville, were navigable, and sent out many a cargo of produce that floated to New Orleans." In the earlier history of the country there was a lake or pond of considerable size located in the north- ern part of the county, in Sections 31 and 6, Town 15, Range 13 east, which, according to a published account in 1833, covered some sixty or seventy acres, and was then fed by a small stream, but from which issued no stream except during the spring freshets. This body of water, by drainage and evaporation, has long since disappeared. The summit west of Big Williams Creek is the highest point of land on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Indianapolis Railroad, between Hamilton, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind. Its elevation above tide-water is 1,126.68 feet. The following table will exhibit the elevations of land at different points in the county. For the pur- pose of comparison the elevations of several points in adjoining counties are given. The altitudes as given are above tide-water: FEET. Surface of the ground at the court house iu Conners- ville 845 Base of rail on branch of J., M. & I. Railroad at Bentonville 1,066.74 Base of rail on branch of J., M. & I. Railroad at Falmouth 1,061 Whitewater River at Connersvillc 817.68 Summit east of Big Williams Creek 1,060.68 Summit west of Big Williams Creek 1,126.68 Track of the Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cincinnati Railroad at Fayette County line 881 Track of the Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cincinnati Railroad at Cambridge City (Wayne County) 957 Whitewater and Brownsville (Union County) 778 Summit east of Hanna's Creek (Union County) 1,077 Whitewater River at junction of East Fork at Brookville (Franklin County) 630 Rushville Station (Rush County) 976 The surface of the ground at Connersville is 393 feet above high-water mark in the Ohio River at the head of the falls, and 259 feet above Lake Erie. At the old Conwell dam below the city the elevations above the same points are 34:8 and 214 feet respec- tively. GEOLOGY. The dividing ridge in the counties of Switzerland, Dearborn, Franklin, Union and Fayette, between the waters of the W^ abash and those of the Ohio, may be considered the eastern boundary of the magnesian limestone group of Upper SiluriaUj date. On the western borders of Fayette and Franklin Counties these rocks are occasionally to be seen; but the greater part of these two counties, as well as the whole of Switzerland, Dearborn and Union, is occu- pied by the inferior blue, fossiliferous, shell lime- stones and alternating marls. These rise to their highest elevation near the eastern limit of Indiana, and decline toward the east as they pass into Ohio. These counties are remarkably interesting to the geologist on account of the numerous marine fossils found imbedded in the blue limestone formation. Some of them are in a wonderful state of preserva- tion, and so abundant that the rock is almost an ag- glutinated mass of marine shells and corals, which lived, died and became entombed in the sediments and precipitates forming in the ocean durincr the earliest period to which geologists are able to trace back organic existences. The county of Fayette is of both the Upper and Lower Silurian formation. A little more than the western half of its territory is of the Upper Silurian while some less than the eastern half is of the Lower Silurian. The soils of the latter formation are most excellent for the growing of what is known as the famous blue-grass of Kentucky. This can be made a most profitable crop in such formation, hence let the farmer of eastern Fayette experiment more largely in its production. During the years 1859-60 there was made under the direction of the late David Dale Owen, M. D., State Geologist, by Richard Owen, M. D., then Prin- cipal Assistant, afterward State Geologist, a Geolog- ical Reconnoissance of Indiana, from the report of which the following pertaining to Fayette County is extracted: "Passing from the northern line of the county toward Connersville, the county seat, we trav- eled through parts of the valley of Whitewater to extensive bottoms rising into gentle and undulating drift elevations, exhibiting fine farms and the pros- pect of abundant corn crops. Near town the osage hedges betokened high cultivation, and the mill race with extensive buildings indicated where a part, at least, of their staple product, wheat, receives its 56 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. preparation for the flour market. Pork and beef are also largely produced in this county. Although the soil in places appeared clayey, indicated by the ponds along the roadsides, yet it was susceptible of pulverization by the harrow, and the wheat which on the 19th of September (the day we passed through Connersville) had already been put in on several farms, was much of it drilled, and in excellent order. This system of drilliagwheat appears to be rapidly gaining in the estimation of our farming community, as rendering it less liable to freeze out besides saving, seed and distributing it more rapidly than even a long experience in broad-cast sowing can possibly secure. "The prevailing timber is oak and beech, occa- sionally thinned out so as to form fine wood pastures, in which the blue-grass (*Poapraten8is) thrives kindly. "Building materials are abundant, rock being extensively quarried in tolerably heavy layers at sev- eral places near the county line of Franklin, and across the line at Somerset as well as on Williams Creek, near which locality they also manufacture hydraulic cement from limestone. "Adjoining Williams Creek two or three miles west of Connersville, we found in about twenty-five feet, vertical thickness, of blue limestone, inter- spersed with martite, abundant samples of the follow- ing fossils: Choetetes petropolitanus, Streptelasma corniculum, Rhynchonella, (Atrypa) increbescens, Sti-ophonsena (Leptpena) Alternata, S. planumvona, Leptoena sericea, Orthistestudinaria, portions of caly- menesenaria, and of Asaphus canalis, (Isotelusgigas). " In traveling toward the extreme western limit of Fayette, about four and a half miles from the Rush County line, wo found at a deep, natural cut a tine exposure of the upper members in the Lower Silurian formation, surrounded by a reddish Silico-calcareous rock, apparently of Upper Silurian age, although we failed to find any fossils in it." [In this natural exposure of 110 feet these gen- tlemen made an examination of the succession of strata, which is illustrated by plates not here found practicable to give, but an examination made near Connersville revealed the following strata in the de- scending order: Three feet of soil, twenty-five feet of gravel, ten feet of sand, six feet of blue clay and twenty feet of bowlders intermingled with gravel.] * The less comnioD blue-grass of botanists is poe compressia. " vSoon after passing this locality we ascended still higher, over coarse gravel and bowlders, to about the highest land in the State, the barometer at 2 P. M. falling to 28.97 inches, although it stood a few hours before at 29.28 at Connersville. Allowing that it had fallen, as it often does in the afternoon, about two-hundredths, still we had ascended 270 feet after leaving Connersville. We continued some time on this elevated plateau with but little variation in the barometer, passing some very tine farms and a dense growth of large beech, sugar maple and oak timber, with pawpaw undergrowth even beyond Vienna, the western limit of the county, that town be- ing built in Rush up to the Fayette line. " We readily perceive from observation that a great portion of the surface soil in this county is drift, amounting sometimes to fifty or sixty feet in vertical thickness, which has thus greatly modi- fied the soil from that of pure Upper Silurian detritus. " On portions of this plateau there is a deficiency of running water for stock, although a supply is ob- tained on many portions of the elevation by digging ten or fifteen feet through bluish clay, when they reach gravel and usually find water in that or the sand overlying an impervious substratum. It is com- monly hard, because during filtration through the superincumbent drift the water encounters fragments of limestone. Notwithstanding some inconvenience, on this score of a scarce supply in dry seasons, there are farmhouses on the plateau in Fayette and the ad joining county of Rush as tine as any we saw in the State. Some of them could have not cost less than $4,000 or $5,000. The style of architecture is elab orate and sometimes highly ornamental. Along the river bottoms the soil of Fayette is rich and productive, composed largely of vegetable matter or humus, with clay, sand and lime; in fact, all the elements of fertility. These lands have im- mense crops of corn for years. The constant crop- ping in corn, however, is perceptibly exhausting them, and points out the necessity of a rotation In crops and the application of fertilizers if they are ; expected to maintain their fertility. The uplands are of clayey soils mixed with sand and gravel, on which, by good culture, rotating crops and subsoiling, fair crops are produced. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 57 CHAPTER VI. CIVIL ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY. BOUNDARIES— LOCATION OF THE COUNTY SEAT— COUNTY BUILDINGS. FAYETTE COUNTY was established by an act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana approved December 28, 1818, and named at the same time in honor of Gen. Lafayette. The act creating the county took effect January 1, 1819, and with this date the history of the county as a civil division begins. The county was formed of territory taken princi- pally from the counties of Wayne and Franklin> which counties were created at the same time by an act of the Assembly of Indiana Territory passed November 27, 1810, to take effect from February 1, 1811. Going another step backward, the counties of Wayne and Franklin were formed from Dearborn and Clark, which originally embraced a large scope of country, out of which many counties were subse- quently formed. The western boundaries of Wayne and Franklin Counties was the western boundary line of the "Twelve- Mile Purchase," which boundary line with reference to Fayette County as it is at present, extended from a point in the northeastern corner of Posey Township, about a quarter of a mile west of the eastern bound- ary of the township, in a southwest diagonal direc- tion, passing through the townships of Posey, Har- rison, Connersville, Columbia and Orange, to a point on the northern boundary lino of Franklin County as it is to-day, a half mile west of the eastern boundary of Orange Township. The line dividing the counties of Wayne and Franklin, as designated in the act, corresponded with the line which at present separates Connersville and Harrison Townships, and Waterloo and Jennings Townships. BOUNDABIES OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Act approved December 28, 1818. Section 1. — Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, that from and after the first day of January next all that tract or parcel of country which is enclosed within the following boundaries shall constitute and form a new coun- ty to be known and designated by the name and style of the county of Fayette, to wit, beginning at the southeast corner of Section 33, Township 13, Range 13, thence north three miles, thence east three miles to the old boundary line; thence north to fractions 28 and 33. in Township 1.5, Range 14, east of the second principal meridian; thence west on said line to a line dividing Sections 27 and 28 in Township 15, Range 12, east of the second principal meridian; thence nortli on said line to a line dividing Town.ships 15 and 16; thence west six miles; thence south eighteen miles; thence east so far as to intersect the line dividing Townships 12 and 13; thence along said line east to the place of beginning. From the boundaries above described it will be observed by comparison that the county when formed was minus the strip of country it now possesses in eastern Jackson south of Jennings, extending two miles east and west and three miles north and south; and its eastern boundary was the " Old Boundary Line," or, as it is sometimes called, the " Indian Boundary." In 1821. when Union County was created, the territory east of the present eastern boundary line of Fayette lying between said eastern boundary and the "Old Boundary Line " was given to Union. By an act approved January 16, 1826, the strip of terri- tory heretofore referred to in eastern Jackson Town- ship was attached to Fayette. So much of the territory of Fayette County as it now exists, as lies east of the western boundary line of the "Twelve-Mile Purchase," and north of the line dividing Harrison and Connersville Townships, and the townships of Waterloo and Jennings, extending to the eastern boundary line of the county, was taken from Wayne County; that portion south between the western and eastern boundaries as above described from Franklin County, and all territory west of the western boundary line of the "Twelve-Mile Purchase," from the " New Purchase." LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT. Section 3 of the act of the General Assembly creating the county, made provision for its seat of justice and appointed William Bradley, of the County of Switzerland; James Dill and John Watts, of Dearborn County; Williamson Dunn, of Jefferson County, and John F. Boss, of Clark County, Com- missioners, for the purpose of locating the same. They were to convene at the house of John McCormac, in Fayette County, on the third Monday of February, 1819. These five Commissioners assembled at the house designated, February 16, 1819, but adjourned without accomplishing the object in view, however. On the day following they again Convened and ' ' pro- 58 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. ceeded to fix and establish tlie permanent seat of jus- tice in and for Fayette County, to be in the public square laid off and recorded by Joshua Harlan, in the town of Conneravillo, county of Fayette and State of Indiana, on the northwest quarter of Section 25, in Township 14, Range 12 east ot second meridian, in the district of lands offered for sale at Cincinnati- Said square is bounded on the northeast by Monrge Street, and on the southwest by Market Street, as laid off and recorded by John Conner and Joshua Harlan, and as by the plat of said town. Permanent seat of justice declared as above, and fixed, February 17» 1819." COUNTY BDILDINGS. First Jail. — At a special meeting of the Board of Commissioners, held March 6, 1819, it was ordered that "there shall be a jail built and erected on the public square on which the seat of justice is estab- lished, in the town of Connersville, in and for the county of Fayette, and on the west side of an alley running through said public square, nearly in a north and south direction, at or next to where the schoolhouse now stands; which said jail shall be built on the following plan: to be built with logs thirty feet long by sixteen, hewn to a square twelve inches thick; two partition walls of logs of the same size; floor and loft to be laid of logs of the same size aforesaid, the middle room to be twelve feet in the clear, the other two rooms seven feet each in the clear; the logs out of which said jail is to be built to be of good sound oak, cherry, red elm, honey locust, or ash timber; the logs, when said jail is raised, to be let in by a half dovetail in such a man- ner as to let the logs as'near together as they conven- iently can be; the upper and lower floor to be laid 80 as the timbers will touch from end to end; to be under-framed with good stone, one foot under ground and one foot above the surface of the ground; each room of said jail to be ceiled inside except the under part of the upper floor, with oak plank an inch and a half in thickness, well seasoned, and not to exceed twelve inches in width, and to be well spiked with iron spikes at least four inches in length and not less than eleven to each plank; said jail to be at least nine feet between the floors, and one round of logs above the upper floor, as before mentioned, on which upper round of logs the rafters shall so far be pro- jected as to give an eave twelve inches clear of the wall; said jail to be covered with poplar joint shin- gles not exceeding eighteen inches in length; two outside doors and one on the inside, the doors to be made out of oak plank, one inch and a half in thick- ness, well doubled and spiked with spikes at least four inches in length, to be placed not to exceed four inches apart and clinched in the inside of each door; each door to be two feet in width, two iron bars to be fixed to each outside door, which bars to be one- half inch by two inches, one end of each bar to be fastened to the logs on each side of the door by a staple, and the other end to be locked to a staple on the opposite side of the door; one window to be in each room, twelve inches by eighteen in size, iron grates, of an inch and a quarter in size, fixed in each window, two inches apart, said grates to be well plastered in at least three inches on the upper and lower part of. each of said windows; said jail doors to be well hung with good and sufficient strap hinges; the whole of the work on said jail to be done in a workmanlike manner. " The building of this jail is to be set up and offered at public sale and outcry to the lowest bidder at the public square in the town of Connersville on the 13th day of this instant * * * to be completed by the first day of September next at the expense of the county." The Sheriff was to attend to the selling of it. The contract was let to Jonathan John and the building was completed within the time specified. The jail was examined and accepted by the Commissioners in August, 1819, and the contrac- tors allowed $704 for its construction. First Court House. — In November, 1819, the Commissioners agreed upon a plan for a coiu-t house. The building was to be constructed of brick, and to be forty feet square and two stories high — the first story eighteen feet high, the second fourteen feet high. The front half of the lower floor was to be constructed of brick, and the other half of oak or ash plank, one inch and a quarter thick, and not more than eight inches in width. The second floor was to be laid with oak or ash plank of the same description as the rear half of the lower floor. In the first story there were to be three windows in each side and end, except in front, where in the center of the building there were to be folding doors, with a window on either side. The windows were each to have twenty- four lights, 8x10 inches in size, and the window which was to be immediately behind the Judge's bench was to be two and one-half feet higher than the other windows. On each side of the second story there were to be three windows of the same size and description as those given above. There were to be two fire-places below in the southwest and northwest corners of the building, and three tire- places in the second story. Two girders (14x12 feet) were to extend through the center of the house (one above and one below) from side to side, equidistant from either side of the house, each to be supported by two columns, which were to be well turned and round, and thirteen inches in diameter at the bottom, and proportionally small at the top. The roof was HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 59 to bo pitched from each side to the center, from whence was to be raised a cupola, eight feet in diam- eter, and thirty-two feet in height from its pedestal; from the top of the cupola was to extend a spire ten feet high. A handsomely gilded ball fifteen inches in diameter, and a neat vane were to ornament the spire; above the vane was to be extended across the spire a bar with a gilt ball on each side, and a neat cap was to be placed on the top of the spire. Returning to the interior of the building, we mention that through the center of the house on the ground floor, and along the edge of the wooden floor, was to be a hand rail and banisters, and immediately under the middle window in the rear side of the house was to be raised a bench, for the Judges of the court, two and one-half feet from the floor — the bench to be banistered, and the stairway to ascend thereto was also to be banistered. This room was to be provided with jury boxes, a criminal box and other requisites. On the second floor there was to be a partition across the house from north to south, the west portion of which was to be divided into two rooms, and the east half of that floor was also to be divided by a parti- tion. The walls were to be painted and penciled, the roof painted Spanish brown color, the cupola white, and the whole of the interior of the building of the latter color, excepting the Judge's bench, jury boxes and banisters, which were to be painted blue. The contract for the erection of the building was to be sold by the Sheriff, on the last Saturday in Novem- ber, 1819. It appears that this contractor was Jona- than John, as the building was accepted by the Com- missioners from him in August, 1822, and the total amount paid him was $1,262.50. This building was one among the early brick structures of Fayette County. It stood on the center front of the public square fronting to the east, and was the court house of the county for nearly thirty years. First Clerk and Recorder's Office. — In September, 1825, the Board of Justices of the Peace authorized Jonathan McCarty to erect a building for the offices of the Clerk and Recorder. We fail to find anything of record showing to whom the contract was let, or when the house was constructed; however, in March, 1827, Mr. McCarty was allowed the sum of $220. 40J for having erected such building — so much of it as was then completed. We are informed that the build- ing stood on the northwest corner" of the public square and had but two comisartments, and that the amount above named would have erected such a struct- ure, so it is quite likely that the house was about completed when that sum was allowed. It was con- structed of wood. Second Clerk and Recorder's Office. — This was a one-story brick building, 36x20 feet, and stood on the southeast corner of the public square. It had two rooms and was constructed by Sherman Scofield. Gabriel Ginn was appointed by the Commissioners, at the May meeting, 1833, to superintend the erection of the building. Second Jail. — The question of a new county prison seems to have been agitated in the spring of 1834, for in May of that year the Commissioners offered a prize of $10 to the one who would furnish the best model for jail of three rooms. John Sample, Jr., was awarded the prize, and one of Fayette County's distinguished citizens — the Hon. Samuel W. Parker — was allowed $3 for "getting the model." At the fall term of the Circuit Court the Judges recommend- ed the refitting of the old jail after a plan submitted by Elijah Corbin. However, this was not done, for in November, 1834, Gabriel Ginn and George Fry- barger were appointed agents to superintend the build- ing of a county jail, and to enter into a contract with Philip Mason after the model for a jail heretofore submitted by Philip Mason. The building was constructed of brick, was a story and a half high, having three apartments, two below and one above. It stood on the south side of the public square, and was erected at a cost of $800. This was the county prison until 1849. Second Court House, First Jailer's Residence and Third Jail. — This, the present court house, was completed as a court house, jailer's residence and jail, and received by the Commissioners November 12, 1849. In June, 1847, the Commissioners of the county entered into an agreement with John Elder, of Marion County, Ind., for the construction of the building, which was to be completed on or before Oc- tober, 1849, in consideration for which they were to pay Mr. Elder $20,000. The "Indiana Gazetteer" published the year that the building was completed thus speaks of it: "It is one of the most spacious, convenient, and substantial buildings of its kind in the State, — all the county offices are located on the first floor, in good sized office rooms. In connection with each office are ample tire proof rooms for the security of their books and papers. The court room, jurors' rooms (of which there are four) are all on the upper story. In the rear of the center building there is attached a wing two stories high, which are con- structed six dormitories, or cells, for prisoners. The prisoners can be taken to and from the court from a rear passage by a door entering immediately into the court room." The building is constructed of brick and stands on the public square facing the east. In 1881 im- provements to the extent of about $8,000 were made upon the interior of the building; the jail was taken out and the space converted into rooms for the use of 60 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. the county; alterations were made in the court-room, with other minor changes in the building. The following facts concerning the public square and county buildings that have been located thereon may be of interest to some: The old locust trees that stood in the court house yard and about the public square, and which for near- ly a half century beautified the grounds and furnished in the heated season refreshing shade, were planted in the spring of 1835. Their removal took place in De- cember, ISSl. In January, 1849, the old court house, Clerk and Recorder's ofHce (second) and the old jail were sold by the Commissioners. The court house and jail were pui'chased by A. B. Conwell for S575; and the other building by Sherman Scolield for §96. The bell that was suspended in the old court house was sold to the Presbyterian Church for §117. In June, 18-19, Hemy Goodlander and John El- der were appointed a committee to purchase a bell and clock for the new court house, and for that pur- pose there was appropriated S600. Fourth Jail and Slieriff''s Residence. — This beauti- ful two-story brick building with highly ornamented stone trimmings is located on Fourth Street, opposite the court house, and faces the north. The rear of the building forms the jail, which with the basement or cellar is three stories high; underground is the dun- geon, consisting of a cell about ten feet square. On the ground floor is one apartment, in size about 3(3x31feet, and contains four cells; above are locat- ed six cells, two of which are for females. The con- tract for the construction of this building was awarded to J. W. Perkinson, of Indianapolis, May 3, 1880, for $14,900. The architect was E. J. Hodson. The house was completed and occupied in the spring of 1881. Poor Asylum. — Until 1836 the paupers in Fay- ette, Union and Franklin Counties were under the charge of township officers, who let the contract for the maintenance of the unfortunate poor to the low- est responsible bidder. On the 26th of December, 1834, the Commissioners of the three counties named met at Fairfield, in Franklin County, for the purpose of jointly erecting an asylum for the poor of the three counties. Subsequently a farm located in Jackson Township, Fayette County, was purchased of Thomas Clark, and the Commissioners met thereon, August 10, 1835, and agreed "to build an asylum, to be in readi- ness by the first Monday in May next (1830)." The building was to be of brick. It was completed|and the farm let to the highest bidder. May 9, 1836, Isaac Gardner, of Union County, was chosen as Superintendent of the institution at a salary of 1500 a year. The first Board of Directors were Joseph D. Thompson, Martin Williams and Zachariah Ferguson. The paupers of Fayette Coun- ty were ordered removed from the several townships to the asylum in May, 1830. The total expense of keeping up the asylum for the year 1836, and up to February 9, 1837, was §1,709.41 J^. From February 9, 1837, to March 6, 1S3S, the total expense of the asylum was $1,040.15^, of which amount Fayette County's apportionment was S349.03|. Among the early Superintendents of the asylum while controlled by the three counties, and in the order given, were Isaac Gardner, William Riggsby and William Bai-n- ard, each serving several yeai^s. In June, 1856, the Commissioners of Union Coun- ty purchased the interest in the farm ]of the coun- ties of Fayette and Franklin for the consideration of §3,210.66 and §3,696.52 to those counties respect- ively, their paupers to be removed on or before March 10, 1857. In September, 1856, the Commissioners of Fay- ette County having purchased a portion of the pres- ent infirmary farm, contracted with Sherman Scofield for the erection of a poor-house building thereon, for §7,000, to be done on or before June, 1857. The present large and commodious two-story brick struct- ure was received from Mr. Scofield in August, 1857. Several tracts of land have since been added to the farm, which lies on the'ridge northwest of the city and commands a most beautiful view, imtil it now comprises 173 acres of land. On either side of the main building is a large wing and beneath a spacious basement or cellar. The total expense of keeping up the institution from March 1, 1S5S. to March 1, 1859, was §996.99. The first Superintendent of the asylum of Fayette County was William Custer. His successor was Peter Reed, since which the Superintendents have been as follows: William Custer, P. A. Morse, Jacob Ridge and John B. Salyer, the present incumbent. •f^; /• ^^ ^5«^s \ / V 0^^<^/ /&LSi^ HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 63 CHAPTER VII. THE COURTS AND CIVIL LIST. CIRCUIT COURT— THE BRADBURN TRIAL— PROBATE COURT— COURT OF COMMON PLEAS— ASSOCIATE JUDGES- PROBATE JUDGES— SHERIFFS— CLERKS OF THE COURTS— RECORDERS— AUDITORS— TREASURERS— JUSTICES OF THE PEACE— COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND EARLY PROCEEDINGS— COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. THE history of Fayette County as a civil division began January 1, 1819. Tlie first term of the Circuit Court was held in Connersville, beginning May 3, 1819. Present, John Watts, President Judge; Train Caldwell and Edward Webb, Associate Judges for the County of Fayette. John Watts produced his commission as Circuit Judge of the Third Circuit of the State of Indiana, on which was endorsed the oath of office. Jonathan McCarty produced his commission as Clerk of the Fayette Circuit Court, on which was en- dorsed his oath of office. William W. Wick, James Noble, John Test, Will- iam C. Drew, D. J. Caswell, James B. Ray, James Rariden and Nathaniel French were admitted to prac- tice as attorneys and counsellors at law in this court. William W. Wick was appointed Prosecuting Attorney for the county, and took the oath of office. Isaac Johnson was admitted in gratia for the pres- ent term to practice as attorney and counsellor at law. John Conner, Sheriff of the county, returned into coart the following named grand jurors for the pres- ent term of court: William Helm (whom the court appointed Foreman), Joseph Minor, Nicholas Reagan, Allen Crisler, Oran Stoddard, Jacob Case, Sr. , Nich- olas Pumphrey. Otheriel Swim, Anthony Emily, Paul Davis, James Webster, John Perrin, James Brown- lee, Martin McCray, John Wilson, John McCormick, James Bolton and George M. Smith. The Court appointed John McCormick as Consta- ble to attend upon the grand jury. John Alexander Dailey was admitted by the court as an attorney and counsellor at law on his produc- ing a certificate of his having had a license from the Territorial Government of Indiana Territory, and to him were administered the several oaths required by the constitution and the laws of Indiana. The first civil case tried was that of , vs- , "In an action of trespass on the case for trover." It was a motion to discharge defendant from bail on the ground that the affidavit was bad. The motion was sustained and he discharged. There were nine bills returned by the grand jury. eight of which were for assault and battery, and one for an affray — none of which, it seems, were tried at the first term of court. The first jury trial was that of a case of debt. The jury was composed of the following named: Archi- bald Johnson, Stephen Sims, Jehu Perkins, Giles Ford, John Rees, James W' hite, Absalom Burkham^ Robert Royster, John Miller, Robert Alexander, Alexander Hathaway and Samuel Bell. John Rees was Foreman. The verdict was for the plaintiff. "It was then considered by the court that the plaintiff do recover of defendant the sum of $80, the amount mentioned in said plaintiff's declaration, with interest thereon at six per cent per annum from April 12, 1818, until paid, besides the costs and charges." For the first term of the Fayette County Circuit Court William W. Wick was allowed $20 for his services as Prosecuting Attorney. John McCormick was allowed $2 for two days' services as Constable attending the grand jury. Reason Davis and John McCormick were each allowed $1 for attending and waiting on the court. At this term of the court there were more than a dozen cases on the docket, nearly all of which were cases for debt, and the greater number of them were disposed of, and pretty generally in favor of the plaintiffs. There were two indictments for assault and bat- tery, both of which were disposed of, one pleading guilty and was fined |1 and to pay the cost of prose- cution; and in the other case the court ordered "to quash the indictment." One case for divorce came up and was settled in favor of the plaintiff. The attorneys in this case were William W. Wick for the petitioner, and Daniel J. Caswell (especially appointed) in opposition. This term of the Fayette Circuit Court was held at the house of George Reed, located on what is now Central Avenue, west side and second door south of Fourth Street. The sum allowed Mr. Reed for the use of the house was $12. The Hon. Oliver H. Smith, in his "Early Indi- 64 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. . ana, " thus speaks of his recollections of the early courts of the Third Judicial Circuit, of which the county of Fayette comprised a part: " The Third Judicial Circuit included what was then (about 1820) known as the Whitewater country, and extended from the county of Jefferson north to the State of Michigan, some 200 miles in length, and from the Ohio line on the east, to White Kiver, some seventy-five miles west. The country was new, sparsely settled, and being on the western frontier, the towns and villages were filled with Indians trad- ing their peltries, wild game and moccasins orna- mented with the quills of the porcupine with the settlers, for calicoes, whisky, powder, lead, beads and Buch other articles as met their fancy. The popula- tion of the country embraced by the circuit was a hardy, fearless and generally honest but more or less reckless people, such as are usually to be found ad- vancing upon the frontiers from more civilized life, and consequently there were more collisions among them, more crimes committed calling for the action of the Criminal Courts, than is common in older set- tled and more civilized parts of the older States. " The judiciary system at the time referred to was like the country in its infancy. The Circuit Court was composed of a Presiding Judge, elected by the Legislature, who presided in all the courts in the circuit, and two Associate Judges, elected in each county l)y the people. These ' Side Judges,' as they were then called, made no pretensions to any particu- lar knowledge of the law, but still they had the power to overrule the Presiding Judge and give the opinion of the court, and sometimes they even ' out-guessed ' the President, giving the most preposterous reasons imaginable for their decisions, as in one instance, that a writ of scire facias to revive a judgment, would not lie unless it was sued out within a year and a day. The decision of the Associates was affirmed in the Supreme Court, for other reasons, of course. The com-t houses were either frame or log buildings, ar- ranged to hold the court in one end and the grand jury in the other, the petit jury being accommodated in some neighboring outbuildings. The Clerks had very little qualification for their duties; still they were honest, and the most of them could write more legibly than Rufus Choate, United States Senator. The Sheriffs were elected by the people as they are now, and seemed to have been selected as candidates on account of their fine voices, to call the jurors and witnesses from the woods, from the doors of the court house, and their ability to run down and catch offenders. The most important personages in the country, however, were the young lawyers, univer- sally called ' Squires ' by old and young, male and female. Queues were much in fashion, and nothing was more common than to see one of these young ' Squires ' with a wilted rorum hat, that had once been stiffened with glue in its better days, upon his head, from the back part of which hung a queue three feet long, tied from head to tip with an eel skin, walking in evident superiority, in his own estimation, among the people in the court yard, sounding the public mind as to his prospects as a candidate for the Legis- lature. There were no caucuses or conventions then. Every candidate brought himself out and ran upon his own hook. If he got beat, as the most of them did, he had nobjdy to blame but himself for becom- ing a candidate; still, he generally charged it_ upon his friends for not voting for him, and the next sea- son found him once more upon the track, sounding his own praises. "The court rooms in those days were prepared and furnished with much simplicity, and yet they seemed to answer all the purposes absolutely neces- sary to the due administration of justice. The build- ing generally contained two rooms, the court room being the larger, at one end of which there was a platform elevated some three feet for the Judges, with a long bench to seat them. These benches were very substantial in general, sufficient to sustain the most weighty Judges, yet on one occasion the bench gave way, and down came three fat, aldermanly Judges on the floor. One of them, quite a wag, see- ing the ' Squires ' laughing, remarked, ' Gentlemen, this is a mighty weak bench.' The bar had their benches near the table of the Clerk, and the crowd was kept back by a long pole fastened with withes at the ends. The crowds at that day thought the hold- ing of a court a great affair; the people came hun- dreds of miles to see the Judges and hear the lawyers 'plead,' as they called it. On one occasion there came on to be tried before the jury an indictment for an assault and battery against a man for pulling the nose of another who had insulted him. The court room was filled to suffocation; the two Associate Judges were on the bench; the evidence had been heard and public expectation was on tiptoe. All was silent as death, when the young ' Squire,' afterward Judge Charles H. Test, arose and addressed the court: ' If the court please — .' He was here inter- rupted by Judge Mitchell from the bench, ' Yes, we do please. Go to the bottom of the case, young man, the people have come in to hear the lavryers plead.' The young Squire, encouraged by the kind response of the Judge, proceeded to address the jury some three hours, in excited eloquence, upon the great provocation his client had received to induce his docile nature to bound over all legal barriers and take the prosecutor by the nose. All eyes were upon him, and as he closed. Judge Winchall roared out, ' Cap- HISTORY OP PAYETTE COUNTY. 65 ital! I did not think it was in him!' The jury returned a verdict of 'not guilty,' amid the raptur- ous applause of the audience. Court adjourned, and the people returned home to tell their children that they had heard the lawyers 'plead.' " THE BBADBUKN TRIAL.* Among the lirst of the great tragic trials in the State of Indiana was that of Dr. John Bradburn, of this county, on an indictment for murder, at the time Oliver H. Smith was County Prosecutor for the State. The facts of the case were briefly these: " Dr. Bradburn was an eminent surgeon, a man of great muscular power, and of the most indomitable per- sonal courage. I have scarcely ever seen a more athletic man, and I never knew a man of greater bravery. He lived some four or five miles from Con- nersville. In general the Doctor was highly re- spected, but it seems that he had giveQ some real or imaginary cause of offense to several young men of equal respectability in his neighborhood, who took it into their heads that they would take the Doctor from his house in the night, ride him on a rail to the water and then duck him. The Doctor by some means got wind of what was going on, and prepared lumself with weapons for defense, among which was a long dissecting knife with two edges. The young men, unaware of his prejjaration, fixed upon a dark night to carry their pilans into execution. Capt. Robert L. Broaddus was selected as their leader. About 12 o'clock at night the party silently ap- proached the dwelling of the Doctor and tried to open the door, but found it fast. The Doctor was in bed in an adjoining room, wide-awake, with his large knife under his pillow, cool and prepared. The out- side party placed an iron crow-bar, which they had brought with them, under the door, threw it off its hinges and entered the room, carrying with them the ropes prepared to tie the Doctor before they took him from the house. In the meantime the Doctor re- mained silently sitting upon his bed, with his knife in his hands. The room was dark. The party ad- vanced, feeling their way, until the foremost, young Alexander, about eighteen yeafs of age, reached the bed, when he received a fatal stab with the knife, turned, rushed to the door, stepped out, and fell dead in the yard. Not a word was spoken. The next, young Caldwell, about twenty years of age, ad vanced, evidently not knowing the fate of Alexander, until he came within the grasp of the Doctor, when the fatal knife was thrust through bis side, penetrat- ing his heart. He uttered a loud groan, turned, fled to the door, passed a short distance into the yard, fell and died near the body of Alexander. The groan •From Hon. 0. H. Smith's "Early Indiana." I of Galdwel) alarmed the others, who immediately re- treated for the door, pursued by the Doctor, and one other of the party received a severe but not a mortal wound. Capt. Broaddus told me that at one time the Doctor was between him and the door, and as he passed to go out the Doctor struck at him with his knife, and just grazed his side. It was very evident that but for the groan of Caldwell not one of the assailants would have left the house alive. Such was the awful tragedy at the house. "The young men killed were of the very first fam- ilies of the county; indeed of the State. The excite ment was intense; the Doctor gave himself up, and was put in jail. While the inquest was sitting over the dead bodies he was calm and composed, and stated all about the transaction, and I have no doubt truth- fully, for he was a man of truth, although his life was at stake. He had been my client, and on this, the most trying occasion of his life, he insisted that I should defend him. I told him I was the Attorney of the State. ' You get but $120, a year, and I wil' give you $500 for this case alone.' I, however, at once told him that no fee could induce me to forsake the State at such a juncture, and declined further conversation with him. He sent to Brookville for John T. McKinney to defend him. The court met; the grand jury found a bill for murder; the trial came on; the facts substantially as stated were proved, with the admission of the Doctor. The court house was crowded with an excited population; Gen. McKinney made a strong speech in the defense, bu^ it evidently fell upon unwilling ears. My closing speech was again and again applauded by the crowdt and the applause as often reprimanded bj' the court and the Sheriff. It was evident that the jury and the audience were with me, and had the case gone to the jury without any charge from the court. Doctor Bradburn would have been illegally convicted, I have no doubt. But Judge Eggleston, as we say, had the 'closing,' a last speech, and nobly did he sustain his high character as a Judge on that occasion. He took up the case calmly, but firmly; examined its principles, and laid down the law of self-defense, or excusable homicide, that governed the prosecution, step by step, until, I am satisfied, there was neither lawyer, juror, nor bystander in the court room that did not acquit the prisoner before the jury left the box. The jury retired but a few minutes and re- turned a verdict of not guilty, on the ground of self- defense. So ended this long-tobe remembered case in old Fayette." [We had desired and hoped to be able to give an account of the awful tragedy pictured above as it ap- peared, written at the time of its occurrence, in the neighboring press. Though diligent search has been 66 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. made for files of papers that might contain it, they have not been found. The tragedy took place on what was known as the Isgrig farm, located on Lick Creek about mid-way between Connersville and Har- risburg, on the night of May 27, 1825, — the night of the day on which was a general muiiter at Harrisburg. The names of the young men killed were Nesbit Alex- ander, and James Caldwell, each being in the twenty- fifth year of his age. We learn from Uncle Joseph Caldwell, a brother of James, that Mr. Smith is mis- taken in regard to the circumstances of Caldwell's death. Young Caldwell received a stab just below the right nipple, when he rushed through the house, hallooing as he went, "Knife, boys!" which alarmed the others, causing them to retreat. He ran some fifty or one hundred yards to a fence near by, and from there was taken by the other boys to the house of Samuel Dehaven, where he remained several days, then was removed to the home of his parents, where Joseph Caldwell now resides, where he died June 3, 1825. William Caldwell, a cousin of James, was another of the party who received a wound from the knife. With this exception the circumstances of the tragedy as given by Mr. Smith are believed to be about correct. The Whiter. ] PROBATE CODRT. Until the year 1829, the business of the Probate Court was transacted before tlie Associate Judges of the county. The- first session of this court was held at Connersville before Train Caldwell and Edward Webb, Associate Judges of Fayette County, begin- ning on the 26th day of April, 1819; present also were Jonathan McCarty and John Conner, Clerk of the Courts and Sheriff of the county, respectively. The first business was transacted on the following day, when appeared William and Morgan Vardiman, administrators of all goods, chattels, and credits of John S. Vardiman, deceased, and produced and ex- hibited an inventory of the appraisements of the goods, chattels, and the estate of said John S. Vardi. man, deceased, as appraised by William Callon and Abraham Bays, which was ordered filed in the ofiice of the Clerk of the Circuit Court; and the inventory of the sale of said decedent's estate, which was ex- hibited by the administrators as sold by them on the 26th of February, 1819, was by the court ordered recorded and the original filed in the Clerk's office. The business of this court was first transacted before a Probate Judge in September, 1829, when Philip Mason appeared as such officer (producing his commission September 7). Mr. Mason was succeeded by Justice Wright, whose name is first mentioned in this connection at the August term of court, 1834, and who served until the office was abolished by the con- stitution of 1850. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. Under the constitution of 1850, the business of the Probate Court was classified with that of the Court of Common Pleas, which court was formed by the new constitution of 1850, the first term of which court was convened at Connersville in January, 1853, with John S. Reid on the bench, as the first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Mr. Reid discharged the duties of this office until the December term of the court, 1860, when he was succeeded by Jeremiah M. Wilson, who served until the spring term of court, 1865, then succeeded by John F. Kibby. Mr. Kibby served until 1873, when the business of this court and that of the Probate Court were thrown into the Cir- cuit Court. ASSOCIATE JUDGES. 1819-20, Train Caldwell, Edward Webb; 1821, Edward Webb, and until July 1821, Train Caldwell, when succeeded by William Helm; 1822-24, Edward Webb, William Helm; 1825, Edward Webb, and until the fall term of court, William Helm, when suc- ceeded by James Brownlee; 1826-27, Edward Webb, James Brownlee; 1828-32, Edward Webb, William Miller; 1883-36, Edward Webb, John Treadway; 1837, Edward Webb, and until March, John Tread- way, when succeeded by Stanhope Royster; 1838-39, Edward Webb, Stanhope Royster; 1840-46, Edward Webb, Jeremiah A. Wilson; 1847-51, Joshua Mc- intosh, John Scott. PROBATE JUDGES. Philip Mason, September term, 1829, succeeded at the August term, 1834, by Justice Wright, who served until the office was abolished by the constitution of 1850. SHERIFFS. 1819, John Conner; 1820-24, John M. Wilson; 1824-28', William Caldwell; 1828-30, Robert D. Helm; 1830-32, Gabriel Ginn; 1832-34, William Dickey; 1834-38, John Willey; 1838 to the fall term of 1841, Thomas Lines; 1842 (spring term), Joshua Mcintosh; 1842 (fall term) to 1846, William M. Smith; 1846-50, Joseph Clark; 1850-54, L. W. McCormick; 1854-58, William McCleary; 1858-60, William J. Orr; 1860-64, John Savage; 1864-68, William Cot- ton; 1868-74, J. S. Miller; 1874-78, Dr. B. Ball; 1878-82, John Lair; 1882, present, Samuel Kirkham. CLERKS OF THE COURTS. 1819-27, Jonathan McCarty; in December, 1827, Gabriel Ginn was appointed Clerk pro tern by the Associate Judges, McCarty having resigned; Septem- HISTORY OP PAYETTE COUNTY. 67 ber, 1828-32, William Caldwell; 1832-42, Gabriel Ginn; 18-42-46, George Ginn; 1846-58, Amos R. Edwards; 1858-66, Confucius Edwards; 1866-74, Gilbert^Trusler; 1874 to February, 1881, N. T. Barn- ard; February, 1881, present, Thomas Little. RECORDERS. 1819-22, Joseph C. Reed; 1822-29, Jonathan McCarty; 1829-45, John Tate; 1845-46, Lewis C. Fouts; 1846-57, Joseph Tate; 1857-65, James K. Rhodes; 1865-72, Daniel Rench; 1872. Charles E. Smith (first deed recorded in February and last in November); 1872-80, Charles B. Saunders; 1880, present, William N. Young. AUDITORS. The oflSce was created in 1841; 1841-52, Daniel Rench; 1852-59, Job Stout; 1859-67, James Elliott; 1867-75, William H. Green; 1875-83, Charles R. Williams; 1883, present, John Payne. TREASURERS. 1819-24, Newton Claypool (resigned in the sum- mer of 1824, and in August Samuel Vance was appointed); 1825, Samuel Vance; 1826, Abraham W. Harrison; 1827, Gabriel Ginn; 1828, George Davis, 1829-31, Larkin Sims; 1832-47, Henry Goodlander; 1847-50, William M. Smith; 1850-53, Joseph H. Clark; 1853-57, William H. Beck; 1857-61, Joseph T. Tate; 1861-63, William Watton; 1863-65, Alfred B. Gates; 1865-69, James K. Rhodes; 1869-73, William Cotton; 1873-77, George M. Nelson; 1877- 1881, James D. Henry; 1881, present, Robert Utter. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. A complete record of the persons who have served as Justices of the Peace in Fayette County seems not to have been kept, yet several fragmentary records are found in the court house, from which, together with such names as appear on record, as serving in that capacity, through the various records of the county, the greater number of Justices of the county from its organization can be given, and are set forth in the following list. Where it can be shown, the date of commission, or the date each was qualified, or took the required oath of office, and the sub-divis- ion of the county to which he belonged, are given: At the meeting of the first Board of the Justices of the Peace of the county held September 6, 1824, were present Moses Fry (Connersville Township, and who was in office at the time of his death in 1834), Daniel Skinner (Waterloo), Manlove Caldwell (Posey), Jacob Goodlander (Harrison), Robert D. Helm, Dan- iel Noble, Justice Wright (the latter of Connersville), John Boyd, Joseph Hawkins and James Buchanan (the latter of Columbia). In 1819 John Perrin, Joseph Bell, Benjamin McCarty and Philip Mason appeared as Justices. Manlove Caldwell's election occurred in the spring of 1821; 1825, William Arnold and Isaac Thomas (Orange); 1826, Marks Crume, Triplet Lockhart, Gabriel Ginn, Samuel Fuller and John Conner; 1827, Thomas Moffit (Orange); 1829, Samuel Hutchings (Jennings), Simon Carpenter (Con- nersville); Elijah Corbin (Jackson); 1830, Horatio Mason, Elijah Corbin, Mathias Dawson and Henry C. Lee (the latter of Waterloo); October 24, 1832, Isaac Metcalf (Posey) commissioned, resigned in 1834; 1833, Moses Williams (Jennings), J. D. Thompson (Jackson), John Davidson (Columbia), and George K. Cook; 1834, James C. Rea, July 12, and July 24, 1839; William A. H. Tate (Connersville) commissioned December 4, 1847, December 4, 1852, December 4, 1856, December 4, 1860, December 4, 1864; C. B. Clements (Columbia), qualified Novem- ber 7, 1848; John McCouky, commissioned April 16, 1849; 1849, James Baird (Connersville), commis- sioned July 17; C. Banister (Fairview), April 16; James C. Rea (Harrison), December 22, April 19, 1855, April 20, 1859; James C. Rea, Jr., 1882; Amos Chapman (Waterloo), December 22; William H. Thomas (Waterloo) December 22; A. F. Martin (Orange), February 23, 1850; David Wilson, April 19, 1850; Alexander Martney, June 13, 1851; Will- iam Freeman (Posey) May 10, 1851; James M. Green (Jackson), August, 1850, April 18, 1854; Alexander W. Lemon (Jennings), May 15, 1851; James Li mpus (Columbia), April 25, 1851, April 23, 1856, April 23, 1864; Lorenzo D. Springer, September 26, 1851; J. P. Daniels (Orange), October 22, 1851, October 21, 1856; John S. Springer (Orange), January 21, 1852, January 20, 1856, January 20, 1860, January 19, 1864; Thomas T. Courtney (Jennings), January 16, 1852; Moses Green (Waterloo), April 23, 1852; Raney Gillman (Waterloo), April 23, 1852, April 23, 1856; Zimri Utter (Columbia), October 25, 1852, December 16, 1865; Thomas E. McCon- nell (Fairview), November 17, 1852, November 17, 1856; Linville Ferguson (Posey), November 17 1852; John H. Rea (Jackson), March 29, 1853*; John Beck (Jennings), April 18, 1853, April 15, 1857, May 21, 1861; James Hamilton (Connersville), August 5, 1853; John B. Tate (Connersville), April 15, 1854, November 12, 1861, November 12, 1865; James Shortridge (Fairview), April 18, 1854; Elias R. Lake (Jackson), April 18, 1854; William Curnett (Jen- nings), April 18, 1854, April 20, 1858; John M. Cummins (Posey), April 18, 1854; James Beard (Connersville), July 16, 1854; Henson R. Hamilton (Waterloo), April 18, 1854; James L. Veatch (Jen- 68 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. nings), April 22, 1856; William D. Westerfield (Posey), April 22, 1856, April 22, 1860; Solomon Brown (Columbia), October 24, 1856, October 24, 1860; Joseph Crowley (Jackson), December 29, 1856; Wilson T. Cook (Waterloo), April 15, 1857; Joseph Marshall, October 30, 1857; John McLain (Conners- ville), April 20, 1858; James H. Bonham (Jackson), April 20, 1858; William A. Bush, April 20, 1858, April 22, 1862, February 10, 1879, April 13, 1880; George W. Callaway, April 20, 1858; Levi Carver (Harrison), April 5, 1858; Albert Ellis, October 11, 1858; Israel W. Bonham (Jackson), December 10, 1858; Amos G. Smith (Waterloo), April 22, 1860; John Banister (Posey), April 10, I860, April 9, 1864; William McCleary (Connersville), June 6, 1860; Ed- gar Hibbs (Columbia), April 28, 1860; Joseph P; Daniel (Orange), October 21, 1860, October 27, 1870, November 13, 1874, October, 1878; Thomas E. Mc- Connell (Fairview), November 16, 1860; William C. Forrey (Waterloo), May 21, 1861, November 13, 1869; Samuel Crago (Columbia), December, 1861; David Van Sickle, December 16, 1861, April 18, 1867; Jesse P. Elliott (Jackson), April 22, 1862; H. Kiugery (Jackson), April 22, 1862, September 18, 1866; John J. Burke (Jennings), April 22, 1862. Freeman Johnson, April 18, 1863; Thomas G. Price (Waterloo), April 21, 1864; Hiram Langston (Jack- son), April 20, 1804, October 31, 1872; Philip N. Shrader (Posey), April 21, 1864; Elisha Vance (Con- nersville), June 5, 1864; Wilson T. Dale, August 30, 1864, August 30, 1868, September 13, 1880; William Conner (Orange), October 20, 1864; Thomas Smiley (Fairview), November 16, 1864, April 14, 1870, April 14, 1874; David Veatch, April 18, 1866, December 15, 1874, October. 1876; John P. Thrasher, April 18, 1866, October, 1876; Charles H. Stone, April 18, 1866; Joshua C. White, September 2, 1865; Alpheus M. Elder, April 18, 1866; Enoch Caldwell, April 18, 1866, October 27, 1870; Samuel B. Hunt, April 30, 1868; Benjamin German, April 20, 1869; George W. Hinchman, April 20, 1869; Mark Litinger, October 27, 1870; Jacob E. Stephens (Waterloo), October 27, 1870, April 17, 1875, June 25, 1879; Charles M. Stene, October 27, 1870; P. Lake, July 24, 1872; James Cotton, October 31, 1872, June 8, 1878; Basil McCann, April 1, 1874, April, 1878, April 8, 1882; John W. Hanna, December 5, 1874, December 5, 1878; James M. Crawford (Posey), April 18, 1875, April 12, 1879; Peter C.Eshelman (Jennings), Octo- ber 3, 1876; William H. Hatton (Connersville), Sep- tember 3, 1878, April 11, 1882; Benjamin F. Simp- son, April 12, 1880; William Rudy, November 10, 1880; Lewis M. Davelin, July 23, 1881; James T. Orickmore (Orange), April 11, 1882; Mark Littering- ton (Jennings), April 8, 1882. COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND EARLT PROCEEDINGS. The first Commissioners of the county of Fayette were Basil Roberts, Harod Newland and John Tynor. Their first meeting was held in Conners- ville, on Monday, February 8, 1819, at which the above named Commissioners were present. However, no basiness was transacted, for " it appearing to the Board that no Clerk ha"! yet been appointed for the county, and there being a probability of the Clerk elected for the county being commissioned shortly, it is ordered that this Board adjourn until to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock." In pursuance to the above the Board again assem- bled on the following day, when were present the Commissioners named and Jonathan McCarty, who pi-oduced his commission as Clerk of the Fayette County Circuit Court, and the following business was transacted: On motion it was ordered that the county of Fayette be divided into five townships, namely: Columbia, Connersville, Harrison, Brownsville and Jennings. Their boundaries were given, which will be omitted here and given in the township histories. It was ordered that the following named persons be appointed Inspectors of elections in and for the different townships: For Connersville Township, Marks Crume; Columbia, Morgan Vardiman; Harri- son, Joseph Dale; Brownsville, Richard George Paris; Jennings, Hugh Bell. It was next ordered that there be two Justices of the Peace allotted to each township, to be elected in their respective townships on the first Monday in March next; the Sheriff to give notice of the same. Ordered the following persons be appointed Con- stables in their respective townships: Abraham Bays for Columbia Township, one year; Joel White for Jennings Township; John McCormick, Connersville Township, one year; Reason Davis, Harrison Town- ship; Joseph Gassett, Brownsville Township. This completed the business of the day. Febru- ary 10, the Board appointed Adariah Morgan Lister for the county for the year 1819 (the bond required of him was $1,500). Newton Claypool was appointed Treasurer of the county, and required to give a bond of two good free holders security in sum of |2,000. John McCormick, Sr., and John Tynerwere appoint- ed Overseers of the Poor in Harrison Township for one year; Abiather Hathaway and Nicholas Reagan for Connersville Township; Noah Pumphrey and John Conner, Columbia Township; James Haughan and Athariel Sims, Brownsville Township; Joseph Vanmeter and Samuel Bell, Sr., Jennings Town- ship. Jonathan McCarty was authorized to contract for and procure a seal to be made of copper or brass with the following letters engraved thereon: " Indi- HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. 69 ana, Fayette County, B. C," which said seal when BO procurecl and approved by the Board shall be known and used for the common seal of the Board of County Commissioners. In May, 1819, A. Morgan was allowed $60 for his services as Lister of the county for the year. Will- iam W. Wick was allowed $20, the sum granted him by the Circuit Court for Prosecuting Attorney, at the May term of court. May 11, 1819, it was ordered that the following tavern rates be charged by the tavern keepers in the county : For every i pint of French brandy or wine, rum and imported wines $0.50 For every i pint peach brandy or gin 25 For every ^ pint whisliy 12J For porter per quart 85 For cider per quart 12^ For strong beer per quart 12^ For dinner, breakfast or supper 25 For lodging per night 12i For horse to hay per night 25 For oats or Indian corn per gallon 13i In May, 1819, it was ordered that a tax levy for county purposes for the year 1819 be as follows: On each horse, mare, colt, mule or ass over the age of three years |0.37i For every town lot ($100 valuation) 50 For each 100 acres of first-rate land 50 For each 100 acres of second-rate land 431 For each 100 acres of third-rate land 31i In November, 1819, Jonathan McCarty was allowed $30 for his annual allowance as Clerk to the Board of Commissioners for the year 1819. In Feb- ruary, 1820, Benjamin McCarty was appointed Lister of the county for that year; and for his services was subsequently allowed $64. Jonathan McCarty was allowed $50 for his serv- ices for the year 1819. John Conner as Sheriff of the county, in 1819, was allowed $50. The Associate Judges were generally allowed $2 per day for their services. In June, 1820, James C. Rea was appointed to take the census of the county, for which he was allowed $2 for each 100 persons. The following statement exhibits the condition of the county treasury in November, 1820, on their set- tlement with Newton Claypool, the County Treasurer: To balance remaining in Treasury November, 1819. . $869 03 To amount tavern licenses, taxes and notes and cer- tificates to this date 189 25 Duplicates for the year 1820 946 02^ $2,004 30i Cr. by orders allowed and disbursed to date $680 06i By donation charge debited to Treasurer in last year' 8 settlement 105.00 By 5 per cent on $900, amount received and disbursed duringl819-20 • 45 00 $830 06i Dr. to $2,004 30i Cr. by 830 06 $1,174 24} The first marriage license recorded after the organ- ization of the county, was that of Stephen Philpott to Rebecca Hawkins. The date of the issue of the license was February 9, 1819. The marriage was solemnized by Rev. Adam Banks. The first deed recorded in the county was an indenture made January 31, 1819, by Paul Davis, and his wife Margaret, of Connersville Township, Franklin County, Ind., on the one part,'and James Davis, of the same township, county and State on the other part. It was the conveyance of the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 21, Township 14, Range 12 east, and the consideration was $80. The transaction was acknowledged before John Perin, a Justice of the Peace, January 31, 1818, and recorded March 23, 1819, by J. C. Reed. The first will recorded was that of the last will and testament of George Kirschman, deceased, of which record was made in the court house, August 26, 1819. The Clerks of the courts of the county from its organization to 1841 were also the Clerks of the Board of Commissioners. In 1841 the office of Auditor was created, and since that time the Auditor of the county is also the Clerk to the Commissioners. CO0NTY COMMISSIONEES. The following is a list of the Commissioners of Fayette County from 1819 to 1884 inclusive: 1819 — Basil Roberts, Harod New land, John Tyner. 1820 — Basil Roberts, Harod Newland, John Tyner. 1821 — Basil Roberts, John Tyner, Stanhope Roy- ster, Harod Newland, James M. Ray (Newland was succeeded in May by James M. Ray, who was ap- pointed until the August election, and was succeeded by Royster). 1822 — Basil Roberts, Stanhope Royster, Samuel Vance; the latter having been appointed to till a va- cancy caused by the death of Tyner, was succeeded in August by Jonathan John. 1823— Basil Roberts, Stanhope Royster, Jonathan John, the latter being succeeded in August by Alex- ander Dale. 1824 — Basil Roberts, Stanhope Royster, Alex, ander Dale. In 1824 a Board composed of the Justices of the Peace from the several townships was substituted for the Commissioners, one of the Justices being chosen by the Board as President. From September of this year until November, 1827, the county was so gov- erned, during which period the Presidents of the Board were as follows: 1824-25— Moses Fay. 1825-26— Justice Wright. 70 HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. 1826 — (From September to November) Gabriel Ginn. 1826-27-Marks Crume. The office of Commissioner having been restored, the liat continues as follows: 1827 — Hezekiah Mount, William Dickey, David Ferree. 1828 — Hezekiah Mount, William Dickey, and until September David Ferree, when succeeded by Charles Hubbartt. 1829— Hezekiah Mount, William Dickey, Charles Hubbartt. 1830 — William Dickey, Charles Hubbartt, and itntil August Hezekiah Mount, when succeeded by Charles Salyer. 1831 — Charles Salyer, William Dickey, Charles Hubbartt. 1832 — Charles Salyer, Charles Hubbartt, and un- til September William Dickey, when succeeded by Alexander Dale. 1833-34; — Charles Salyer, Charles Hubbartt, Alex- ander Dale. 1835 — Charles Salyer, Charles Hubbartt, and un- til September Alexander Dale, when succeeded by Hezekiah Mount. 1838 — Charles Salyer, Charles Hubbartt, and until September Hezekiah Mount, when succeeded by Alexander Dale. 1839 — Charles Hubbartt, Alexander Dale, and until September Charles Salyer, when succeeded by James Veatch. 1840 — Alexander Dale, James Veatch, and until September Charles Hubbartt, when succeeded by Henry Simpson. 1841 — James Veatch, Henry Simpson, and until August Alexander Dale, when succeeded by Thomas Mofifett. 1842 — James Veatch, Henry Simpson, Thomas Mofifett. 1843 — James Veatch, Thomas Mofifett, and until September Henry Simpson, when succeeded by Jacob Troxell. 1844 — James Veatch, Thomas Mofifett, Jacob Troxell. 1845 — Thomas Moffett, Jacob Troxell, and until September James Veatch, when succeeded by John Jemison. 1846 — Thomas Mofifett, John Jemison, and until September Jacob Troxell, when succeeded by Daniel H. White. 1847 — Thomas Moffett, John Jemison, Daniel H. White. 1848— Thomas Mofifett, Daniel H. White and un- til September John Jemison, when succeeded by James Steele. 1849— Thomas Mofifett, Daniel H. White, James Steele. 1850 — Daniel H. White, James Steele, and until September Thomas Mofifett, when -succeeded by W. W. Thrasher. 1851— Daniel H. White, W. W. Thrasher, and until August James Steele, when succeeded by A. T. Beckett. 1852— W. W. Thrasher, A. T. Beckett, and until November Daniel H. White, when succeeded by Will- iam H. Huston (Thrasher was succeeded in December by Joseph Dale). 1853-54— Joseph Dale, William H. Huston, A T. Beckett. 1855 — Joseph Dale, A. T. Beckett, and until Sep- tember William H. Huston, when succeeded by John Stoops. 1856 — John Stoops, A. T. Beckett, Joseph Dale. 1857 — John Stoops, Joseph Dale, and until Sep- tember A. T. Beckett, when succeeded by George Scott. 1858 — George Scott, Joseph Dale, and until Sep- tember John Stoops, when succeeded by Joseph M. Sutcliffe. 1859— Joseph M. Sutclifife, George Scott, and un- til September Joseph Dale, when succeeded by W. T. Hensley. 1860— W. T. Hensley, George Scott, Joseph M. Sutclifife. 1861 — W. T. Hensley, George Scott, and until September Joseph M. Sutclifife, when succeeded by Raney Gillman. 1862 — Rauey Gillman, George Scott, and until December, W. T. Hensley, when succeeded by Eph- raim Jefifrey. 1863 — Ephraim Jeffrey, Raney Gillman, A. T. Beckett (latter appointed in June in the place of Mr. Scott, deceased). 1864-66— Ephraim Jeffrey, A. T. Beckett, Robert Holland. 1867 — Ephraim Jeffrey, A. T. Beckett, and until September Robert Holland, when succeeded by John Beck. 1868— John Beck, A. T. Beckett, and until De- cember Ephraim Jeffrey, when succeeded by Ezra Martin. 1869 — John Beck, Ezra Martin, and until Sep- tember A. T. Beckett, when succeeded by Hiram B. Langs ton. 1870-71 — Hiram B. Langston, John Beck, Ezra Martin. 1872 — Hiram B. Langston, Ezra Martin, and until June John Beck, when succeeded by William A. Hol- land. (Langston was succended in November by John Spivey.) ? ^■•" HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 73 1873— John Spivey, William A. Holland, Ezra Martin. 1874 — John Spivey, William A. Holland, and until December, Ezra Martin, when succeeded by Linville Ferguson. 1875 — William A. Holland, Linville Ferguson, and until September, John Spivey, vyhen succeeded by John Sims. 1876-77— William A. Holland, John Sims, and until December, Linville Ferguson, when succeeded by Henry Saxon. 1878 — Henry Saxon, William A. Holland, and until September John Sims, when succeeded by Sam- uel P. Jemison. 1879-82— William A. Holland, Samuel P. Jemi- son, Henry Saxon. 1883 — William A. Holland, Samuel P. Jemison, and until December, Henry Saxon, when succeeded by Henry C. Rees. 1884 — -William A. Holland, Samuel P. Jemison, Samuel P. Rees. CHAPTER VIII. INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. ROADS— MAIL AND STAGE ROUTES— WHITEWATER VALLEY CANAL— HYDRAULIC COMPANY— TURNPIKES AND BRIDGES— RAILROADS. ONE of the gi-eat inconveniences attending the settlement of a new country is the utter destitu- tion of improvements. The pioneer as he journeys onward into the wilderness over hills, through track- less and tangled thickets, crossing bridgless streams and through swamps, at the very outset is impressed with the idea that a road would be most desi- rable. The first roads in Fayette County were mere trails or paths for horses made by the Indians while en route to and from their favorite hunting grounds and camps, or to the trading-posts established at points along the beautiful Whitewater, whence they went to barter their pelts and furs. One of these early paths was the " Indian Trace " leading from Connersville, or the trading-post of John Conner, to the northwest to an Indian village located in the center of the Thorutown Reservation, in what_is now Boone County, this State. One of the earliest provisions of the laws enacted for the government of the Northwest Territory was that which provided a "road fund." Various roads through the county were early proposed and some of them constructed, but these for years were little more than tracks through the woods cleared of timber, with no bridges, and in the rich and fresh condition of the soil became next to impassable in the wet seasons. As early as 1820 Commissioners were appointed to lay out " State roads." One materially affecting Fayette County was from Lawrencoburg through Brookville by way of Southgate and Tanner's Creek, Connersville, Waterloo and Centreville to Winchester. Over a half century ago it was familiarly called the Connersville State road, and from Brookville it was a continuation of Main Street, up the hill northward through Green Brier (Blooming Grove) and West Union (Everton) to Connersville. "In 1819 or 1820 another road was made from the Whitewater Valley, near Connersville, passing through Rush County, and crossing Big Flat Rock not far from where Smelser's mills were afterward built; then crossing Blue River above Morristown; thence to the site of Indianapolis. I am under the impression that this road was made by George Pogue and John McCormack, as it has always been under- stood that these two gentlemen were the first persons who, with their families, moved from the Whitewater Valley, and settled in the neighborhood of where Indianapolis now stands." — i[Elijah Hackleman.^ MAIL AND STAGE ROUTES. Connersville, Everton, Harrisburg, Waterloo and Plumb Orchard constituted the postoffices of the county in 1830. In the spring of 1833, long before the county had advanced to the era of gravel or macadamized high- ways, the notes of the bugle horn could be heard an- nouncing the arrival of the stage coach from Cincin- nati, which if not detained by a " stick in the mud " was on time. The mail lines of stages of which we write were at this period owned and managed by Abner McCarty, of Brookville, who informed the public by a notice in a paper of that village that "the stages will leave William Henries, near City Hall, in Cincinnati, every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday for Brookvilje; leave Brookville every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for Cincinnati; leave, Centreville every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday for Brookville; every Saturday for Richmond; leave Richmond every Sun- day for Brookville. 74 HIvSTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. "To and from these points was uia Harrison, Tren- ton, Brookville, Connersville and Milton to Centre- ville. From Brookville via Fairfield, Dunlaps- ville, Liberty, Brownsville and Abington to Rich- mond." The entrance of the route from Cincinnati into the village of Connersville, as given by a pioneer, was "over by Swifts' and Orr's, where it left the main road and passed by old Uncle Sol Claypool's, then across the strip of woods in the river bottom to the ford opposite where Root's foundry now stands." WHITEWATER VALLEY CANAL. One of the early demands of the people of a new country is for means of intercommunication. So soon as the western country began to be settled there began the cry for national aid in opening up all sorts of avenues for ingfress and egress to and from the frontier lands. New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio had given great attention to the subject of canals, and Indiana early in its history turned its attention to the same subject. The project of a canal through the Whitewater Valley was agitated as early as 1822 or 1823, by Alvin Joselyn, then connected with the Brookville press; subsequently there was held at Harrison, Ohio, a convention of delegates from Franklin Wayne, Union, Randolph, Fayette and Dearborn counties. A survey was soon made under the super- vision of Col. Shriver's Brigade of United States Engineers. Col. Shriver died before the survey was completed, and after his death the work was continued by Col. Stansbury, who began at the mouth of Gar- rison's Creek, but discontinned his labor on the approach of winter. Nothing further seems to have been done until in 1834, when from the Connersville Watchman it appears that " a corps of engineers are surveying the route of the contemplated canal down the valley of the Whitewater." In January, 1836, was passed by the General Assembly of Indiana the celebrated act to provide for a general system of internal improvements under which were commenced the Wabash and Erie Canal, the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad, Indiana Cen- tral Canal and the Whitewater Valley Canal. The last named work was to extend from Hagerstown to Lawrenceburg. (The State of Ohio, or a company chartered by the State, afterward constructed a branch from Harrison, Ohio, to Cincinnati.) The passage of this bill was celebrated at Con- nersville by an old-timo jollification on the evening of the 18th of January, which, however, ended in a very appalling accident by which one young man lost his life and three others were maimed. An account of the demonstrations and of the accident will be found in the sketch of Connersville. The survey and location of the Whitewater Valley Canal were completed and the contracts for building the various sections were let at Brookville, Septem- ber 13, 1836, which event was there the occasion of a celebration, and that day made a general gala day. The orator on the occasion was Hon. David Wallace. Gov. Noble, ex-Gov. James B. Ray, Dr. Drake, of Cincinnati, and George H. Dunn, Esq., of Lawrence- burg, were chosen as representative characters to per- form the ceremony of "breaking ground " for the new canal. Under the auspices of the State, the canal was completed from the Ohio River to Brookville, as well as aboat half the work from Brookville to Cambridge City. The cost of the work to Brookville was $664,- 665. At this time (1839) the State found itself in debt some $14,000,000, and was compelled to abandon all public works. The first boat to reach Brookville was the " Ben Franklin." This was on Saturday, June 8, 1839. The citizens gave vent to their joy by the firing of cannon and other demonstrations. At the session of 1841-42, the Legislature char- tered the Whitewater Valley Company, with a capital stock of $400,000. Samuel W. Parker, of Conners- ville, afterward member of Congress from this dis trict, took an active part in getting up the company, and, in connection with J. G. Marshall and others, secm'ed the granting of the charter by the Legisla- ture, of which they were both active members. One of the principal contractors under the State and com- pany was Thomas Tyner. The citizens of Cambridge City celebrated the commencement of operations by the company, on the 28th of July, 1842, b}' a barbecue, which was attend- ed by about 10,000 persons. The first wheel-bar- row load of earth was dug and wheeled out by Hon. Samuel W. Parker; the second, by Hon. Jehu T. Elliott, of New Castle, since a Judge of the Supreme Court. Every one preseot will remember the witty little speech of Parker on first "breaking ground" in the name of the company, and the able-and more for- mal address which he afterward commenced, but which a terrible thunder-storm prevented him from completing. Letters from Henry Clay and other dis- tinguished persons who had been invited, but failed to attend, were read on the occasion. In October, 1843, the canal was extended from Brookville fifteen miles to Laurel; to Connersville, twelve miles further, in Juno, 1845; and in October, the same year, it was completed to Cambridge City, the entire cost to the company being $473,000. The first boat that arrived at Connersville was in HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 75 the fall of 1845. It was called the "Patriot," and was commanded by Capt. Gayle Ford. On the first day of January, 1847, a tremendous freshet damaged the canal so badly that it cost upward of $100,000 to repair it; by the flood was car- ried off the aqueduct across Symon's Greek, near Cambridge, and that across the West Fork of White- water, at Laurel, besides washing immense channels around the feeder dams at Cambridge, Connersville, Laurel, Brookville, the one four miles below, and that at Harrison, and also did much damage along the whole line. A second flood in November, 1848, only a few weeks after the repairs had been com- pleted, damaged it to the amount of $80,000. It was, however, again repaired and operated, to some extent, for several years, until superseded by rail- roads, one the Whitewater Valley Railroad, con- structed along the tow-path, and part of the way in the bed of the canal, which had been previously placed in the hands of a receiver, and the right-of- way transferred to the railroad company for that pur- pose. The canal constructed by the company extended north only to Cambridge City. (The length of the canal from Lawrenceburg to Cambridge City was seventy miles.) Subsequently, in or about the year 1846, the Hagerstown Canal Company was organized and the canal completed to that place in 1847. But a small number of boats, however, ever reached that place, and the canal soon fell into disuse, except as a source of water-power, HYDRAULIC COMPANY. The Whitewater Valley Canal Company trans- ferred its hydraulic interest to the Connersville Hydraulic Company, which was organized in Decem- ber, 1865, with a capital stock of $10,000, under the following officers: President, P. H. Roots; Treas- urer, F. M. Roots; Secretary, Samuel Enyart; Board of Directors, P. H. and F. M. Roots, and Matthew Pfafflin. The Hydraulic Company secured a lease from the Canal Company in February, 1866, which was^ approved by the receiver and the United States Circuit Court of the Southern District of Indiana. The company control the Hydraulic from Cambridge City, including the feeder dam at that point, and the one at Loekport; also to Heron's lock, about one mile below Connersville. It is officered at this time (1884) by F. M. Roots, President; F. T. Roots, Superin- tendent and Treasurer; E. Woodward, Secretary; F. M., F. T. and D. T. Roots, Directors. It has been under the same manaorement from the beginnino'. TURNPIKES AND BRIDGES. Gravel roads and macadamized highways may be said not to have progressed in the county until the decade between 1850-60. A number of such roads were projected in and through the county soon after the passage of the bill relating to such highways, approved May 1, 1852. Ai'ticles of association under the name of the Milton & Rushville Turnpike Company were tiled in the spring of 1854, with the object in view of constructing a gravel road from " Milton in Wayne County, in the direction of Rushville, in Rush Coun- ty, to the eastern boundary line of said county, via Bentonville in Fayette County," but it is the under- standing that this road was not then constructed. Articles of association were next filed by the Con- nersville & Rushville Gravel Road Company, for the purpose of constructing a road " from a point on the Connersville and Rushville State road, a half mile west from the corporation limits of Connersville, thence west on and near the line of said State road, to where the same intersects the county line dividing Rush and Fayette Counties at Vienna; distance about eight miles." This road was constructed. At about this time several roads were projected and constructed, and in 1856, as shown by a map of the county, the following gravel or macadamized roads were in process of construction, or completed, the distance in the county being given: Connersville and Milton, five miles. Milton and Brownsville, five miles. Connersville and Brookville, nine miles. Bentonville and Dublin, four miles. Bentonville and Milton, two miles. Besides the above there are other turnpikes in the county, as set forth below: The county line (Fayetteville and Fairfield), seven miles. Connersville and Ahjuina, five miles. Connersville and Brownsville, six miles. Connersville and Waterloo Township, four and one-half miles. Connersville and Fairview, eleven miles. Connersville and Harrisburg, eight miles. Harrisburg and Bentonville, seven miles. Connersville and Rushville (to Vienna), nine miles. (This latter has beeu suffered to go down, and is not now kept up as a pike). There was once a turnpike known as the Fayette- ville and Laurel pike, five miles in length, but it, too, has gone down. These highways have been partly constructed by taxation, but largely by subscription. The toll gate, that relic of barbarism, can be seen along at least seven of these roads. The first bridge of auy particular size in this county was built over Whitewater River, on the road leading from Connersville to East Connersville. The 76 HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. contractors were Minor Meeker, H. B. Woodcock and James Veatch. It was built between the year 1838 and 1842. The contract for a now wrought iron bridge over Waterloo ford was awarded to the Canton, Ohio, Wrought Iron Bridge Company, in June, 1881, for 110,637.37. This company had constructed, two yearri prior, the bridge at Nulltown. The new bridge at Waterloo was viewed and accepted by the Commis- sioners in March, 1884. Cost $4,555. The greater number of the larger bridges of the county have been built within the last decade. RAILROADS. The Cincinnati, Hamilton <& Indianapolis Rail- road was constructed by the Junction Railroad Com- pany, which was incorporated by the State of Indiana, February 15, 1848, tor the purpose of constructing a railroad from Rushville, Ind., by the way of Conners- ville and Osford, to coQuaat with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad at Hamilton, Ohio. The Legislature of Ohio, on the 8th of March, 1849, granted to this company the right to extend its road from the State line to Hamilton, and gave to it all the rights, privileges and powers granted to railroad com- panies by the general law of Ohio, passed in Febru- ary, 1848. The company was organized in 1849, and surveys were made preparatory to the location of the road from Rushville to Hamilton; but a diiference of opinion arose as to the best route, which 'produced a temporary suspension of operations on the road Early in 1852 the company was re-organized, and new officers elected, who adopted measures to make the location of the road upon the route originally designated in the charter. The construction of the road was commenced in 1852, and was continued with moderate progress, at intervals, until 1864, when it was completed to Connersville. In 1853 the officers of the company were as fol- lows: President, John Woods; Directors, J. D. Jones, of Cincinnati; J. M. Ridenour, of College Corner; S. W.Parker, of Connersville; W. M. Smith, of Connersville; John Woods, of Hamilton; George Hibben, of Rushville; J. Blake, of Indianapolis; Treasurer, William Tindall, of Connersville; Secre- tary, J. Leach, of Connersville; Chief Engineer, A. H. Campbell, of Liberty. Mr. Campbell served as Chief Engineer of the road continuously up to 1871. In February, 1853, the Ohio & Indianapolis Railroad Company was incorporated for the purpose of constructing a railroad from Rushville to Indian- apolis. This company was organized by the friends and stock-holders of the Junction Railroad, for the purpose of obtaining a direct communication upon a continuous railroad of the same gauge between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. This company in April, 1858, was consolidated with and merged into the Junction Railroad Company. By this means the Junction Railroad was extended from Indianapolis to Hamilton, ninety-eight miles, where it connects with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad. In 1806 an effort was made to complete the con- struction from Connersville to Rushville, and the following winter and spring the company became financially embarrassed, and the work was suspended. In April, 1867, a party of some twelve individuals of means purchased a controlling interest in the stock, and assumed the purchase of the unsold first mortgage bonds of the company, and commenced work to complete the road and equip with rolling stock the entire line to Indianapolis. This was effected so far that trains ran over the whole road from Cincinnati to Indianapolis, in June, 1868. The estimated average cost of the construction of the road per mile from Indianapolis to Hamilton ready for the rolling stock was made by the Chief Engineer at $21,516.75. The Whiteioater Valley Railroad from Cincinnati, constructed along the tow-path, and, part of the way, in the bed of the canal, passes through the county from south to north to Cambridge City, its northern terminus. The articles of association of the company constructing the road were filed with the Secretary of State June 8, 1865, and the road was completed to Connersville in the spring of 1867, and soon there- after to Cambridge City. Prom the latter city the road passed to Hagerstown on the Columbus, Chicago & Indiana Central. The Fort Waytie, Cincinnati <& Louisville Rail- road filed its articles of association with the Secre- tary of State December 6, 1881. The road was origi- nally a branch of the C. & I. Junction R. R., extending from Connersville through Cambridge City to New Castle, and was known as the Connersville & New Castle Junction R. R. The road was built directly after the completion of the C. & I. Junction R. R. It was subsequently extended and became known as the Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cincinnati Railroad. The Jeff ersonville, Madison d- Indianapolis R. R. — The railroad crossing the northwestern corner of the county, running from Rushville to Cambridge City, known as the J. M. & I., of which it is a branch, was completed July 4, 1867. The road was originally a part of the Lake Erie & Louisville R. R., extending from Freemont, Ohio, to Rushville, Ind., and by con- nections to Louisville. The C. H. & L R. R. has 15.3 miles of main track in the county of Fayette; the Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville, 4.87 miles; the J. M. &I., 8.43 miles; and the Whiowater Valley 14.16 miles, making in all 42.76 miles. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 77 CHAPTER IX. AGRICULTURE. IMPLEMENTS— CATTLE— HOUSES— HOGS— SHEEP— AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES AND FAIRS. " Oh, friendly to the best pursuits of man, Friendlj to thought, to virtue and to peace, Domestic life in rural leisure passed ! Pew know thy value, few taste thy sweets. Though many boast thy favors, and affect To understand and choose thee for their own." IN the early settlement of this section, ponds, marshes and swamps abounded where to day are found fertile and cultivated fields. The low and marshy ground was avoided for the higher grounds, not only on account of the wetness but for sanitary purposes. The cabin was built usually by or near a spring, and convenience alone was considered in the location of other buildings; the corn-crib was as apt to be in close proximity to the front door as in the rear of the dwelling. These were all built of logs, and often in their riide, round form. For years in places no fences enclosed the pioneer's possessions; however, the first substantial enclosures did not differ materi- ally from the old "worm" fence constructed of rails as those of to-day appear. The soil was new and pro- ductive. For years the crops were not extensive, for with the pioneer so remote from a place of market, it was a mere question of home supply. Yet his re- moteness from the point from which indispensable and necessary supplies were to be obtained, was a question of no little moment to him. Salt, iron and other commodities are indispensable even to a rude state of civilization, and great hardships were under- gone to secure them. As acres were cleared and the crops increased, the market question became one of consideration, and the difficulty of getting the crops of the soil to the nearest market, then Cincinnati, sit- uated sixty miles distant, was embarrassing. These commodities had to be wagoned over hill and through dale, the way often being almost impassable, as the only roads were mere paths, with the old logs and underbrush cleared out. Some few are yet living who will remember the "three notches" along these paths indicating a public highway. Days were con- sumed in making the journey, and little encourage- ment had the farmer to increase the products of his fields beyond the home and neighborhood demand. Speaking of the travel over one of these roads, one of the pioneers of Fayette writes: "Nothing was more common than lo find by the wayside at nearly every place where good water could be had, a camping ground where the weary wagoner had camped, as also had the emigrant with his family. They generally tied their horses to the wagon-tongue, on which was fastened a feed-trough, which, when traveling, they carried swung to the hind-gate of their wagon, for the purpose of feeding their horses. They would build a fire by which to cook their scanty meal, and, if night had overtaken them, the ground was their bed and the star-decked heaven their canopy, and fortunate would they consider themselves if they had a small bundle for a pillow." In 1810 bacon sold at 2J cents per pound; corn 20 to 25 cents per bitshel; but there was a season of great scarcity when it sold for $1.25 per bushel. But- ter for a long time sold for 3, 4 and 6 cents per pound. While produce was so low the farmer had to pay 50 cents per yard for muslin that can now be bought for 8 or 10 cents. Common calicoes cost 37^ cents per yard. In 1820 oats sold at 8 cents per bushel. The late Dr. Mason, who settled in the county, in his autobiography, in referring to this sub- ject says, "Corn was often sold for 6 cents a bushel and wheat for 25 cents; and il was difficult to get money at that, and then only in small amounts. Salt was often as high as $2.50 and $3.00 a bushel. When the farmer could sell his pork on foot at the rate of $1.50 per hundred, net weight, he felt rich and began to thrive." But the pioneer farmers supplied their homes liberally with the comforts of the period and contentment and happiness generally characterized their homes. In the preparation of their fields for crops the mattock or hoe was called into service ; this mat- tock, as some styled it, vras a tool nearly two feet long, one end of which was a blade probably about three inches wide, strong with a sharp steel edge, the other end being brought to a sharp edge designed to be used as an axe. If the field was too full of stumps it was planted in corn. Sometimes a field would be grown producing what was termed " sick wheat." Such has been described as differing little or none from the wheat now grown, except in the ap- pearance of a red spot on the grain or an indication of sprouting. The cause for wheat thus styled has 78 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. by some been attributed in this locality to the excess of vegetable matter producing an excess of straw and not unfrequently a kind of rot or blight in many of the wheat grains, which rendered it unfit for use and was so denominated from the effect on the stomach of one eating it. IMPLEMENTS. Agriculture is a term hardly applicable to the farming of early times. The implements were then necessarily few and of rude and simple construction, and could be manufactured by indifferent blacksmiths. The plows used were the bar-share and the shovel. The iron part of the former consisted of a bar of iron about two feet long, and a broad share of iron welded to it. At the extreme point was a coulter that passed through a beam six or seven feet long, to which were attached handles of corresponding length. The mould board was a wooden one split out of winding timber, or hewed into a winding shape in order to turn the soil over. The whole length of the plow from the fore end of the beam to the ends of the handles was eight or ten feet. Newly cleared ground was with this plow broken up with great difficulty. On this subject a pioneer says : " The old bar-share plow, with a coulter and wooden mould-board, was the best plow then in use, though by far the greatest number used only the shovel plow, which answered an excellent purpose in the loose rich alluvium soil in its virgin purity free from weeds and grass. The shovel was all the iron connected with the plow, and not unlike those in use at the present day. The gearing or harness used by a majority of our pioneers was so novel in its construction that I must describe it. The bridle for the horse was an iron bit. the balance being of small rope. The col- lar was made of shucks (the husks of the corn). The hames were shaped out of a crooked oak or a hickory root, fastened at the top with a cord and at the bottom in the same way. The traces were of rope, the back- band being of _tow cloth. The whiffle-tree or single- tree was of wood, with a notch on each end ; the trace hitched by a loop over the whifHe-tree, and to the hame through a hole. The whiffle-tree was attached to the double-tree by a hickory withe, and sometimes by a wooden clevis made of two pieces of some tough wood, with wooden pin; 'the double-tree fastened to the end of the plow beam by the same wooden form of clevis and sometimes an iron one. To the rope bridle was attached a cord, called a single line, by which the horse was driven. By far the largest num- ber of plow-teams was only with a single horse, geared as before described, and hitched to the shovel plow, the ground broken up, crossed off and tended by the same plow and horse." The land in the early history of this region was much better adapted to corn than small grain, espec- ially wheat, owing to the excess of vegetable matter in the soil. Sown seed was "bushed in" by a sapling with a bushy top, or by a bundle of brush from a tree top, dragged butts forward. In the course of time the roots sprouts, and other obstacles gave way in a measure, and the ground admitted of the harrow, which implement was triangular in form, resembling the letter A; the teeth were probalily as heavy again in weight as those now used, in order to stand the collision with the roots and stumps over and among which they were to be drawn. The cast- iron plow was slowly introduced, the harrow was improved, the cultivator invented, drills for sowing and planting came into use, and other labor-saving implements, and the aspect of farming wonderfully changed. The sickle for cutting the grain was first used, but as soon as the decay and removal of the stumps per- mitted of a larger instrument and a more rapid method, it was succeeded by the cradle, which in southwestern Ohio gradually became into use at a period beginning about 1825. The cradle in many parts of the country has given way, while in some sections it is still in use. Reaping with the sickle, one of the most ancient of farming implements, was always slow and labori- ous, Among those still with us are men who used the sickle and know how to swing the cradle and scythe. Reapers gradually superseded the cradle, and mowers the scythe. The first reaping machines merely cut the grain; a rake was necessary to gather the grain into sheaves, ready for the binders. Self- raking machines soon followed, and about 1878 self- binding machines were introduced. Grain was threshed with a flail, which, in its rudest form, was made of a hickory sapling about two inches thick, and seven or eight feet long. About two feet and a half from one end it was roasted in the fire, and at this place it was bruised or beaten, so as to cause it to bend. With this, grain was beaten out on the ground, if there was no barn floor. Flails were often made in various other ways. Another of the old-fashioned method of threshing the grain, and the most common, was by tramping it out with horses. There were no fanning-mills to separate the grain from the chaff; to raise the wind a linen sheet was taken from the bed, and held at the corners by two men; and by a semi rotary motion, or swinging of one side of the sheet, the chaff was driven from the falling grain, the pure wheat lying in a pile ready to be garnered. The sheet process was at length succeeded by the fanning- mill. This slow and wasteful method of separating the grain has passed into history, and the steam oi- horse-power threshing machine has taken its place, by which the grain is not only separated from the chaff, HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 79 but the latter carried off and the straw borne to the stack at the same time. A single machine now receives the sheaves, and delivers the cleaned grain at the rate of hundreds of bushels a day. How wonderfully striking is the change! Imagine the pioneer with sickle ib hand entering one of Minnesota's wheat-fields, of from 200 to 800, or 1,000 acres, and the invention of the self-binding reaper will be appreciated. A lad of ten years can mow from fifty to one hundred acres of meadow in an ordinary haying sea- son, and the hay is all raked dui'ing the same time by a single hand. CATTLE. Many of the early cattle of Fayette County were brought with the immigrants; especially did those coming from the adjacent States, Ohio and Kentucky, bring with them a cow or two. Cattle were also brought from various quarters, but all were then of the more common class, but in every way sufficed the wants and answered the purposes of the pioneer times. The early farmers suffered their cattle to run at large, and wanderingly they went through the woods, over uncultivated grounds, browsing for their living, and by this means some of the native grasses were extirpated by being- tramped down and cropped off early in the season before giving the seeds time to form. Whether with always an object in view or not, there seems not to have been a step taken by the pioneer that was not without a purpose or followed by some good result. Few buildings sheltered their herds from the cold and piercing winds, the deep snows and chilling rains of the winters. They hov- ered around the stacks of wheat straw, which served the double purpose of shelter and subsistence. How- ever, after corn husking in the fall they were given these fields and here found their food, and at inter- vals unhusked corn was thrown to them, the ground constituting their feed troughs. Kentucky and Ohio early manifested an interest in the improvement of the stock of cattle, and from these quarters came into Fayette County a better breed of this animal. Early in the history of south- western t)hio the Shakers at Union Village, in War- ren County, were in possession of the early descend- ants of the Kentucky importation of English cattle, made in 1817, and to that locality importations of thoroughbred Short-horn cattle direct from Scotland were made in 1854. Cattle from Union Village were brought to Fayette County, but at what period we have no definite knowledge. Jfewton Claypool, Gen. William Cald- well and William Daily, not far from the year 1838, went to Kentucky, and among them purchased three heifers and one bull, descendants of the importation of Short-horn cattle of 1837, which were brought to Fayette County. The bull was owned by the three, and there being but one Democrat in the number he insisted on naming the animal, which was consented to, and the same was christened "Van Buren." Not a great while subsequent to this period the man of whom these cattle were purchased brought a drove of the same breed of Short-horn cattle to this locality. Several years subsequent to the time that Messrs Claypool, Caldwell and Dailey brought the cattle re- ferred to above to this locality, the Hon. W. W. Thrasher purchased a Short-horn bull and two cows of one Cunningham, who resided near Lexington, Ky., which he brought to the county. The Devins breed were to some extent raised in the county, but were not very popular as they seemed not to have answered the purpose — were wanting in size for beef cattle, and they never became numerous. Isaac B. Loder, James McCollem and Train Caldwell brought from near Lexington, Ky., several thoroughbred Short- horn cattle; and among the num- ber was the bull styled "Bellmont." This was in the year 1853. From time to time excellent Short-horn cattle have continued to be brought into the county, until they are now found in almost every locality. Of recent years the Jersey cattle has made its appear- ance, and is a favorite with some on account of the richness of the milk of the cow, and its properties for butter-making. From reports made, through the President, by the Secretary of the Agricultural Society at intervals during the past thirty years, we gather some facts concerning stock, which we give below: Report of 1852. — "The cattle are chiefly driven from hence to a foreign market, and the number sent from this county during the past year is estimated at 6,000." Report of 1853. — "The stock cannot be beat by any other county. Caldwell and MeCullum's bull, of this county, took the first premium at our fair, and was equal to any at the State fair. We are made, however, to deplore the number of scrubs among us. This cannot be remedied so long as we have scrub farmers among us. They can only be removed by emigration or death." In 1856, the number of cattle in the county was valued at $5,627. HORSES. In horses, Fayette has claimed a high grade for some years. Oxen, in many localities in the early period of the county's history, were used to a better 80 HISTOKY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. advantage than the horse. Over such roads as have been described, and in working the ground among the tangled roots and stumps, the ox was well adapted, and to many played well his part in prepar- ing the way for a succeeding step in the progress of things. In 1830 there were in the county 282 work- ing oxen. Judging from the Secretary's report to the State Board of Agriculture in 1880, the improvement in the horse has, perhaps, hardly kept pace with the advancement in other directions. "The exhibition of horses, cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry showed im- provement, but not so marked in the horse depart- ment, being evident that the introduction of a little more good blood would be advantageous. " However, throughout the county is a good stock of horses of all classes, which is steadily advancing in improvement. Many horses daily appear on the streets of Conners- ville that reflect great credit on parties engaged in breeding, raising and handling the animal. Among some of the early breeds of horses in the county were the "Kentucky Whip." A blood bay horse (with black legs, mane and tail) by this name was advertised in Connersville in 1829. In 1832 Merril Williams advertised "Hilander," an iron gray horse, sixteen hands high. Along about this period was introduced into the county a horse styled "Comet.' "Top Gallant" was another of the early horses at Connersville. He was in charge of John and Lot Abraham, and was described as a dark chestnut sorrel, sixteen hands high, lofty carriage and a good mover. He was brought from the State of Georgia to Butler County, Ohio, by a Mr. Titsworth; was sired by the imported horse "Matchless Bob"— his dam by the imported horse "Mast,'' and his grand dam by the imported horse "Diamond." About 1835 Josiah Piper brought a dun horse from Kentucky, which made noticeable and valuable improvement in the horses of this section. The "Morgan," the "Bellfounder," the "Bashaw," the "Whip," the"HambletoniaD," the "Second Cad- mus," the "Hilander" stock, have been introduced at different periods. The improvements in the horse are largely due to the infusion of the blood of the thorough- bred. The strains of blood have not been kept dis- tinct, but the tendency has been to amalgamate it with the stock already in use. The Norman and the Clydesdale stock have been within recent years brought into the county. In 1852 the following report on this animal was sent from the county to the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture: "There has been a great increase, both in the quality and number of this most useful animal, during the past year in this county. The number is estimated at about 6,000 head The prices have been extraordinarily high, ranging from $100 to $200, for good, serviceable geldings, and mares in proportion. " The report of the following year read: "Our farmers are paying attention to the improvement of horses and mules. We have as fine horses, mares and jacks in this as in any other county in the State." HOGS. A writer on the subject of the swine of the early settlers gives this glowing description of them: "They were long and slim, long-snouted and long- legged, with an arched back, and bristles erect from the back of the head to the tail, slab-sided, active and healthy. The 'sapling-splitter' and 'razor- back,' as he was called, was ever in the search for food, and quick to take alarm. He was capable of making a heavy hog, but required two years or more to mature, and, until a short time before butchering or marketing, was suifered to run at large, subsisting mainly as a forager, and in the fall fattening on the ' mast.' " What a contrasf between the hogs of that period and those of 1884! Probably no change wrought in the stock of the farmer is so marked as in this ani- mal. Those of to-day mature early and are almost the reverse of the "razor-back," having a small head, small ear, short neck, with a long body and hams, and in general shape are almost square, and are capa- ble of taking on 250 pounds of flesh in eight or ten months. The people of Fayette County having in past years paid considerable attention to the raising of swine, a commodity which has added greatly to the wealth of the farmers, cannot fail to be interested in the history of the hogs that have been chiefly among them, hence we give them the benefit of the result of a thorough research on the subject made by Josiah Morrow, Esq., of Lebanon, Ohio, a^ published in the " History of Warren County, Ohio," of which he is the author : "In 1816 John Wallace, then a Trustee of the Shaker Society, visited Philadelphia on business and was shown what was called the Big China hogs. He was pleased with them and purchased four hogs, and brought them the same season to Union Village. These four hogs were entirely white except one, upon which were some sandy spots, in which appeared small black spots. They were represented to be either imported or the immediate descendants of imported stock, and are believed to have been the first China hogs in southwestern Ohio. Subsequently other China hogs were introduced. TJjey were exten- sively raised and crossed with the best breeds then existing, and the product of these crosses constituted ^r^fwfO^ HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. 83 a breed of fine qualities, which was generally known as the ' Warren County hog,' sometimes as the ' Shaker ho^.' These hogs increased in good quali- ties and were extensively bred in great numbers in the great corn producing regions of Warren and Butler Counties. " The Berkshires were introduced into Warren County 'in 1835 and 1836, by Mr. Munsou Beach, who operated in connection with his brother, Louis Beach, then a prominent merchant in the city of New York. Subsequently they made other shipments of the same stock to Warren and Butler Counties. The Berk- shires introduced by the Messrs. Beach were gener- ally black, with occasional marks of white, either on the feet, the tip of the tail or in the face. They were muscular, active and round bodied hogs, and, in most cases, had sharp pointed, upright ears. Some families, however, were large in size, deep in their bodies, with ears that lopped. " The Irish Grazier breed of hogs was imported direct into southwestern Ohio, by William Neif, Esq., of Cincinnati, about 1839. The Graziers were white with only an occasional sandy spot which appeared about the eyes. " These two breeds — the Berkshires and Irish Graziers — were extensively used in making crosses by tho best breeders in Warren and Butler Counties, and to some extent in Clinton and Hamilton Coun- ties. Having been carefully bred and intermixed with the descendants and crosses of the Big China with other breeds, the stock thus produced consti- tuted the true and original basis of what is now known as the Magie or Poland-China hogs. ' " Many of the most successful breeders of these hogs resided in the vicinity of Monroe, near the War- ren and Butler County line. Since 18-40 no new blood has been introduced. In 1870 the Illinois Swine Breeders' Association resolved to call these hogs the ' Magie breed ' (pronounced Magee), from the name of one of the most successful breeders of the stock in Butler County, but Poland-China is now the established name. The first part of this name, however, is a misnomer, as the best authorities agree that there never was a breed of hogs known as the Poland in the Miami Valley, and no Poland cross entered into the formation of tho breed. The first part of the name is believed to have originated from the fact that a Polandor, residing in Hamilton County, having purchased some of the Shaker or Warren County hogs, many years ago, disposed of them to purchasers who named them Poland or Polander hogs. The National Convention of Swine Breeders of 1872 retained this misnomer for the reason that the great mass of breeders so called the breed, and to change a name generally used is difficult." It is thought that Jeremiah May brought the first of this breed to the county about the year 1832, from Warren County, Ohio. At any rate, this breed of hogs found its way into Fayette County, many years ago, and with little exception has been the hog of this section ever since. In 1851, in answer to some interrogatories from the State Board of Agriculture, the Hon. Matthew R. Hull, then a resident of the county, since deceased, replied as relates to the hog as follows: " The Poland, crossed upon the Byfield and Rus- sian, exceed all others for beauty, size and profit. They are a good grass hog, and are sufficiently lively and sufficiently industrious to make a good living off of good pasture. They mature early, have a small head, small ear, short neck, thick shoulder, long body and long ham, and are capable of bearing more fat than any other kind we have had amongst us. They are familiarly known here as the ' Warren County hog.' McGee (should be Magie), of Butler County, drives no other kind of hogs. His droves have aver- aged him more than 410 pounds for several years in Cincinnati. This kind may be had in our neighbor- hood. " For many years Connersville was quite an exten- sive pork market, where thousands of hogs were an- nually slaughtered and packed. The report sent to the State Board of Agriculture in 1852 was as fol- lows: " 22,000 hogs have been slaughtered at and packed at Connersville during the past season, which will average 220 pounds per bead, for which the average price paid was $5.50 percwt. Some of these were from neighboring counties, but it is estimated that equally as many as, if not more than, were brought to the market from other counties, were driven from this county to a foreign market." The report of 1853 exhibits: " The hogs in this county, and especially in Jennings Township, are superior, or at least equal, to any in the United States. James D. Ross & Bros, have hogs that are hard to duplicate. The pork butchered at Conners- ville this year will exceed last by at least several thousand head. It may reach 25,000." The report of 1859-60 showed that some 20,000 hogs were packed at Connersville. SHEEP. Some time in the decade between 1830 and 1840 W. W. Thrasher, residing on the western border of the county, brought some fine sheep to that section from near Lexington, Ky., of the breed known as " Cotswold," which were among the first, if not the first, fine wool sheep introduced into the county. Mr. Thrasher still breeds this variety, and has in the in- terim raised and sold perhaps thousands. The report 84 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. made to the State Board of Agriculture ou this ani- mal in 1852 showed that the total number in the county then was estimated at 15,000 head. Much interest was then manifested in the growing of wool, and an encouragiDg number of most valuable breeds had been imported and propagated. The price of the common breeds was from $1 to $1 50 per head. The report of 1853: " Many of our farmers are im- proving their stock of sheep and are growing more wool than in former years. Mr. Miner Meeker, Will- iam Thomas, John Caldwell, and the undersigned, President (M. R. Hull), have each tine flocks of fine- wooled sheep. ' ' In 1878 it was shown by the Secretary's report of the Fayette County Agricultural Society that the wool-growing interest of the county was " on the wane." For 1870 there were reported 8,105 head of sheep in the county, and for the year 1877 only 3,989 head. AGRIOnLTUEAL SOCIETIES AND FAIRS. In the summer of 1834 an attempt was made to form an agricultural society in F''ayette County. Horace VanVleet, then editor of the Watchman, pub- lished at Connersville, wrote several articles on agri- culture and the importance of an agricultural society, and, on solicitation, published a call for a meeting, which was responded to, and resulted in the appoint- ment of Gen. Caldwell for President and Mr. Van Vleet, Secretary. About $40 was subscribed and paid in for the organization to Mr. Van Vleet. Soon after (in October. 1834,) Mr. VanVleet died. No claim was made tor the agricultural fund, and so failed the first attempt to organize an agricultural society. In the year 1841 a call was published for an agri- cultural meeting, to be held on the 4th of July, which was responded to in the then old court house. Dr. Philip Mason was appointed President, and Charles Shipley, Secretary. An address was read by Dr. Mason. There was a lack of animation in the meeting, which showed that the community were not quite prepared for a permanent organization. Hon. S. W. Parker was present and made a few remarks. He then turned the meeting to account by getting subscribers to the Indiana Farmer, then published at Indianapolis, and edited by the now celebrated Henry Ward Beecher, and succeeded in less than an hour in getting fifty- four subscribers. So ended the second attempt. During the year 1851 seven agricultural meetings were held to establish an agricultural society. The attempt was discouraging, but several who were faith- ful to the cause persevered, and success crowned their efforts. On the 18th of October, 1851, they suc- ceeded in organizing permanently and adopted a con- stitution. John Spivey was elected President, and D. W. Welty, Secretary. According to the official report, as required and sent up to the State Board of Agri- culture, $48 were received by the society. On account of the late period, no exhibition or fair was held, and the money was loaned out. In 1852 the first fair was held. The receipts were $1,052.06, the expenses $647.54, leaving a fair balance in the treasury, which was very flattering for the beginning. The fair con- tinued to prosper, the receipts reaching as high as $3,233, and expenses in proportion, until December, 1861, when the society declared its intention to dissolve and transfer its interest to a joint stock asso- ciation. A committee was appointed and the affairs of the organization were closed up. Other of the early Presidents of the society were Matthew R. Hull and William Watton. Up to the fall of 1865 the fairs were held on leased premises, but in the fall of that year twenty- six acres of ground were purchased of A. J. Clay- pool, situated about one mile north of the court house 'n Connersville, upon which were subsequently erected suitable buildings. In 1870 these grounds were val- ued at $20,000. The society organized with a membership of 146; in 1852 it had increased to 410, and in 1856 to 1,213. At the first fair held A. O. Saxon was awarded the first premium for the best cultivated farm, and Ben- jamin Thomas the second premium for the second best. One of the prominent features of the fair held in 1858 was that the late Hon. Horace Greeley, of New York City, vras present, and delivered an address. Premiums had been offered for this fair for the " best cultivated and improved farm," for which there were two entries, Hon. S. W. Parker and Alexander Heron, Esq. (the present Hon. Secretary, State Board of Agriculture). The committee being unable to determine whether there was a preponderance for either, recommended a premium to each, to the former for the best improved farm, and to the latter for the best cultivated farm. A premium was also offered for the best essay on agriculture, which was awarded to Mr. Samuel Little. During the eleven years of its existence about $23,000 was handled by the society. The joint stock association referred to above was known as the Fayette County Joint Stock Agricult- ural and Mechanical Society, and was organized December 21, 1861. The earliest report we had access to of this soci- ety was the one made in 1867, at which time A. B. Claypool, Esq., was the President. The entries for HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 85 this year were as follows: Live stock, 220; mechani- cal, 90; agricultural, 277; miscellaneous, 190. Amount of premiums — live stock, $1,242; mechani- cal, 1404; miscellaneous, $118. The total receipts of the fair, $4,480.40. This society, according to a report of the Secretary, met with a series of reverses discouraging to the man- agers, and no fair was held in 1876 — the only year without a fair since the organization of the society which held the first fair in 1852. The accumulation of debt against the society caused the property of the association to change hands, which was secured by a new organization under the title of the Eastern Indi- ana Agricultural, Mechanical and Trotting Park Asso- ciation. This organization was effected August 5, 1877, with a capital stock of $6,000. Following is the Secretary's report for 1877: "During the last decade the live stock interest has predominated, but latterly it is giving way to the raising of grain; about 6,000 head of hogs were lost in the past season by cholera. Cattle raising is prof- itable, and more attention is given to the breeding of improved stock; 3,676 head reported this over 3,322 last year. More attention is given to the breeding of good horses, especially heavy di-aft horses, for which this county is becoming famous. Statistics show an increase in number, 1,420 head against 1,328 the year before. Mules are used more than formerly, and are much improved in size and appearance." Fairs have been held annually ever since, and conducted successfully. At a meeting of the associ- ation held February 12, 1884, the stock-holders sur- rendered their charter and resolved to offer their grounds for sale. CHAPTER X. POLITICAL. RESULTS OF ELECTIONS, POLITICAL EXTRACTS AND NOTES— MEMBERS OF CONGRESS— MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. IN 1819, at the time of the organization of Fayette County, the public affairs of the State were in the hands of the Hendricks, Jennings, and Noble divi- sions of one political party. RESULTS OF ELECTIONS — POLITICAL EXTRACTS AND NOTES. In the month of August of that year, the first election in the new county of Fayette for State offi- cers was held. The candidates for Governor were Jonathan Jennings and Christopher Harrison, and the vote in the five townships into which the county had been divided, for these men were as follows: .lENNINGS. HARRISON' Connersville 364 7 Brownsville 86 Harrison 109 8 Jennings 21 1 Columbia 51 4 Totals 631 20 For State Senator, William C. Drew received 367 votes in the county, and for the same office James Gondie, 73 votes. The candidates for the office of Representative in the State Legislature were Robert Hill, Enoch D. John, Jacob Graves, Robert Swann, John Sutherland, Conrad Sailor, Zachariah Ferguson, Allen Crisler, Joseph Holeman, Andrew Wallace, Simon Yandes, John Brison, Jonathan Kid well and JIatthew Sparks; and they received 49, 324„116, 61, 106, 190, 156, 408, 50, 56, 75, 140, 17 and 14 votes respectively. There were ten candidates for the office of Sher- iff and six for that of Coroner. In 1820 there was no opposition to James Monroe, and he was re-elected President of the United States, with the electoral vote of every State in the Union. Affairs in the State were going on quietly under the control of the several divisions above referred to, and the people of Fayette were hardly aware that a Pres- idential election had taken place, and yet as good and quiet an administration followed as any that is likely to be produced by our exciting elections at this day. At the election for Governor in August, 1822, the votes of Fayette stood: William Hendricks, 687; Erasmus Powell, 314. Two years later the vote of the county stood: for President, Jackson, 456; Clay, 393; Adams, 122. The vote of Connersville Town- ship standing: 354 for Jackson, 277 for Clay and 92 for Adams. Posey Township lacked 2 votes only of being solid for Jackson^the 2 were given for Clay; Columbia Township gave, in proportion to its popu- lation, the largest Clay vote — 44. The candidates in 1828 for President were Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams. The peo- ple of Indiana gave the electoral vote of the State to the former, believing, it seems, that he was a friend to the Protecting Sy.stem, and a friend to Internal Improvements, but in which they were disappointed, 86 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. and in 1831 retalliated by eleeking Gen. James Noble to the Gubernatorial chair by a majority of 2,320. The Jackson vote in Fayette in 1828 was 050, against 516 for Adams. The great national question which at this time was disturbing the Itepublic, was not without its influence upon all elections throughout the country, from the most humble to the most exalted stations. The names of the two national political parties at this period were the National Eepublican and the Democratic. In the Congressional election in the district of which Fayette then constituted a part, the people of both parties, in a measure, threw off the servile trammels of bigoted partyism, and voted like rational men. The Presidential question probably never ran higher. Gen. Jonathan McCarty, of Con- nersville, and Judge John Tost, of Brookville, were in the field alone, Oliver H. Smith, who was then a member of Congress from this district, having pre- viously withdrawn from the contest, giving in print the following as the cause: " It was not known to me at the time I declared myself a candidate that there would be more than one candidate besides myself, but on my return I found that two other candidates were before the people, and from all that I could learn, theresult would be, should we all continue, that a majority of the number would be defeated by a minority, in the election of either of the candidates, and having no desire myself to be continued the representative of this district, against the will of a majority of the electors, which from the excitement that has been created, and the false state- ments which have beeu circulated in my absence, I am satisfied would be the case in the event of my elec- tion, I have resolved not to be a candidate." Judge Test and Mr. Smith were of the National Eepublican Party, and Gen. McCarty of the Demo- cratic. The parties were nearly equal in number; the conflict resulted in the election of Judge Test by a triumphant majority. During the period of which we have been writing candidates were generally placed before the people without the intervention of party caucus, a political convention or a primary election. After the estab- lishment of a newspaper in Fayette County, candi- dates for political favor usually announced themselves, or were announced by others through its columns. In 1820, when Oliver H. Smith became a candidate for Congress, he remarks: "Stump speaking was just coming in fashion; the people met our appointments by thousands." In 1830 the names of several candidates for the State Legislature had been announced in the press of the county, and in the Political Clarion of July 10 of the same year appeared the following, signed by "many voters: " " It is very important to the people to know the sentiments of those who aspire to the honor of rep- resenting them on the great and leading measures of the State and Federal Governments. It imposes too great a burden on candidates to require them to give these opinions personally to all, but through a public newspaper will be found a medium of communication convenient for them, and more beneficial to the peo- ple. In this manner the candidates will neither be so liable to be misunderstood, nor their sentiments so Subject to the misrepresentation of the designing. It is believed, from the character of the candidates before the people of this county for Representatives, that none of them will refuse for one moment to answer through the press such questions as may tend to give the people necessai'y information in relation to their opinions concerning the groat, public measures in which the people are so deeply interested. Should any fail or refuse to answer explicitly, the people may be able to judge of that man. " Candidates, will you answer the people the fol- lowing questions? " 1. Do you justify the President of the United States in putting his veto on the several bills passed during the last session of Congress, in favor of inter- nal improvements? "2. Do you believe, with the present Administra- tion, that Congress has no power to appropriate money to be expended within the States, on works of internal improvements, but that all money expended must be confined to the Territories? " 3. Do you believe that Congress has the power to make an appropriation to assist in making a turn- pike road from Lawrenceburg to Fort Wayne, and if Congress should pass such an act would j'ou justify the President in putting his veto on it, and thus defeat the appropriation? " 4. Do you approve of the doctrines of rewarding those who vote for the President with all the offices and punishing those who voted against him, by turn- ing them out of office ? " 5. Do you believe that the Senate of the United States have a right to know the reasons why removals and appointments submitted for their ' advice and consent' were made; or do you believe that the Senate has no control over the nominations of the President, except to register his decrees? " 6. Do you believe the policy adopted by this administration in relation to the Indians, correct? " 7. Would you vote for a resolution requesting Congress to aid us in contemplated road from Law- renceburg to Fort Wayne which must pass through this county? HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. 87 " 8. Would you vote for an appropriation of $5,000 or $6,000 of the people's money to furnish the Gov- ernor's house with carpets, side-boards, looking- glasses, etc., etc. " The above questions are easily answered, and we hope to see your answers in the next Clarion, as we have a right to know your opinions before we are called upon to select two out of your number to rep- resent us." The personal popularity of the candidate and his fitness for the oiBce were of paramount importance to his views on national political questions. On this point we have an illustration in the elec- tion referred to above in the choice for Representatives. The Palladium, then printed at Lawrencebarg, was exulting in consequence of the result of the election in this county and the sample it gave of the ' ' tre- mendous effect of the veto,'' which brought forth the following from the editor of the Clarion: "This county has long been one of the most decidedly Jacksonian in the State. At the late elec- tion, we had two Representatives to select for the General Assembly, and five Jacksonians oifored them- selves as candidates. The veto message appeared, and forthwith three of the five renounced the admin- istration and are now friendly to the cause of Mr. Clay. The Palladium grossly misrepresents us, when it states that Col. Hankins was elected in ' opposition to the joint eiforts of the Clarion, the Times and other Clay papers.' So far from this gen- tleman's being ' opposed ' as stated, be was brought out by the friends of Mr. Clay, and would not have been elected had they not supported him. Even the editor of the Clarion gave him his support. The other gentleman that was elected received between 100 and 200 votes from the friends of Mr. Clay. So long as there is a majority of Jacksonians in Fayette CouQty, and they are disposed to send one of their friends to the Legislature, the Clarion will be far from affording 'opposition.' But whilst we believe that injurious political tenets are abroad, we shall never withold one 'jot nor tittle' of our energy to convince and reform those who hold them. But we hope ever to have our skirts clear of even one effort to contravene the will of the majority, notwithstand- ing the example given by the Administration. In relation to the effect of the veto in Indiana, our most sanguine expectations are more than realized, luthis county we had a very pretty test of its " effect ' on the candidates for the Legislature; and it will also be found, when our citizens, generally, are called upon to attest their affection for Mr. Clay, that they have not been very fastidious concerning the same matter." The vote for President in the county in 1832 stood 762 for Henry Clay, and 762 for Andrew Jackson — a tie vote. As yet there had been no two newspapers published in the county at the same time. The Observer, we believe, was quiet on political questions, but its suc- cessor — the Clarion, which had an existence for two years under that title, during which time it was ably edited and conducted by Samuel W. Parker, the sub- sequently distinguished citizen of Connersville — was almost exclusively given to politics. The following is an extract from the salutatory of the Clarion under date of May 22, 1830: "As a warrior and a martial benefactor, we es- teem Gen. Jackson as second only to the Father of this country, but against many of the acts of our Gov- ernment since he came in civil power, we enter an un- qualified protest. As an undefiled patriot — an able and unyielding advocate of the rights of man, and the welfare and glory of our common country — we regard Henry Clay only as the younger brother of Washing- ton, Franklin and Jefferson. Believing the eyes and the affections of the American people to be turned up- on him. to enable them to acclaim on the 4th of March, 1833, 'Redeemed, and disenthralled,' to him, for the next Chief Magistrate we yield a hearty and unwavering support." * # * Mr. Parker was a forcible writer and his labors were untiring for the support of Henry Clay. Other extracts are here subjoined from several issues of the Clarion. November 12, 1831. — "We do not believe that Jackson can be re-elected. We will do our best to expose the hideous deformity of his career, and to undeceive the blind. If then he triumphs, the Re- public can withstand the battling of another four years tempest — the political heavens will be the more serene when the warring elements are] once more stilled. We think that we are not ignorant of what we are doing, or of our responsibility — -our course is right onward." From the Clarion May 26, 1832. — '■'■ Nos mutamus et tempora mutantur in nobis — 'We change, and the times are chaagod with us.' 'What!' exclaims our old and constant readers, ' you have not 'changed' to a Jacksonian, we hope — No! no! no! dear sirs. A thous- and leagues further from it, if possible, than when we made to you our first bow, two years ago. Suffice it then to say that this number not only concludes the second volume, but terminates the existence of the Clarion." Following the Clarion was published the Indiana Sentinel by Caleb B. Smith and Matthew R. Hull, which paper supported Clay. The following is ex- tracted from an editorial under date of October 13, 1832- "In our prospectus we pledged ourselves to sup- HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. port a syBtem of Internal Improvements, and to advo- cate the re-chartering of the United States Bank. We believed then as we do now, that those are meas- ures of vital importance to this county, and that the interests of the people call in the most emphathic terms for their support. In order to sustain those measures it is necessary to support for the Presidency, Buch an individual as will be favorable to their adoption. We would not support those measures without opposing for the Presidency an individual who might be opposed to them. It is for this reason that we have deemed it our duty to oppose the re-elec- tion of Gen. Jackson. * * * In the event of his reelection that system of internal improvements from which we have heretofore derived the most in- calculable benefits, must be destroyed. The United States Bank must be prostrated, $30,000,000 must be withdrawn from the circulation of the western country, the farmer's pork, his beef, corn, whisky, plow-horses, cattle, and in fact every article produced in the W^est must depreciate in value at least 25 per cent, and the soui'ces of our wealth and national prosperity must be dried up. * * * * His attempt to destroy the bank of the United States must if it succeeds destroy our commerce, produce universal depression in«all our markets, and render the poor and industrious part of the community a prey to the extortions of usurers and shar^jers. His utter contempt of the Supreme Court of the United States, his disregard of its decisions and his declarations that he is entirely independent of its authority, mani- fest a disposition to assume arbitrary and unlimited power, and would eventually, if contenanced by the people, destroy that invaluable institution, which may be regarded as the key-stone of the arch of our liber- ties. * * * It is then against such doctrines and measures as these, and many others supported by Gen. Jackson, that we contend." The only apology we offer for so liberal quota- tions in this connection, is the distinguished posi- tions these editors subsequently occupied in State and national affairs. In August, 1831, the candidates for Congress in the Third District, which was then composed of Rush, Wayne, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Decatur, Franklin, Dearborn, Union, Switzerland, Ripley, Ran- dolph, Fayette and Allen Counties, were Gen. Jona- than McCarty, (Jackson) Judge John Teat and Hon. Oliver H. Smith (both Clay), and the result was the election of the Jackson candidate. Gen. McCarty, by a majority of 95-1 over Mr. Smith, the second in the race. The vote of Fayette County was for McCarty 775, Smith 580, and Test 68. It was in this year (1831) that the first National Convention ever assembled in the United States met in the city of Baltimore, prior to which time nomina- tions for President and Vice-President had been made by members of Congress. In the course of time the custom of making party nominations for candidates in States and counties became in vogue, and not many years elapsed until candidates for the Legislature and other minor offices in Fayette were made in this way. The great campaign of 18-10, characterized as the hard cider and log-cabin campaign, was of unusual interest in Fayette County, as was it all over the United States. The Presidential vote of the county this year by townships, was: Orange ^Harrison, 101; Van Buren, 54; Waterloo— Harrison, 33; Van Buren, 91; Colum- bia — Harrison, 96; Van Buren, 36; Harrison — Harri- son, 181; Van Buren, 69; Posey — Harrison, 75; Van Buren, 65; Jackson —Harrison, 102; Van Buren, 101; Connersville— Harrison, 532; Van Baren, 179; Jen nings^Harrison, 17; Van Buren, 83. Total — Har- rison, 1,090; Van Buren, 678. Probably the greatest political meeting held in Fayette County between 1840 and the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, was the Republican rally of August 7, 1860. The crowd was estimated from 6,000 to 8,000 people. There was a grand pro- cession of about one mile in length, composed of mil- itary and "wide awake'' companies, brass bands, cannons, wagons^ bedecked with banners and flags, etc., etc. Among the striking features of the parade were a blacksmith-shop on wheels from Bunker Hill, in which John Benedict was shoeing ahorse; a wagon on which Andrew Moffitt and John Atherton were splitting rails; a car containing thirty-three voters, each bearing a red flag inscribed with the name of State; a Lincoln car gotten up by the young men of Connersville, containing thirty-three young ladies, and a wagon in which the typos of the Times office had their material, and were engaged in setting up documents for the people. The exercises of the day were held in Claypool's Grove; speakers. Col. Lane and Caleb B. Smith. Thei-e was a grand torch- light procession in the evening, after which the people assembled at the court house, where addresses were delivered by William Wallace, Charles P. Conlon and J. D. Farquhar. Below will be found the vote of Fayette County at different periods subsequent to 1840: 1840 — Vote for Governor: Samuel Bigger, 1,103; Telghman Howard, 765. 1843— Vote for Governor: Samuel Bigger, 923; James Whitcomb, 789; Wilson Demming, 5. 1844— Vote for President: Henry Clay (Whig), 1051; James K. Polk (Democrat), 908; James G. Birney (Abolition). 10. HISTORY OP PAYETTE COUNTY. 89 1848 — Vote for President: Zachary Taylor, (Whig), 1,040; Lewis Cass (Democrat), 765; Martia Van Buren (Free Soil), 86. 1849 — Vote for Governor: John A. Matson (Whig) 1,002; Joseph A. Wright (Democrat), 889; Jamea H. Cravens (Free Soil), 3'2. 1852— Vote for President: Winfield Scott (Whig), 1,019; Franklin Pierce (Democrat), 872; John P. Hale (Free Soil), 83. Vote for Governor: Nicholas McCarty (Whig), 921; Joseph A. Wright (.Democrat), 869; A. L. Robinson (Free Soil), 00. 1856 — Vote for President by Townships: Con- nersville Township —John C. Fremont (Republican), 409; James Buchanan (Democrat), 292; Millard Fil- more (American), 17. Jennings Township — Fremont, 101; Buchanan, 64. Jackson Township — Fremont, 125; Buchanan, 130; Filmore, 1. Orange Township— Fremont, 85; Buchanan, 70; Filmore, 5. Columbia Township — Fremont, 128; Buchanan, 68; Filmore, 5. Fairview Township — Fremont, 76; Buchanan, 67. Harrison Township — Fremont, 111; Buchanan, 88; Filmore, 3. Posey Township — Fremont, 106; Buchanan, 125; Filmore, 9. Waterloo Township — Fremont, 49; Buchanan, 98. Total: Fremont, 1,190; Buchanan, 1,002; Filmore 40. 1860 — -Vote for President: Abraham Lincoln (Republican), 1,143; Stephen A. Douglas (Democrat), 917; John Bell (Unionist), 9; John C. Breckenridge (Democrat), 39. 1864— Vote for President: Abi-aham Lincoln (Re- publican), 1,318; George B. McClelland (Democrat), 860. 1868— Vote for President: Ulysses S. Grant (Re publican), 1,475; Horatio Seymour (Democrat), 1,131. Vote for Governor: Conrad Baker (Republican), 1,473; Thomas Hendricks (Democrat), 1,178. 1880— Vote for Governor: Alb.n-t G. Porter (Re- publican), 1,752; Franklin Landers (Democrat), 1,237- MEMBERS OF OONGRESS. The following list contains the names of men who have been honored with a seat in the National House of R9pre3ant;itives fron th* Gjogresaional District of which Fayette County has constituted a part, who were residents of the county: 1827-29— Oliver H. Smith.* 1831-37 — Jonathan McCarty. 1843-49— Caleb B. Smith. •Went to the United States Senate iu 1837. 1851-55— Samuel W. Parker. 1871-75 -Jeremiah M. Wilson. MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. The following list of Senators and Representa- tives is given as heretofore published, there being no record of them kept in the county: Senate. — When the couaty was first formed it con- tinued for Seaatorial ami Representative purposes attached tj the counties of Fraaklin and Wayne. John Conner, in 1816, was the Senator-elect for Franklin County, and was the first Senator of Fay- ette County. From 1820 to 1878 the counties of Union and Fayette constituted one Senatorial Dis- trict. Since the latter period the counties of Union, Rush and Fayette have constituted the district. These counties have been represented iu this body by the following-named: Lewis Johnson, 1820-24; Ross Smiley, 1824-28; Newton Claypool, 1828-31; James Leviston, 1831-34; William Caldwell, 1834-36; New- ton Claypool, 1836-37; William Watt, 1837-41; Samuel W. Parker, 1841-43; James Leviston, 1843- 46; Henry Simpson, 1846-49: John S. Reid, 1849-53; Miner Meeker, 1853-57; John Yaryan, 1857-58; T. W. Bennett, 1858-61; B. F. Claypool, 1861-65; T. W. Bennett, 1865-69; James Elliott, 1869-71; Richard M. Ha worth, 1871-74; Milton Trusler, 1878-80; Jesse J. Spann, 1880-84. House. — Until 1822 the Representatives of Frank- lin County were also the Representatives of Fayette County. Uptm the adoption of the constitution of 1850 the session of the Legislature became biennial, and members were elected for two years. Since 1858 the counties of Union and Fayette have constituted one Representative District: 1818 — S. S. Stevens, James Snowden, John Bryerson; 1818-19 — James Gowdie, Allen Ci-isler, Jonathan McCarty; 1820-21 — James Gowdie, James Hanna, Enoch D. John; 1822— Oliver H. Smith; 1823— James Brownlee; 1825— Newton Claypool; 1826— Newton Claypool, Martin M. Ray; 1827— Newton Claypool; 1828— S. C. Sample, Marks Crume; 1829— Marks Grume; 1830— Marks Crume, Daniel Hankins; 1831— Man- love Caldwell, Marks Crume; 1832 — -Marks Crume, Allen Crisler; 1833-34-Marks Crume, C. B. Smith; 1835 -C. B. Smith, Philip Mason; 1836— C. B. Smith, Marks Crume; 1837 — Wilson Thompson, Marks Crume; 1838— John Wilty, Philip Mason; 1839— Matthew R. Hull, Samuel W. Parker; 1840— C. B. Smith, Philip Mason; 1841— Wilson Thomp- son, Minor Meeker; 1842 — Newton Claypool, Minor Meeker; 1843— S. W. Parker, Henry Simpson; 1844 — Newton Claypool, Samuel Little; 1845 -William Stewart, Minor Meeker; 1846— William Stewart; 1847— Samuel Little; 1S48— Thomas W. Hankins; 90 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 1849— Charles M. Stone; 1850— John B. Linsey, 1851— John B. Linsey; 1853— Archibald F. Martin; 1855— Nelson Trusler; 1857— Charles M. Stone; 1859— George W. Treadway; 1861— R. M. Haworth. 1863— Russell B. Perry; 1865— Gilbert Trusler 1867— W. W. Thrasher; 1869— B. F. Williams 1871— B. F. Williams; 1873— Warner Broaddus 1875— Milton Trusler. CHAPTER XL THE PRESS. FIRST EFFORT— THE FAYETTE OBSERVOR— ABRAHAM VAN VLEET— THE POLITICAL CLARION, AND ITS SUCCESSOR, THE INDIANA SENTINEL— THE WATCHMAN— THE INDIANA TELEGRAPH— DANIEL RENCH— WILLIAM STEWART THK CHRISTIAN CASKET— THE LADIES' TEMPERANCE WREATH— THE CONNERSVILLE TIMES— THE CONNERS- VILLE EXAMINER— THE CONNERSVILLE NEWS. THE first equipment for printing purposes was brought to the county in 1823, from the village of Lebanon, Ohio, by Abraham Van Vleet. Mr. Van Vleet was a native of New Jersey, born in 1783. About the year 1S12 he immigrated to Ohio, locating in Lebanon, where about the year 1816 he became connected with the publication of the Western Star, a paper that was established in that village in 1806, by John McLean, afterward Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Van Vleet from Lebanon removed to Connersville, but at this time the country was too new to maintain a printing establish- ment. [In the Commissioners' proceedings of 1824, reference is made to the Indiana Statesman in con- nection with the name of A. Van Vleet, and the in- ference is that the paper was started by Mr. Van Vleet, at Connersville, but was short-lived.] THE FAYKTTB OBSERVER. In 1826 the Fayette Observer was established at Connersville by A. Van Vleet and Daniel Bench. Vol. I, No. 4, of that paper bears date of July 8, 1826; it is a four-column folio, and was printed and pub- lished by A. Van Vleet for Daniel Rench. At some time between this date and 1829, Mr. Van Vleet severed his connection with the Observer. In 1829 the paper was issued under the names of David Rench and John Sample, Jr., which gentlemen published their valedictory under date of May 8, ,1830, in which it was stated that they had disposed of the establish- ment to Samuel W. Parker, and that the "present number of the Fayette Observer will forever remain the last." Samuel W. Parker, who had located at Conners- ville as a school teacher in 1828, began writing edi- torially for the Observer early in 1829: "the pro- prietor of which and senior editor," says Mr. Parker, ' ' was Daniel Rench. " Mr. Parker soon became editor in charge, and, in February, 1830, in a manner the proprietor of the paper. ABRAHAM VAN VLEET. Before proceeding further we remark that in 1831 Abraham Van Vleet went to New York City, where his death occurred in the summer of 1832. From his obituary notice is extracted the following: " Hav- ing been doomed in early life to struggle with the relentless hand of poverty, he had no means of culti- vating bis mind or acquiring knowledge, except by his own exertions, at such times as he was able to remit his labor for a subsistence. To obtain this laudable object, he was unremitting in his endeavors, and at the midnight hour, instead of resting in the arms of sleep, after the labors of the flay, he kept his constant vigil at the shrine of knowledge by the pale light of the lamp. Over it he hovered, until he procured a respectable education, one which rendered him useful to mankind, his country, and his God. He edited a public journal in Lebanon, Ohio, a num- ber of years, during which time he was called upon by the people to render them civil service. He was the author of several books, some of which have con- ferred a lasting benefit upon his country." Of these we mention that " The Ohio, or Western Spelling Book " is believed to have been printed by Mr. Van Vleet. in Lebanon, about 1814. In 1821 he compiled a work entitled "The Justice and Township Officer's Assistant," comprising a great variety of judicial forms and other necessary precedents for the use of Justices of the Peace, Constables and township offi- cers in their official duties, etc. THE POLITICAL CLARION AND ITS SUCCESSOR, THE INDIANA SENTINEL. On assuming control of the office of the Observer, Mr. Parker purchased new material, etc., and sent forth to the country the first issue of a new paper, ia<-^-.^ Total road tax on transcript Making a grand total on transcript of State, county and road tax for the year 1831 8531 37U 14 72% 407 4S}i "i'89"5S% 28 121.^ ""s'myl 81,174 99H 32 75% 1 84% $34 60!4 82,624 59!^ The assessment of property, under the laws for the collection of taxes, afibrds the best means at our command to show the growth of the wealth of the county. It gives by no means the market value, be- ing generally much bolow the selling price. Sub- joined are the statistics for several years. Though the table is incomplete it will partially serve its pur- pose. YEAR. Value of Lands. Value of Improve- ments on Lands. Value of T'wn Lots and Im- provem'ts Value of Taxables. County Tax. County and State Tax. 1831 81,070,313 2,.34S,330 2,625,081 5,765,670 6,542,915 7,007,525 81,394 96 4,235 S9S 11,843 19 29,043 38 82,538 14 1841 81.36,817 222,534 362,630 Taxables in the city from 1870. 81,104,383 1,492,395 1,326,300 703,520* 14,698 62 IS,™ 81,384,724 3,075,235 $296,.583 282,305 21,797 42 I860 39,694 04 1865 169,599 35 107,616 41 1867 1870. 1875 7,867,121 7,652,364 1883 3,535,950 561,985 76,860 75 100,849 83 *Value of town lots and improvements. The amount of taxes levied for the years 1819, 1820, 1821 and 1822, as nearly as can be judged, was about $900 per year. POPULATION OF FAYETTE COUNTY BY TOWNSHIPS IN 1850, 1860, 1870 AND 1880. TOWNSHIPS. Columbia Connersville*. . . Connersville First Ward. .. Second Ward. Third Ward. . Fairvlew Harrison , .Jackson Evertonf Jennings Orange Posey Waterloo 1850. 1,065 1,396 1,544 1,284 893 1,129 1,184 833 1860. 912 1,162 2,119 662 889 1,199 289 790 761 1,080 651 1870. 929 1,211 2,496 828 1,058 615 601 867 1,037 149 836 881 947 671 1880. 803 1,432 3,228 639 999 982 846 812 981 672 * Exclusive of the city of Connersville. tVUlage. CHAPTER XIII. THE BENCH AND THE BAR. CIRCUITS AND JUDGES— EARLY PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS— FIRST AND LATER LAWYERS AT THE FAYETTE COURTS— REFERANCE TO THE LAWYERS AND PRACTICE OF EARLY INDIANA— RESIDENT LAWYERS. IN reviewing the history of the bench and the bar, we have to reach out beyond county limits. At the organization of the county, the Judge traveled the "Whitewater country, extending from the Ohio on the south to the State of Michigan on the north, and from the Ohio line on the east to "White River on the west, a territory probably 200x70 miles. Many of the early lawyers practiced in the courts of the entire region. A glance at the Whitewater bar reveals the names of an able array of men — men who shone as bright lights in the Senate of the United States, in the Lower House, iu the Cabinet, in the Gubernatorial chair in the Supreme Court, on the field of battle, and in other high official positions. With the meager data at our command, and lim- ited space, we can only hope to present some facts connected with the legal profession of Fayette HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 99 County, and with the circuits of which it has in the past formed a part, not elsewhere recorded. This we shall endeavor to do with some regard to chronolog- ical order. Biographies of some of the most dis- tinguished resident members of the legal profession will be found elsewhere in this work. The legal business of the earliest pioneers of the county for a decade after its first settlement was transacted at the seat of justice of the territory of which they formed a part — Lawreaceburg, and later Brookville, Salisbury and Centerville — owing to the location of their lands and the time of their bus- iness prior to the organization of Fayette County. CIRCUITS AND JUDGES. After the organization of the county it was placed in the Third Judicial Circuit, with which it remained until the spring term of 1830. The President Judges of the Third Circuit during that period were John Watts, who served until the March term, 1S20, when succeeded by Miles C. Eggleston, who served until the March term of court, 1830. At the March term, 1830, Fayette County became a part of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, over which pre- sided Charles H. Test, whose successor in the spring of 1836 was Samuel Bigger. Judge James Perry was Bigger's successor by appointment, commissioned March 29, 1840; the latter resigned and became Gov- ernor. Judge Perry served out the unexpired time of Judge Bigger, and was succeeded by Jehu T. Elli- ott, who first appeared at the spring term of the court 184:4. Judge Elliott discharged the duties of the ofiSce until 1852, when he was relieved at the spring term of that year by the late Oliver P. Morton. The following year Fayette County w3s made a part of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, and at the spring term William M. McCarty, President Judge of that circuit, presided at Fayette County. That fall Judge McCarty was succeeded by Judge Reuben D. Logan, who served through the September term of coiu-t, 1865. He was succeeded at the March term, 1866, by Jere- miah M. Wilson. At the March term of court, 1871, William A. Cullen became successor to Judge Wilson. At the spring term of court, 1873, the county appears in the Eighth Judicial Circuit, over which presided Samuel A. Bonner. In 1883 Fayette was made a part of the Thirty-seventh Judicial Circuit, over which presided Ferdinand S. Swift, who is the present Judge of the Fayette Circuit Court. The first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County was John S. Eeid, whose name appears for the first time at the January term of the court, 1853. Mi-. Reid ^discharged the duties of this oflSce until the December term of court, 1860, when he w.as succeeded by Jeremiah M. Wilson, who served ' until the spring term of court, 1865, then was suo- I ceeded by John F. Kibby, who performed the duties of the bench until 1873, when the Court of Common Pleas was abolished. The resident Judges of the county have been John I S. Reid and Jeremiah M. Wilson. The former was a native of Scotland, and before twenty- four years of age had pursued a course of study at Oxford University. In 1839 he immigrated to America and attended Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. After his graduation he taught some in that vicinity, and in 1840 removed to Liberty, where he also taught school and read law. In 1851 he settled in Connersville, and was soon afterward elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, serving from 1853 to 1860. He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention, and subsequently served as State Senator from the counties of Fayette and Union. In 1868 he was the Democratic nominee for Concrress against George W. Julian. Reid's friends claimed his elec- tion, and the Judge contested the election, but unsuc- cessfully. In 1876 he removed to Indianapolis, where he was engaged in the practice of law until his death, which occurred September 5, 1879. He was a man of decided ability and sterling character. He had a taste for literary pursuits and was a poet of some distinction. He published a volume of works. Judge Wilson is a native of Warren County, Ohio, where his youth was passed on a farm. He read law at Lebanon, the county seat of Warren, with Gen. Durbin Ward, and located at Centerville about 1854, and a few years subsequently settled at Con- nersville. From 1860 to 1865 he served as. Common Pleas Judge and as Circuit Judge from 1866 to 1871. He represented his district in Congress from 1871 to 1875, after which he settled in Washington, D. C, where he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession. He is a man of recognized ability. EAKLT PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS. The attorney who prosecuted pleas in behalf of the State for the circuit was appointed by the Gov- ernor, and in the early history of the courts of Fayette County the sum of $20 was the usual allow- ance for the services of a Prosecuting Attorney at a single term. It was necessary at times for the appointment of a County Prosecutor, which was made by the Judge. In naming some of the men who served in the capacity of Prosecuting Attorney for the circuit or county in its early history, where either can be designated with a degree of certainty, it will be done. The first to serve as County Prosecutor was Will- iam W. Wicks, who was appointed on the first day of the first term of court held in the county. May 3, L..fC. 100 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 1819. Oliver H. Smith was appointed County Pros- ecutor in 1822, and took the oath of office at the March term of that year. In 1824 he was appointed Circuit Prosecutor by Gov. Hendricks, which position he held two years, resigning in 182(5, during which time, he remarks: " I rode with Judge Eggleston into every county and attended the courts twice a year. Our southern court at that time was held at Vevay, and our northern at Fort Wayne. The Judge was rather delicate, but I had an iron constitution. There were no bridges over the streams, but we rode good swimming horses and never faltered on account of high water, but plunged in and always found the opposite shore somehow. During the two years that I served as Prosecutor, there was not a single court held or a grand jury impaneled in my absence on our circuit. On one circuit I heard nine men sen- tenced to the penitentiary and four to be hung that I prosecuted." Mr. Smith's successor was Amos Lane, when served for a time Cyrus Finch and David Wallace, then from December 30, 1828, for a period of three years was appointed Prosecuting Attorney for the Circuit Martin M. Ray. James Perry, William J. Brown (circuit), Samuel W. Parker, David Macy, Martin M. Ray, Samuel E. Perkins and Jehu T. Elliott served in the order given. FIKST AND LATER LAWYERS AT THE FAYETTE COURTS. At the opening of the court, May 3, 1819, the following-named attorneys were present and admitted to practice in the courts of Fayette County: William W. Wick, James Noble, John Test, William C. Drew, Daniel J. Caswell, James B. Ray, James Rariden, Nathaniel French, and John A. Daily. In 1820 were admitted Amos Lane, James Gii- more, Oliver H. Smith, Moses Fay, David Eaton, Cyrus Finch and George H. Dunn. In 1821, Ozias Hale and Moses Hitchcock. In 1822, Charles H. Veeder, Martin M. Ray, John T. McKinney, William Steele, Vincet Mitchell and Charles H. Test. In 1823, W. R. Morris and David Wallace. The following list of names was published in the Times in 1879, under the head of attorneys admitted to the Fayette County bar from 1819 to 1854: 1819 — James Rariden. 1823— Charles H. Test. 1825 — James Perry. 1828— Caleb B. Smith, John S. Newman and William Daily. 1831— Samuel W. Parker. 1832 — John Ryman, George Holland. 1884— Elisha Vance. 1835— George B. Tingley. 1837 — Pleasant A. Hackleman. 1839 — James B. Sleeth, Solomon Malser and James A. Fay. 1840— Moses Kelly, Louis C. Fonts and John S. Reid. 1846 — George W. Woodbury, W. S. Burrows, and Benjamin F. Claypool. 1847 —Nelson Trusler, John B. Stitt, J. B. Julian, William Wilson, Nimrod Johnson, G. W. Whitman, John A. Matson, John D. Howland, John H. Far- quhar, William M. McCarty, S. W. Hubbard, S. Ward, and D. W. Welty. 1848 — Jesse Hubbart. 1849— E. M. Vance. 1850— James C. Mcintosh. 1851— Gilbert Trusler. 1852— Samuel Heron and A. W. Griffith. 1853 — James R. McChire, Moses G. Marshall, Jonathan Shields, B. C. Stewart, M. J. Williams, James Conner, E. S. Hawley, and Henry Shambre. 1854 — James H. Bonham. REFERENCE TO THE LAWYERS AND PRACTrCE OF EARLY INDIANA. Oliver H. Smith, in speaking of the lawyers of early Indiana, says: "Our lawyers were what the world calls self-made men, meaning men who have not had the advantages of rich fathers and early edu- cation, to whom the higher seminaries and colleges were sealed books; men gifted by nature with strong, vigorous, clear intellects, fine health, and sound constitutions; men, who like the newly- hatched swan, were directed by nature to their proper elements, their proper professions. Few of them failed of success. Necessity urged to action. With most of them it was 'root or die.' In ninety-nine cases out of every hundred of the failures in the dif- ferent professions and avocations in life, charged by the world to 'bad luck,' it is nothing more nor less than the selection of a profession, avocation or busi- ness that nature never intended you for. The smallest teal, or duck, that swims on the bosom of Chesa- peake Bay, would sink and drown in that element the best blooded and finest game-cock that ever old Vir- ginia produced in her most chivalric days; while in the cock-pit, the teal or duck would be nowhere in the fight. "Our counties furnished too little business for the resident attorneys; we all looked to a circuit prac- tice. Some rode the whole circuit and others over but few counties. We sometimes had a little spar- ring in our cases in trials, but it ended there, and we stood banded together like brothers. At the Rush Circuit Court my friend Judge Perry bargained for a pony for $25, to be delivered the next day, on a credit of six months. The man came with the pony. iw V*s^ '^. %: ^^^!^a^:4L^- HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 10 3 but required security of the Judge for the $25. The Judge drew the note at the top of a sheet of foolscap, and signed it. I signed it; James Rariden signed it and passed it on, and on it went from lawyer to lawyer around the bar, till some twenty of us had signed it. I then handed it up to the Court, and the three Judges put their names to it. Judge Perry presented it to the man he had bought the pony of, but he promptly refused to receive it. 'Do you think I am a fool, to let you get the court and all the lawyers on your side? I see you intend to cheat me out of my pony.' Up he jumped and ran out of the court house on full gallop. " The great variety of trials and incidents on the circuit gave to the life of a traveling attorney an interest that we all relished exceedingly. There was none of the Green Bay City monotony, no dyspepsia, no gout, no ennui, rheumatism or neuralgia; con- sumption was a stranger among us. An occasional jump of the toothache, relieved by the turnkey of the first doctor we came to, was the worst. All was fun, good humor, fine jokes well received, good appetites and sound sleeping, cheerful landlords and good- natured landladies at the head oi the table. We rode first-class horses: Gen. Noble oq 'Wrangler,' for which he gave $60; Drew on 'Drew Gray,' cost $70; Caswell on 'Blue Dick,' cost $65; Rariden on 'Old Gray,' cost $80; John Test on 'Bay Filly,' cost $50; Gen. McKinney on 'McKinney Roan,' cost $45; David Wallace on 'Ball,' cost $40; Amos Lane on 'Big Sorrel,' cost $60; Judge Eggles- ton on Indian pony, cost $35; George H. Dunn on 'Dancing Rabbit,' cost $40; James B. Ray on 'Red Jacket,' cost $60; Martin M. Ray on 'John,' cost $35; William R. Morris on 'Jacob,' cost $50; Charles H. Test on 'Archie,' cost $40; John S. Newman on 'Clay Bank,' cost $60; and I rode 'Grey Fox,' that cost me $90. These were the highest priceg at that day for the very best traveling horses in the country. They were trained to the cross-pole mud roads, and to swimming. "Oar attorneys were ready, ofif-hand practitioners, seldom at fault for the occasion. Sometimes we had to meet attorneys from other States, who would fling the Latin and technical terms with a triumph- ant air, but in most cases they were foiled by the quick retorts of our bar." Below is set forth the character of some of the non-resident members of the early Whitewater bar, as held by Oliver H. Smith, some of whom sat upon the bench in this county, and others were at times associated in its legal business. (James B. Ray was for a short time a resident of Connersville, and served for a time as Deputy Clerk of the County.) "Gen. Noble was emphatically a self-made man ; quick, ready and always prepared. He served two full terms in the Senate; died a Senator, compar- atively a young man, and lies entombed in the Con- gressional Cemetery at Washington. "James B. Ray succeeded Gov. Hendricks, and was the youngest man who ever occupied the chair at the time of his election. He was a popular itump speaker; was never beaten before the people for Gov- ernor, at one time beating Judge Blackford, at another. Dr. Israel T. Canby and Habin H. Moore. He was a zealous lawyer, but entered the political field before his forensic powers were fully developed. "Gen. McKinney was a fair lawyer, and gave good satisfaction as a Judge, but died before he had reached the meridian of his life, or had been long enough on the bench to fully develop his judicial character. ' 'Among the prominent men of the early White - water bar was Judge Charles H. Test. He was a young man of fine talents and great energy of charac- ter. At quite an early age he took a high position among the ablest of the profession. "James Rariden was one of the strong men of the State. He represented Wayne County many years in both branches of the General Assembly; was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1850, and served two terms in Congress from his district. "William J. Brown held the high offices of mem ber of the Legislature, member of Congress and Assistant Postmaster-General. For many years be was one of the most formidable Democratic public speakers in the State. "John S. Newman was a fine practice lawyer with a head clear as a bell, a remarkably matured judg- ment at an early day in his profession. His strong vigorous intellect made him a safe counsellor and a valuable co-laborer in heavy cases." RESIDENT LAWYERS. Oliver H. Smith was admitted to the bar at Law- renceburg, this State, in March, 1820, aad in May of the same year settled in Connersville as a practitioner. At the time of his arrival there was but one lawyer in the village — William W. Wick. Mr. Wick was not long a resident practitioner, as he was soon elected a Judge of the "New Purchase," and from 1825 to 1829 he filled the office of Secretary of State, and subsequently served as a Member of Congress. Charles Veeder, Ozias Hall, Cyrus Finch and Martin M. Ray were among the early resident members of the bar. Caleb B. Smith commenced the practice of law at Connersville in the fall of 1828; and Samuel W. Parker at Connersville in 1831. Samuel C. Sample began the study of law at Con- 104 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. nersville with Oliver H. Smith in 1820. " Mr. Sam- ple was no ordinary man, plain, practical in all his acts. He represented his district in Congress with decided ability; was always at his post, among the working men of the body. At the bar and as Presid- ing Judge of the Circuit Courts he stood high among the most eflScient and able practitioners, and one of the purest Judges that has graced the bench." He died while serving as President of the State Bank at South Bend, Ind. James C. Mcintosh read law under Samuel W. Parker and was admitted to practice in 1851. The resident lawyers of the county at Conners- ville in 1832 were Oliver H. Smith, Caleb B. Smith, Samuel W. Parker and Samuel C. Sample. William Dail^' was at this time practicing law, and resided five and a half miles southwest of the village. For a period at this time and just prior thereto the following law firms existed: M. M. Ray, and C. B. Smith (in 1833 Ray was located at Centreville), James Rariden and S. W. Parker. The former's oflBee was at Centreville. From a published article in 1846 we give the names of the attorneys as therein set forth: Caleb B. Smith, S. W. Parker, Elisha Vance, James A. Fay, Joseph Justice, Lewis C. Fonts, William L. Spooner and William Daily. The resident attorneys of the county for 1858-59 (as given in a State Directory) were B. F. Claypool, James C. Mcintosh, Joseph Marshall, Samuel W. Parker, John S. Reid, Gilbert Trusler, Nelson Trusler and Elisha Vance. Nelson Trusler was born in Franklin County, Ind., in 1823, read law with John A. Matson, in Brookville, and began the practice in Fayette County. In an obituary notice it is stated that " he soon took a leading position in the Whitewater Valley bar, at that time the ranking bar of the State, and meeting such men as Parker and Caleb B. Smith with credit." He was elected to the State Legislature in 1855. From September, 1862, to October, 1863, Mr. Trusler served as Colonel of the Eighty-fourth Regiment Indiana Volunteers: from 1865 to 1869 he served as Secretary of State. He was defeated for Attorney- General in 1870, and in 1872 succeeded Thomas M. Browne as United States District Attorney. On being elected Secretary of State he removed to Indianapo- lis, where his death occurred in 1880. Gilbert Trusler, a brother of Nelson, was a native of this county, born in 1830. His name first appeared as an attorney at the bar of Fayette County in 1851. He entered the army in 1861 as Captain of Company H, Thirty-sixth Regiment Indiana Volunteers, and in June, 1863, was commissioned Major of the regiment. At the close of the war he was elected to the State Legislature. In his obituary notice it was stated that " he was a man of rare intellect, keen percep- tions and sound judgment." B. F. Claypool, the oldest and most distinguished member of the bar of the county, now engaged in active practice, read law in the office of the late Hon. Oliver H. Smith, in Indianapolis, being admitted in 1847, and soon thereafter established himself in the practice at Connersville, his native city. His biog- raphy, with those of other living attorneys, is found elsewhere in this work. I CHAPTER XIV. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. CONTRIBUTED BY S. N. HAMILTON, M. D. THE FIRST PHYSICIANS— DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETIES— EARLY CHARGES FOR MEDICAL SERVICES— LATER PHY- SICIANS— FAYETTE COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY AND THE PROFESSION. /~\WING to a variety of causes, we have found it a ^-^ task of no small proportions to construct a his- tory of the medical profession and society of Fayette County, Ind., particularly that part relating to its first organization and incipient progress. Chief among these causes are the absence of authoritative data, the death or removal of the pioneers of the profession, and the imperfect state of organization in the practice among the settlements. We note, however, with a degree of professional pride, the comparative progress made by the plucky and per- sistent little handful of " regulars " who first came to this valley, to mold themselves into a society, with the two-fold purpose of mutual improvement and of securing the "code" against imposture, the latter instinct resembling that of their fellow settlers, inasmuch as their first measure was one of prudence and mutual self-protection, in order that that which was to follow — progress and achievement — might be insured against a double peril, that of foes without and apathy within. THE FIRST PHYSICIANS. Among the earliest physicians of whom we have any knowledge, who settled within the present limits HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 105 of the county, were Drs. John Bradburn, James Thomas, Joseph Moffitt, Temple E. Gayle, and Joseph S. Burr. Dr. Bradburn was a native of Lancaster County Penn., and as early as 1814 settled within the present limits of Fayette County in the vicinity of what is now known as Harrisburg. Hon. Oliver H. Smith in his "Early Indiana" refers to him as "an eminent surgeon, a man of great muscular powers, and of the most indomitable personal courage." The Doctor's experience as a practitioner in this county was marred by a fearful tragedy in which he became instrumental in the death of two young men, in the spring of 1825, an account of which is given elsewhere in this work. Shortly after the tragedy, Dr. Bradburn removed from this county to the southern part of the State, subsequently to the vicinity of Brookville, where he died in the early part of the decade between 1830 and 1840. He is said to have been a regular graduate and a man highly respected. At the time of the tragedy above referred to, he was about thirty years of age, "possessed," it is said, " of a stern counte- nance, an inflexible will, and great executive ability." Dr. Thomas was a native of New York State, and was one of the colony of immigrants that settled in the vicinity of Harrisburg, this county, in 1819, and formed what was designated as the "Yankee Settle- ment.'' He was a regular graduate, and for years en- joyed a successful and lucrative practice at Harrisburg. About the year 1820, Dr. Joseph Moffitt, a native of New Haven, Conn., and a well-trained student fresh from Yale College, settled in Connersville. He died in 1833. About this time, Dr. Burr and Dr. Gayle came to Connersville and began the practice of medicine. Concerning Dr. Burr's advent into the village, Hon. Oliver H. Smith says: " One morning I was introduced by my landlord to a small, black-eyed man wearing plain clothing and speaking the plain language of 'thee and thou,' as 'Dr. Burr, from New Philadel- phia, Ohio, who was about to settle in Connersville as a root Doctor.' Some days after there was nailed to the weather-boarding of the hotel an enormous swamp- lily root almost as large as a man, with head, eyes, ears, nose and mouth nicely carved, arms and legs with feet stuck on. And just above the sign on a board marked with chalk: 'Joseph S. Burr, Root Doctor — -No Calomel.' The Doctor was subsequently engaged in the drug business, and for a long time enjoyed a rather extensive practice. One well acquainted with him over half a century ago, says: 'He was a man of some medical knowledge which he used with moderate success in his practice, while to his patrons he utterly denounced all ' doctor laruin " and made it on the / root ' system. His chief ability consisted of cunning aided by a knowledge of human nature." v Dr. Gayle was a talented man but died young, his death occurring in October, 1827, at the age of thirty- two years, on which occasion the press said of him: " As a man of talent, the Doctor was excelled by few if any in the State; as a practicing physician he was eminently successful and popular." Dr. Philip Mason was a native of Adams, Berk- shire Co., Mass., born December 10, 1793. He settled in what is now Fayette County in 1816. He served as one of the Franklin County Commissioners when Fayette County was a part of that county. In 1824 he finished his course of reading and clinical studies under Dr. Moffitt, of Connersville, and began the practice of medicine at his farm in Columbia Township, where he remained until the spring of 1827, then removed to the village of Danville (now Fayettville), and there in connection with the now venerable Dr. Jefferson Helm, of Rushville, who had been one of his pupils, settled in the practice of his profession. On the death of Dr. Gayle, in the fol- lowing fall. Dr. Mason removed to Connersville. In 1829 he was elected the first Probate Judge of Fayette County, and served as such until 1834. The year following he was elected to the Legislature and was twice re-elected to that body. He served as Master of Warren Lodo-e,F. & A. M., of Connersville, for thirteen years, and as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State for eight years. Dr. Mason was a brilliant and educated man, who is still quite well 'remembered in the profession as the author of an able, though some- what lengthy "Autobiography and Family History." Dr. Jefferson Helm, a son of Judge Helm, is a native of Mason County, Ky., born in 1803. He studied medicine with Drs. Moffitt and Mason; was licensed to practice in 1827, and that year located at Danville (now Fayetteville), in partnership with Dr. Mason. After several years he removed to Vienna (now Glenwood), Rush County, where he remained until about 1845. Later he removed to Rushville. In 1850 he was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention, and two years later was elected to the State Senate. He still resides in Rushville, though not engaged in the practice of his profession. Dr. Hayman W. Clark was licensed to practice medicine at the same time with Dr. Helm in 1827. In 1828 Dr. Samuel Miller located in Connersville, having come from Dayton, Ohio. Another practitioner who advertised in the press of 1830, was Dr. Charles Barnes. DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETIES. An effort to establish medical societies in the State by legislative enactment was made at an early 106 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. period. Section 1 of Act approved by Gov. Jennings December 24, 1816, reads: " Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, that for the purpose of regulating the practice of physic and surgery in this State, each circuit as laid off for hold- ing Circuit Courts shall compose one medical district to be known as First, Second and Third Medical Dis- tricts in the State of Indiana, according to the name of the circuit." It was further provided in this act that in each district there should be a Board of Med- ical Censors, who were required to admit to mem- bership every physician or surgeon residing or wish- ing to practice in the district who should "on exam- ination before them, give proof of their qualification to practice either profession, and reasonable evidence of their moral character." An act approved January 18,1820, organized four medical districts, and gave the State Medical Society authority to establish as many additional as it might deem expedient. The State Medical Society was first organized in 1820, and held its meetings at Corydon, then capital of the State, until 1826, when it met at Indianapolis. Agreeably to the statute law of the State passed in 1825, and a resolution of the State Medical Society passed at their meeting subsequently, a number of the physicians of the Fifth District met in Conners- ville. May 7, 1827, for the purpose specified in the act and resolution referred to. James Thomas was called to the chair, and T. E. Gayle appointed Sec- retary pro tern. The society was formed and officers appointed as follows: James Thomas, President; William B. Laughlin, Seci'etary and Treasurer; Joseph Moffitt, H. G. Sexton and T. E. Gayle, Cen- sors. The first applicants examined for license who were found qualified to receive the same were Philip Mason, H. W. Clark and Jefferson Helm. EARLY CHA.ROE8 FOR MEDICAL SERVICES. The act of the Legislature of 1816, above re- ferred to, provided against overcharges: "It shall not be lawful for any physician or surgeon to charge or receive more than 12J cents per mile for every mile he shall travel in going to, and returning home from, the place of residence (for the time being) of his pa- tient, with an addition of lOO per cent for traveling in the night. The following is a list of charges recommended by the Indiana State Medical Society held at Cory- don December 11, 1822: Visit 25 cents to $1.00 Mileage .25 Venesection 25 " .50 Pulv. Febr 6i " .12+ Emetics ' 12i " .25 Attendance through the day $ 2.50 to 5.00 '■ nigUt 5.00 Obstetrics 5.00 Extracting tooth .25 Reducing luxation 5.00 to 10.00 Amputation 20.00 to 50.00 LATER PHYSICIANS. Dr. Ryland T. Brown is a native of Lewis County, Ky. His father came to Rush County, Ind. , in 1821, and for several years the son acted as guide to land- seekers. His knowledge of medicine and other sub- jects was principally acquired without the aid of a master, and but few men who have attained to equal eminence in the profession have qualified themselves for it under greater difficulties. To aid him in the study of anatomy, he is said to have constructed a skeleton out of the bones of an Indian that had been exhumed near his father's farm. He graduated from the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, in the spring of 1829. In August, 1832, he located in Con- nersville, and for several years was a partner of Dr. Mason's. He] remained in Connersville until 1842. In 1854 Dr. R. T. Brown acted as State Geologist by the appointment of Gov. Wright, and in 1858 he was elected to the Chair of Natural Science in the N. W. C. University at Indianapolis, and has been for sev- eral years an honored resident of that city. He is known throughout the State as the author of "Brown's Physiology," a common school textbook of recog- nized merit. The Doctor has attained an honorable old age without the usual signs of mental decay. The] regular practicing physicians of Fayette County in 1832 were Drs. Joseph Moffitt, Samuel Miller, R. T. Brown, of Connersville, and Dr. Mason on his farm below Null's Mill, now Null Town. Dr. D. D. Hall, a Virginian, located in Connersville, where he continued to practice until his death, which occurred June 20, 1871. Among the early members of the Fifth District Medical Society, were men of merit and of high pro- fessional standing, and all labored to develop the truths of medical science, and all made an impress on their generation. Drs. William B. Laughlin, H. G. Sexton and John Arnold played an important part in the history of Rush County. The first- mentioned, we believe, was the first physician to locate in that county. He did much of the early surveying, laid out the county seat and suggested the name Rushville in honor of his noble preceptor, Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia. He was a classical scholar, and in 1828 established a classi- cal school in that village. In Fayette County can be recalled the names of Drs. P. Mason, S. Miller, R. T. Brown, D. D. Hall, J. Thomas, T. E. Gayle, J. Moffitt and J. Helm; in Union County, Drs. Everetts, Rose, Casterline and Cox; in Franklin County, Drs. Berry and Heymond. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 107 After the Fifth District Medical Society had out- lived its usefulness, there was organized a society under a special charter from the Legislature, possess- ing power to examine and license candidates for the practice of medicine within the limits of the organi- zation. It was styled the Indiana Medical Institute, and embraced the counties included in the Fifth District Medical Society. This, however had but a brief existence. The physicians of Fayette County as given in a published statement in 1846 were: Drs. PhiKp Mason, Samuel Miller, D. D. Hall, John Arnold, E. A. Bacon, and S. W. Hughes, of Connersville; Green- bury Steele, Columbia Township; Alfred Ruby, Alquina; George Winchel, Columbia; U. B. Tingley, Harrisburg; Amos Chapman, Waterloo; Presley Libray, West Union (now Everton), and Ed Daniels, Fayetteville. Dr. George K. Chitwood was born in Gallia County, Ohio, May 10, 1805, and was licensed to practice medicine and surgery in 1830. He located as a physician in Franklin County, Ind., in 1831, and in 1835-36 he attended a course of lectures in the Ohio Medical College. He continued the practice in Franklin County until December, 1837, when he changed his location to Liberty, Union County. In 1846 he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Western Reserve Medical College at Cleve- land, Ohio. In December, 1849, he moved to Con- nersville, Ind., where he soon enjoyed a lucrative practice, and where he has remained ever since. In October, 1859, Dr. Chitwood was elected by the Board of Trustees of the Cincinnati College of Medi- cine and Surgery to the chair of General Pathology and Physical Diagnosis, which position he filled for the session of 1859-60. He was then transferred to the chair of Obstetrics and the Diseases of Women and Children, where he remained for six consecutive sessions, at which time he resigned in consequence of domestic aiBictions. In 1868 he was tendered the same position, but declined it. He is now quite advanced in years, but enjoys an unusual immunity from the effects of age. Dr. John Arnold has for many years been located at Rusbville, where he has an extensive practice. He is a gentleman of considerable literary attain- ments, having written several highly interesting rem- iniscences of pioneer life in Rush County. FAYETTE COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY AND THE PROFESSION. On the 24th of May, 1856, the physicians of Fay- ette County met and effected an organization, calling it the Whitewater Yalley Mfdical Society. In the temporary organization Dr. G. R. Chitwood presided and Dr. Samuel W. Vance acted as Secretary. Per- manent organization was forthwith effected by the election of the following officers: Dr. Amos Chap- man, of Alquina, President; W. W. Taylor, of Vienna (now Glen wood), Vice-President; S. W. Vance, Con- nersville, Recording Secretary; L. D. Sheets, Lib- erty, Corresponding Secretary; D. D. Hall, Conners- ville, Treasurer; Daniel Frembly, of Brownsville, George R. Chitwood and O. S. Ramsey, Censors. The following were charter members of this society: Drs. Samuel Miller, D. D. Hall, A. Chapman, P. S. Silvey (Everton), W. J. Pepper, D. Frembly, W. W. Taylor, S. W. Vance, H. W. Hazzard (Bentonville), A. H. Thompson (Everton), G. R. Chitwood, M. F. Miller (Everton), C. D. B. O'Ryan, V. H. Gregg, R. T. Gillum (Waterloo), U. B. Tingley (Harrisburg), and O. S. Ramsey. All the foregoing not located belonged in Connersville. About this time Dr.^W. J. Pepper finished his course of reading under Dr. G. B. Chitwood, and began practicing in Connersville, where he still resides. At the next yearly meeting, April 13, 1857, the record shows the following election of officers: D. D. Hall, President; P. S. Silvey, Vice-President; W. W. Taylor, Recording Secretary; G. R. Chitwood, Cor- responding Secretary; H. W. Hazzard, Treasurer, and Drs. Vance, Gregg and Pepper, Censors. On April 22, 1858, this society was dissolved by mutual consent of its officers and members, and on the 1st of May following, the physicians met at the court house and founded the Fayette County Medical Society with the following officers: U. B. Tingley, President; P. S. Silvey, Vice-President; S.W.Vance, Corresponding and Recording Secretary, and Drs. Gregg, Pepper and Chapman, Censors. The society retained its working organization until the breaking- out of the Civil war, in 1861, when its deliberations were quietly discontinued in the general suspense that followed the first clash of arms. In the meantime Dr. W. W. Taylor, who had lo- cated in Connersville some years before, died in 1859. He was widely known for his skill as a practitioner, eminent as a scholar, beloved as a neighbor and hon- ored as a citizen. Dr. V. H. Gregg entered the army as Surgeon in the First Brigade, First Division, Twenty-third Army Corps, and served in the Department of the Cumber- land, under Gen. Sherman, till the close of the war. Dr. Joshua Chitwood graduated in medicine in 1858, and entered the army as Surgeon in the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, Department of the Cumberland. Dr. George W. Garver located in Connersville in 1865, having served in the United States Navy as Assistant Surgeon on the Western Flotilla, Depart- ment of the Mississippi. 108 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Dr. S. W. Hughs died in 1865, and was buried in the new cemetery. During the four years of national strife, no at- tempt was made to reorganize the Fayette County Medical Society, but after the establishment of peace, when the interrupted trades and professions began to wheel into the line of reconstruction and progress we find this organization keeping pace with the rest, and this time re-enforced by several recruits. In "1866 the Fayette County Medical Society re- organized with the following membership: Drs. D. D. Hall, W. J. Pepper, S. W. Vance, G. R. Chit- wood, Josh Chitwood, V. H. Gregg, U. B. Tingley, G. W. Garver, A. Koogler, J. G. Larimore, W. H. Smith and R. W. Sipe. The latter three represented respectively Waterloo, Fairview and Fayetteville. The new members were Drs. J. A. Smith, Lyons; J. E. Jones, now of Cincinnati; A. H. Philips, Water- loo; Max Scheller, Connersville; B. Reeves, Fair- view. Since the organization of 1866 the following phy- sicians have become members of the society: Drs. J. A. Zeigler, Brownsville; John E. Chitwood, Conners- ville; S. N. Hamilton, Everton; B. F. Day, Water- loo, all in the year 1877; and L. Alexander, now of Pendleton, in 1878. Meanwhile, the members of these local or county, societies being under the dispensation of 1866, were precluded from attending the State Medical Society, except as they were sent to that body as delegates from their respective counties. In 1878 the State Society decreed that all members in good standing in all subordinate societies be thenceforth entitled to dele- gate rights. This decree made all the county societies auxiliary to the State society. These " delegate rights," however, were not absolute, though they were not limited save in matters pertaining to legis- lation, this right vesting in appointees designated by the respective county societies. The Fayette County Medical Society did not immediately accept the pro- visions of this new dispensation, but in 1879 fell into line with the rest, and applied for admission into the State organization. Under this code all the ctjunty societies were required to draft new constitutions and by-laws, or so remodel their old ones as to make them consistent with the new order of things. The annual assessment per capita is $1. Pursuant to reorganization the Fayette County Medical Society elected the following oflScers: S. W. Vance, President; W. J. Pepper, Vice-President; Joshua Chitwood, Secretary; V. H. Gregg, Treasurer, all located in Connersville. For Censors, S. N. Ham- ilton, Everton; George R. Chitwood, Connersville, and G. A. Sigler, Brownsville, Union County. This left a rather meager constituency as to members, only three, namely. J. E. Chitwood, B. F. Day, J. A. Smith. Subsequently, the following members have been added: Charles Wyman, Lyon's Station, in 1880; C. H. Von Klein, L. D. Dillman and D. M. La Moree, Connersville, in 1882; Garrett Pigman, O. P. Phares and F. A. Chitwood, Connersville, in 1884 Dr. Sigler removed from Brownsville to Liberty, UnionCounty, in 1883. Dr. Hamilton located in Con- nersville in 1882, entering into partnership with Dr. Gregg. Dr. Von Klein removed to Hamilton, Ohio, in 1882, and thence to Dayton, where he still resides. The latter was Surgeon in the Rasso -Turkish war, after which he came to this country, locating first in Batesville, Ind., then in Brookville, then in Conners- ville, where he remained but a few months. He is a man of considei-able learning and wide experience, being the author of several medical works, and the possessor of a library consisting of 6,000 volumes, printed in French, German, Russian and English, all of which languages he speaks with fluency. Dr. La Moree located in Alquina in 1883, and shortly afterward left for Pennsylvania, Dr. Phares taking his place at Alquina. The following is the present membership of the society: Drs. G. R. Chitwood, Joshua Chitwood, John E. Chitwood, F. A Chitwood, V. H. Gregg, S. N. Hamilton, W. J. Pepper, R. W. Sipe, L. D. Dill- man, Charles Wyman, Garrett Pigman and O. P. Phares. Dr. S. W. Vance withdrew from the society in 1882. The following physicians of Connersville are not members of the society: Drs. Elias Webster, homoeo- pathic, located in Fayette County in 1864; A. D. Ter- rell, eclectic, in 1863; D. W. Butler, in 1876, the present Health Officer, and John Wall, in 1879. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 109 CHAPTER XV. DISTINGUISHED DEAD. OLIVER H. SMITH— JONATHAN McCARTY— CALEB B. SMITH— SAMUEL W. PARKER— JAMES C. MoINTOSH. "Ah! who can tell how hard it is to climb The steep where fame's proud temple shines afar; Ah! who can tell how many a soul sublime Has felt the influence of malignant star, And waged with fortune an eternal war — Checked by the scoS of pride — by envy's frown, By poverty's unconquerable bar, In life's lone vale, remote, has pined alone, Then dropt into the grave unpitied and unknown! " IT is thought that a chapter devoted to the lives of deceased citizens, who were honored with high ofiScial positions, or reached eminence in their profes- sions, may with propriety be given in this part of the work. Sketches of the lives of other deceased citi- zens of equal worthiness, and perhaps prominence in their several fields, have been given in variotis other chapters throughout the work, as, for instance, New- ton Claypool, Daniel Han kins, George Frybarger, Joshua Harlan, and others among the early business men of Connersville; Abraham Van Vleet, Daniel Bench and others, of the press; Wilson Thompson, James Conwell and others, of the clergymen; Judge Eeid, the Truslers and others, of the legal profession; Drs. Gayle, Moffitt, Mason and others, of the medical profession; John Conner, Thomas Simpson, Judges Helm and Webb, Jonathan John and many others of the pioneers in general, etc., etc., etc. OLIVER H. SMITH. Oliver H. Smith was the only resident of Fayette County who reached the high position of United States Senator. His place of birth and early life can not be more beautifully and impressively related than in his own language: " My grandparents on both sides were fi'iends and associates of William Penn; crossed the Atlantic from England with him, and belonged to the same society. The steamer, as she runs up the Delaware (from Philadelphia) passes one of the most beautiful countries, on the Pennsylvania side, in the world, highly cultivated. On the Jersey side it is more wild and picturesque. On the Penn- sylvania side stands the beautiful city of Bristol. On the Jersey stand Burlington and Bordentown. Near the latter is seen in the deeply shaded grove the man- sion of the late ex-King, Joseph Bonaparte, as it rose from the ashes of his former splendid residence. The city of Trenton, the capital of New Jersey, stands prominent on the right. The more humble Morris - ville covers the left bank at the falls of the Delaware, where the permanent arch-bridge unites the two cities. " When but a mere youth, as I was approaching Morrisville in the dusk of the evening, I heard the cry of fire just as I reached the center of the town. I saw a man walking upon the top of a house, bucket in hand, without a hat, sprinkling water upon the roof. A gentleman in the crowd asked me if I knew who he was, and remarked, ' This is Gen. Moreau, of France. ' The General came down after a short time, and I had a full view of him. I looked upon the hero of Hohenlinden at the time with much interest. He was short and thick, dark complexion, black hair, eyes Jind whiskers, stern countenance. He afterward fell by a cannon shot at the battle of Dresden in 1813, while fighting with the allies against the French Army under the command of Napoleon. "At Trenton the tide ceases; the rocky shoals and rapid currents of the Delaware commence. The trav- eler leaves the steamer and takes the cars. Some twelve miles above the city of Trenton, the current of the river becomes still more rapid; the water dashes over Well's Falls; Smith's Island divides their chan- nel at the base. That island belonged to my grand- father, and descended to my father. Here I must stop and let the traveler pass on to look at the moun- tain scenery on the upper Delaware, as it winds its serpentine way north to the State of New York, where he finds his source. I have arrived at the place of my birth, on the 23d of October, in the year 1794. The beautiful Delaware, with its clear waters, rapid currents, floating rafts, tine shad and beautiful striped bass, stretches away in the distance from my father's farm, the Jersey hills rising one above another to the clouds on the east; on the west a beautiful ridge; on the north Bowman's Hill. Near the junction of the hills was found many years ago a few acres of level ground in the woods. The early settlers, my father among them, selected this spot for their schoolhouse. It was a most solitary location, only found by the schoolboys by their winding paths from their valley and mountain homes. The neighbors met, the ground was prepared, and the schoolhouse built no HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. "The building was 20x26 feet of undressed mountain rock, one low story, four windows of 8x10 glass on each side, and two at each end, a continuous desk around the wall on three sides, with a corres- ponding bench for the scholars. When I first entered the schoolhouse, at the age of six years, in the year 1800 — I distinctly remember the day — with my little dinner basket on my arm, the master was sitting at his desk on the right of the door, and a large bucket of water on the loft. Our playing grounds were cleared smooth from surface rock. Our path led us to the top of Bowman's Hill, where we had a splendid view of the Delaware and surrounding country for many miles. I have .often thought, in after years, that these views in my youth exercised a powerful influence over mv mind. The same feelings that prompted me in my early life to break over the bounds of my valley home, pushed me onto look over the towering Alleghany into the beautiful valley of the Mississippi. " The school-boys one evening roped a little intox- icated Irishman, who happened to be passing by. He got very angry and named the schoolhouse Lurgan, after a place of that name in Ireland, and from that day it went by no other name. I saw it when after an absence of twenty years in the West, I visited the home of my youth; I looked upon it with deep feel- ings, as my alma mater." The parents of the distinguished Senator were Thomas and Lsetitia Smith buried, the former at Wrightstown and the latter at Byberry. At Lurgan our subject received about all the regular education he ever obtained. What he acquired afterward was under his own tuition. In 1813, on the death of his father, he left home on foot with a few dollars in his pocket, to see the world. "I had seen very little of the world; thirty miles was the farthest I had ever been from home. I longed to see beyond the river hills of the Delaware." He went by way of Morristown to New York, and " gazed up and down the city with astonishment and delight." Thence he went up the Hudson, and on reaching West Point he says: " This spot was conse- crated to my youthful mind; here waved the Nation's flag. I asked the Captain to stop and let me see Fort Putnam. He at once consented and we landed. I now stood on Revolutionary ground, my heart beat quick and joyous; I ran up Mount Independence, where stood old Fort Putnam, venerable in its ruins, stern monument of a sterner age; it had survived the assaults of tyranny, and the attempts of treason. I stood at the rock from which the chain was stretched across the narrow channel of the river in the time of the Revolution, to prevent the passage of the British vessels. While I stood upon old Fort Putnam, and cast my eye far down the magestic river toward New York, the scenes of the Revolution, the treason of Arnold, the capture and execution of Andre, with a thousand associations, rushed upon me." He returned home again, but whether he remained any length of time we do not know, but presume he did not, as he was employed in a cotton or woolen mill for some time in Pennsylvania before coming West. In the spring of 1817 he came to Indiana and first settled at Rising Sun, where he remained until the winter of 1818, then removed to Lawrenceburg, where it is believed he read law with Gen. Dill and was admitted to the bar at the March term of the Dearborn County Court, receiving his license to practice from the hand of Judge Miles C. Eggleston, who examined him in person. Says the Senator: "His remarks made a deep impression upon me. My means were exhausted, and it was a question of life and death with me." The Judge kindly remarked: " Mr. Smith, I will sign your license, but you are only prepared to commence the study; but don't be discouraged, but persevere in your studies, and you may yet stand high in your profession." Young Smith directly after procuring his license re- moved to Versailles, in Ripley County, and there began his professional life. His first case was a trespass quare clausum f regit — "as his Blackstone told him." A neighbor had bored another's sugar-tree without asking. Smith represented the plaintiff and secured a verdict of 12J cents. His fee was $2.50. In the spring of 1820 Mr. Smith left Versailles, removing to C'jnnersville, where he made his first plange into the heady current of pioneer life. He had been in Con- nersville but eighteen months when he was induced to run for the Legislature, and in August, 1822, he was elected. He served during the session of 1822- 23 and was the member by whom the name was given to Johnson County, which was named after Judge Johnson, of Indiana. Mr. Smith remarks, "It so hap- pened that it was the greenest Legislature ever con- vened in the State. The raw material was not so defective as the experience of the m;mbers. The session lasted six weeks and perhaps no Legislature ever met and adjourned in the State doing less harm." Our subject was made Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. Referring to his first effort in that body the Senator says, "All eyes were turned to me, as the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, suppos- ing, of course, that I knew all about it. The house was tilled with a distinguished audience from all parts of the State, and several from Kentucky. I arose. It was my first efibrt in a Legislative capac- ity, and much was expected by the audience. 'Mr. Speaker,' said I. These were my only words. I grew blind, and down I sank in my chair, almost uncon- n JlS^uZ^-^ HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 113 scious, when Maj. Henry P. Thorton, who was our Clerk, a great wag, sprang from his desk, ran to where I was seated, and whispered in my ear, 'My dear sir, you must have studied your speech at home; you have made a powerful constitutional argument ' " In 1824 he was appointed Prosecuting Attorney of the Third Judicial Circuit by Gov. Hendricks, in which position he served two years, and distinguished him- self by the prosecution of some of the most noted cases in the criminal history of the State. The southern court was at Vevay and the northern at Fort Wayne, and during the two years he served as Prosecutor there wag not a single court held or a grand jury impaneled in his absence on the circuit. He became a candidate for Congress in 1826 and was elected by a majority of 1,500. His competi tor, the Hon. John Test, was one of the first men of the State; had been on the court bench, was a tine lawyer, a good speaker and had repre- sented the district three full terms. Mr. Smith served during the sessions of 1827 and 1828, contem- poraneous with such men as Tristriam Burgess, John Randolph, Samuel C. Southard, McDuff and others. It will be well to inform the reader that the first effort of Mr. Smith in Congress, though not flatteringly born, resulted in greater success than his first effort in the General Assembly of the State. A bill appor- tioning $100,000 to the work of constructing the Cumberland road was before the House. Philip P. Barbour, of Virginia, one of the strongest men in the House, had made a long constitutional argument to prove that the General Government had no power to make appropriations to construct the work. His speech was able and its effect upon the favorite meas- ure of the Indiana delegation was greatly feared. "My colleagues were not disposed to speak; I had not spoken. I felt much reluctance to speaking, but duty seemed to require it. I got the floor for the next day. The Committee arose, and the House ad- journed. I was in for my first speech in Congress. I passed a sleepless night. I concluded to back out. By daylight I was up walking the pavement before my boarding house, when the newsboy handed me the National Intelligencer, wet from the press. I opened the paper, glanced over the Congressional proceed- ings, looked under the editorial head, when, Oh ! horror of horrors ! there it was, 'The Hon. Oliver H. Smith will address the Committee to-day in reply to the Hon. Philip P. Barbour on constitutional powers.' Hero I was; there was no backing out without dis- grace. I could eat no breakfast. The hour arrived. The house was crowded. Mr. Barbour was seated before me. My friends were around me to give me courage. I grew more bold as I advanced, and never to this day did I feel when I closed a two hour's speech that I had done myself more justice. The bill was passed by a large majority." In the House Mr. Smith made no conspicuous mark, but earned and gained the reputation of a hard working, honest and sensible member. On the expiration of his term in the House he returned to the law, and continued in very active pursuit of his profession, till he was elected to the United States Senate in December, 1836, over Gov. Noble and Gov. Hendricks, his predecessors. He first entered the Senate during the executive session of March, 1837. He was made Chairman on the Committee on Public Lands in that body over R. I. Walker, then of Mis- sissippi. Here his habits of hard, constant labor shone conspicuously, no less unimpeachable integ- rity and sound judgment. "So thoroughly was his judgment trusted by his associates on the Committee, and his industry relied on to do all necessary work, that he became absolutely the whole Committee, and when a reference was made to it, it waa expected of course that Mr. Smith would see all about it. He was publicly complimented by Mr. Clay for his services to the country in that position. During his term as Senator, wo believe in 1838, he removed from Connersville to Indianapolis, where he after- ward resided, practicing his profession steadily and successfully, until his disease compelled him to abandon all labor." Mr. Smith, soon after the election of James B. Ray as Governor of the State, was offered a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court, "but having no judicial ambition, and not being willing to be laid on the bench at a salary of $700, I had the fortitude to resist the temptation." The Senator was the author of a work published in 1858, under the title of "Early Indiana Trials and Sketches." His death occurred in Indianapolis, March 19, 1859, having been sick for nearly a year with a disease, the nature of which we believe was not clearly marked. The Indianapolis Journal of March 21, 1859, said: "There is not a corner of the State in which the melancholy announcement of the death of Hon. Oliver H. Smith which we make this morn- ing, will not wake feelings of deep and sincere sor- row. * * * j£e died as he lived, a firm and sin- cere Christian. No man since the lamented Mar- shall's death was more widely known or highly esteemed. His eminent public career, his great ser- vices to the cause of internal improvement, and his unspotted private life gave him a place in the pub- lic regard, that few have filled more worthily." JONATHAN m'cARTY. Among the number of families who settled in the vicinity of Brookville in the early part of this cen- 6 114 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. tury, from which sprang men of considerable note, was that of the McCarty name. Benjamin McCarty, with family, emigrated from Grainger County, Tenn. , in about the year 1801 or 1802, and temporarily stopped on Dry Fork, in Ohio, and there awaited the preparation of the lands in what is now Franklin County, for market. He made the first entry in that county, and in 1804 removed thereto. He was made one of the first Judges of the county courts, under the Territorial Government. He is said to have been a man of herculean frame and of a strong mind. Enoch McCarty, a son, was a member of the first convention that formed the State constitution; of the Legislature repeatedly, and many years Clerk and Judge of the Franklin Circuit Court. Of him says Oliver H. Smith: "He was a cool, strong- minded man, of the very first standing in society, and contributed largely to the mass of mind that con- trolled early Indiana; cast all his influence on the side of morality and religion." Gen. Jonathan McCarty, the subject of this sketch, was born in Virginia on the 3d of August, 1795. He was reared on his f ather' s f arm, which was in sight of the village of Brookville, and commanded a view of the rugged hills, beautiful and fertile valleys and rippling waters of the Whitewater, a country upon which had been poured out with a lavish hand of the beauties from nature's great store-house. Impressive and grand is the scene. Here in the lit- tle log school house, that graced the hill-side and valleys of the neighboring settlements, was educated Gen. McCarty. In viewing the vicinity, the writer was impressed more than ever with the words of Web- ster and other statesmen. The former, on being asked where his youth was passed, in substance replied, "I lived in sight of the ocean." Others, in response to interrogatories concerning what was raised among the rock-covered hills and cliffs of portions of New England said, "Men.'' As we stood below the village on an evening in June, at a point taking in in full the grandeur of the scene under an air laden with the perfume of the wild roses, sweet clover and elders abounding on all sides, musing over the past, we asked ourself, Did not the Tests, the Hannas, the McCartys, the Nobles, the Wallaces, the Rays, the Eads, with numerous others, gather inspiration from these towering and forest-clad hills? Jonathan McCarty for a time assisted his brother Enoch in performing the duties of the Clerk's office, and at intervals read law, being, we believe, both his own tutor and perceptor, and in the course of time was licensed to practice law. He early became a poli- tician, was elected to the Legislature of Franklin County and procured the passage of the law laying off the county of Fayette. He then removed to the new county, settling in the county town of Conners- ville. He was made the first Clerk of the Courts of the county and performed the duties of the several other county offices then devolving upon that officer. He served as Clerk of the Courts of the county until in 1828, and as such was the Recorder, Clerk to the Commissioners, etc. In 1829 he was appointed Re- ceiver of public moneys in the land office at Fort Wayne, and in 1830 removed his family from Con- nersville to that point. In 1828 Gen. McCarty made the race for Con- gress, being a candidate on the Democratic ticket, his opponent being Judge John Test, of Brookville, a National Republican. The conflict resulted in the election of Judge Test by a triumphant majority. In an address delivered by the General during the canvass he made these observations: "I have resided for more than twenty-five years in the territorial limits of what now forms this Congressional District; first in the county of Dearborn, then in Franklin, then in Fayette, my present residence. * * Hav- ing been reared and educated in the western country> accustomed to its policy and laws, I necessarily imbibed, at an early period, those Republican prin- ciples so repeatedly and practically illustrated in the Western States — and have always been proud of the name and title of a Republican.'' Referring to hie views as regards measures of national policy, he says, "Upon the subject of internal improvements and a fair and adequate protection of American in- dustry and manufactures, about which so much has been said, and which has called forth the ablest talents of the Nation on both sides of these questions, it seems to me that there can be little or no division of sentiment in the Western States. All agree in the propriety of these measures and but few doubt the constitutional power of the Government upon these subjects. Should I be called by the suffrages of my fellow-citizens of this district, to represent them in the councils of the Nation, I shall support the principles of internal improvements and the pro- tection of American manufactures and industry." In 1831 Gen. McCarty was elected to Congress from his district, defeating his former competitors. Judge Test, and Oliver H. Smith. The General was a supporter of the administration and the election terminated an unusually heated canvass. During the canvass Samuel W. Parker, who was then editing the Political Clarion, and who, it will be borne in mind, was opposed to the election of the General, thus alluded to him in that paper: "Gen. McCarty for four or five years had particular notoriety as a heated partisan of President Jackson. As a man he is pos- sessed of natural abilities which rate considerably above mediocrity, abilities which could not but have HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 115 rendered him truly and justly consijicuous, had they been properly disciplined and directed. From village to national politics, he is shrewd, calculating, artful and indefatigable, and in his demeanors he is affable, courteous and interesting. * * * " Gen. MeCarty served his district in Congress from 1831 to 1837, and in 1848 or 1849 remove.! to Keokuk, Iowa, with the intention of there practicing his profession. He was twice married, the first time to Miss Desdemona Harrison, who died during their residence at Fort Wayne; and the second wife was Elizabeth Parsons. His death occurred at Keokuk, Iowa, where rest his remains, in about the year 1852. Oliver H. Smith, in his "Reminiscences," remarks of him, "He was one of the most talenied men in the State. He was defective in education, but had great native powers; represented his district in Congress for several years with ability. As a stump speaker he was ardent and effective; his person was above the medium size; his head and face of line mould; his voice strong and clear, and his actions good." CALEB B. SMITH. This distinguished man was born in the city of Boston, Mass., April 16, 1808, and at about the age six years his parents removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, in which city he grew up and there gathered most of the associations of his boyhood. At the age of fif- teen he entered the Cincinnati College, where he, for a period, pursued his studies, then was sent to the more extended and celebrated institution of Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio. He entered the uni- versity in 1825 and remained until 1827. On leaving college he returned to Cincinnati, and there at once commenced reading law. In the fall of 1827 he removed to Connersville and there resumed the study of law under Oliver H. Smith, who thus alludes to the first introduction: "One day I was sitting in my office at Conners- ville, when there entered a small youth about five feet, eight inches high, large head, thin brown hair, light blue eyes, high, capacious forehead, and good features, and introduced himself as Caleb B. Smith, of Cincinnati. He stated his business in a lisping tone. He had come to read law with me if I would receive him. I assented to his wishes, and he re- miiiaed with me until he was admitted to practice, aud commenced his professional, as well as his polit- ical, career at Connersville. He rose rapidly at the bar, was remarkably fluent, rapid and eloquent before a jury, never at a loss for ideas or words to express them; if he had a fault as an advocate, it was that he suffered his nature to press forward his ideas for utterance faster than the minds of the jurors were prepared to receive thom. Still, he was very suc- cessful before the court and jury." He completed his law studies and began practice in the fall of 1828. Three years later, (1831) at the age of twenty-three, he made the race for Representa- tive from the county in the General Assembly, but was defeated. In June, 1832, he, in connection with Matthew R. Hull, established at Connersville a weekly newspaper styled the Indiana Sentinel, the first of its name. The paper was spirited and con- ducted with marked ability. It supported Henry Clay for President. In May, 1833, Mr. Smith with- drew from the paper and was that same year elected to the Legislature and re-elected in 1834. The great question of internal improvement was now agitating the minds of the country, and for the system young Smith took an active part; also for Gov. Noble, the champion of it In 1835 he was sent to Washington by the Governoj' to obtain from the War Depart- ment an order detailing Col. Stansbury and a corps of engineers to survey the routes of some or all of the great projected lines of canals and railroads which it was in contemplation to construct, and determine their practicability. On returning to Connersville he was again elected to the Legislature, and in the following December was elected Speaker of the House on the first ballot. That session the great Internal Improvement Bill was passed. In 1836 he was again chosen Speaker, making the second time he had been elected to this position before he had attained the early age of twenty-eight years. For several years he was one of the Fund Commissioners for Indiana. In 1840 he was again elected to the Legislature, it being the fifth time he had been so honored by his adopted county. He was made Chairman of the Committee on Canals, That same year he was one of the Presidential Electors on the Harrison ticket. In 1841 he ran for Congress, but was defeated. The Whigs running two candidates suffered defeat, Andrew Kennedy, their competitor, being elected. Two years later Mr. Smith was elected to Congress, and in 1845 was re elected, and again re-elected in 1847. "In these three terms he made himself the fore- most man of the Indiana Delegation, and at the close was probably not only the most prominent man in national affairs from the State, but the most promi- nent man who had ever represented it." Oliver H. Smith in making fui-ther reference to the subject says: " He stood high in Congress as a : member and eloquent speaker. He was one of the most eloquent and powerful stump-speakers in the j United States, a warm and devoted Whig; was on the 116 HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. commission, after he left Congress, with Corwin and Payne, under the Mexican treaty. Few men in the West have filled a larger space in the public eye." In 1851 he removed to the city of Cincinnati, and was elected President of the Cincinnati & Chicago Eailroad Company. The project proved ruinous and Mr. Smith became deeply involved. In 1856 he be- came an elector for Ohio on the Fremont ticket. In 1859 he severed his connection with the railroad and removed to Indianapolis, resuming the practice of his profession. He was made Chairman of the Indiana delegation at the Chicago Convention in 1860, and contributed greatly to the success of Abraham Lin- coln, seconding in his nomination with twenty sis votes from Indiana. He was an Elector for the State at Large on the Republican ticket. His vigorous campaign made for the martyred President was recognized in his being made Mr. Lin- coln's Secretary of the Interior. He resigned his pos- ition in the cabinet on Christmas Day, 1862, to accept the Judgeship of the United States Court for the Dis- trict of Indiana, January 1, 1863. "As a Judge he was courteous to a degree which dis- armed partisan bitterness at a period of unusual party exasperation, and his fairness was so evident that there coald be little more complaint of it than of his demeanor. It was chiefly as an orator and especially as a popular or 'stump' orator that Mr. Smith ex- celled. Here he had few rivals. His voice singular- ly clear, sonorous and penetrating, rarely encount- ered a crowd that could exhaust its power without obtaining the full freight of thought it carried. His language was copious and appropriate, often striking aud always clear, and his style though affecting little of the polished elegance of the pen, was rarely sloven- ly or feeble. He possessed the ability to argue a prop- osition convincingly." This citizen, orator, statesman and Judge of dis- tinction died in the court building at Indianapolis, Ind.,the 17th of January, 1804 The circumstances of his death as announced in the Indianapolis Journal of January 8, 1864, were as follows: "He left home in the morning with his son to at- tend court, which was in session, and appeared to be in his usual health, which, however, for some months past has not been very robust. On arriving at the court house he went into his private room to rest a few minutes before opening court, and while sitting before the tire was seized with a fit of coughing which in some unexplained way ruptured a blood vessel and caused a profuse and almost choking flow of blood. He was alone at the time, but in a few minutes Post- master Conner entered the room and discovering the condition of the Judge, notified those who could best assist in the matter and had him removed to the bed in the private office of District Attorney Hanna. Drs. Jameson and Wright were called in, and the utmost efforts of these experienced physicans were directed to the stopping of the flow of blood. They succeeded partially, but not till more than a gallon had been thrown up, and the patient fearfully if not fatally, re- duced in strength and vital energy. After the check- ing of the hemorrhage the Judge remained calm, and, it was hoped, in a condition which rendered recovery possible. But late in the afternoon a paroxysm of coughing seized him again and ,renewed the hemor- rhage, and attacking a system already reduced, speedi- ly rendered death inevitable. Some time before dark it was considered certain that he could not live through the night, and those unhappy fears were re- alized too soon, as his condition made it impossible to move him." At the death of Judge Smith it was|ordered by the President of the United States that the Executive Building at the seat of Government be draped in mourning for fourteen days, "in honor of him as a prudent and loyal counselor, and faithful and effec- tive coadjutor of the Administration in an hour of public difficulty and peril." The wife of Judge Smith was Elizabeth B. Wat- ton, of Connersville, Ind., to whom he was united in marriage July 8, 1831. SAMUEL W. PARKER. A walk of fifteen minutes- to the south of Con- nersville conveys one to the "Old Elm Farm," a beautiful and picturesque suburban or country seat — • long the home of men of distinction. Back of and above this homestead on the brow of a towering hill overshadowed by a cluster of evergreens and the more lofty forest trees which crown and fringe the sur- rounding ridge, is nestled the grave of Samuel W. Parker, to whose memory has been ascribed by a United States Senator, a place among the first law- yers of his time. Of the ancestors of Samuel W. Parker little defi- nite knowledge is known. His father, Samuel Par- ker, was a native of the State of Vermont. Said Samuel W. : "I have induced myself to believe that ■my paternal ancestors were from England, more, however, from the name than anything else." The mother of Samuel W. was Elizabeth Miller, a native of Massachusetts, the ancestors of whom our subject believed to be of German extraction. At an early age both parents with their parents immigrated to New York, and were married in Jefferson County, October 20, 1803, in a town called Champion. They lived in Watertown until in August, 1805, on the 2d day of which month the husband died and was there interred. He was a carpenter by trade, and a HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 117 worthy young man. The subject of this sketch was his only child, and his birth occurred one month and seven days after the father's decease. "At the age of one year and six months," said our subject, "I was adopted by one of the most kind and affectionate step-fathers that ever orphan boy was blessed with." This was Joseph Wadley, who was born on the same day with Mr. Parker's own father, and he, too, was a carpenter by trade. He owned a farm on Stony Creek near Sacketts Harbor, where he had built a flouring-mill; and in this vicinity, at the age of about four years, in a little log schoolhouse, young Parker took his iniatory steps in schooling. From 1811 to 1815 Mr. Wadley and family resided in and about Bloomfield, in Ontario County, of the same State, during which period, and when not more than nine years of age, little Sam was often entrusted with a team of a wagon and two horses in the con- veyance of brick to the neighboring town of Canan- daigua, being assisted only in the loading of them. In 1815 the family immigrated to Cincinnati,Ohio, and there and in that vicinity remained until 1818, when they settled at Oiford, Ohio, during which pe- riod our subject at different times attended the Lancastran Seminary, superintended respectively by Harrison and Cathcart, during a portion of which attendance the school numbered from 200 to 500 pu- pils, over whom young Parker acted as general mon- itor. It seems that Mr. Wadley was very anxious to give his children a good education, and especially the step- son, often remarking to him that he never expected to be able to give him anything else, and at all events that would be the best fortune that could be given him. So it was mainly this object that directed him to Oxford, from the prospect of an excellent insti- tution of learning there. At this village young Par- ker first attended a common school about one year, in which reading, spelling and history alone were studied. He subsequently attended a grammar school then just opened by the Rev. James Hughes, under the charge of the Trustees of the University — the first germ of the future college. Here he began the study of the languages — Latin and Greek — and here were made his first efforts at declamation; and on the latter he remarks : ' 'I succeeded well, was fond of the exercise, and soon ranked among the best declaimers in the institution. At several public exhibitions the laurels wej-e won by me; and many a vision of glory did these laurels excite in my young imagination. "Here, too, my fir.st attempts at composition were made. In this I did not succeed so well. It was a tame exercise when contrasted with spouting forth the eloquent thoughts of the Roman, English and American orators. In this branch, however, I stood about equal to my fellows. But little attention was then directed to composition; declamation swallowed up all, and when the Trustees of the institution, on a public examination and exhibition day, pronounced me the best declaimer in the institution, I deemed myself a man of full proportions, though it seems that, in reality, I was but a stripling of but fifteen years." After Mr. Wadley's arrival in this city on immigrat- ing thither, he was soon engaged in bridge-building and other carpenter work, and during a part of his stay in the vicinity, he was engaged at Mt. Pleasant in building flat-boats, termed "Broad Horns," and while in and about the city, fishing and swimming seemed to be a favorite sport of the young step-son, as he speaks of frequently amusing himself with other lads in swimming and bathing in the river, and div- ing from and under the boats, etc., etc., and later on at Oxford, ball was a pleasant pastime to him. The late summer and early fall of 1821 have been pronounced by him as the halcyon days of his life. Nearly three months of his time were passed on a visit to an uncle who resided near North Bend, on the Ohio. His uncle kept a large dairy, and the visitor assisted in attending to the cows, milking, making butter and cheese, and going to the Cincinnati market and sporting through the neighboring country. The following incident occurring on this visit from its connection with so distinguished a man is worthy of note, and is given in the language of the participant himself in after years: " Whilst at North Bend, on one fine summer day several of the neighbor boys and myself went down to the river at Gen. Harrison's farm to swim. Whilst there we noticed the tempting looks of the fruit in the General's orchard — and the temptation was too strong to withstand. Accordingly we entered the en- closure and commenced our assaults upon it. Having pretty well filled our pockets, we commenced a retreat, and, as we were getting back over the fence, we espied the old hero himself, leaping his garden fence, bounce into the orchard and make toward us. Though some three hundred yards distant, his manner very plainly indicated that he had some designs upon those who had just gratified their designs upon his fruit. We accordingly made a hasty retreat to the river, jumped into a canoe lying at the shore, and had but cleverly got our canoe out of his reach when "Old Tip " was at the water's edge. He assumed a most furious attitude; his eyes seemed to flash javelins into our bosoms, and his curses were withering. He bade us instantly back to the shore or he would have the Constable after us — and whole troop of young thieves in jail before sun down. To disobey was impossible, and our pockets were full of what must be our con- 118 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. demnatioQ. We accordingly commenced plying the paddle for the shore, and in the meantime also busied ourselves in stealthily slipping overboard all the fruit that could not be easily concealed. We landed, and I stepped forward as spokesman. I observed that we had come down to the river to swim. We saw the haw tree just inside the orchard fence, and think- ing it no harm to take a few hawa from it, we accord- ingly got over and did so, — and suiting _the action to the word I pulled from my breeches pocket a few haws that happened to be there, and displayed them as proof of our innocence. A most benignant smile came over the old soldier's swarthy features. 'Ah,' said he, boys, if that is all the mischief you have done, come up here with me and get some of my apples. I have some very fine ones yet, if the boatmen have not stolen them all off. Any body is welcome to my fruit so long as it lasts, if they will only come and ask me for it — but d — n a thief. I hate them.' And this was my first interview with that patriot soldier, and honest man, who, when he died, the Nation mourned in tears — because the ' good President ' had fallenl He then as little thought of being President as I did of the after service of two years and a half at the head of a newspaper, advocating his preten- sions." Up until the fall of 1824, when Miami University was regularly opened, young Sam attended for a time the grammar school heretofore mentioned as started by Mr. Hughes, which had been discontinued on the death of that gentleman, but which was re- opened by Eev. Spencer Clark, and a common school in the village taught by Abner Philbrick. During the spring, summer, and fall of this last mentioned year he worked on a farm rented by his step-father in the vicinity of Oxford, which was the only regular year's manual labor that he ever per- formed. In January, 1825, he entered the institution as a free scholar, under provisions that had been made for five young men of merit.' The limited circumstances of this step-father compelled him to take advantage of such provisions, and enter thus or not at all. On this point Mr. Parker says, " It was rather humiliat- ing to my proud spirit, but the goodness of the cause and a firm determination to rise above it, reconciled my feelings to the sacrifice." His four years' course in Miami University, from the beginning to the day of graduation, was a suc- cession of brilliant intellectual triumphs; term after term and year after year he was the recipient of compliments and high honors at the hands of his class- mates and of the Faculty. He entered the university as a freshman, and at the close of the first session was selected, with one other class-mate, to deliver an original oration; theme. Patriotism and some of the events of the American Revolution. From the beginning he attracted attention as a speaker, and continued to occupy a position in this respect second to none connected with the institution. Before the close of the year, in addition to his studies he took charge of a class in the grammar school, in part, and in this way got ofi" of the charity list. At the close of the second session he was selected to deliver the oration introductory to the exhibition. In December, 1825, was organized the Union Literary Society of the Miami University, of which he was one of the founders, and over which he sub- sequently presided. After the organization of this society, young Parker from the first took a stand as an extemporaneous debater and declaimer amongst the most prominent members, which station he retained until his graduation. Says Parker: "The most formidable antagonist I ever met in debate in the society, was Robert C. Schenck, of Ohio, and so the strongest will say who encounter him." Dur- ing his remaining years in the institution he was closely identified with the interests of this society, and was on several occasions highly complimented in the bestowal of honors by it upon him in public exercises, among which was his unanimous election to prepare a report upon the Rise, Progress and Present Condition and Future Prospects of the Soci- ety, and deliver an address on the occasion, which he accepted and performed in a manner that was highly gratifying to the society and to the public. In 1828 the Faculty and students of the university formed themselves into a society auxiliary to the American Colonization Society, in Washington, D., C, and Parker was by them appointed to deliver a public address on the 4:th of July, 1828, on the colonization system, held in the college chapel in conjunction with a celebration of the citizens of Oxford. The orator was James Crawford. Mr. Parker spoke for nearly an hour, and the speech won him much applause. Many of the auditors expressed a desire to have the address published in pamphlet form. At the dinner table a complimentary toast was drank to the "orators of the day." Commencement Day came, and with it found the already distinguished young Parker facing a great concourse of people, among whom were per- sonages of culture and distinction, with a theme for graduation of "Symmes' Theory of Concentric Spheres." As a speaker on this occasion, Parker was unanimously voted the chief; said Dr. Slack, then the distinguished chemical professor in the Cincin- nati College, commenting on the speech that he "did not think Capt. Symmes himself could have pre- sented his theory in a manner more happy and im- HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 119 pressive." Says the speaker, "This effort was of no little service to me. It gave me a celebrity through the country which college efforts seldom acquire, and it was the means of introducing me to several gen- tlemen of intelligence and reputation." To the dis- satisfaction of many of the students and some of the Faculty in the assignment of class honors, Parker was given the third place. His fi'iends claimed for him the second if not the first honors. The second place was given to the son of Dr. Bishop, the President of the University. On the evening of September 24, 1828, a commencement ball was given at Apple's Inn, in Oxford, of which young Parker was manager, and says he: "It was the first ball I had ever attended, and I believe I may say the first social party of any kind, though then twenty-three years old. I had been a student the most of my days, and a close one too; I did not lose a half dozen recitations during the whole four years of my college course." Mr. Parker acted as a tutor during the greater portion of his time in college. Until his graduation the most of his days were passed in school, yet when out of school and during mornings and evenings and vacations he was accus- tomed to do, and did do, almost all kinds of manual labor; this the circumstances of the family required, and it was most cheerfully complied with, in a just appreciation of the assistance and love borne him by his step-father. "In fact," said our subject, "I have done a little of everything, almost, in my time, for the sake of being handy in aid of my step-father." To further show the great esteem and appreciation held by him for this father, we quote his own words: "The kind attention and essential services always rendered me by my most excellent step-father never recur to my mind without filling my bosom with sen- sations of gratitude almost painful. Would to heaven that good old man could have lived that I might return to him some of the ten thousand kind- nesses in the evening of his days that he bestowed upon me in the morning of mine." Soon after the graduation of Mr. Parker he set- tled in the village of Connersville, and in November opened a private or subscription school, which he taught several terms, and in the following May secured the Principalship of the county seminary, then just being completed, and in July opened the first school in that building. He was here engaged in teaching until the close of a term of school in April, 1830, when he resigned the position. Early in the year 1829 he began writing edito- rially for the Fayette Observer, the proprietor and senior editor of which was Daniel Rench, and soon thereafter the editorial charge of the paper was given him, and in February, 1830, Mr. Parker became in a manner the proprietor. New type, etc., was pro- cured, and Mr. Parker sent forth to the country the first issue of the newspaper titled the Political Clar- ion, ]\Iay 22, 1830, which was continued two years and edited with marked ability, such as called forth a complimentary letter from Henry Clay, whom he vigorously supported for the chief magistracy. The young editor was honored by calls from the Governor, Senator Noble, and Judge Test, then Representative in Congress from the Connersville District, and his importance seemed great. We extract the following from an editorial in the Clarion of April 30, 1831: "In this village we first commenced in the bus- iness of the world. We have formed friendly associa- tions here, which we wish not to sunder. Here we first looked out over the land for ourselves, and beheld wicked men treading down the virtuous, corruption vitiating the undefiled, creeping into the councils and Cabinet of the Republic, and threatening a gen- eral deluge — the precedents, the laws, and the consti- tution which came to us from hallowed bands spurned and violated — anarchy and confusion smothering the voice of honest men and justice — all the vile princi- ples of our nature kindling into a blaze, catching upon the vitals of our Government and freedom, and blown upon us as it were by the breath of the hurri- cane. Hence we believe sprang at least some of the incentives that induced us to stay here, to enlist under the banner that we have here, and however faint and unavailing the efforts might be, to prepare for a strug- gle in the conflict here, until we fail or it be over. None of oiur ardor is or will be abated. Our course is on, right on, until our Republican institutions, the American system and Henry Clay are overwhelmed, or rise and triumph together on the 4th of March, 1833." From the very beginning Mr. Parker had deter- mined upon adopting the law as his profession, and with this view on opening his first school in Conners- ville he put in odd hours reading Blackstone in the ofiice of Oliver H. Smith, but it was soon thought by the patrons of his school and others, that he could not do the two things at the same time, and the law was soon temporarily dropped, and not again taken up until during the latter half of the first year he was publishing the Clarion. He studied in all about six months, and we may say without any instruction, he was admitted to the bar in August, 1831, having been first examined at Brookville, by Judge Miles C. Eggleston, August 6, and his license signed, and the examination completed August 22, before a commit- tee of lawyers at the Wayne Circuit Court, which committee reported favorably, and the license was perfected by the signature of Judge Test. The day following he made his maiden speech to a jury in 120 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. assisting James Perry, the Prosecutor, in the prose- cution of a defendant charged with refusing to aid a Constable to execute proceedings. In 1834 Mr. Parker established the Watclmian, a weekly paper, which he continued until after the close of the Presidential election in 1836, advocating with great zeal the election to the Presidency of Will- iam Henry Harrison. In 1833 he made the race for Representative in the Legislature from the county of Fayette, but was defeated; however, seven years later he was elected to that position. The following year he was elected to the State Senate and served one term, when he was again chosen a Representative in the Legislature. In 1836 he was appointed Prosecuting Attorney for the circuit, and during his service in that capac- ity, remarked the Rev. James Havens at his funeral, " he did more for the morality in this part of the State in ferreting out and suppressing vice and crime than any man then living." He traversed the State in in 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852 and 1856, and was champion Whig of the Whitewater Valley. Says Gen. Thomas Bennett: "He was a zealous partisan of unwavering fidelity, never flinching from any responsibility im- posed upon him by the party of his choice. He took the great Clay for his model, and with a devotion amounting to almost idolatry, he followed his chosen chieftain while he lived, and when he died he lin- gered long at the grave of the gallant old Whig." In 1849 Mr. Parker was elected to Congress and served two terms as the Whig Representative of his district, his Congressional career closing with the Thirty-third Congress in March, 1855. He could have triumphantly returned to the seat he had so ably filled, but he declined a renomiuation. He voted against the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and on the subject made a most masterly and brilliant speech which won him high compliments. The House being in the Committee on the Whole on the State of the Union, Mr. Parker said: "I would address myself gladly on this occasion if I could, to all my fellow citizens of the South, to all of the North. I am of neither the North nor South; but still I am from a free State — one baptized as such and sanctified, I hope, by the glorious ordi- nance of 1787, in which I think I have cause for exul- tation — I am sure I have still greater cause in the fact that I come here from the great Northwest. Mr. Chairman, I have sometimes contemplated that marble group, at once beautiful and sublime, which rests upon one of the projections of the eastern portico of this Capitol, and thought I saw a patriotic embodiment there, which probably did not occur to the fervid fancy of the artist. That stalwart pioneer with gigantic proportions, a brave heart, strong hands and the bearing of a hero, is no inapt representation of that section of this confederacy from whence I come. See how he holds in his mighty grasp, harm- less as an unweaned child, those two savage arms, one pointing South and the other North, each armed with the implements of death. The fond mother as she bends over her sleeping child, fears no evil; and so securely are they protected, that the watch-dog looks kindly on ! * * * * * * " I desire no concealment of my opinion in regard to the institution of slavery. I look upon it as a great evil, and deeply lament that we have derived it from the parental Government, and from our ances- tors. But here they are, and the question is, how can they be best dealt with ? If a state of nature ex- isted and we were about to lay the foundation of so- ciety no man would be more strongly opposed than I should to incorporate the institution of slavery among the elements. " Sir, that is precisely the work on which we are now engaged. Where a 'state of nature' now exists; on a virgin soil, where a slave never trod though sav- ages have roamed there from the ' primal morn,' we are 'about to lay the foundation of society' for the millions of civilized and Christian people that will soon congregate there for a home forever for them- selves and their children. W^hat ought we to do ? * * * * * * * ^it" Mr. Parker had been several times an elector from his district and once for the State at large; and says Gen. Bennett, " He contributed to the success of his party his means, his talents and his mighty energies. He shone brightly as a lawyer and statesman. In the beginning he took an eminent pose as a lawyer and was ranked high amongst the Whitewater bar, com- posed as it was of the brightest legal minds of the State. His thrilling eloquence, his bitter sarcasm, his quick retort, his shrewd ingenuity in the manage- ment of his cause soon filled his office with clients and rallied around him troops of friends. From that time he was a giant at the bar." After the close of Mr. Parker's Congressional ca- reer he was engaged in the practice of the law at Connersville and the neighboring courts, and resided on the Old Elm Farm, heretofore referred to, where his death occurred from pneumonia, suddenly and unexpectedly, February 1, 1859. At this time he was President of the Junction Railroad Company, and had previously for years been President of the White- water Canal Company, and had ever been intimately identified with all the great improvements which have rendered the Whitewater Valley the garden spot of Indiana. On the presentation of the resolutions by the members of the bar in honor of the memory of Hon. ^ cAl. ayyri^ JVc(^Jiy HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 123 Samuel W. Parker to the Supreme Court of Indiana, Judge Perkins in behalf of the court said: "With deep sensibility does the court receive these testimonials of respect to the memory of the late Hon. Samuel W. Parker. Near did he stand to its members, near in age, near in professional associ- ation, near in social companionship. Valued was the relation. INIr. Parker was one of the most brilliant and promising men of the State. Gifted with a mind of high order, which he had stored with solid learn- ing, and decorated with the elegancies of ancient and modern literature — possessed of tine oratorical powers and every virtue that graces social life, combined with habits of great industry, it could not be otherwise that he should reach commanding positions at the bar and in the councils of the Nation. The death of such a man, at whatsoever time it may happen, can- not but be sorely felt, but it tills us with a deeper sadness when we behold him stricken down in the prima of manhood and in the middle of his career and fame. * * * * * " In substance the Hon. Oliver H. Smith remarked of Mr. Parker, that he was a ripe scholar, and when he first saw him at Gonnersville, he was a slim, flaxen-headed stripling, light eyes and brows, large white forehead, good features, head erect, the step quick and firm. He rose rapidly at the bar until he stood among the first of his age. He was clear, strong, able before the jury; his voice was of great volume, when he brought it up to its full pitch. He always threw himself bodily into the cause of his client, making it his own. On the stump, as a pub- lic speaker, he stood high with his party; few men, of his age, have made so many public political speeches, of so much power. While in Congress he took part in many of the important debates, in which he placed himself among the best of the speakers of the house. On the 16th of July, 1834, Mr. Parker was united in marriage with Susannah, daughter of William Watton, of Connersville, Ind., who still survives him. JAMES C. m'iNTOSH. James Cottingham Mcintosh was born in Con- nersville, Ind., January 13, 1827, of parents, Joshua and Nancy Mcintosh, the former being a native of the State of Virginia and the latter of Maryland. In the spring of 1824 the family settled in Connersville. The mother was a devoted Christian ".woman, and the father for many years an acceptable local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The latter served as one of the Associate Judges of the county in 1847-51. James from boyhood was carefully and prayerfully instructed in the tests and principles of Christianity. He early indicated strong religious tendencies and in January, 1844, under the ministry of W. W. Hibben, he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. His early youth was character- ized by close habits of study, which continued through life. His close application to study seemed to be prompted by two elevated motives, first an ardent thir!;t for knowledge, and secondly, a deeply conscientious estimate of the value and responsibility of time. His early education was obtained in the schools of his native village. In the fall of 1846 he entered Asbury University, at Greencastle, Ind., from which institu- tion he was graduated in 1849, completing the col- lege curriculum in three years, and that brilliantly, as he carried off the honors of a very strong class. For a time after graduation he took charge of a school in Lagrange, Ind. , which was only preparatory to the study of law, which he commenced in 1850, with Hon. S W. Parker, of Connersville. Here the same zeal and devotion to his books characterized him, as had previously marked his course in the school room and at college. In 1851 he was admitted to the bar. Judge Elliott being the Presiding Judge, and his own father occupying a seat on the bench as one of the Associate Judges. He was subsequently admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the State. " From this beginning he worked his way upward in his profession until he made a reputation as a lawyer surpassed by a very few. And be it noted that the public prominence he attained was as a lawyer — politics had nothing to do with it. He never asked for office, in fact, he refused to allow his name to be used in that connection, and while many of his asso- ciates in the State have left their names to be tossed about on the billows of politics, he quietly toiled on in his profession, leaving a work that will last as long as jurisprudence has a place in the State he loved.'' His biographer says: "His devotion to his legal studies and duties, however, had no effect in dimin- ishing his religious interest, nor did it then, or ever, interfere in the slightest degree with his faithful per- formance of his church duties Always calm and dignified, never demonstrative, his entire Christian life was a steady, persistent elevated plea for the truth of Christian doctrines, the purity and grandeur of Christian principles, and the beauty and elevation of Christian character. He did not flash with the fitful and momeatary glare of the brilliant meteor, but glowed with the steady light of the planet that keeps the track of its orbit. "Naturally, he was not self assertive, but exceed- ingly reserved, unobtrusive, and even diffident; noth- ing but his own sense of duty and the force of his own personal merits ever brought him to the front. His will force was a dominant power, and his pur- pose was an uncompromising fact. Deliberate and 124 HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. careful in making up his judgment, the conclusion once reached was generally a finality, from which there was no appeal; while the turning aside from deliberately formed purpose was a thought not to be entertained. He was a man of thorough and pains- taking research, and remarkable for the accuracy of his knowledge. From his legal associates I learn that this was characteristic of his law practice, and I know it to have been true of his Biblical studies and knowledge. It was seldom safe to question a position taken by him. He was a man of profound sensibili- ties and tender affections." From the time that he became identified with the church until his death, he was by example and coun- sel a pillar in the church. He was a prominent del- egate to the General Conference in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1872, and for many years prior to his death he was one of the Trustees of the university, of which he was an honored alumnus. In an editorial of one of the county papers at the time of his death we read: " At the bar he had no superior. He was acknowledged by all the most able." During his obsequies his native city and the surrounding country laid aside its labors, and with one accord tendered the tribute of respect due to his memory. The city closed its business houses. In offering the resolutions of the bar on his death the Hon. B. F. Claypool, the oldest practitioner of that body said: "It has been my fortune to have known our departed brother from his infancy, and for more than fifty years we have traveled the journey of life side by side. We met upon the same play-ground of childhood, in the school room of youth, schooled in the same college, fought the battles of the profession side by side in the same arena for more than a quar- ter of a century, often meeting in the tierce struggle of debate for the mastery, and not unfrequently the angry and violent language of debate seemed to arouse feelings of anger that would not subside, but as we left the court room, we left behind the animosities of the conflict, and met as we ever had met, as friends; and it is a pleasing thought to know that at the close of his life we were friends, almost brothers. He was possessed of an ardent and sanguine temperament, and in all of his cases he threw the force of his strong will and varied learning. Conscientious in the dis- charge of his duty to his client, he was always pre- pared. He never wearied in the examination of his case until he thoroughly understood it, and when he came into court he was fully prepared for the conflict. A faithful student and a devoted Christian, he fully realized that 'life's but a walking shadow,' and that 'the veil which covers the face of futurity is woven by the hand of mercy,' and whenever he realized that in the excitement of professional contest he had in an unguarded moment wounded the feelings of a brother, he sought the earliest opportunity to erase all harsh- ness and bitterness engendered by his conduct. For many years past disease was preying upon him, and at times he seemed very irrascible, yet he endeavored with all the will force he could command to restrain his temper, treat his antagonist with propriety, and keep within the bounds of decorum, for he felt and fully realized that 'there is indeed a God, that sees and hears whate'er we do,' and to that God he was accountable to the fullest extent. And now that he has gone from among us, and will no longer mingle in the strifes and contests of the court, let us forget his foibles, and remember only his virtues." The death of Mr. Mcintosh occurred in the even- ing of August 27, 1878. He left surviving him his wife, Elizabeth W. (Martindale) Mcintosh, whom he had married in Indianapolis, April 28, 1851, and five children. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, 125 CHAPTER XVI. THE CIVIL WAR, 1861-65. PUBLIC SENTIMENT AND ACTION IN THE BEGINNING— COUNTY EXPENDITURES— DEPARTURE OF THE FAYETTE COUNTY UNION GUARDS— DRAFTS, BOUNTIES, ETC.— HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATIONS AND EEGIMENTS— LADIES' AID SOCIETY, DONATIONS, ETC.— CLOSING SCENES. THE citizens of Fayette County will ever contem- plate with great pride, and hand down to posterity the record of her soldiers, and the honorable part they bore in the great struggle of 1861-65, for the preservation and perpetuity of the Union. The firing on Sumter seemed an individual aim, and so stirred the patriotism of her sturdy yeomanry, and none the less patriotic sons, that together they left the plow in the furrow, and side by side came father and son from the anvil, the accountant's desk, the law office and the workshop, offering their lives rather than see traitorous hands strike death to the flag of liberty — the flag representing the principles of our fore- fathers, so dearly by them purchased at Valley Forge, at Bunker Hill, and at Yorktown. PUBLIC SENTIMENT AND ACTION IN THE BEGINNING. On receipt of the news of the fall of Sumter, the excitement throughout the county became intense. Occupations and pursuits were almost wholly neg- lected, and the loyal men of all parties announced their readiness to follow their country's call. Con- nersville was thronged with an excited populace, ask- ing for the latest news from the seat of war. The following extracts are taken from the Connersville Times, of April 25, 1S61: " The greatest enthusiasm has existed here during the past week. Meetings of all the citizens of all parties express a determination to aid the Government with means and money to the utmost capabilities of Fayette County, if need be. " A cannon squad has been organized under the command of W. W. Frybarger, tendered to the Gov- ernor of the State, and accepted. They comprise a small band of brave hearts and stout arms, and they will preserve the honor of Fayette County untarnished in the trying hour. "A company of volunteers of over a hundred men has been organized, tendered to the Governor, and accepted. The company is styled the ' Fayette Coun- ty Guards,' and is officered as follows: "Captain, Joseph Marshall; First Lieutenant, Joseph Greer; Second Lieutenant, Thomas J. Powell; Third Lieutenant, Jesse Holton; First Ensign, John Kensler; Orderly Sergeant, John Mc- Cleary. II * * * ^ Zouave company is being formed. A large number of citizens of Fayette County assem- bled in the court house square in Connersville April 20, for the purpose of providing men and means for the defense and support of the Constitution of the United States, and the laws passed by Congress in pursuance thereof. " On motion Elisha Vance was chosen President; William H. Beck and William Watton, Vice-Presi- dents; Henry Goodlander and Confucius B. Edwards, Secretaries. After music by the Connersville Brass Band, the ladies and gentlemen comprising a choir for the occasion, sang the 'Star Spangled Banner,' which was received with immense applause. " On motion a committee of three from Conners- ville Township, and one from each of the other town- ships was appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the sentiments of the people of the county. The committee consisted of the following gentlemen, namely: "Connersville, Benjamin F. Claypool, Judge Reid, Judge Wilson; Orange, Samuel Little; Jennings, Joseph D. Ross; Jackson, James Smith; Columbia, Heman Jones; Fairview, John G. Lewis; Harrison, Thomas Moffitt; Posey, Isaac Powell; Waterloo, William C. Forrey. " Lafe Develin, of Cambridge City, was called to the stand and made an eloquent and patriotic speech. " The Committee on Resolutions submitted a series of resolutions, which were unanimously adopted with great applause. Patriotic speeches were made by Rev. George Campbell, Rev. P. Carland, Capt. Joe Marshall and Capt. Newkirk. The resolutions were as follows: "Whereas, In certain States of our country, citizens thereof having taken up arms and are now in open rebell- ion against the same; and whereas, for the purpose of putting down said rebellion, maintaining the la ?vs and author- ity of the Government, and protecting the property of the same, the President of the United States has issued his proc- lamation calling upon the loyal citizens of the same to volun- teer their services and place themselves at the disposal of the 126 HISTOKY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Government; and whereas, divers good and loyal citizens of the county of Fayette, have, pursuant to the said proclama- tion, tendered their services. Therefore, iu consideration of the premises aforesaid, it is hereby " Orderedby the Board of County Oommiasioners, That the sum of $5,000 of the funds of the county be and the same is hereby appropriated, to be paid out on orders to be issued from time to time, as may be necessary, for the purpose of maintaining and supporting the families of such persons as have volunteered or may hereafter volunteer, as may stand in need of assistance during the absence of the persons above referred to. " Besolved.That the Board of Commissioners be instructed to appoint such agents in each township, as may be neces- sary for the purpose of acting as receiving and disbursing agents in order to supply the families of the absent volun- teers, who may require assistance and support in maintaining the same. " Resolved, That our Senator and Representative in the General Assembly be requested to vote at the called session of the Legislature, for an efficient, judicious and military law, and for the appropriation of all money needed for a vigorous prosecution of the war in which our country is now involved. "Resolved, That as it may be necessary for the volunteers to furnish themselves with uniforms and articles necessary for their comfort at the opening of the campaign, it is requested that, in addition to the necessary uniform, each volunteer furnish himself with one common blanket, one spoon, knife and fork, and file his voucher for the cost there- of with the Captain of his company for the reimbursement of the same. "Resolved, That the County Commissioners employ some competent person or house to furnish the necessary uniforms for the volunteers, and that proper voucliers be taken and kept for the cost thereof, so that tlie county may be indem- nified by the State or General Government. "Resolved, That Misses Roxa Edmonds, Callie Disney, Augusta Mason, Fannie Newkirk, Fannie Durnan, Sophia Frybarger, of Connersviile Township; Misses Matilda Stone, Kitty Wagoner and E. A. Irvin, of Orange Township; Misses Harriet Thrasher, Mary Bates and Jane McCrory, of Fair- view Township; Misses Eda McMullen, Eliza Jones and Sallie Cole of Waterloo Township; Misses Mary Munger, Frances Loder and Lizzie Cole, of Posey Township; Misses Margaret Thomas, Mary Dale and Rosa Thomas, of Harrison Town.ship; Misses Mary Jones. Mary Webb and Lydia A. Messersmith, of Columbia Township; Misses Mary Rether- ford, Maria Newland and Rachel Burk, of Jennings Town- ship; Misses Caroline Beckett, Eunice Moore and Emily Clif- ton, of Jackson Township, are hereby requested to call upon the citizens of Fayette County and solicit donations of woolen blankets, and give one to each volunteer from the county of Fayette, and the citizens of said county be and are hereby requested to send to said committee, at the room of Miss Fan- nie Newkirk, such blankets as they may be willing to con- tribute for the purpose aforesaid. "Resolved, Tliat the President of this meeting telegraph T. A. Morris. Quartermaster General, that Fayette County will do her duty in furnishing volunteers, and blankets, knives, forks and spoons for their use. "Resolved, That the County Commissioners be instructed to buy the cannon belonging to W. W. Frybarger, for the use of the county, it being understood that said Frybarger will sell the same at cost and carriage." Tbe Commissioners were present and responded to the requests of tbe meeting, and in accordance with the order passed by them, the following agents were appointed for the purpose of soliciting provis- ions: City, Josiah Mullikin; Connersviile Township, George Harlan and Stout Atberton; Jackson, A. V. Larimore and Achilles Backhouse; Jennings, J. J. Burk and J. W. Boss; Columbia, George Scott and Thomas J. Crisler ; Orange, Emanuel Wagoner and William Conner; Harrison, Joseph Dale and An- thony Watt; Posey, Temple Beason and Jacob New- kirk; Fairview, Joseph M. Sutliflfe and Amos G. Smith. COUNTY EXPENPITDRES. James EUivtt was appointed agent for the county in the distribution of funds and continued to act as such during the entire war. Tbe county expended during that period for the relief of soldiers' families 164,366.37, and for miscellaneous purposes 19,201.4:5, which with the amount expended for local bounty amounted to $264,331.82. DEPARTURE OF THE FAYETTE COUNTY UNION GUARDS. The "Fayette County Union Guards" left for camp at Eichmond Friday, May 10, 1861. About 10 o'clock the company was drawn up in line in the court house yard, when a few remarks were made by Capt. Marshall and a pathetic farewell address was delivered by Rev. William Pelan; and a committee of ladies presented each volunteer with a Testament, when by means of vehicles the company left for camp. The very air itself was laden with patriotism; the National flag floated from housetops and the whole country was filled with noise and excitement of military preparation. No one party filled the ranks; the volunteers of Fayette came from all parties; Repiiblicans, Demo- crats, and Bell-Evprett men, all forgot their differ- ences and gave their services to support the Constitu- tion and the Union. DRAFTS, BOUNTIES, ETC. The war called for so large a proportion of the entire male population that the quota of the county was not in all cases filled without difficulty. Drafts and the offer of large bounties to volunteers were found necessary, hence many of the recruits on being mustered into service received considerable bounty. The draft assignment of October 6, 1862, to Fay- ette County was as follows: Connersviile Township, 6; Orange, 1; Harrison, 5; Posey, 27; Waterloo, 18; Fairview, 13. The men who filled the quota of Fayette County were with the exception of an inconsiderable fraction volunteers. The county, with a total militia enroll- ment in September, 1862, of 1,081, had sent to the field 560 men, requiring the following month the small draft only of 70 men. HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. 127 The total amount expended by the county for lo- cal bounty was $190,764 HISTORY OF ORGANIZATION AND REaiMENTS. The regiments from Indiana which contained the ' greatest number of men from Fayette County, were the Sixteenth, Thirty-sixth, Sixty-ninth, One Hun- dred and Twenty-Fourth, Forty-first, Third Battery, and Third Cavalry, the following history of which is condensed from the elaborate report of the late Hon. W. H. H. Terrell Adjutant-General of Indiana: Sixteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. — Of the several companies raised in Fayette County, Company E formed a part of the Sixteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry (one year's service). Its Captain was John M. Orr, and First Lieutenant, William H. Greer, both of Connersville. The organization of the regiment was completed at Richmond in May, 1861, with Pleasant A. Hackle- man as Colonel. It was intended to serve within the limits of the State for one year, but its services were offered and accepted by the General Government the same day that the North was startled with the news of the disaster at Bull Run. July 23 the regiment left Richmond and was the first regiment that marched through Baltimore after the firing upon the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, in April- Reaching Harper's Ferry it was assigned to Gen_ Banks' army. October 21 — the fatal day of Ball's Bluff— the regiment marched all day long under the sound of cannon. In the afternoon of the 2 2d an attack was made upon the pickets, in which two men of the Sixteenth were killed. Immediately after the regiment was huiTied forward, in line of battle, on the Bluffs, and here in the evening participated in a brisk engagement with the enemy. Orders being given for an evacuation the Sixteenth was detailed on the 23d as a picket line, to cover the retreat of our forces, and was the last regiment to recross the Potomac, reaching the Maryland shore at daylight on the 24th. Two men were drowned during this expedition. It went into winter quarters ("Canton- ment Hicks") near Frederick City, December 6. In February, 1862, the long expected movement of the armies commenced. In March the Sixteenth, with a detachment of other troops from the brigade, built a bridge across the Shenandoah at Snicker's Ferry, accomplishing the work in forty-eight hours. Here six men of Stonewall Jackson's army were cap- tured by Lieut. Copeland, of the Sixteenth. May 12 it left for Washington, D. C, where on the 14th of May it was mustered out of service and soon after returned to Indiana. Its commanding Colonel was on April 30 commissioned a Brigadier-General and on May 13, in presence of the regiment, an elegant sword was presented by the enlisted men of the Six- teenth. This gallant officer was killed in battle at luka. Miss. Lieut. -Col. Thomas J. Lucas succeeded him as Colonel. Company A formed part of the Sixteenth Regi- ment Indiana Volunteer Infantry (three years' serv- ice). Its successive commissioned officers from this county were: Captains, JohnM. Orr, John A. Haines, Timothy Doherty; First Lieutenants, John A. Haines, Timothy Doherty, JohnKensler; Second Lieutenants, Timothy Doherty, John Kensler, .Thomas M. Hardy and Lawrence Rowan. The regiment was re-organized for three years' service at Indianapolis, May 27, 1862, with Thomas J. Lucas as Colonel. The regiment left August 19 for Kentucky to aid in repelling the invasion of the State by Kirby Smith. On the 30th of August it took part in the battle of Richmond, Ky. , losing 200 men killed and wounded, and 600 prisoners. Lieut. Col. Joel Wolfe was killed in this action while the regiment was endeavoring to cut its way through the Rebel lines. After the defeat the prisoners were paroled and sent to Indianapolis, where they remained in parole camp until November 1, when exchanged. On the 20th of that month the regiment marched to Cairo, and from thence to Memphis, where it remained until December 1, and then moved down the river to participate in the Vicksburg campaign. On the 25th the brigade of which the Sixteenth was a part was sent to cut the Texas & Shreveport Railroad at Dallas. In this expedition it marched sixty-five miles in thirty-six hours, swam two bayous, destroyed ten miles of railroad track and burned $1,000,000 worth of property belonging to the Rebel Government. On the 1st of January, 1863, it engaged the enemy in the attempt to storm his works at Chickasaw Bayou, near Vicksburg, and was driven back, the brigade to which it was attached losing 500 men. Re-embarking on the 3d, the Sixteenth reached Ar- kansas Post on the 10th of January, and attacked the enemy in the fort, skirmishing until night fall. On the 11th it participated in the general engagement that ensued, and was the first regiment to plant its colors within the fort; its loss was seventy-seven men killed and wounded. The surrender was made by the same officer (Gen. Churchill) to whom the Sixteenth sur- rendered at Richmond, and among the captured wagons were some that the regiment had lost in its retreat at that time. The Sixteenth was at Hard Times Landing, opposite and above Grand Gulf, dur- ing the unsuccessful attempt of the gun-boats to reduce Grand Gulf. It was at Port Gibson and formed part of the reserve to Gen. Hovey's division, and marching forward engaged the enemy, driving him from the hill in front. It participated in a 128 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. severe skirinish with the enemy near Edward's Station May 16, after which the regiment marched to Black River Bridge, where it fought at that point. It then proceeded to the rear of Vicksburg, and went into the trenches on the IQtli of May, and participated in all of the operations of the siege until the capitula- tion on the 4th of July. In the assault on the enemy's works on the 2'2d of May, the Sixteenth bore a conspicuous part, holding an important posi- tion for nearly ten hours' continuous fighting, and part of the time was within twenty-live feet of the Rebel fort in its front. During the siege the regiment lost sixty men killed and wounded. After the sur- render the regiment marched to Jackson, where it took part in the skirmishing on the march and at that place. It was transported to New Orleans, where it was mounted and attached to the Cavalry Corps, Department of the Gulf, and was distributed along the eastern shore of the Mississippi, to pi-otect trans- portation between New Orleans and points up the coast. In October the Cavalry Corps was ordered on an expedition up the Bayou Teche, in which section the Sixteenth remained continually skirmishing with the enemy until January 2, 1864. It was refitted and re-mounted and marched as part of the cavalry of Banks' expedition up Red River, during which campaign it had sixteen engagements with the enemy. The regiment was reviewed in New Orleans, where it had been ordered for muster out, by Gen. Grierson, who complimented it on having turned over to the Quartermaster the best horses that had ever been in that department, and as a compliment to the men whose terms of service had not then expired, it was ordered by Gen. Canby that they be transferred to the Thirteenth Indiana Cavalry, thus putting together infantry and cavalry, an unknown precedent during the war. The regiment was mustered out at New Orleans June 30, 1865. It arrived at Indianapolis July 10, 1865, with 365 men and officers, and on the next day it had a public reception in the capitol grounds, at which the regiment was addressed by Gov. Morton and others. Thirty-sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer In- fantry. — Company H formed a part of the Thirty- sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Its successive commissioned officers were Captains, Gilbert Trusler, William F. Limpus; First Lieutenants, Addison M. Davis, John L. Hensley, William F. Limpus, George Mullikin; Second Lieutenants, William F. Limpus, George Mullikin, James Patterson, and Joseph Hilli- goss. Gilbert Trusler, of Connersville, was commis- sioned Major of the regiment, June 3, 1863, and resigned the following December, and Daniel D. Hall, of the same place, served as Surgeon of the regiment from September, 1861, to March, 1882. The Thirty-sixth Regiment was organized "at Richmond, and mustered into service for three years, on the 16th of September, 1861, and soon after left for the field. During the fall and winter of 1861 it encamped and marched with the Army of the Ohio, until it reached Nashville, in February, 1862. In March it moved to the Tennessee River, and reached the field of Shiloh in time to take an active part in that great battle, in which it sustained a loss of nine killed, thirty-eight wounded and one missing. It was at the siege of Corinth, and participated therein until the evacuation. It pursued Bragg through Kentucky with Buell's army, and participated . with Rosecrans' army in the battle at Stone River, and it was atChickamauga, and in both sustained losses in killed, wounded and missing. It subsequently moved with Sherman's army toward Atlanta, and partici- pated in the marches, skirmishes and engagements of that eventful campaign. Sixty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer In- fantry. — Company K formed a part of the Sixty- ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Its successive commissioned officers were: Captains, Will- iam Kerr, Jesse Holton; First Lieutenants, Jesse Holton, William G. Plummer, Joseph Senior, Harvey A. Zimmerman; Second Lieutenants, William G. I'lummer, Joseph Senior. Job Stout, of Conners- ville, was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, August 19, 1862, and resigned January 21, 1863. William M. Smith and William Stewart, of Connersville, served respectively as Quartermaster. The Sixty-ninth Regiment was organized at Rich- mond on the 19th of August, 1862, with William A. Bickle as Colonel. On the 20th of August it left for Kentucky, and on reaching Lexington moved in the direction of Richmond, Ky. Near this place, on the 30th of August, it participated in the battle with Kirby Smith's Rebel forces, losing 218 men and offi- cers, killed and wounded. Though the men fought bravely, the disciplined troops of the enemy over- powered the regiment and captured it almost en masse. The captured men were immediately paroled and sent to parole camp, Indianapolis. Upon being exchanged the regiment was re-organized at Indianapolis and left that place on the 27th of November, 1862, for Memphis, Tenn,, in command of Col. Thomas W. Bennett. On the 20th of December it proceeded down the Mississippi River with Sheldon's brigade of Morgan's division of Sherman's wing of Grant's army, on the expedition to Vicksburg. In the assault upon the enemy's works at Chickasaw Bluffs, the Sixty-ninth took part, suffering but a slight loss. After the repulse at this place, the regiment moved to Arkansas Post, where it was engaged on the 11th of January, 1863, and after the capture of the post HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 129 it proceeded to Young's Point, and while stationed there over 100 men died from disease. In the latter part of February it moved to Milliken's Bend, and on the morning of the 30th of March marched as the advance regiment of Grant's army in the movement against Vicksburg. On reaching Roundaway Bayou, opposite Richmond, La., in the afternoon, a Rebel force was found and dislodged. It was during this movement that 2,000 feet of bridging was constructed in three days. Thus was a military road completed across the peninsula from the river above Vicksburg, to the river forty miles below that city, over which the whole army rapidly moved. On the 30th of April the advance crossed the Mississippi at Hard Times Landing, and disembarked at D'Schron's, on the opposite bank, from whence it marched to Port Gibson, where on the Ist of May the battle of Thomp- Bon's Hill was fought. In this engagement the Sixty-ninth lost seventy-one killed and wounded. On the 16th of May it was engaged at Champion Hills, and on the 17th of May took part in the assault on the enemy's works at Black River Bridge. It then moved to the rear of the Rebel works at Vicks- burg, participating in the siege up to and including the assault on the 22d of May. On the 23d of May it moved with Osterhaus' division to the Black River Bridge, where it was stationed during the remainder of the siege of Vicksburg, holding Johnson in check. During all these operations on the east side of the Mississippi River, the regiment served in Osterhaus' division, which opened every engage- ment prior to the investment of Vicksburg. At Jackson the Sixty-ninth was actively engaged during the six days' siege of that place. * * * On the 13th of February, 186-1, it sailed for Indian- ola, and on the 13th of March evacuated that place and started for Matagorda Island. During the prog- ress of this movement, while crossing from Birnio's Island to Matagorda Island, a boat swamped and two officers and twenty men were drowned. * * * * It met Bauks' retreating army at Alex- andria, on the 27th of April, and was engaged in the fight near that place, and, in the retreat from that place to the Mississippi River, supported Lucas' cavalry brigade, which covered the retreat. * * •» * On the 20th of March it moved with Steel's expedition through Florida and southern Alabama, arriving in the rear of Blakely on the 1st of April. In the assault on Blakely, on the 9th of April, the regiment was engaged, after which it guarded Rebel prisoners from Blakely to Ship Island. * * * * On the 5th day of July, 1865, the battalion was mustered out of service (the regiment was con- solidated into a battalion) at Mobile, and on the 7th left for home, having sixteen officers and 284 men. This regiment has left its dead in eleven States, and participated in the battles of Richmond, Ky., Chickasaw Bluflfs, Arkansas Post, Thompson's Hill, Champion Hill, Black River Bridge, the sieges of Vicksburg and Jackson, and the capture of Blakely, Ala., which caused the surrender of Mobile. Second Cavalry (Forty-first Regiment, Indiana Volunteers). — Company L formed a part of the Sec- ond Cavalry (Forty-first Regiment Indiana Volun- teers). Its successive commissioned officers were Captains, Isaiah D. Walker, Christian Beck, James Q. Hackleman; First Lieutenants, Christian Beck, James G. Hackleman, Probasco Thomas; Second Lieutenants, James A. Smith, James G. Hackleman, Probasco Thomas. Rev. W. Pelan, of Connersville, went out as Chaplain of the regiment; Harvey Y. Burt for a short period served as Adjutant and Charles Mount for a year as Commissary. Capt. Walker was commissioned as Major of the regiment June 21, 1862, and resigned May 29, 1863. This was the first complete cavalry regiment raised in Indiana. It was organized in Indianapolis in September, 1861, with John A. Bridgeland as Col- onel. In February, 1862, it marched with Buell's army toward Nashville, and from that point moved to the Tennessee River, reaching the field of Shiloh after the battle. On the 19th of April it had a skirmish with the enemy on the road to Corinth, and on the 15th it engaged the Rebels at Pea Ridge, Tenn., los- ing a number in killed and wounded. On the 22d it participated in a reconnoisance in force, driving the enemy three miles. During the siege of Corinth it was actively engaged, and immediately after the evacuation marched with Buell's army into northern Alabama and on the 31st of May had a skirmish with the enemy at Tuscumbia, losing a few men in killed and wounded. Moving into Tennessee the regiment fought the enemy at McMinnville on the 9th of August and at Gallatin on the 21st and 27th of August, losing sev- eral in killed, wounded and missing. In September it marched into Kentucky, participating in the Bragg and Buell campaign, engaging the enemy at Vinegar Hill on the 22d of September, and at Perryville on the 8th of October. On the 30th of November, while the regiment was at Nashville, a detachment under command of Maj. Samuel Hill was highly compli- mented by Gen. Rosecrans, in special field orders, for having recaptured a government train, defeating Rebel cavalry, killing twenty and capturing 200 prie- onors. On the 11th of June, 1863, it fought the en- emy at Triune, Tenn., losing a number in killed and wounded. It participated in a sharp fight at Talbott's Station. While at Mossy Creek, Tenn., the regiment re-enlisted January 10, 1864, and during the winter 130 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. and spriiiij w!»s eng!ii:;tyl in numerous scouts and skir- mishes. Kisiug sovoral mon. In May, 1S(U. the regiment moved with Sher- man's army in its campaign against .Atlanta, engaging in many skirmishes and battles, mnong which were the following: May 9. at Varuell's Station, neai- Keseca; July 1. near Acworth: July -8 and 30. neju- Newnan; .\ugnst 30, near .Atlanta. The non-veterans were mustered out on occupying Atlanta, and in Septem- Ihh", iStU. tlie remaining veterans and ivcruits were consolidated into a battalion of four companies and place*.! in command of Maj. Koswell S Hill. In Jan- uary, lSl>?i. it joined the army of Gen. AVilson and participated in the raid through Alabama, engaging the enemy nesu- Scottsville. April 2. and at West Point, Ga., on the UUh. In the latter battle the regi- ment suffervni severely, Maj. Hill having one of his legs shot off while leading a charge. It was mustered ont at Nashville. July •22. lSl>5. Shortly after it movetl to Indianapolis, where it was liually dis- chargeil. One HuiHiiy>ti and I'ny^nty- fourth Regiment. Indi- ana Volunteer Infantry. — Compjmy A formed a part of the One Hnmii-ed and Twenty-fourth Kegiment, Indiaa:i Volunteer Infantry. It<3 successive commis- sioned oflioers were: C;\ptains, John M. Orr. John W. Hannah; First Lieutenants;, John W. Hannah, Martin S. Bush; Second Lieutenants. Martin S. Bush, Lot H. C. Pumphrey.' Capt. Orr was coiamissionevi as Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment March 8. 1S64, and promoted Colonel Jnly 10 of the same year. George F. Stewai-t. of Couuersville, served )»s Sec- ond and First Lieutenant respectively in Compiny E, and John B. Schissler as First Lieutenant in Com- piiny F. of the regiment; and a number of privates in C!omjiany G wei^e fixim this county. The regiment was mustered into sei'vice Miu-eh 10, iStU. with James Burgess as Colonel. It went to Nashville, xvaching that fx>int on the 24th of the same month, and was assigned to the division of Gen. Hovey. .\pril 5 the regiment left Nashville for the front, marching by way of MurfrtvsKiro. Shelbyville, TuUahoma, Stevenson. Bridgejx>rt, Chat- tanooga, and so on. The Twenty -third Corps, to which the ivgiment was assigned, arrived in front of Buzzard's Boost May S. A demonstration was made by Gen. Scotieldnpon that formidable position, the regiment losing one killed and two wounded. A portion of Sherman's army having penetrated Snake Creek Gap, the regiment move^i with its division through the Gap, and crossed the Ostanaula Eiver, near Tilton, Our column then passed to the left of Resaca, and marched on the ISth to Calhoun. It moved tlie next day to the right of Kingston, and skirmished along the railroad. On the 21st it enconntorod the enemy, and brisk skirmishing ensued. On the tirsf of iluue the regiment was engaged in sharp skirmishing in the vicinity of AUatoona and Pumpkin Vine Creek, and took jvsition opposite to and neiu' Lost Mountain. Temporiuy works were constructed, and for two daj*s sharp fighting was had with the enemy. The skirmish line then moved close to tlie formidable works of the enemy, the regi- ment advancing in snpjwrt under a heavy lire of artillery and musketry. The enemy having evacuated the works, the regiment took position on the right of Kenesaw Mountain. On the 23d tlie regiment advanced close up to the enemy's works on Kenesaw Mountain, and skirmished with his sharp-shoot<»rs. The picket firing and skirmishing continued until the morning of July 3, when the Rebel Gen. Johnston suddenly abandoned his strong position, and fell back to Smyrna Church. The regiment encountered the enemy near Decatur, where brisk skirmishing ensueil, resulting in tlie enemy being ilriven through Decatur, and the capture of that town. For several days it was engaged in skirmish- ing, and on the 2 1st of July reached a position where the hills and stoeples of Atlanta could be seen. On the 22d the regiment moved with its division, and aide^l materially in repulsing the Rebels under Hood and Haivlee. who had attacked oiu- forces. The siege of .Atlanta progressed vigorously until August 30, when its evacuation was forced, during all of which time the regiment played its part. October 4. the regiment marched with its corps in pursuit of Hood, the column moving by the way of Marietta to AUatoona, and thence through Cass- ville and Kingston, to Rome: and crossing the Ostan- aula River at that place on the 12th, a sharp skir- mish was had with a portion of the enemy's forces, his main Ixxly having marched with great rapidity towards Kesaca and Dalton. The column tiien headeil for Calhoun and Resaca, but the Rebel Army had disappeared before our .arrival. The pui-suit was continued through Snake Creek and Mhite's Gaps to Summerville. and down the Chattanooga Valley to Gaylesville. Ala., where the pursuit was discon- tinued. The Twenty-third soon became a part of the command of Gen. Thomas. The regiment, Octo- ber 23, moved with its division to Cedivr Bluffs, and marched to Dalton cia Cave Spring. Rome, Resaca and Tilton. It was then transported to Nashville, where it arrived Noveml>er V. Novem- ber 21 the i-egiment threw up temporary breast- works at Columbia, and for two days was engaged in brisk skirmishing with the enemy under Hooil. At Spring Hill the enemy's cavalry was encountered and severe skirmishing ensued. After a brisk fight the regiment forced its way through, losing Company ^.^ -f ^ />.e^i-^ "tn^ Ctry^y^^ HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 133 C, ■which was captured by the enemy. The regi- ment reached Franklin on the morning of November 30, and immediately took position in line of battle OQ the southern edge of that town. Slight breast- works were hastily constructed; the enemy soon appeared in force, and made several attempts to carry the position by assault. These successive attacks were met and most decisively repulsed. During the night the regiment fell back with the army to Nashville, and took position to the right of Fort Negley, whore it was employed in erecting defenses until December 15. On the latter date the army of Gen. Thomas advanced from its fortifications around Nashville, upon the Rebel Army of Gen. Hood, and after two days severe fighting, inflicted a ruinous defeat upon the Rebel foe. Thei'egiment took part in this battle, and joined in the pursuit of Hood's demoralized army. In 1865 the regiment proceeded to North Carolina, landing at Morehead City February 27. March 6 it marched with Gen. Scofield's column along the rail- road toward Kingston. Upon reaching Wise's Forks, the enemy was encountered in a strong position in force. Heavy skirmishing was kept up during the first day. On the 9th the enemy being largely re-enforced, made an assault upon our left and center, and, after a severe battle, was repulsed and retreated in much confusion. The regiment took an active part in this battle. On the 15th it crossed the Neuse River and marched to Kingston ; thence to Goldsboro, reaching there on the 21st, where the junction was formed with the victorious columns of Sherman, who had marched from Atlanta to the sea, and from the sea through the strongholds of the Rebel hiding-places, halting in the " Old North State" only long enough to greet their old comrades of the Twenty-third Corps and press forward to final victory. The regi- ment was mustered out at Greensboro August 31, 1865. The Third Battery.— The Third Battery, Light Artillery, Indiana Volunteers, was organized at Con- nersville on the 5th of August, and mustered into service August 24, 1861, with W. W. Frybarger as Captain During the month of September the battery moved to St. Louis, was assigned to Gen. Fremont's army and moved with that army in the campaign through southwest Missouri. Upon the close of his campaign Capt. Frybarger being promoted Major (November 80), and ordered to Indianapolis for the purpose of organizing batteries, Lieut. James M. Cockefair was promoted Captain. From Springfield the battery moved to Tipton and thence to LaMine Cantonment, where it remained until the spring of 1862. During the summer and fall of 1862 sections of the Third Battery were dispatched to different por- tions of Missouri, and engaged in numerous en- counters with straggling forces of the enemy. This duty was exceedingly arduous and difficult, owing to the long and frequent marches, and the impossibility of forcing the enemy to a decisive battle. Sharp encounters were had with the enemy at Mooe's Mill, Kirksville and Lone Jack, in which the battery lost in killed and wounded. After a separation of nine months, and having traversed the principal portion of Missouri, the Third Battery rendezvoused at Springfield during the winter of 1862. It was stationed at St. Louis until the latter part of 1863. In November, 1863, a majority of the members of the battery re-enlisted as veterans. It moved with the column under command of Gen. A. J. Smith in the winter of 1863-64 through western Tennessee. The battery then moved to Memj)his, and with its division proceeded on steamer to Vicksbiu'g, with the column of Gen. Sherman, and proceeded to Meridian, Miss. Having aided in sufficiently destroying the enemy's communications, the battery retui'ned with the army to its place of starting. On the 8th of March the^Third Battery proceeded up the Red River by steamboat, and took part in the storming and captiu-e of Fort De Russy. Thence the battery moved with Gen. A. J. Smith's command, and on the 9th of April was engaged in the battle of Pleasant Hill, in which the pursuing enemy were checked and routed. The battery was engaged almost constantly in covering the retreat of Banks' army, until it reached Morganza Bend, on the Mis- sissippi River, May 21. During this campaign it took part in the battles at Cautcherville, Cane Run, Alexandria, Old Oaks and Round Lake. Upon reaching the Mississippi River the battery embarked with its corps and moved toVicksburg; thence to Memphis, and thence marched to Tupelo, Miss., being engaged with the enemy at Tupelo, Tallahatchie, Jackson and Clinton, Miss., during this movement across the country. It moved with the Sixteenth Army Corps to St. Louie, and joined the forces of Gen. Rosecrans, in the pursuit of the Rebel Gen. Price, in the fall of 1864. After marching 800 miles in twenty-four days, without being able to overtake the enemy, the Third Battery returned to St. Louis, and moved from thence to Nashville, Tenn. Here, with tlie army of Gen. Thomas, the battery took part in the decisive engage- ment in front of Nashville, on the 15th and 16th of December, 1864, which resulted in the defeat and rout of Hood' s Rebel army. The battery was subsequently assigned to Gen. Canby's command, and operated with his army upon the defenses of Mobile. It was actively engaged in the siege and capture of Fort Blakely, which completed the surrender of Mobile. 134 HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. The Third Battery was mustered out of the service at Indianapolis August 21, 1865. FoJlowing the command of J. M. Cockefair, Thomas J. Ginn and Richard Burns commanded the battery respectively. In addition to the above-named companies the county was represented in various other organizations, among which were the Eighty- fourth Regiment, in which it had officers and men (Nelson Trusler was com- missioned its Colonel September 5, 1862, and resigned October 17, 1803); Twenty third Battery Light Artil- lery; Third Cavalry (Forty-tifth); Sixth Cavalry Bat- talion (Seventy first); Thirty-lifth, Fourth Regiment (Hancock's Corps), One Hunth-ed and Forty seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteers, and Seventh Cavalry Indiana Volunteers. Christian Beck of Conuersville. was commissioned Major of the regiment September 23, 1863; March 1, 186-1, was commissioned Lieutenant- Colonel of the Ninth Cavalry, and resigned October 28, 1864. Dr. Joshua Chitwood served as Assistant Surgeon and Surgeon of the Seventh Cavalry Indiana Volunteers in 1863-64. One Hundred and Fourth Regiment Minute Men. — Company K of the One Hundred and Fourth Reg- iment Minuto Men was from Fayette County. The regiment was organized at Greeusburg with James Gavin as Colonel, July 10, 1863, and contained an aggi-egate of 719 rank and tile. From Greensburg it moved to Suumau's Station; from thence it proceeded to Lawrencoburg and thence marched toward Harri- son, Ohio. After Morgan's escape into Ohio, the regiment returned to Greensburg, and was mustered out July 18, 1863. One Hundred and Ninth Regiment WO-Days Fo/«Mfee;s.— Company F of the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment 100-Days Volunteers was from Fayette County. The regiment was organized and mustered into service at Indianapolis on the 8th of June, 1864, with George Humphrey as Colonel, and soon after proceeded to Tennessee. This, with the other regiiuents of 100-days men, on arriving at Nashville was assigned to duty at different places along the lines of the Nashville & Chattanooga, Tennessee &, Alabama, and Memphis & Charleston Railroads, and until the latter part of August, 1864, were kept constantly engaged in guarding those lines of comiaunication, used by Gon. Sherman for the transportation of supplies to his army then advanc- ing on Atlanta. The regiment served beyond the period of 100 days, and returned to Indianapolis, where it was finally discharged from the service. Fayette County sustained an honorable part, and claims the full share of the glory on the records of the regiments in which its men fought in the war of Rebellion. LADIES AID SOCIETIES, DONATIONS, ETC. Throughout the war, the mothers, wives and sis- ters at home were ever earnest in their ministrations to the soldiers, supplying those delicacies and com- forts needed in the field. The soldiers' families, too, were cared for, as may be judged from the great relief fund expended. The Ladies' Aid Society of Connersville was organized at the court house January 13, 1862, and the following named officers were elected: Mrs. James C. Mcintosh, President; Miss Callie Youse, Vice-Pres- ident; Mrs. A. B. Gates, Treasurer; Miss Fannie Newkirk, Secretary. At various periods during the war the farmers throughout the county donated liberally in the way of wood. By reference to the files of the press it is noticed that up to October 22, 1863, 250 cords had been donated. June 20 seventeen loads were brought to town by the citizens of Waterloo Township, the contributors being Capt. J. S. Hamilton, Joseph Cole, Amos G. Smith, William Henry, Harrison McPhai-in, W. J. Orr, William Green, Matthew Job, John Roys- don, T. L. Hamilton, J. Burris, S. Duseuberry, S. L. Hurst, James Morris and Daniel Burris. Those in the Lockhart neighborhood subscribed 40 loads; those in the Shrader neighborhood brought in 17 loads; Harrison Township, 51; Connersville Town- ship, 52. In December, 1864, upward of 100 loads were donated by the farmers in general. CLOSING SCENES. The following oxti'act from the Times of April 13, 1865, will give the reader an idea of the manner in which the news of the surrender of Gen. Lee and his army was received by the people of Connersville: '"Such scenes never have and probably never will occur again in Connersville as were witnessed last Monday. The fall of Richmond was celebrated here in a measiu-e, but then the cup of joy was not yet full, and the surrender of Lee and his army remained to assure our people of the final triumph of the glorious old Ai-my of the Potomac, and to make "assurance doubly sure" that the Rebellion had received its death blow. Early on Monday morning the glad news of that great event was borne us on the telegraph wires, and our pen cannot portray the joy with which our citizens received the news that the army which for four years had given the Rebellion all its vitality, was among the things of the past, Demoralized, battered and broken it hadjbeen. but our fondest hopes were consummated when the bleeding remnant of the Army of northern Virginia laid down its arms at the feet of that glorious hero, U. S. Grant. Upon the receipt of the news the first notes of rejoicing rang forth from the church bells, which had but the day before HISTORY OP PAYETTE COUNTY. 135 called their congregations to peaceful worship; to thoae chimes were soon added those of the court house bell and all other bells, both large and small, in the town, and the clamor had reached its climax when guns and anvils joined in the chorus. The stores were closed, everyday avocations were abandoned in- stantly, and soon the whole population of the city were jammed into Monroe Street. Then who can de- scribe the scene that followed and continued until far into the night? Not a countenance but bore a smile. Shouts upon shouts rent the air amid the shaking of hands and frantic embraces. The people were wild with joy. Col. Nelson Trusler arrived from Indian- apolis in the evening, and in response to the call of his fellow-citizens made a short speech which a{)tly illustrated the condition of tho people. He said he left Indianapolis that morning because everybody was drunk, and ho wanted to go to some place where he could find sober folks; they captured and detained him awhile at Cambridge City, but there he found the citizens drunker than they were at Indianapolis; Last Sunday was a glorious epoch, and if it wore not a day for which all other days wore made, yet it was a day made for generations, and our children will hereafter hold it in grateful remembrance so long as the Nation shall survive." The Times of April 10, 1865, referring to the as- sassination of President Abraham Lincoln, re- marked: "Ceremonies appropriate of the funeral of the President of tho United States were held in all the churches of Connorsville that are regularly open for worship, yesterday. The stillness and solemnity of the Sabbath prevailed throughout the town. The business houses were closed the entire day, and upon all were the emblems of mourning. The court house and many private residences were also draped in mourning. Such a scene has never before been witnessed in Connersville." CHAPTER XVII. THE CITY OF CONNERSVILLE. LOCATION AND ORIGIN— THE EARLY VILLAGE— INDEPENDENCE DAY, 1831— THE STATUS OF CONNERSVILLE IN 183.3— THE SUCCEEDING DECADE— REMINISCENCES— THE TOWN IN 1858-69— STREETS— THE CITY HALL— THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH BUILDING (FORMERLY OPERA IIOUSEj-THE ANDRE OPERA HOUSE.— GRAVE- YARDS AND CEMETERY'— CONNERSVILLE A CITY— GROWTH AND PROGRESS— WATER WORKi^J- FIRE DEPART- *MENT— BANKS— INDUSTRIES— SCHOOLS— CHURCHES— SOCIETIES. N CONNERSVILLE is beautifully situated on the west bank of the West Fork of Whitewater River, occupying a natural terrace to the streams and river bottoms. Its western and southwestern limits are fringed by a range of hills, towering, perhaps, 100 feet above the valley, and whose summits are crowned here and there with antique and more mod- ern suburban homes, from which is presented a most pleasing view of the city and surrounding country. The city is located near the center of the county, and is distant by rail 07.2 miles a little south of east from Indianapolis, and 57.1 miles northwest of Cincinnati, Ohio, lying in latitude 39^ 30' north, and longitude 7° 54' west. The city was laid out in March, 1813, for John Conner, though the original proprietor of the land on which the original plat was made, as shown by a transcript of the original entry book, was A. Tharp, who entered the northeast quarter of Section 25, Town 14, Range 12 east, Ajiril 4, 1812. The origi- nal plat comprised only sixty-two lots, which were bounded on the west by Monroe Street, on the east by Water Street, and extended from a little beyond Head Street on the north to a little beyond High Street on the south. The place was laid ont in Franklin County and the plat there recorded, which it seems from the records was not transcribed on tho records of Fayette County until in Oetoljer, 1841. Attached to the plat is tho following descriptive head- ing and certificate: Part of town of Connersville first laid off by John Con- nor. Laid out on the west branch of W^liitewater, on the north side of the river, on part of the northeast quarter of Section 25, Town 14, Ranse 13 east, Second Principal Merid- ian; course of street running up and- down tho river and north 2.^0 east, commenciufr at the lower end of the town, and the other north dTP west, extending from the river, and all of them four poles wide; tlie alleys are one pole wide. The public grounds contain two blocks or four lots. Tlie lots are five poles front and two poles bacli, each containing fifty square perches of ground, and laid down by a scale of ten poles to the inch by me, Knoch McCarty. March 4, 1813. Ini)i.\na Tekiutoky I Fu.vNKi.iN County \"' On tlie 1st of Oclobei-, ISKt, personally came before me, Benjamin Smith, a .Justice of the Peace in and for the county aforesaid, John Conner, and saith on oath that the within 136 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. plat is a true representation of the within described town of Connersville, and further saith not. Benjamin Smith, Justice of the Peace. Early additions to the town were made as follows: In 1817 by Joshua Harlan, embracing lots extending above Boundary (now Second) Street, east of Market and south of the alley above Head (now Sixth) Street; in 1818 by Joshua Harlan, embracing lots v^est of Market Street to Tanner, south of Madison, and to one street farther west north of Madison, extending from Boundary along Market to an alley between Harrison and Head Streets, the northern boundary of these lots consisting of a line from said alley on the south to an alley on the north between Madison and Harrison Streets; in 1819 by Joshua Harlan, embrac- ing lots south of Boundary Street; in 1818 by Dale; in 1819 by Jonathan McCarty; in 1819 by John Conner. The public square, comprising the ground on which are now located the court house and city hall, bounded by Central Avenue, Market, Court and Fourth Streets, was a part of the Harlan plat of addi- tions to the town. Mr. Conner, the proprietor of the original plat of the town, some time between the years 1804 and 1S08 had established a trading-post at this point with the Indians. Hence the name Connersville. THE EARLY VILLAGE. That the growth of the village was slow during the first few years of its existence is evident from the following, the authority for which is the late Dr. Philip Mason: "I came to the valley of the Whitewater in the spring of 1816, and early in the summer of that year I visited Connersville. A small tract of land had been laid off by John Conner into town lots, which lay along the river bank on Water Street and along Main Street, and a few log-cabins had been erected. The most of the land which comprises the present site of the town was then a dense forest. lu travel- ing up the river to the place there was now and then a small opening to be' seen, with an inhabited log- cabin on it. John Conner, after whom the town is named, and who owned the laud on which it stands, had built a mill just above the town, and not far above the site of the present mill now owned by A. B. Conwell. The town had one small retail store." Joshua Harlan has been credited with having kept the first store in Connersville. This, of course, is excepting the trading- post of Conner, at which a bartering with the Indians had been carried on for years. The first business house built on the town plat is said to have been a log building which stood on the west side of Main (now Eastern Avenue) Street, on or near the corner of the alley on the site of the present dwelling-house of the widow of William Bunnell. It was in this house that Mr. Harlan kept the store. He is remembered as keeping a store in that house or vicinity in the summer of 1815, and it is not unlikely that it was the Harlan store, to which reference is made in 1816 by Dr. Mason. Judge Harlan, as he was styled, having served as a Judge under Territorial Government, was a native of Ches- ter County, Penn., born in 1763. In 1793 he settled in Kentucky and there lived until 1810, when he immigrated to Brookville, and in 1813 to the site of Connersville. He has been described as a tall man, fully six feet two inches. He was a man of strong and clear mind. In about 1820 he built a brick house on the northea.st corner of what is now Eastern Avenue and Fifth Street — the site of the "Buckley House " — which is, in fact, the old house enlarged and remodeled. In this building Judge Harlan kept one of "ye olden time inns" for a number of years. His death occurred at Connersville, September 15, 1827. In 1817 the Claypool brothers, Newton and Solo- mon, young unmarried men, came to the village, and perhaps for a time carried on a little bartering trade with the Indians and the few white settlers. Solo- mon soon engaged in farming, and Newton embarked in the tavern business. The late Hon. Oliver H. Smith, in alluding to Mr. Clayjwol as a landlord, said: " When I arrived at Connersville in May, 1820, I stopped at the hotel of Newton Claypool. He was about my age. I had been licensed to practice in March before, and was looking for a location. My last dollar had escaped from the top of my pocket. Breakfast over, I met Mr. Claypool in the bar room; as we met I remarked, ' Look at me and see whether you will risk me for my board a year.' ' Who are you? Where did you come from? What is your trade and how do you expect to pay for your board?' 'My name is Smith; I am from Lawrenceburg; I am a young lawyer, and I expect to pay you from my practice.' 'Rather a bad chance, but I will risk you' Mr. Smith remarked that at the time it was the only hotel in the village. (The board was paid.) From an inscription on a tombstone in the ceme- tery at Connersville it appears that the Claypools were Virginians; that they immigrated with their father, Abraham Claypool, to the Sciota Valley, Ohio, in 1798, thence in 1808 to Clermont County, in the same State, and thence to Connersville in 1817. Silas Ford, from Virginia, came to the village in 1817. He was by trade a wheelwright, which he fol- lowed for a time here and subsequently on William's Creek. He also kept for a time a house of entertain- ment. Joseph Nelson, a young man from Pennsylvania, HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 137 and by trade a saddler, settled at Gonnersville in 1819, and at once opened a saddler shop, the first in the place. Arthur Dickson had settled here prior to this date, and was engaged in merchandising. In 1819 Benjamin Berry was having erected for his dwelling-house the building on the northwest corner of Eastern Avenue and Fifth Street, and so soon as completed Austin Bishop opened a store in one end of it. Absalom Burkham built the Heineman corner. Among the early built brick houses of the village which were in process of construction that year and the year following were the hotel building of Joshua Harlan, heretofore designated; the house where Charles Mount resides, by Absalom Burkham; thehouse on the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Fourth Street; the old United States Hotel building, which stood on Central Avenue opposite the court house; and the house of George Reed, next south to the building described, on the corner opposite " Huston House." Jonathan John, from Kentucky, settled in 1816 on the site of the McFarlan residence, on the western border of the city. The father of Amos R. Edwards) from Pennsylvania, settled in Gonnersville in 1817; and in 1819 Douglas Burton and family, coming from Kentucky here, though previously having emigrated from South Carolina. At this period those engaged in keeping tavern or merchandising were required to make application for a license for the same. In 1819 the County Com- missioners granted a tavern license to Newton Clay- pool and George Reed, and in 1820 to Joshua Harlan and Archibald Reed. The rate charged per annum was $10. In the spring of 1821 Connersville from a busi- ness standpoint made about the following exhibit: Arthur Dixon kept a dry goods store on Main Street one door south of the Heineman corner. Austin Bishop had a grocery on the opposite corner, where the Mur- phy Bros, are now following the same business. Joshua Harlan was keeping a tavern on the present site of the "Buckley House." John Sample, Sr. , had an inn on the Heineman corner. Newton Claypool kept a house of entertainment on the east side of Main Street on the south corner of the alley. Archi- bald Reed a similar house (tavern) in the building now occupied by J. Bailey on the west side of Cen- tral Avenue. Absalom Berkham, another inn-keeperi held forth in the building where Charles Mount now resides, on the east side of Central Avenue. Silas Ford, the father of Gayle, kept hotel on the site of the present residence of the widow of William Bun- nell, on the west side of Eastern Avenue, on the south corner of the alley. Bartholomew McCleary was carry- ing on a store on the southeast corner of Monroe and Harrison Streets. Barnet and Jonas Levi had a jew- elry store on the east side of Monroe Street between Madison and Harrison Streets. A Mr. Bouton carried on a cooper-shop on about the site of the Widow George Scott's residence. Just south of Bailey's store was located the saddle-shop of Joseph Nelson. Where the First National Bank now is was the blacksmith- shop of Martin Remington. One Rankin was the hatter, and carried on the business in a house situated nearly opposite the Claypool tavern. William W. Wick was keeping the old United States Tavern. David Beck was a tailor and held forth on Monroe Street, where yet some of his descendants reside. Jacob Vandegrift carried on a blacksmith-shop. William Curry was another blacksmith, whose shop was situated on the east side alley on north side of Harrison Street. William Burnett and Julius Whitmer were carpenters, located, the former, where the Presbyterian Church now is. John D. Stewart, who that spring (1821) with family emigrated from Pennsylvania, erected a house for a shoe shop on the corner of Harrison and Monroe Streets (where the Conwell Block now stands). Messrs. Stebbins & Ball carried on a pottery at the south end of the village. Oliver H. Smith and William W. Wick were the resident attorneys, and Dr. Joseph MoflStt the phy- sician. The latter's office was located about where the dry goods store of Theodore Griffis now is. John Conner had in full blast a saw and grist-mill and dis- tillery, and was also interested in other branches of business. A. B. Conwell was just preparing his tanyard for business. Mr.Rees had a tannery located on Tanner Street, west side, not far from the end of the street. Asher Cox, Edmund I. Kidd and Harvey Bates had in operation a carding and fulling machine on the west side of the river, at the end of Fourth Street. At this time there was no church building or schoolhouse in the village, yet the circuit preach- ers of the Methodist Episcopal Church visited the place occasionally. Parties granted license to vend merchandise or keep tavern in the village from 1821 to 1830, are the following-named : Thomas Murphy (tavern) 1821; Moses Cox (tavern) 1821; Archibald Reed (tavern) 1824; (Joshua Har- lan, (tavern) 1824; Newton Claypool (tavern) 1824; W. & S. Walton (merchandise); George Frybarger (merchandise) 1824; Abraham W. Harris (retail spiritous liquor) 1824; Andrew Wallace (tavern) 1824; John Mcintosh, 1824; John Sample (tavern) 1824;''^Martin M. Ray (tavern) 1824; John Allen, Jr., (tavern) 1824; Joshua Mcintosh (merchandise) 1825; A. Clark & Co. (merchandise) 182G; Robert Swift merchandise) 1826; Andrew Wallace (merchandise), 138 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 1826; Hugh Wooster (merchandise) 1826; Abraham Bays (tavern) 1826; Samuel Walton (merchandise) 1826; Meredith Hehn (merchandise) 1826; William Walton (merchandise) 1827; Amzi Clark & Theodore R. Lewis (merchandise) 1828; Daniel Hankins & James Mount (merchandising) 1828; Meredith Helm (merchandise) 1829; Abner Smith (grocery and spirit- ous liquor) 1829; Robert Cox (merchandise) 1829; Amos Conklin (merchandise) 1829; Benjamin Johns (grocery and spirituous liquor) 1S29; Charles Shipley (merchandise) 1829; John Picket (merchandise) 1829. Many of these licenses were renewed from year to year for quite a period. Among other business interests of the village up to 1830 were the tin, sheet-iron and copper manu- factory of J. Dawson. Messrs. Hull & Fearis were saddlers; John Willey, meat-market; Merrifield & Miller, hatters; later the firm was R. & R. Merrifield. Christian Beck was the gunsmith. H. Goodlander was another of the jewelers. A. Van Vleet for a time carried on weaving, and some time later Hiram Bundy was likewise engaged in the weaving business. An oil-mill was operated by either John Perin or Lyman Carpenter; A. Conklin & W. H. Coombs were carrying on a chair factory. Thomas Rutter was a hatter and one Frisbee a tanner. The Merrifield hat factory was located on Monroe Street, three doors north of the Connersville Hotel; George W. Parks, a blacksmith; George W. Reed was a tailor; Nicholas Baker a shoe-maker. J. Hart carried on a tin-shop. Silas Ford was manufacturing spinning-wheels. Rob- ert GrifSs was in the saddlery and harness trade. John McCoy was another dealer in hats, and on the north end of Monroe Street was situated the factory of Isaac Wood, who was engaged in making spinning wheels. Up until 1830 there was but one newspaper pub- lished in the village, the Fayette Observer. In 1824 was erected a house of worship by the Methodists, the first and only church edifice in the place durino- the decade closing with 1830. The seminary build- ing was not erected until 1828-29, it being the first regular school building in the village. John Sample was Postmaster in 1826 and re- quested "all letters and packages to be sent in the mail to be in the office half an hour before the mails closed." That summer the arrival and departure of the mails from the postoffice in Connersville were: Eastern mail arrives on Thursdays 1 1 o'clock A. M. and departs west in half an hour. Western mail arrives on Tuesdays 11 o'clock A. M. and departs east at 12 o'clock M. Southern mail arrives on Fri- days at 9 o'clock A. M.jand departs north at 10 o'clock A. M. As early as 1820 there was a circulating library in the village, and in November, 1825, was opened to the public the Fayette County Library. One year later it contained 151 select volumes and was soon to be augumented by about 125 volumes. It was under the management of a Board of Trustees, of which Daniel Rench was Secretary. The library was open every Saturday afternoon from 1 to 6 o'clock. The Secretary gave notice in the Observer that " there are volumes in the library to suit the taste and inquir- ies of all. The citizens, we hope, will not be slow in availing themselves of its great advantages, which may be had for 50 cents a year. All citizens over sixteen years may draw books, by giving bond and security for damages, etc. The rules governing drawers are public in the library room.'' Over the date of June 17, 1826, in a copy of the Observer, and over the signatures of Kidd & Cox appeared the following advertisement: "Wool Card- ing — The undersigned return their grateful acknowl- edgments for the liberal support they have heretofore- received, and now inform the public that their machines are in complete operation, and ready to receive wool, which they will card in the best manner, and on the shortest notice. " Every exertion will be made to accommodate persons living at a distance. The following articles of produce will be received in payment: wool, sugar, linen, beeswax, flax, wheat, tallow, etc." In the Observer under date of February, 1830, J. M. Ray, as agent, advertised that ' ' on May 26 would be offered for sale Conner's grist-mill, saw-mill, dis- tillery and mill farm adjoining Connersville, the farm below town, the tavern and store stands oppo- site the court house in said town and some out-lots in the vicinity. " Mill farm about eighty acres cleared land under good fence. The mills and distillery are in fine oper- ation, and the tavern stand occupied by Capt. Sam- ple, and the store room by Messrs. Hankins & Mount. * * The whole property is now under rent at $600 per annum, cash. * *" This notice was to be sent to the Ohio State Jour- nal at Columbus, Ohio, and to the Commentator at Frankfort, Ky., for publication. March 1, 1830, the following notice was issued under the title of " Regimental Orders:" Captains commanrling companies ia tlie Eleventh Reg- iment of the Indiana Jlilitia, are hereby ordered to attend the following musters with their subaltern ofBcers, First Sar- geants and musicians, at the following times and places, to wit: Drill muster, at the town of Connersville, on the 26th and 87th of May next; battalion muster at the house of N. McClure on the 38th day of May next, at the house of Amos G. Pumphrey on the 39th of May next, and regimental muster at Connersville, on the 3d day of October next, armed and equipped as the law directs, at 9 o'clock on each day. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 139 Court of Assessment Id Connersville on the first Monday of November, and Court of Appeals on the first Monday of next, at the house of Archibald Reid. William Caldwell, Colonel, Commanding Eleventh Regiment, I. M. Having thus far given in a general way a glance of the village up to 1S30, we will return to the begin- ning of the decade, when it may be said Connersville began to grow, and consider briefly the status of things then with the figuring characters. Then resided here auch men as Joshua Harlan, Arthur Dixon, Newton Claypool, John Sample, Jona- than MoCarty, James M. Ray, Oliver H. Smith, Will- iam W. Wick, Jonathan John, Samuel C. Sample, George Frybarger, A. B. Conwell, and some lateri Marks Crume, Martin M. Ray, Samuel W. Parker, Caleb B. Smith and Daniel Hankins — future Legis- lators and Senators, a Judge, members of Congress, a United States Senator, a Cabinet officer, a Govern- or and business men of great capacity. In the hands of such men it is no wonder that the village became progressive and interesting. An anecdote will "serve to illustrate the peculiar talents of the taverns heretofore referredto. An old Englishman, by the name of John Knipe, was asked by a traveler who kept the best hotel. " We'el, hif thee wants good grub, go to Samples; hif thee wants thy 'oss we'll cared, go to Claypool's; and hif thee wants gude whisky, thee will better stop at 'Arlans." It is only our purpose here to refer briefly to a few of the early business men of the village, who figured conspicuously and largely in the greater bus- iness interests of Connersville, and whose advent into her business circles marked an era in her history, leaving men of other vocations for consideration in other parts of this volume. Of the men in question, Newton Claypool was a native of Virginia, where born in 1795, though at an early day with his father removed to Ohio, and in 1817 settled in Connersville. In 1818 he returned temporarily to Ohio, and was married to Mary Kerns, of Ross County. Rather than one of the early bus- iness men of Connersville, Mr. Claypool was a tavern keeper until in 1836, when he purchased and re- moved to the farm just north of the city limits, upon which his son, Austin B. Claypool, now resides. He was elected to the Legislature, first in 1825, and to the Senate first in 1828, and subsequently served a number of years in each branch. The late Hon. Oliver H. Smith thus alludes to him in this connection : " He was one of the most efficient men of the Legislature for many years. His greatest forte was in his practical knowledge applied to the subject by his strong common sense. For many years he was closely identified with the banking bus- iness of this community." Another writer thus alludes to him : " Luck ^vas not one of Newton Clay- pool's words. It was not in his lexicon. He did but little on faith either — had his own philosophy, both of church and State. He fought all of his ene- mies with the same weapon. He was a consistent enemy of the Democratic party, through a life longer than is usually allotted to a man. It can be said of him that he was eminently successful as a financier, in earlier life as an economist and producer, as well as in after life as a banker. In this latter capacity his reputation was brilliant and enviable throughout the State." He died at Indianapolis, Ind., May 14, 1866. George Frybarger came to Connersville from the city of Dayton, Ohio, in the year 1821, and opened a dry goods store. " Like most of the early settlers he was fearless and self-reliant, and entered itpon the duties of his calling with decided'purposes of useful- ness and accumulation. His industry" and energy gave him success, and for many years he ranked among the foremost merchants and traders of the Whitewater Valley. It has been said that, perhaps, there was never a man in Connersville who knew the business as well as Frybarger, none at least who did so much business as he. There can be no doubt but the ruling trait and the carefully guarded ambition of George Frybarger was honesty. Even to the minut- est details of ever raging trade throughout a long life of successful mercantile pursuits he adhered in theory and in practice to his passion — honesty. The charity of Mr. Frybarger was in business, that is, he was charitable to those that deserved it. He loaned to the unfortunate honest; he gave, too, and encour- aged with his advice and credit and means, stimulat- ing them to all the demands of success. He had an unbounded credit at home and abroad. He always kept safely stored in his vaults coin to put against his credit. He is said to have been the first man in the West in a crisis, well remembered in the commer- cial world, to promptly pay his Eastern debts with coin stored for the purpose of adversity." From an inscription on his tombstone it appears that he was born in 1797 and died in 1853. A. B. Conwell was born in Delaware in 1796, and at the age of fifteen was apprenticed as a tanner, at which he served five years. In 1817 he, with a brother, walked from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, where they separated, A. B. going to Kentucky, and in 1821 he located in Connersville, and began his successful career on an acre of ground which he pur- chased of John Conner, upon which he put in opera- tion a tannery, which business he subsequently aban- doned and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was for years engaged in the milling business, and erected and carried on one of the most extensive flouring- 140 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. mills in this section of the State. The large mill building on North Eastern Avenue is a monument to his enterprise. For a number of years pork-packing claimed his attention, which business he carried on on a large scale. He is the last of the four Romans of whom we speak in this connection, who still lives as a connecting link between the past and present. A man of wonderful natural intellect and judgment, he has ever been known for his wise forecast as well as for his quiet success in all his business and spec- ulations. Daniel Hankins settled in ConnersviJle in 1827, six years later than Frybarger and Conwell, yet he figured in the latter part of the decade of which we wi'ite. Col. Hankins, as he was called, was a native of the State of New Jersey, born in 1795 and died in 1860. He commenced as a dry goods merchant in the village and continued so throughout an active busi- ness life. He was possessed of great activity and energy. A writer has given as his great powers, "untiring industry, coupled with worthy ambition; a restless eager spirit, he was a fretful business man. Dull times only conquered him." He engaged exten- sively iu speculation, pork and grain receiving his attention in large investments. His influence is said to have been great because his trade was great. In 1830 he, with Marks Grume, represented the county in the Legislature. His name and power and enterprise will not soon perish. In speaking of his death the editor of the Times said: "He accumulated a vast property. Had a farm of 1,400 acres north of Con- nersville, which he superintended while his attention was largely engrossed with the extensive mercantile trade and speculations in pork and flour. Perhaps no man of one county has ever managed as much busi- ness, and managed it all as correctly and successfully as has Col. Hankins." It has also been stated in print that "he was to Connersville what A. T. Stewart was to New York — a merchant prince. But few men possessed a finer sense of honor, and none surpassed him in mercantile integrity." INDEPENDENCE DAY, 1831. The 4th of July, 1831, was observed by the citi- zens of the village and county by a celebration at a grove about one-half mile below Connersville. The day was ushered in by the firing of cannon. A procession was formed in front of the court house, led by the military, and marched to the grove, where some 3,000 persons had assembled. The Marshals of the day were Col. Caldwell and N. McClure, and the ofiicers in charge of the exercises were John Hub- bell, President; Allen Crisler, Vice-President; Eev. William Miller, Chaplain; S. W. Parker, Orator; James Ross, reader; prayer was offered by the Chap- lain, which was followed by the reading of the Dec- laration of Independence; next came a volley from the artillery; then music, which was followed by an oration; music and firing of the artillery followed, which closed the exercises of the morning. An excel- lent dinner was served at the grove by Newton Clay- pool, where some fourteen toasts were drank. The day was fine, though a shower fell just as the exercises were closing. In the evening a ball was held at the Claypool tavern. THE STATUS OF CONNERSVILLE IN 1833. In the "Indiana Gazetteer" of 1833 the village of Connersville is given a population of 500 inhabitants. It comprised seven mercantile stores, one drug store, four taverns, had four physicians, four lawyers and two printing offices, besides mechanics of all kinds. On Saturday, April 20, of the above year, was pub- lished in the Indiana Sentinel, edited by C. B. Smith and M. R. Hull, under the title "Our Town" the following: "This place is truly in a flourishing condition. The citizens are quite as industrious as any others in the great West; and complete marks of their per- severing habits are displayed on every street. New houses are in successive building; and the hum and buzz of business is made to resound in the distant valley, and to the approaching traveler bespeaks the industry of mechanics. Our merchants are receiving daily thousands of dollars worth of goods. The spring sales progress with much vigor, which makes the active salesman skip the counter with a business- like spirit. Our physicians (poor fellows) have but little to do; they droop their heads beneath the influ- ence of general health. Our streets present a lively picture of enterprise and industry. While other presses are falling out with their subscribers, and placing their names on the "black list," the Sentinel still holds an undiminished patronage, and its con- ductors continue, daily, to place good names on their white list. Ail this prosperity we owe, in a great measure, to the farmers of Indiana — 'the staff of life.' But a few years of such prosperity, and Connersville will become the most flourishing village in the West- ern country." THE SUCCEEDING DECADE. During the following ten years the village kept on in the even tenor of its way, making no particular stir in the way of industries, yet increasing gradually in numbers and business and quietly laying the foun- dation upon which was to be built a city that occupies a prominent place in the sisterhood of eastern Indi- ana cities. The event of the decade was the passage of the great Internal Improvement Bill for the State of In- EngtyCn-VVilUciTS ABro NY HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 143 diana, at the head of which stood the Whitewater Valley Canal Bill, which was to mark an era in the history of all villages and towns along its proposed path. The date of the passage of this bill was Jan- uary 16, 1836, the news of which was received at Connersville on Monday, the 18th inst., and as soon as twilight came on, the village, with scarcely the ex- ception of a building, was in a brilliant blaze of il- lumination. The coi;rt house was lighted up from the basement into the steeple. About sundown the cannon of the village was hauled out to the canal line and six guns fired — one in honor of the Governor, one to the Senator and one to each of the Representatives of the county in the General Assembly and one to the Whitewater Valley Canal. In the eveniner a meeting was held at the court house which was addressed by Hon. O. H. Smith and Samuel W. Parker. A number of toasts were drank, after which the whole assembly repaired to the river bank east of the village, which was yet brilliantly lighted up with a number of bon-iires and under the illumination of the buildings. About 9 o'clock an accident occurred by the premature explosion of a piece of artillery, by which four young men were ter- ribly maimed and wounded. Alexander Saxon had one arm torn off and the other so badly wounded that both were immediately amputated above the elbow. His eyes were completely blown out of his head and his death resulted the next morning. Joseph Clark had his right arm blown off, and Abiather Williams and William Worster were severely burnt. The canal was completed to Connersville in June, 1845, and the first boat to reach the village was the "Patriot," commanded by Capt. Gayle Ford, which arrived in the fall of that year. The imports and exports on the canal for the week ending November 20, 1845 (from the village) were as follows: Exports. Imports. Wheat, number of bushels 1,506 Cider, barrels 13 Industries (pounds). 6,010 8,993 Merchandise (pounds) 8,189 Salt and castings (pounds) 150 Lumber (feet) 700 An effort for the incorporation of the village seems to have been made in 1834. but it must have proven a failure, as the act of the Legislature incor- porating Connersville was approved February 15, 1841, by which act Joshua Mcintosh, Aquila Hattan, George Frybarger, Robert Swift and John Noble were appointed Trustees of the "town of Connersville." BEMINISCENOES. Over the signature of "Rambler," in the county press of 1870 appeared the following reminiscences of the village, which will undoubtedly be of interest to some, and serve to keep up the chain of the early history of Connersville: " While standing in the rear of the school build- ing, taking a view of the landscape there presented, the past comes in view to the memory, and many in- cidents of schoolboy days comes fresh to my mind that occurred forty years ago, and changes are visible at every turn. " The road leading east from town was then on the high ground north of Conwell's Mill, then down by the old saw-mill directly east, crossing the river a short distance below the railroad bridge, and intersecting the present road at the old McCann homestead. * * * * * * * " The first grist-mill in the county was erected by John Conner, below the house named, and about 300 yards east of the present mill (or structure). Conner sold the mill to DeCamp, and he to Conwell, who ran the same until it was worn out. That old mill was familiar to all the pioneers for many miles around. Going to mill was a task in those days, and often a trip of forty or fifty miles on horseback. Each grist was numbered, and frequently was several days awaiting its turn, while a number of the cus- tomers would be in camp close by. The Saturdays of our boyhood days were spent in ramblings, and as a guest of Lafe Conwell, our schoolmate at that time, that old mill was examined with boyish curiosity, and its mysteries solved. In after years, when there with grists, we wore more interested in seeing the miller manipulate the toll dish. The honesty, of the miller is proverbial, but they were sometimes absent-mind- ed, and would repeat the operation of taking toll, and have been known to forget that important pro- ceeding, as I have received, as the product of grist, a range of from twenty eight pounds to forty-six pounds of flour to each bushel of wheat at that same old mill. " Mr. Conwell had a lanyard not far from the grist-mill, and for a while furnished quite an object of interest to the boys, as well as the ' children of larger growth ' that frequented the place. A. pet bear was utilized, and labored faithfully by working a tread- mill, thereby pumping water to fill the vats. These incidents may not interest the youth of the present day, or the stranger who may be taking a view of the surroundings, as all traces of the old grist-mill, the saw-mill, the tan-yard, the bridge across the race and the ford are gone, but there are some persons left iu the vicinity with whom the state- ment will call up pleasant memories. " The incidents of early days, as related by the original pioneers, always created a lively interest, and often a happy delight. I remember of hearing old 144 HISTOKY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Aleck Hamilton tell about a sneaking, thieving In- dian who was regarded as a nuisance, and while out hunting on the hill northwest of town one day he got sight of the fellow and tracked him into a pond in the vicinity of Cal. Burton's. But he never could find any tracks whither the Indian came out, and from the comical expression as he finished his story, we inferred that he helped the Indian to make those tracks, as last seen. " Col. Frybarger can tell about having witnessed a savage encounter with a wolf by several men and dogs, and the wolf was killed on the street, about opposite Frank Dale's property. That happened about the year 1827 or 1828. "I have heard Jonathan John, Sr. , tell about when he came to this county, discouraged and heart sick, they remained in camp for three weeks without unloading their movables, intending day after day to start back to old Kentucky. Finally they became more reconciled, and settled on the hill northwest of town, and never had cause to regret the choice. The excellent spring at the foot of the hill below the John's house was the inducement to create the famous camping ground in the vicinity, and one of the principal Indian trails leading to the north- west passed by there and in the direction of Harrie- burg. The principal trail from Cincinnati and Brookville came up the east fork from Brookville to Fairfield, then up Ellis Creek, through by Everton, and crossed the river at the ford south of town, and on as stated. Those Indian trails were used by the early settlers, and improved for wagon roads until the lands were surveyed and enclosed. The rising gen- eration can form but little idea of the unbroken for- est, especially in the low lands, where it was almost impenetrable, so thick were the timber, bushes and vines. There was an important trail up the valley with a camping ground on the Larkin Sims place, near the excellent spring of water there. " I remember when we boys watched down street for the stage coach coming as evening approached, and listened for the notes of the bugle horn. Some- times we would go down and meet the coach at the ford of the river opposite where Root's foundry now stands, and persuade the driver to let us get up with him to ride into town. He was a good fellow, and how we envied him, and wished we were big enough to drive stage, as he sat so proudly on his seat. The driver prepared for a sensation after he pulled up out of the river and 'rested his team, then let them up lively as he came across the commons, turned into the main street about 'where Jimmie Mount's corner is, then dashed up street and'halted at the postoffice, delivered the mail to Major Tate, at the Recorder's office, which served a double" purpose, as it stood on the southeast corner of the court house yard, and fronted close on the street. (It cost 25 cents post- age on a letter then.) The next point was across to the old tavern, kept by Tom Hamilton, which was burned down about twenty years ago, and is now the Huston Block. " The stage route passed Cincinnati, then left the main road at the cross roads, over by Swift's and Orr's, and came in by old Sol Claypool's, then across the strip of woods in the river bottom to the ford, as stated. The bridge across the river beiag built where it now stands, caused the short route by Claypool's to be abandoned. That was about the year 1839 or 1840, being forty years ago. Alas I what changes in many ways during the comparatively short period. There was a woolen factory and a saw-mill on the edge of the river, east side, just across from Andy Turner's residence. The power was supplied by a mill dam and feeder race. The mill burned down, and the floods have removed every vestige in sight of this once important improvement, and pride of the owner, except, perhaps, a few timbers or brush wood that show where the dam was located. The property was owned by Asher Cox, who is yet alive, and lives with his son-in-law near Indianapolis. He can tell many incidents in connection with the old mill, which eventually broke him up financially, and caused him to 'go West and grow up' again. The old man is remarkably lively and full of vim; is rather small of stature, quite grey, and expects to meet some of his old friends at the next Fayette County fair. " I remember what a strife it was to locate the site for the bridge across the river. Col. Hankins and others wanted it placed at the end of Third Street, that faces out from the Rushville road. Uncle Abe Conwell offered extra inducements for the pres- ent location. The strife was intense and bitter feel- ing engendered. Silas Woodcock, that good and ven- erable old gentleman we all remember so well, built the bridge, which was a marvel of immensity to us boys, and we wondered how the old man could get the timbers so straight, with his head to one side as caused by affliction." THE TOWN, 1858-59. From a business standpoint, Connersville made the following exhibit in 1858-59, as shown by a State compilation published at that time: Apert, A., wagon-maker. Applegate, W. P. & A., carriage manufacturers. Bailey, J. L., dry goods. Barnard & Hall, carpenters and joiners. Bateman & Gates, staple and fancy dry goods. Beck & Bros., merchant tailors. Brown, J., clothier. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 145 Bunnell, J., livery stable. Bunnell, W., livery stable. Burk, N. H. , dry goods and grocery. Burton, T. , merchant tailor. Durham, K. , proprietor Bates House. Conwoll, A. B. & Sons, proprietors Conwell Mills. Clark, J. H., town officer. Campbell, G. W. , merchant tailor. Cassady, J., saddler and harness-maker. (Town officer.) Cassell Bros., boots and shoes. Claypool, dry goods, etc. Claypool, A. J. & Co., dr}' goods, etc. Claypool, B. F., attorney at law. Collins, E., surgeon dentist. Compton, Lizzie, milliner. Dawson, D. H., County Coroner. Cooly, cabinet ware-rooms. Erwin, civil engineer and surveyor. Edwards, C, County Clerk. Fearis, G. L. , saddler and harness-maker. Felton & Smith, grocery. Fryburger, W. W. & C. , staple and fancy dry goods. Gregg, V. H., physician and surgeon. Green, William H., publisher and editor Conners- ville Times. Gates, Bateman, dry goods. Greer, W. H., proprietor Scofield House. Goodlander, H., jeweler. Huston, J. & W., millers. _ Hack, Anthony, meat market. Henry, R. B., clergyman. Hawkins & Griffis, dry goods and grocery dealers. Hall, D. D. , physician and surgeon. Hall, D. H., physician and surgeon. Johnson, boot and shoe dealer. Johnson, A. H. & Co., dealers in agricultural im- plements. Justice, J., drugs, books, stationery, etc. James, W. W., marble worker. Kunphlon, Augustus, merchant tailor. Lewis, Josephine, milliner. Line, A. J., blacksmith. McLain, John, Justice of the Peace. Marks, Robert, blacksmith. Mullikin, J., town officer. Minor, A. S., saddler and harness-maker. Morrow & Mason, hat and cap dealers. McFarlan, J. B., carriage manufacturer. Morehouse & Youse, manufacturers and dealers in carriages, buggies, wagons, etc. Mullikin, J. & E., manufacturers of agricultural implements. Mcintosh, James C, attorney at law. McCleary, William, Coiinty Sheriff. Morris, Han-y, County Surveyor. Marshall, Joseph, attorney at law. Morris, B. F., clergyman. Newkirk, W. & Co., hardware dealers. Parry, L. D., town officer. Powell, I., auctioneer. Pelan, William, clergyman. Parker, Samuel W., attorney at law. Pumphrey, B. M., miller. Payne, Dr., physician and surgeon. Pumphrey, N. R. , proprietor Connersville Hotel. Pepper, W. J., physician and surgeon. Rawls & Morrison, drugs. Roots, P. H. & F. M., manufacturers of woolon goods. Rhodes, J. K., County Recorder. Scott, James, proprietor livery stable. Stewart, William, clergyman. Shumate, H., dry goods and grocery. Smith, W. M., town officer. Smith & Cooper, grocery. Smith, J. W., paper-hanger and painter. Reid, John S. , Judge Court of Common Pleas. Tate, W. A. H. , Justice of the Peace. Tate, J. F., County Treasurer. Thistlewait, saddler and harness-maker. Thomas, S. B., furniture. Taylor, W. W., physician and surgeon. Trusler, Nelson, attorney at law. Trusler, Gilbert, attorney at law. Vance, Elisha, attorney at law. Vance, Samuel W., physician and surgeon. Victor, J. , grocer. Wallace, R. J., carriage-maker. White, T. J., editor Connersville Telegraph. Wilson & Co., grocery, bakery and confectionary. Wilson, J. S., blacksmith. Wood, John, blacksmith. Youse, J. F. & Co., stoves and tinware. Zellar, Ignatus, jeweler. STREETS. In May, 1866, the names of the streets of Con- nersville were changed in accordance with the fol- lowing: Main, to Eastern Avenue; Monroe, to Central Ave- nue; Tanner, to Western Avenue; Short, to Fii'st; Bal- timore and Boundary, to Second; High, to Third; Madison, to Fourth; Harrison, to Fifth; Head, to Sixth; Maple, to Seventh, and Mill to Eighth. THE CITY HALL. In June, 1848, the Commissioners of the county granted privilege to the Trustees of the town to erect 146 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. on the west part of the public square a public build- ing three stories high, to be occupied — the first story for a town hall and engine house; the second and third stories by any moral or philanthropic association of the city or county that are now or may be here- after recognized by the laws of tlie State, provided that it be with the consent of the President and Trustees of the town. The building was erected by the citizens, the Society of Sons of Temperance] and the Masonic orders each paying one-third of the cost. Sherman Scofield undertook the erection of the building for 1-1,800. Each of the three parties was to linish their respective portions. The first floor belonged to the town, the second to the Sons of Temperance, and the third to the Masonic orders. THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH BUILDING (FORMERLY OPERA house). In 1870 the second and third floors of the lai'ge business building then belonging to E. J. Claypool, located on the west side of Central Avenue between Court and Fifth Streets, was remodeled and con- verted into a neat and tasty opera house, at a cost of $8,000, and was so used until 1872, when the prop- erty was sold to the church and has since been used for religious purposes. The building as an ojaera house was opened on the night of October 7, 1870, with a humorous lecture delivered by the " Fat Con- tributor " (A. M. Griswold), of Cincinnati. THE ANDRE OPERA HOUSE. This substantial building is located on the corner of Fifth and Market Streets and bears the name of its enterprising builder. The structure covers ground 48x80 feet and is two stories high; on the second floor is a neat opera room with a stage 21x46 feet and a seating capacity of 600 people. It is fully equipped with beautiful and numerous sets of scenery for plays of all kinds. The cost of ilie building com- plete was $20,000. It was built in 1876. grave -YARDS AND CEMETERY. As old as the village itself was the first place of burial located on the river bank opposite Third Street and extending above and below. This place of burial was not used much after 1828, the encroach- ments of the river making it necessary to remove the graves and abandon the grounds. The water now passes through what was once the city of the dead. The second grave-yard was laid out on Western Avenue, nov? the site of the Methodist Episcopal Par- sonage, and was used until the growth of the town was such as to demand another change, when the first tract of laud where is now situated the beautiful cemetery of the city was obtained. This is located in the northwestern outskirts of the city, comprising about fourteen acres of land beautifully laid out and dotted over with choice evergreens, shade trees and many elegant and costly monuments of marble and granite. Lucretius says of the earth: Omni parens eadem rerum est Commune aepulchrum. The parent of all, she is also the common sepulchre. Let our burial places, therefore, be beautified with the "greenery of nature," and let the adornments of art be added to please the senses and soothe the feelings of the living. October 8, 1851, ten acres of the cemetery were pur- chased by the corporation of Silas Pumphrey, Sr., and laid out into lots the following December — it being the north part of the present grounds. The greater number of the bodies interred in the other yards were removed to the cemetery. The latter has been under the care and management of the town and city authorities from the beginning. R. C. Bratten, the present Superintendent, has held the position for twenty years past. CONNERSVILLE A CITY. In the spring of 1868 steps were taken looking to the change of the town to a city. A petition signed by 301 citizens was presented to the town authorities, the population then being estimated at 2,500. At an election held June 16, 1869, at which 300 of the voters out of 865 expressed themselves in favor of a city charter, the city charter was procured and adopted, the city ordered divided into three wards, and July 5 appointed as a day for the electiim of city officers. The election resulted in the choice of Will- iam H. Beck, Mayor; C. D. Smith, Marshal; Henry F. Kane, Clerk; John Uhl, Treasurer; A. H. Wood, Assessor; Council for the First Ward, Train Cald- well and F. Martin; for the Second Ward, John R. McCabe and Lee Thalheimer; Third Ward, E. F. Claypool and John S. Wilson. The Mayors have since been John P. Kerr, elected in sjiring of 1871 ; W. C. Forrey, 1872; Gilbert Trusler, 1876; W. C. Forrey, 1877; Charles Roehl, 1880; Charles Murray, 1884. GROWTH AND PROGRESS. Important eras in the city's history may be said to have commenced first with the completion of the canal in 1845; second, with the completion of the railroads in the decade between 1860 and 1870; and the establishment of the several large furniture factories in the fore part of the succeeding decade. The census of 1830 gave Connersville a population of 500; the estimated population in 1846 was 1,000; and since 1850, as given by the United State census, HISTOKY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 147 at each decade it has been as follows: 1850, 1,396; 1860, 2,119; 1870, 2,496; 1880, 3,228. The postoffice was established in Connersville in 1818. The printing press was introduced into the village in 1823. The canal was completed to the town in 1845. The electro-magnetic telegraph line from Hamil- ton tolndianapolis via Connersville was built in 1851. The railruad.s came to the place in the decade between 1860 and 1870. The streets of the town were first lighted by coal- oil lamps in the fall of 1866. The same year a Board of Health was appointed, and the names of the streets changed. The city was first lighted by gas in 1875. The total number of buildings erected in Conners- ville in 1868 was fifty-two, costing $150,500. Among them was the residence of B. F. Claypool, $35,000 (brick); the brick business house of William H. Beck, $13,000; the brick business block of \V. and J. Huston, $25,000; the brick business house of Alexander Morrow, $4,250; the brick grist-mill of H. L. Wetherald & Son, $13,000; the two-story frame machine shop and agricultural implement manufac- tory of Marks & Simpson, $2,500; and seven dwelling- houses by J. B. McFarland, $12,500. WATER WORKS. In September, 1869, the Council of Connersville contracted with the Holly Manufacturing Company of Lockport, N. Y., for the erection of water works for the city, which was intended to furnish a more effi- cient and reliable fire protection, rather than with a view of a revenue therefrom for water supplied for domestic purposes. The works were completed in January, 1870, at a cost of $47,000, and are situated about one mile from the center of the city, built on ground bought of Wanee and Martin for $500. The machinery of the Water Works is propelled by water power from the Connersville Hydraulic (formerly Whitewater Valley) Canal. The power is 80 regulated that a pressure of from twenty to twentv- five pounds is always kept upon the mains, which is sufiicient for all purj)oses except in case of fire; and in case of an alarm of fire the power is immediately increased to give a pressure of from seventy-five to one hundred pounds. The works have remained the property of the city, and the annual cost of running them is $750. CONNERSVILLE GAS-LIGHT MANUFACTURING COMPANY. This company was organized in 1875, with a capi- tal stock of $30,000, officered by C. B. Newlands, President, and J. N. Huston, Secretary and Treasurer. Ground at the south end of the city was purchased of the Indiana Furniture Oomjjany, and the present brick quarters erected. The works were completed, and the city of Connersville appeared for the first time in gas light on Christmas night, 1875. The company has since increased its stock to $50,000. The present officers are Levin Mcintosh, President, A. M. Sinks, Secretary, and J. N. Huston, Treasurer. FIRE DEPARTMENT. Until some time in the decade between 1830 and 1840 the villagers protected property from fire as best they could without the aid of a fire engine, the old bucket line system being then in vogue. Toward the latter part of the decade the first tire engine of the village was purchased of a Mr. Wadley, of Oxford, Ohio, and was called "Pluto." The "Pluto" is a small engine and consists of a rude device for throw- ing water placed in a box or bed, the whole being mounted on four small wheels. The water was thrown into the box by a line of men with buckets extending from the nearest supply. From the box the water was pumped by hand brakes and thrown upon the fire. The second and last fire engine introduced into the village was that of the "Ocean," which was con- tracted for June 7, 1848, between the Board of Trust- ees of Connersville and D. L. Farnham & Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio. The "Ocean" is what was known as "Farnam's Patent Horizontal Fire Engine," having a row-boat movement, working horizontally without levers. It is a large two-stream suction engine and is worked by men occupying a sitting posture as oarsmen in a boat. The cost of it was $1,200. These two engines are still the property of the city authori- ties, though not in general use since 1870. On the purchase of the "Pluto" and the "Ocean" volunteer companies were organized and kept up dui-ing the use of the engines. On the adoption of a city government in 1869 steps were soon taken looking to a better system of protecting property from fire. January 3, 1870, an ordinance to this end was established providing for a Fire Department consisting of sixty able-bodied male citizens, to be divided into four divisions of fifteen members each — three divisions of hose and one divis- ion of hooks and ladders, each to be located in a suitable place in the city, etc., etc. In accordance therewith the present Fire Department was organized January 19, 1870. It consists of forty-eight men divided into four sections, a division of twelve men each — one hook and ladder division, and the others, hose divisions located as follows: one hose division on Seventh Btreet just west of the canal; another on Eastern Avenue, south of the railroad, and the 148 HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. remaining hose division, and the hook and ladder division at the City Hall building. There is located at each of the hose divisions one hose-reel, and at the hook and ladder division one wagon with the necessary equipments. The department has about 1800 feet of serviceable hose on the reels and about 100 feet of ladders with the general accompaniments. By an ordinance established in 1875 each member of the department was to receive annually $10, which was increased by another ordi- nance established in 1881, to 112.50. The number composing the department was reduced in 1881 to forty-eight. Application for membership is made through the City Council. The whole department is under the supervision and management of an officer styled the Chief of Fire Department, whose salary is $50 per year. Since the completion of the water works this system has been in successful operation. BANKS. The first banking house established in Conners- ville was the Bank of Connersville, started in 1852 by John D. Park and B. F. Sanford, of Cincinnati, with a capital of $200,000. The place of business was first in the rear part of Mr. Frybarger's store (southwest corner Central Avenue and Fifth Street). Soon after the institution was opened the proprietors erected the substantial three-story brick building, with stone front, located on Central Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets, in which is now carried on the business of the Citizen's Bank, and in it did their banking business during the career of the bank which lasted but a few years. Its Presidents were George Frybarger and A. B. Conwell, the latter succeeding Mr. Frybarger at his death in 1853. Probably one year after the organization of the Bank of Connersville was started the Fayette County Bank, which was opened in the corner room of what is now designated as the Huston House, southeast corner Central Avenue and Fourth Street. Among the stockholders were' Meredith Helm, Newton Clay- pool, Henry Simpson, L. D. Allen, Henry Goodland- er, Minor Meeker and Josiah Mullikin. Mr. Helm was the first President and Louis D. Allen the first Cashier of the bank. In a year or two Louis D. Allen was succeeded as Cashier by E. F. Claypool. The latter part of the year 1856 the Fayette County Bank was merged into the Connersville branch of the Bank of the State of Indiana, which was opened in the Claypool Building on the west side of Central Avenue between Court and Fifth Streets, to which the Fayette County Bank had been removed. The latter institution had been known as one of the most reliable and safest in the State. The branch of the State Bank was opened in January, 1857, and on the 6th of that month John Caldwell, Henry Simpson, Sherman Scotield, Amos R. Edwards, Newton Claypool. Thomas J. Crisler and W. W. Frybarger were elected Directors. Newton Claypool was chosen President, E. F. Claypool Cashier andWill- iam H. Wherrett Teller. Some years afterward the President was succeeded by his sou, B. F. Claypool. In 1857 it was said that the stock-holders resident in the county owned real estate in the coaoty valued at $340,000. The Connersville branch of the State Bank was reorganized as the First National Bank of Conners- ville in February, 1865, with capital stock to the amount of $100,000, under the Presidency of B. F. Clayijool, E. F. Claypool becoming Cashier. The first Board of Directors consisted of J. M. Wilson, H. D. Carlisle, P. H. and F. M. Roots and the Pres- ident and Cashier. In 1873 P. H. Roots was chosen President and Charles Mount Cashier. In 1879 Mr. Roots died and was succeeded by his brother, F. M. Roots. Messrs. Roots and Mount still retain those positions. F. T. Roots is the Vice-Presi- dent. From 1873 until his death in October, 1883, G. W. Dhl was the Assistant Cashier. The business of the bank is conducted in a two-story brick building which stands on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Fifth Street. At the time Mr. Allen was succeeded as Cashier of the Fayette County Bank by E. F. Claypool, he withdrew from the institution and in September, 1854, opened a savings bank in the building now occupied by Dr. Vance as a residence, on Fourth Street between Eastern and Central Avenues, which had been erected as a canal office. Elisha Vance was chosen President of this bank, which was short-lived, lasting a year or so only. For some years after the cessation of the Bank of Connersville, in the same building was carried on a kind of a banking business by James Mount and William Merrill, under the title of the Farmers' Bank. In October, 1870, was organized by James and William Huston, Sylvester Scofield, Chauncy Lyman, William H. Wherrett, Warner H. Broaddus and James C. Mcintosh, the Citizens' Bank, which was opened in the fine banking house erected by the pro jectors of the Bank of Connersville, which building ': had become their property. In 1874 the two Hustons purchased the interest of Messrs. Wherrett and Scofield, and subsequently (after the death of William Huston) James, his son, bought out the remaining stock-holders, and the institution has since remained in his possession and under his management. Since the spring of 1876 Mr. Huston has been assisted in the business of the bank by Levin Mclutosh. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 149 The bank has a capital stock of $50,000, with a surplus of 125,000. It is one of the most reliable banking houses in eastern Indiana. INDUSTRIES. The leading industries of the village and of the later town have been referred to in a preceding chap- ter, and it will be our purpose to here treat of the more important manufactories beginning with the completion of the canal, which marked an era in the history of the town. The water privileges and hydraulic power afforded thereby being of such a standard as to invite and claim attention, though tard- ily seized to any considerable extent, they have been the means of developing the slow and quiet village and town of a quarter of a century ago into the bust- ling manufacturing center of to-day, with its several immense furniture factories, its wonderful rotary blower foundry, its several extensive grist-mills, its stocking factory, with the clusters of minor mills and factories dotting over its surface, and giving employ- ment to hundreds of men, women and children. In 1846 or thereabouts was built a large flouring mill on the site of the present Counersville Hydraulic Mills, located on the Hydraulic between Sixth and Seventh Streets, and known as the H. L. Wetherald & Son Mill, by H. C. Moore and W. P. Lawrence, engineers on the canal. In 1867 the mill was pur- chased by H. L. Wetherald & Son, and the following year was destroyed by fire, but again rebuilt at once. The main mill building is constructed of brick, and in size is 45x64 feet, and two and half stories high with basement. In 1883 the mill was equijiped with the roller process system, having twelve sets of roll- ers and a capacity for making 150 barrels of flour per day. The firm is P. B. Wood & E. R. Wether- ald. Not far from the date of the building of the mill above described H. L. Wetherald erected a saw-mill just east of the present site of the grist-mill of Keller & Uhl (on the river near Root's foundry), and some later was erected by Messrs. Wetherald & Hughes the present large three and a half story frame mill building of Keller & Uhl. This passed through various hands, and in 1868 the firm of Schlosser & Co. was succeeded by Keller, Uhl & Co. , and some six years ago the firm was changed to its present title. The mill has been operated with five run of stone, and having a capacity of eighty barrels of flour per day. It is now (June, 1884,) undergoing a renova- tion whereby the stones are to be replaced by sixteen double sets of improved rollers of the Stephens pat- ent, which will change the capacity of the mill from 80 to 150 barrels of floiu- per day. The main build- ing of the mill is 40x60 feet. From 1847 to 1875 a very important industry of Counersville was the old Counersville Woolen Mill, which was located near the Counersville Hydraulic Mills, and was established in 1847 by A. & P. H. Roots. In 1852 A. Roots, the senior partner, retired and was succeeded by P. H. & F. M. Roots, who ran the business until 1871, when the name of the firm changed to P. H. Roots & Co. In March, 1875, P. H. withdrew all of his interests as a partner, making his son, Charles P., principal owner and business manager, and the title of the firm became Roots & Co. The goods from the factory, cassimeres, jeans, flannels, blankets, robes, hosiery, waterproofs, worsted bagging, etc., etc., had a market in all parts of the United States. The factory employed on an average forty people the year round. For twenty-eiglit years it is said that an average of 150,000 pounds of wool per year was used at the institution, and the prod- ucts of the loom during that period brought into Counersville $4,500,000. The factory was destroyed by fire on the morning of June 13, 1875. Another of the large flouring-mills erected soon after the completion of the canal was the extensive mill of A. B. Conwell on Eastern Avenue, where the building, though vacated, still stands as a monument to his enterprise. The mill most likely had a capacity of manufacturing from 150 to 200 barrels of flour per day. It was carried on in the Conwell name until its cessation in 1866, when its water-power was destroyed by the great freshet of that year. For a period of probably twenty-five years follow- ing the completion of the canal pork-packing engaged the attention of a number of the citizens of Couners- ville and the county and several extensive houses for the carrying on of that industry in its various branches were erected, and hog slaughtering and pork-packing ranked with the leading industries. Among the large fifms in operation at the same time during the period named were A. B. Conwell & Sons, George W. Frybarger. Daniel Hankins, Hol- ton, Simpson & Co., Caldwell, McCollem & Co., and the Fayette County Hog Slaughtering & Pork Pack- ing Association, with their various changes. Mr. Conwell for a time carried on in the neigh- borhood of his mill and tannery and subsequently on the site of the gas works, and erected the large build- ing still standing on the northeast corner of Central Avenue and Fifth Street. Mr. Frybarger built an extensive building on the site of the Andre Opera House and Caldwell Block, and in these several places the different firms operated. In 1846 there were 6,000 hogs packed in the town; in 1856 about 11,000 were slaughtered and packed, the firms being A. B. Conwell & Sons and J. Hol- ton & Co. ; the price paid was $6 per hundred. 150 HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. In 1858 Conwell & Sons killed for Daniel Hankins, and by all firms there were over 25,000 hogs slaught- ered in the town; in 1862 the firms of Caldwell & Co. slaughtered upward of 13,000 hogs which aver- aged 2-42 pounds. In February, 1862, the Fayette County Hog Slaughtering & Pork Packing Association was organ- ized with capital stock of $18,000. Bezaled Beeson was chosen President and James Heron Secretary of the Association. They purchased the old Frybarger property, where the business of the Association was carried on while they did business and subse- quently by others engaged in the business, which closed with the season of 1873-74, Caldwell & Co. being the last firm engaged in the business, and in 1872-73 they killed 28,000 hogs. The several largo mills and pork-packing houses required thousands of barrels, which in main were manufactured in the town, adding another industry of no small note. In 1845 Valentine Michael began this branch of trade along the Hydraulic between Fifth and Sixth Streets and carried it on until 1864, when he was succeeded by John Uhl, who did an extensive busi- ness until 1870 and was then succeeded by the pres- ent proprietor of the business, Henry Weitsel. Mr. Weitsel now employs four men. Mr. Uhl while engaged in the business made about 18,000 barrels per year. In 1865 Florentine Michael, a son of Valentine, began the same business and is yet carrying it on in the southern part of the city. He works seven men and manufactures some 12,000 barrels per year. Not a great deal was done in the way of carriage manufacturing until about 1850, about which time the firm of Drew & McCracken began the manufac- ture of buggies and carriages on Central Avenue near Sixth Street, but the shops were ot short life. In 1851 William P. & Andrew Applegate began the same branch of business on Central Avenue near Fifth Street and the firm carried on extensively until in 1870, when owing to the death of William P., the shop was sold to Hemy & Swikley and they in a short time to J. B. Mcl'arlan. The Applegates worked on an average of from ten to fifteen hands the year through. About the time the Applegate firm commenced business, a firm under the title of Ware & Veatch opened up a carriage manufactory on Sixth Street near the Hydraulic. The firm lasted several years, when Mr. Veatch (Charles) became the proprietor, and the business sto2:)ped prior to 1857. In 1857 J. B. McFarlan established the extensive carriage and buggy manufactory now doing business under the name of the McFarlan Carriage Company. The old Veatch shop fell into his possession, which was his place of beginning. He has since added unto his shops, until they now compose quite a clus ter of large buildings, situated on either side of Sixth Street just west of Central Avenue, on which is also a portion of the woi-ks. The company, com- prising J. B., C. E., J., W. W. and J. E. McFarlan was formed in 1883. They manufacture carriages and buggies, and employ seventy five men the year round, turning out hundreds of vehicles. In 1884 was organized the Connersville Buggy Company (successors' to Batavia Buckboard Com- pany), and located in the large mill building on the corner of Eastern Avenue and Charles Street, for- merly occupied as a planing-mill. The building is large and commodious, and the company works from forty to fifty hands, and will likely make during the coming year 1,500 vehicles. The officers of the com- pany are J. N. Huston, President; J. D. Larned, Treasiirer; L. T. Bower, Secretary, and John W. Pohlmaa, Superintendent of Manufactures. The tanning business has been carried on in Con- nersville from the very beginning of the village. Besides the old Rees, Conwell and others elsewhere referred to, the business was carried on where the hominy mill now is, and in that vicinity for many years. Forty odd years ago Brown & Bundrant were tanners there. The yard tiually passed into the pos- session of John L. Gilchrist, and has only recently ceased. A year or so ago, in that neighborhood, the Myer Bros, began the business, and are now car- rying on in that line on a small scale. About the year 1846 William F. (iephart, of Dayton, Ohio, erected a portion of the Root's foun- dry building, and in it started a stove foundry, and after operating several years in one end of the build- ing, John Ensley, of Richmond, began the manu- facture of machinery, threshing-machines, steam- engines, etc. Mr. Gephart sold to William J. Han- kins. In about 1855 Mr. Ensley, in connection with James Mount and Josiah Mullikin, erected the large brick building on Eastern Avenue near the Cinoiu- nati, Hamilton & Indianapolis Railroad, at a cost of 14,000, and in it carried on the manufacture of vari- ous kinds of machinery, threshing-machines, engines, sorgham-mills, etc.. etc. Mr. Ensley soon went out, and the firm became Erwin, Mount & Mullikin, and under that title the business there ceased, and the building was sold in 1866 to Wetherald & Sons. Previous to the selling of the building Mr. Mullikin had I'ented the old foundry building of Mr. Hankins, and in it carried on the same business as the firm of Erwin, Mount & Mullikin had been engaged in, he having the entire building, Hankius having gone out. _-' r ^f HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 153 The successors to Mr. Mullikin were E. & E. L. Mul- likin, who continued the business until in 1863, when it was discontinued. In January, 1864 the foundry building was sold to Messrs. P. H. &. F. M. Roots, who then began the manufacture of a i-otary force blast blower at Con- nersville, and in connection with the foundry carried on a machine shop. The blower was of their own invention, which was developed about 1860, and until 1864 manufactured at other machine shops. From 1860 to 1870 their patents were covered by fif- teen different issues. Since the death of Mr. P. H. Roots the Foundry has been carried on by the other brother and in the Roots name. It now comprises throe buildings, one of which is three stories high, and the others two stories each — dimensions 75x40 feet, 70x30 feet and 60x40 feet, all well equipped with improved machin- ery. The works are located in the south end of the city near the river. Some seventy-five men are con- stantly employed. Since the beginning there have been manufactured at this foundry and sold in this country over 10,000 blowers, and as many more in foreign countries, 5,000 of which are now in use in England. The blower has been awarded first medals and premiums at the Paris Exposition in 1867; Vienna Exposition in 1873, and at the Centennial Exposi- tion in 1876. At the foundry are now manufactured force blast blowers, portable forges and gas ex- hausters. The beginning of the manufacture of furniture in Connersville, which has resulted in the four large factories now in the city, dates back to the year 1865. In May of this year A. C. Cooley, a cabinet- maker and furniture dealer, and Warren Wanee, a carpenter, united their business and began the manu- facture of furniture in the old factory building still standing near the Water Works. In the October following they dissolved. A month later a company composed of A. C. Cooley, George W. Gregg and William Newkirk, for the manufacture of furniture, was formed, and occupied the factory building, here- tofore referred to, by the Water Works, continuing together until in 1869 (manufacturing and carry- ing on retail business down town), when they dis- solved, Mr. Newkirk possessed of the factory build- ing and machinery, and Cooley & Gregg the retail property. Probably six months later Gregg sold his interest to Alexander Morrison, and in 1S70 Cooley, Morrison & Co. began operations as a fur- niture manufacturing company in the old foundry building on Eastern Avenue. They continued there until July of the same year, when they removed to a shop on Central Avenue, previously occupied by Messrs. Wanee & Martin as a carpenter shop, and there continued their business until in 1874, when it was merged into a stock company. The factory of the Cooley-Morrison Furniture Manufacturing Association is on the corner of Seventh and Mason Streets, the main building being a sub- stantial brick four stories high, and in size is 40x120 feet. The President of the Association is Curtis Wright, and T. J. Rittenhouse Secretary and Treas- urer. They employ 100 hands and manufacture walnut and ash bureaus, dressers, wash-stands, bed- steads, and dress case and bureau suits. At the time Mr. Newkirk came into possession of the old factory he associated with him Herman Munk in the manufacture of furniture, and in 1874 Newkirk sold out to James E. Roberts, and the firm became Munk & Roberts, and in 1884 the present company styled "Munk & Roberts Furniture Co.," manufacturers of suits, bureaus, and wash-stands. The factory is located in the northwestern out-skirts of the city along the track of the Whitewater Valley Railroad. They have two large substantial brick buildings, one of which is four stories high, and in size 60x100 feet, built in 1878, and the other, erected in 1883, is five stories high and is 50x140 feet. One hundred and fifty workmen are employed on an aver- age. President, H. Munk; Secretary and Treasurer, J. E. Roberts. Mr. Newkirk, on selling his interests to James E. Roberts in 1874, formed the Indiana Furniture Com- pany, with the following named incorporators : Will- iam Newkirk, J. B. McFarlan, John W. Ross, J. M. Wilson, B. F. Claypool, G. C. and F. A. Hanson. The company was organized in September, 1874, with a capital stock of $50,000. The officers were W. Newkirk, President; W. H. Wherrett, Secretary and Treasurer. The capital stock has been twice increased, and is now $100,000. The factory is located at the south end of Eastern Avenue. The original building was constructed in 1874, being five stories high, and a second building was erected in 1876. It is four stories high, and each are 120x40 feet. An additional building was erected in 1878. The company employs 160 men, and probably on an average manufacture 120,000 pieces per year. The articles manufactured are confined exclusively to ash, walnut and cherry sets. Present officers: William Newkirk, President; George M. Sinks, Secretary and Treasurer. The Connersville Furniture Manufactui'ing Com- pany was organized as a joint stock company in Feb- ruary, 1882, with the following officers, who still retain their positions: F. M. Roots, President; Charles Mount, Vice-President; N. W. Wright, Sec- retary; E. B. Hawkins, Superintendent factory. The factory is located nearly opposite to that of Munk & Roberts, and the main building is of brick, 8 154 HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. six stories high, and in size 50x150 feet. They man- ufacture walnut and other hard wood furniture, mak- ing a specialty of bed room suits. They employ on an average 150 workmen. On Sunday morning, January 26, 1884, a fire occurred at the factory, by which it was damaged, as adjusted by the several insurance companies, to the extent of $14,500. What was known as the coffin factory, located where the Connersville Furniture Company are now doing business, originated with John Wanee, who along toward the latter part of the decade between 1860 and 1870 began the manufacture of a few cof- fins, in connection with other business. Subsequently he associated with him in the enterprise T. J. Parry. In October, 1874, J. H. Bailey and Samuel Beck boaght an interest in the business, and in January, 1875, the partnership closed, and a stock company was formed with a capital of $57,000. The factory comprised several buildings, one of which was erected in 1869 by Martin & Wauee, and the other, a five- story brick, 80x40 feet, in 1874, at a cost of $13,700. In May, 1879, the factory was destroyed by fire, when seventy -five men and boys and fifteen girls were thrown out of employment. The stock at the time of the fire comprised 7,000 coffins, 5,000 of which were ready for shipment. The loss sustained was estimated at from $60,000 to $70,000. The Western Hosiery Mills are located at the south end of Central Avenue. Their building is a three-story brick 85x35 feet, erected in 1884. The business was established in 1873 by Leonard Bros., with W. H. Caswell as Superintendent. But one or two machines were used in the beginning, which were operated at the house of the Superin- tendent. Their various places of business in the past have been on the Buckley corner, over the Frybarger store and in the building adjoining the Gentry Livery Stable on Central Avenue. The num- ber of machines used has increased from two to one hundred, the number now in use. In 1881 the Su- perintendent obtained a patent for driving knitting and other light machinery by power, and applied it to the Lamb machines then in use by Leonard Bros., who transferred the right to Chenoweth & Kalph when they purchased the mill, and the present company secured it at the time of the purchase from Cheno- weth & Ralph. From June, 1882, until October, 1883, the firm was Chenoweth & Ralph, at which latter date Mr. Ralph purchased the interest of his partner, and a joint stock company was or- ganized with J. N. Huston as President; Melvin Ellis, Secretary; A. J. Ralph, Manager, and W. H. Caswell, Superintendent. In May, 1884, Mr. Ralph sold his interest to Hub Thomas and retired from the mill. One hundred female operatives are employed at the factory, where a general line of seamless and cut hosiery, mittens, etc., are manufact- ured. In 1875 was started, in part of the old Frybarger pork house, a sash, door and blind factory, by D. W. Andre and J. H. Stewart & Co. This finally became the factory of Downs, Ready & Co., contractors and builders, and manufacturers of sash, doors, blinds, moldings, etc. The firm employ from fifty to sixty Lands. The Connersville Pearl Hominy Company was established in 1882 by C. Ross, Val and J. S. Leon- ard and N. J. Morrison. In May, 1884, Mr. Ross was succeeded by W. H. Wherrett, who is now Presi- dent of the company, and Val Leonard Secretary and Treasurer. The mill is located in the southern part of the city along the Hydraulic; its average dimen- sions 150x40, three stories high, and is fully equipped with improved machinery for the manufact- ure of the new patent process of kiln dried hominy, grits, corn flour, cream meal, pearl meal, etc. In 1877 was erected just north of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Indianapolis Railroad a steam saw-mill by L. T. Bower and H. C. Eliason. The two operated it for a couple of years, when Mr. Eliason became the sole proprietor and is now carrying on the busi- ness. Three or four years ago Messrs. Bower & Tat- man erected the large frame building in which is now carried on the business of the Connersville Buggy Company, and in it started a planing-mill, sash, door and blind factory. This was only operated two or three years. SCHOOLS. Of the early schools of Connersville there is no record. We are reliably informed, however, that the County Seminary building was the first house espec- ially erected for school purposes; in other words, it was the first regular schoolhouso in the village. Prior to this period (1828-29) schools were taught where- ever and whenever it was most convenient to find teachers and quarters for the scholars. Among these can be mentioned a school taught by Charles Don- ovan in a hewod-log-cabin, that stood on the south side of the alley, on the east side of old Main Street, on the site of the Dickson dwelling. This was not far from 1823-24. Subaoqueutly the same man taught in a log building on the east side of what is now called Central Avenue, just south of Third Street. A school is remembered as having been held in a dwelling on Central Avenue, near the old Archi- bald Reed tavern. A Mr. Gilbert and a man by the name of Gray taught in Connersville prior to the building of the seminary. HISTOKY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 155 The County Seminary was established under an act of January 27, 1827. The lirst Board of Trust- ees were George Frybarger, Dr. Philip Mason and James Qroendyke, of which Martin M. Ray was appointed Clerk. The ground selected for its site was designated as Lots Nos. 1 and 2 on the original town plat, which was then owned by Oliver H. Smith. The sum of $510.50, was donated for the erection of a building; the contract for the brick, mason and car- penter work was let to Richard^ Miller for $773, and was to be completed by January 1, 1829. It was to be a brick structure, two stories high, with a pedi- ment and belfry. Samuel C, Sample was appointed to superintend its erection. Thomas Alexander was employed to lath and plaster the liouso for $50. Thomas J. Sample and William Burnett were em- ployed to make the desks, seats and otherwise fur- nish the house for $45, and William McOleary and Julius Whitmore to paint the house at $1.12 J per day (they furnishing the brushes). The building was completed, and school opened in it by Samuel W. Parker, Monday, July 13, 1829. Caleb B. Smith, who succeeded Mr. Ray as Clerk, gave notice "that the establishment of a seminary has been at the expense of the county, and the object of the man- agers is to afford to the youth of the county an oppor- tunity of acquiring a good academic education." The year was divided into four terms. There was an elementary school; and English scientific course the latter being divided into two classes, namely ju' nior and senior. In the elementary school were taught orthography, reading, 'penmanship and arithmetic (Pike's system) through the Rule of Practice. In the junior year arithmetic was completed, English grammar (Greenleaf), ancient and modern geogra- phy (Worcester), book-keeping through single .entry, elements of history with historical charts (J. E. Worcester), weekly recitations in declamation and composition. The senior class comprised rhetoric (Jameson), logic (Hodge's), natural philosophy and chemistry (Keating), algebra (Bounycastle), geome- try (Playfair's), surveying (Gummerie's), mensuration (Bonnycastle). Latin, Greek and French were to be taught with higher mathematics if applied for. Students that completed course were entitled to diplomas, and those completing it in part to certiticates of prog, ress. The tuition was $2, $3 and $5_ respectively for departments named. Subsequent early teachers in the seminary were Elder M. Bradley, a graduate of Brown University, R. I , and Harvey Nutting, the latter having taught for a long period in the various schools of the county. The number of pupils in attendance in the seminary in the fall of 133U was 100. Under date of August 10, 1832, it was stated in print, "The citizens of Con- neraville and Fayette County, generally, are respect- fully informed that Mr. Harvey Nutting, recently from Boston, will open a school in their seminary, on Monday the 13th of August. * * * ]vir. Nutting is a stranger among us; but from what we have seen of his deportment and ascertained in rela- tion to his qualifications as a teacher, we are disposed to recommend him to the favorable regard of our fel- low citizens." On Christmas Day, 1833, a subscription paper was circulated for the purpose of raising means to purchase a bell to be hung in the cupola of the building. The names of the subscribers are set forth below with the amount subscribed: Joha Williams |1 00 D. Beek $1 00 .Joseph Moffitt 100 T.R.Lewis .TO N. Claypool 1 00 M. Grume 1 00 D. Wrigtit 1 00 R. Griffis 1 00 H. Coombs 1 00 J. Mclntosli 2.5 J. Vandegrift 100 R.Miller 50 J. Sample 25 William Walton 100 J.Tate 25 R.T.Brown 50 C.B.Smith 50 Hankins & Mount 2 00 J. Haclileman 50 G. Qinn .50 J.Custer 25 F. T. Walling 12i H. Goodlander .50 Joseph Bane 50 D. Rench 1 00 O. H.Smith 1 00 William Kendre 25 J. DeCarap 50 S. Scofield 25 A. B. Conwell 100 M. Helm 50 S. W. Parker 40 T.Alexander 12i M, Fay 50 J. G. Edgerton 50 Total $24 00 The bell weighed seventy-five and a half pounds, which was to cost 40 cents per pound — $30.20. For several years, beginning with 1830, Mrs. Haynes taught what she termed a female academy - in the village. In the absence of records we can only give a meager account of the schools of the village for some years prior to 1853. Among the early teachers oth- er than those given: J. G. Edgerton. J. B. Tate, Mrs. Qinn, Harriet Mcintosh and Revs. Nelson and Jenkins. The basement of the old Methodist Church (now German Presbyterian) was used for school purposes. Up to probably 1840 the Trustees furnished the house and teachers generally fixed their own tuition. For the next decade or more there was not much free school, but considerable pay school. In 1843 it appears from an article of agreement before us that Connersville was styled District No. 7, Town 14, Range 12, of which the School Trustees were Josiah MuUikin and Richard Winchel. They employed John B. Tate to teach the common branches in Connersville for six months, beginning May 17, in consideration for which Mr. Tate was to receive $22 per month. In 1853 the School Board consisted of Messrs. Hagerman, Crawford and Applegate, and in Septem- 156 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. ber of thatjyear the following was adopted: Whereas, the graded free school presents advantages not to be found in the older systems, it is desirable to have introduced into the corporation schools as soon as possible, bat in view of the expense involved in pay- ing for tuition and other contingences which would follow on the adoption of said system in all its pro- visions, and in the further consideration that all the means to be used in buying grounds and building schoolhouses are yet to be provided, it is thought advisable to introduce a plan. The corporation School Trustees shall furnish school-rooms, including furni- ture together with fuel to warm the same, on condi- tion, first, the Trustee must have satisfactory assur- ance that proper inducement will be presented to secure as many pupils as may be thought advisable. Second, that proper efforts will be made to introduce and carry out the plan in compliance with such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the person or persons whose duty it may be to direct and control the same. All teachers engaging under this manage- ment will fix their own price of tuition, and make their own collections. Be it further resolved that to execute the above plan the corporation School Trus- tees shall appoint an Educational Committee to ba composed of two branches, first, an executive branch to consist of three members, whose duty it shall be to prepare all the rules and regulations necessary in carrying out said system, viz., to receive the applica- tion of teachers, and to make all proper arrangements to enable them (the teachers) to enter upon the dis- charge of their duties, to arrange the division of the grades, to select a series of text-books, and, in short, attend to all such duties as devolve upon the general Superintendent of the district school. They will apply to the corporation School Board for the school room, when wanted, and for any repairs or material of any kind which may be required. Second, an auxiliary branch to be composed of three members from each of the three school districts, whose duty it shall be to assist the teachers in making up their schools, and also to confer with the citizens generally on the subject of the above management, giving all the information necessary to encourage and promote the desired success. The Executive Committee consisted of Kevs. J. B. Brownlee, E. G. Wood and William Pelan. The auxiliary, Committee was, in First District, Joseph Jus- tice, James Miller and James Mount; in Second Dis- trict, William Hawk, N. H. Burk and Alexander Morrison; in Third District William Brown, William Tindall and John Farner. A suitable building could not be procured and the Trustees determined to abandon the hope of opening school for the present. Subsequently a School Board consisting of N. K Burk, J. Justice and E. B. Thomas was elected by the people and remained in office until after the erection of the present school building. The teachers in 1854 were Elenor Jones, Catha- rine Farmer, Harriet Mcintosh, John W. McLain, Euphemia Mullikin, L. J. Beach, H. R. Grosvenor, Hannah Ginn and O. Aborn. The enumeration of scholars for the year was 612; whole number en- rolled during the year, 429; average daily attend- ance, 249. The male teachers received $36 per month, and the females |20. The common branches and astronomy were taught. In September, 1855, the County Commissioners leased the lot on which the seminary stood for a period of ninet^'-nine years to' the School Trustees, and at once steps were taken for the erection of a school building thereon. In December of that year A. Hatton sub- mitted the following plan for building: Dimensions, 86 feet front by 69 J feet deep; three stories high; four rooms, 35x30 in each story, with halls 12 feet wide, extending through the entire breadth of the house. The building was to be built in the following spring, the contractor being Sherman Scotield. It was not completed and ready for occupancy, we un- derstand, until 1858. From 1858 to 1860 John Brady was the Superin- tendent, being the first to fill that office of the Con- nersville schools. From 1860 to 1865 there is a miss- ing link in the/ecords. In the latter year Charles Roehl was elected Superintendent, and served in that capacity for two years. (During this time the term of free schools was six months, and the remainder of the school year was taught a pay school.) From 1867 to 1871 J. L. Rippetoe served in the capacity of Superintendent, the first year of which period con- sisted of eight months (the greatest length of any year since the establishment of the institution) Pay school pieced out the year. During the four years of Prof. • Rippetoe's management, considerable change was made in the manner of instructing. In 1871 a Mr. Hughes was chosen Superintendent, and remained as such one yeai", when succeeded by a Mr. Housekeeper, who was compelled to resign on account of poor health, just before the close of the school year. In 1873 J. L. Rippetoe, the present worthy Superin- tendent, again assumed the management of the schools, which position he has since continuously filled. The length of the school year since 1868 has been nine months. The first commencement exercises of the school were held June 14 1878, when a class of seven were graduated from the institution, Charles Koehl, then President of the School Board, presenting the diplo- mas. In this connection it is but proper to refer briefly HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 157 to the late Harvey Nutting, who for a long period of years was at the head of educational matters in the county, and for more than a dozen years was the pioneer of higher education in Connersville. "Uncle Harvey, " as he was called, was a native of Massa- chusetts, born in 1808. He received a classical edu- cation at Amherst College, and in 1832 located in Connersville, where he resided the greater part of the time until his death, which occurred September 7, 1884. CHURCHES. The Methodist Episcopal Church. — It is said that the first Methodist class In Connersville met and was formed at the residence of Robert Swift and that Mr. Swift was appointed the Leader. (Mr. Swift settled at Connersville in 1818). In 1821 a circuit was formed by Rev. John Hav- ens, a local preacher, which included the village of Connersville and was styled the Connersville^Circuit, and came in the Conference the following year. This was under the Presiding Eldership of Rev. Alexander Cummins. Rev. James Murray was appointed to the circuit in 1822 and in 1823 Rev. Aaron Wood, who remarks that "when I went to Connersville in Sep- tember, 1823, there was a society of eight women and two men in town — Robert Swift and Thomas Rutter — until Joshua Mcintosh moved there from Dayton, Ohio." (This was in 1824.) In 1825 the site of the present church building in which services are held by the German Presbyter- ian congregation, on the south side of Fourth Street between Water Street and Eastern Avenue, was pur- chased from John McCormack, Sr. The deed of conveyance bears the date of November 8, 1825. The Trustees to whom the deed was made were Joshua Mcintosh, Thomas Hinkson, David Melton, Isaac Wood and Charles Donivan. During the following summer a brick building 22x32 feet was erected which was the first building dedicated to God as a place of public worship in the city. This building was used until 1840, when it was removed and the present brick edifice now standing on the same site erected. This church edifice served the Methodist congregation as a place of worship until the year 1872, when it was sold to the German Presbyterian congregation. The Methodists then worshiped in the court house until in January, 1873, when they came in possession of the Grand Opera House of the city, which they had purchased in December, 1872, at a cost of $16,500. In the fall of 1848 the church in Connersville was divided, and two societies formed, one remaining in the old church and the other located on Western Avenue. The western society built a house of wor- ship on Western Avenue, which was subsequently converted into a parsonage, and which continues to be occupied as such. The two Connersville societies became the heads of two circuits known as the East aad West Connersville Circuits. In 1850-51 the two societies in Connersville were made into stations, and continued as such for three years. The pastors in the Western charge were, in 1851, F. W. White; 1852, Jacob Whiteman; 1853, E. D.Long. In the Eastern charge, 1851, J. B. Lathrop; 1852, Lewis Dale; 1853, Joseph Colton. In 1853 S. T. Gillett succeeded to the Presiding Eldership on the district. The preachers and the Presiding -El- ders were clearly of the opinion that the two charges should be consolidated into one and under their judi- cious management the consolidation was effected and the union was ratified by the Bishop of the next ses- sion of the annual Conference, and John W. Sullivan made the station preacher. The following list contains the names of the pas- tors from that period, they coming in the fall of the year indicated: 1855, S. P. Crawford; 1856-57, E. G. Tucker; 1858-59, J. G. Chafee; 1860-61, C. Tinsley; 1862- 63, J. Cotton; 1864, J. B. Lathrop; 1865-66, R. M. Barnes; 1867-68-69, J. S. Tevis; 1870-71-72, G. L. Curtis; 1873-74-75, J. K. Pye; 1876-77-78, J. G. Chafee; 1879, E. L. Dolph; 1880-81, F. C. Hol- liday; 1882-83, J. S. Tevis, the present incum- bent. The Fifteenth Session of the Indiana Conference was held in Connersville in 1846, and the Sixteenth Session of the Southeastern Indiana Conference was held here in 1867. The Presbyterian Church. — In the year 1824 the Cincinnati Presbytery of the Old School branch of the Presbyterian Church sent Rev. Daniel Hayden^ to Connersville to preach, and, if practicable, to organize a church according to their confession of faith. Mr. Hayden arrived in the vil- lage on Saturday, October 2, preached in the court liouse the next day, and on Monday, the 4th, organ- ized a church. A. Van Vleet, Adam Smeltser, and John Boyd were elected Ruling Elders. For a num- ber of years after their o"rganization they were with- out a settled pastor, but were supplied with preach- ing from time to time by the Presbytery. In 1833 they built a church on the lot now occupied by Cald- well's Block, facing west. The building was 25x35 feet, and was erected by Sherman Scofield. The lot was deeded to Adam Smeltser, David Ferree and Julius Whitmore, the Trustees, by John Williams. It was dated March 2, 1833. They hero worshiped until about the year 1845, when the Trustees sold the property to George Frybarger, and purchased the j ground where the Christian Church now stands, from 158 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Abraham B. Conwell. This deed was made April 14, 1845. The first regular pastor of the church of which we can find anj record, was Rev. J. M. Stone. Mr. Stone served them for a number of years, when his connection with them as pastor was dissolved, and he was succeeded by Rev. Charles Sturdevant, who re- mained with the church as pastor until 1848, when his successor became Rev. William Pelan. Mr. Pelan was their pastor for twenty years, preaching his farewell sermon on the first Sabbath of June, 1868. Mr. Pelan was more extensively known through- out this valley than any other minister of that denom- ination. He was a popular man with the masses, both in and out of the church. From the fall of 186S until the fall of 1869 the Rev. H. M. Shockley supplied the pulpit. In 1870 the pulpit was supplied by Rev. John H. Link, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of this city. In 1851 the Hamilton Presbytery authorized Rev. Daniel Tenney, of Oxford, to organize a New School Church in Connersville. Accordingly, on the 16th of August, 1851, the organization was effected in the Temperance Hall. James McCann and P. M. Roots were elected Elders. For a time this church was supplied with ministers by order of their Presbytery. The following ministers have served this branch, known as the Second Presbyterian Chiirch, in the order in which they are named: Rev. J. Steward, for two years; Rev. James Brownlee, two years; Rev. Eli B. Smith, two years. It was during Mr. Smith's administration, and on the 3d day of September, 1855, that their church building was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God. Mr. Smith was succeeded by Rev. B. F. Morris, who served the pastorate two years. He was followed by Rev. Daniel A. Bassett, and the latter by Rev. A. D. Jimeson. Next came Rev. Alexander Parker, who served the pastorate from June 3, 1866, to October 24, 1870. Mr. Parker was a good man and an efficient pastor. In November, 1869, in the city of Pitt8burgh,Penn., the two schools of the Presbyterian Church of the United States were united, and on the 24th of the following October the First and Second Churches of Connersville became one church. April 6, 1871, the building of the Second Church was chosen by vote as the house of worship. The building was repaired in 1876, and reopened Sunday, August 27, 1876, with a sermon by Dr. Coojier, of Covington Ky. The Christian Church. — In the summer of 1832 Dr. R. T. Brown, then of Rush County, settled in Connersville, and here engaged in the practice of medicine. In August of that year Gabriel Ginn and wife Hannah removed to town from the Judge Webb neighborhood in the country. These were all mem- bers of the Reformed Church, as it was designated; and in October of the year referred to above, they held services in the court house, which were conducted by Elder John O'Kane, a Virginian, though coming to Milton in Wayne County, from Lebanon, O., in the spring of 1832. O'Kane was engaged in teaching at Milton and vicinity, and preached on Sunday in the country schoolhouses. The meeting at the court house in October was of several days duration, and resulted in a number of acce-ssions to the little band. Elder O'Kane made the village another visit on Christ- mas, and in January, 1833, the church was organized; and shortly afterward the Elder removed to Conners- ville. In the spring following Elder Jesse Holton removed from the State of Kentucky to a farm some two miles north of Connersville. Elders Holton and Brown served the church in a pastoral relation until the former's death in 1839, and the failing health of the latter caused him to abandon the practice of medi- cine in 1841. Among the first membership of the church were Dr. R. T. Brown and wife, Gabriel Ginn and wife Hannah, Jesse Holton and wife, also son, A. C. Holton, and daughter Elizabeth, Mary Helm, Mrs. Jacob Vandegrift, Rhoda McKinney and Elijah West (colored). For two years the society met in the court house, when their place of meeting became the upper room of the county seminary, which was occupied until the brick building on the bluff on East Fifth Street was completed in January, 1841. This house of worship served them until 1872, when they purchased the church building they now occupy on West Fourth Street, of the Presbyterian congregation, which they remodeled and improved and made of it a neat and beautiful church edifice. This was dedicated June 1, 1873, with a sermon delivered by Elder Isaac Errett, editor of the Christian Standard, of Cincinnati. Among others of the Eldei's preaching for this people have been Thomas Conghley, Jacob Vail, Charles Evans, Rolla Henry, Samuel Wilson, Robert L. Howe, W. J. Irvin and A. A. Knight. The pres- ent Elder of the charge is W. W. Witmer. St. Gabriel's Catholic Church. — This religious organization has had an existence in Connersville for thirty-eight years. The first priest visiting Conners- ville in a missionary sense was Rev. Father John Ryan, in 1846; he was then a resident priest of the parish at Richmond, this State. He visited the people of Connersville until in the summer of 1848. His successor was Rev. Father William Doyle, who too, was a resident of Richmond. He had charge of the Con- nersville Mission from May, 1849, until August, 1853. The residence of Andrew Apert was one of the early places where mass was saidj in Connersville. The HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 159 ground on North Eastern Avenue, upon which now stands the old brick house of worship of the parish, was purchased by Father Doyle, and the church erected thereon in 1851 and named St. Gabriel's. The first resident priest of Connersville was Rev. Father Henry Peters, who came to the parish in 1853 and completed the church structure and erected the present parsonage. Father Peters served the church as its pastor for twenty-one years, severing his con- nection with it by death, in January, 1874. His suc- cessor was Rev. Father Peter Bischof, who, in 1876, was succeeded by Father J. B. H. Leepe, and he, in 1881, by Father J. Rudolph, who is still in charge- The present magnificent and commodious church edifice of the congregation was commenced in the spring of 1882, the corner-stone being laid June 11 of that year. The services were conducted by Rt. Rev. Bishop F. S. Chatard, D. D., of Vincennes, assisted by Revs. Ferdinand, of Indianapolis; Peters, of Oldenburg; Fischer, of Reading, Ohio; DeArco, of Liberty; Oster, of Cambridge City, and Rudolph, of Connersville. The church was 'dedicated to the service of Almighty God, June 15, 1884. The dedi- catory services were after the usual custom of the church on such occasions and were imposing. The same Bishop who laid the corner-stone conducted the services at the dedication and delivered the sermon. There were present many clergymen from various parts of the country, and a great concourse of people who participated in the exercises. The beautiful edifice, a credit to its builders, and an ornament to the city, is located in the northwest- ern part of the city, and is constructed of brick with stone trimmings. It is of Gothic design. The architect was D. A. Bohlen of Indianapolis, and it was built by Downs, Ready & Co. , of Connersville. The length of the building is 165 feet; width 56 feet proper, and 75 feet across the wings; the height of the ceiling is 40 feet, and the top of the spire is 185 feet from the gi-ound; cost of building in the neigh- borhood of $30,000. On the erection of the old church in 1851, school was held in the small basement below. In 1872 the present commodious brick schoolhouse was com- pleted, since which time the schools have been con- ducted by the Sisters of Providence. Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church. — Episcopal services were commenced in this parish under the charge of Rev. William Miller, November 3, 1850, the Town Hall being used for the purposes. The organization of the parish was accomplished May 24, 1852. A chapel building 40x22 feet adjoining the present edifice was erected in 1855, and services were 'first held in it on the visitation of Bishop Upfold, April 15, 1855. November 17, 1856, the corner-stone of the pres- ent beautiful edifice situated on the southeast corner of Eastern Avenue and Sixth Street was laid by Bishop Upfold with appropriate religious services. The stone was laid in the name of the Holy Trinity. At the site of the church the Bishop and clergy with the congregation read alternately the 122d Psalm. A number of articles enclosed in a leaden box were deposited in the stone by the Rector. After the cere- monies they proceeded to the chapel, ^where^an able and eloquent address was delivered by the Bishop. The edifice was completed and consecrated Novem- ber 1, 1859, by Rt. Rev. George Uphold, D. D., built mainly through the untiring efforts of Mrs. Mary S. Helm. The style of the building is early English or first pointed, purely Gothic, after a chaste and beautiful design furnished by Frank Wills, architect, of New York. Mr. Miller continued his services with the congregation for probably a year or more, and later Rev. J. W. Stewart became the regular Rector of the church and served for a period of about six years, closing with the beginning of the war of the Rebellion. Missionaries coming from the cities of Indianapolis and Richmond served the charge for a time, then in October, 1868, Rev. W. W. Hibben became identified with the parish as Lay Reader and was subsequently ordained as minister in charge. From 1873 to 1875 Rev. J. S. Harrison, M. D., served the parish as Missionary Rector. Sup- plies by visiting Rectors were then had until in 1879, when Rev. Jesse R. Bicknell gave to this people semi- monthly and quarterly Sunday services, and follow- ing him in 1880 Rev. J. Clausen, who gave them regular times until in 1881, since which time until the spring of 1884 they have been under the mis- sionary auspices of Rev. T. Test, M. D., of Richmond, The German Presbyterian, Church was organized May 7, 1871, by Rev. F. F. Friedgen, of Shelbyville. The original membership was twenty-four. Until in 1873 services were held in the Presbyterian Church building on Fourth Street, now the house of worship of the Christian society of the city. In 1873 the German congregation purchased the building they have since occupied of the Methodists, for which they paid $2,650. It is a one-story brick building with basement, located on Fourth Street between Water and Eastern Avenue. Mr. Friedgen has served the congregation continuously from its organi- zation, and also the Sabbath-school as its superin- tendent. The present church membership is about eighty. The African Methodist Episcopal Church. — Some forty odd years ago a few of the colored people of the city and vicinity occasionally assembled for relig- ious worship wherever suitable quarters could be 160 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. found, and were administered to by Rev. William Head, of Decatur County. In an upper room of a building on the Heineman corner, and in an old log- lioiise in the northern part of town (on Eastern Avenue) were amoag the places above referred to where worship was occasionally held. In subsequent years an organization was effected, and the little frame church building, now occupied as a dwelling- house, standing on the brow of the hill just east of their present church, was erected, which was used until in 1872, when the present brick house of wor- ship on Fifth Street was purchased of the Christian Church for $2,500. Among the early members of the society were Mrs. Margaret Turner, George Mitchell, Mrs. Dolly Wil- son, James Freeman and wife, James Franklin and wife, and a Mrs. Powell. Revs. Davis, Woodfork, Daniel Winslow, John Myers, John Payne were some of the early preachers in charge of the congregation. Rev. Charles Jones is the present pastor of the church. The German United Evangelical Church was organized at the court house, in August, 1882, by Rev. F. E. W. Bersch, with a membership of about forty (heads of families). Mr. Bersch served the congregation between one and two years, when suc- ceeded by Rev. C. Thomas, the present incumbent. The society is without a church building, having worshiped since organization in the City Hall. SOCIETIES. Warren Lodge, No. 15, F. & A. M., was institu- ted under a charter October 24, 1820, in an upper room of Sample's Hotel, which was located on the Boutliwest corner of what is now Eastern Avenue and Fifth Street. On this date the following-named seven men met for the purpose named, and constitu- ted the charter members of the Lodge: John Sam- ple, Edward J. Kidd, John Conner, Larkin Sims, Heni'y Bates, Julius Whitmore and Joshua Harlan. At their first meeting John Newland was admitted a Master Mason from some other lodge, and four peti- tions were presented. It is not definitely known who was the first Worshipful Master of the lodge, but from the fact that the name of John Sample appears as approving the Treasui'er's report in December, 1821, it is presumed that he was such oiScor. March 13, 1824, the lodge purchased Lot No. 18 of Larkin Sims, for which was paid $110. March 30 of the same year the lodge removed to a two-story frame building standing thereon. This was subsequently sold to W. M. Smith for 1400. Their next place of assembling was in a room over the saddler shop of Joseph Nelson, which was on Central Avenue, the first meeting at this place being held May 29, 1847. The next move was to a room over what is now the First National Bank, northwest corner of Central Avenue and Fifth Street, where the lodge coatinued to meet until the completion and dedication of the present commodious hall, the third story of the City Hall Building, in 1849. From 1820 to 1878 the lodge had had twenty-three Worshipful Masters. Maxwell Chapter, No. 18, R. A. M., was insti- tuted December 7, 1850, with the following named charter members: J. W. Maxwell, H. P. ; John Higgin- botham, K. ; Caleb B. Smith, S. ; Philip Mason, C. of H. ; William Pelan, P. S. ; G. R. Chitwood, R. A. C. ; William B. Enyart, G. M., 1st V. ; Daniel Bench, G. M., 2d v.; Thomas McGiven, G. M., 3d V. ; W. W. Frybarger, Secretary; and George McCann, Guard. The chajster has at present a membership of about thirty-three, and is officered as follows: A. M. Sinks, H. P. ; G. R. Chitwood, K. ; L. Mc- intosh, S. ; J. D. McNaughton, C. of H. ; John Payne, P. S. ; O. P. Griffith, R. A. C. ; H. C. Eliason, G. M. 3dV.;G. W. Keller. G. M. 2d V.; John Savage, G. M. 1st v.; P. B, Wood, Treasurer; A. Watt, Sec- retary, N. Taylor, Guard. Fayette Council, No 6, R. & S. M., was instituted under charter February 4, 1856, or 28, 1856, Y. D. The charter members and first officers were as follows: William Hacker, T. I. G. M. ; Companion Maxwell, D. I. G. M.; Companion Lynde, P. C. of W.; Com- panion Wolf, Captain of G. ; Companion Higgin- botham. Treasurer; Companion Ramsey, Recorder; Companion Gunn, G. & S. ; Companions Frybarger, Clinedist and Mason. Present membership about thirty. Present officers: A. M. Sinks, I. M. ; L. Mc- intosh, D. I. M. ; Joshua Leach, P. C. of W. ; J. D. McNaughton, C. of G.; P. B. Wood, Treasurer; A. Watt, Recorder; Noah Tryon, S. & S. Fayette Lodge, No. 31, I. 0. O. F., was chartered July 11, 1849, and instituted in an upper room of the building now occiipied by Dr. Vance as a residence on Fourth Street, near the Huston House, then the Canal office, by Special Deputy Thomas Wilson, of Centerville, in the afternoon of August 13, 1849. The charter members and first officers were J. F. Youse, N. G. ; Anthony Watt, V. G.; Calvin Davis, Secretary; H. J. Kern, Treasurer; J. M. Hiatt. The present officers are C. W. Woodcock, N. G. ; A. H. Reiman, V. G. ;l. M. Purt, Recording Secretary; Eli Earl, Permanent Secretary; John C. Bailey, Treasurer. Whitewater Encampment, No. 33, I. O. O. F., was instituted March 17, 1853, by Special Deputy Daniel Moss, assisted by Patriarchs from Cambridge City. The first officers were S. M. Youst, C. P.; William P. Applegate, H. P.; J. M. Hart, S. W.; John F. Youse, J. W.; A. H. Hotchkiss, Scribe; Con- rad Wolf, Treasm'er. The present officers are Thomas ^7, t-nj 8//uj HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 163 Shaw, C. P.; J. L. Bailey, H. P.; I. M. Part, S. W.; G. Woods, J. W. ; Eli Earl, Recording Scribe; A. Watt, F. S. ; E. K. Wetherald, Treasurer. Whitewater Lodge, No. 2557, I. O. O. F., was instituted under disponsation granted May 12, 1884, with twenty-seven charter membor.i. The lirst ofBcers were John Taylor, P. S. ; Columbus Williams, E. S. ; Harvey Smith, Treasurer; C. A. Bailey, N. F. ; Frank Davis, P. & F. ; Jefferson Benson, N. G. ; C. P. Har- rington, P. N. G. ; James Pearce, V. G. ; Charles Van Horn, R. S. to N. V. ; Latin Dudgeon, L. S. to N. G. ; Thomas Collins, R. S. to V. G. ; John Williams, L. S. to V. G.; Charles Rice, W.; Robert Pointer, C; Levi Jennings, L G. ; Jefferson Smith, W. C. ; Henry Anderson, M. ; Sylvester Williams, A. Connersville Lodge, No 11, Knights of Pythias, was instituted November 18, 1870, by C. P. Carty, with nineteen charter members. The first officers were W. H. Hatton, C. C. ; James Williams, V. C. ; W. H. Oroaton, P.; M. Kahn, K. of R. & S.; Thomas Shaw, M. of E. ; George Hatton, M. of F. ; John Snider. M. at A; T. E. Woodward, J. G.; Charles Holland, O. G. The present officers are G. C. Pelzel, P. C; L. D. Batavia, C. C; A. D. Terrell, V. C; George Rees, P.; Eli Earl, M. of E. ; E. E. Genn, M. of F. ; W. F. Downs, K. of R. & S.; Alexander James, M. at A.; A. G. Honey, J. G. ; Samuel Bal- lard, O. G. Carnahan Division, No. 17, Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias, was instituted February 11, 1884, by James R. Carnahan, of Indianapolis. The charter membership was forty-nine, the largest of the seventeen divisions in the State. The officers chosen were as follows: J. H. Fearis, S. K. C; Fred Pfaefif- lin; S. K. L. C. ; W. F. Downs, S. K. H. ; Lon D. Batavia, S. K. G. ; G. C. Pelzel, S. K. S. ; J. C Ocheltree, S. K. R.; C. F. Serodino, S. K. T. Valley Lodge No. 31, U. O. of H., was instituted in the hall of the P. O. S. of A., by the Grand Lodge representative, J. J. Taylor, of Indianapolis, on the 20th of March, 1883, with a charter membership of thirty-six. The first officers were L. L. Broaddus, P. P. ; J. D. McNaughton, P. ; Clinton Hudson, V. P. ; Dr. L. D. Dillman, Instructor: T. H. Barton, R. S.; J. D. Larnard, F. S.; D. C. Banes, Treasurer; Rev. T. M. Wiles, Chaplain; Charles Ford, C; W. G. Plummer, I. G. ; B. C. Anderson, O. G. ; Dr. L. D. Dillman, M. E. The present officers are as follows: J. D. McNaughton, P. P.; T. H. Barton, P.; J. M. Backhouse, V. P. ; W. C. Porter, R. S. ; Joseph E Petty, F. S.; D. C. Banes, Treasurer; Rev. T. M- Wiles, Chaplain; J. M. Shephard, C. ; Frank Hoover, I. G.; C. N. Hudson, O. G.; Dr. G. Pigman, M. I. Washington Camp, No. 1, P. O. S. of A., was constituted by authority of the National Camp of Philadelphia, who granted it a charter July 31,1875. The charter members were Park Smith, H. A. Nichols, Thomas S. Cline, John S. Carr, M. P. Wherrett, J. E. McFarlan, C. M. Harrison, John Verdan, R. I. Savage, L. S. Morris, J. W. Foutz, S. Bullard, Frank Miller, J. F. Youse, Jr., William Hoover, G. S. Johnson, W. W. Morse, Morrison Long, William Harrell, John Parson, W. Kerr, John Henry and John Miller. The present membership of the Encampment and Council is about fifty. Pres- ent officers: Frank Miller, Pres. ; E. J. Whelan, V. P.; Joseph Rinehart, M. of F. & C. ; J. M. Waldrip, R. S. ; T. H. Stoops, F. S.; J. H. Fritch, Treasurer; S. W. Hutchins, Conductor; Charles Snow, I. G. ; William Enos, O. G. Fort Fayette Council, W. D., P. O. S. of A., instituted at the same time with Washington Camp, having same charter members, officers, etc. Connersville Post, No. 126, G. A. R., was insti- tuted by P. C. Iliff, O. D. Webster, Adjt. Pixell and Q. M. Sergt. Campbell, of Richmond, Ind. , January 9, 1883, at which time thirty-five comrades were mus- ; tered in, constituting the charter membership. The first officers of the Post were J. A. Dunn, P. C. ; C. W. Plumber, S. V. C. ; Capt. Johnson, J. W. C. ; W. N. Young. O. D. ; H. Van Kooten, O. G. ; John W. Ross, Q. M.; James M. Waldrip, Surgeon; T. M. Little, Chaplain; W. A. Jewess, Adjutant; T. J. Clark, S. M. ; Robert Utter, Q. S. The present mem- bership of the Post is 131. The present officers are J. A. Dunn, P. C. ; Adolph Secrist, S. V. C; John A. elephant, J. V. C; W. N. Young, Q. M.; H. Van Kooten, Surgeon; T. J. Clark, O. D. ; H. B. Wood- cock, O. G. ; Thomas Little, Chaplain, and John Payne, Adjutant; Robert Utter, Q. S. Davis Camp, No. 4, S. of V., was instituted at the hall of the P. O. S. of A., in Caldwell's Block, March 7, 1884, by Col. J. E. Edmondson, of Elletts- ville, Ind.. assisted by members of Connersville Post, No. 126, G. A. R. The camp was organized with a membership of nineteen, and named in honor of Lieut. A. M. Davis, who was wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and died from the effects of the wound. The officers chosen were: Frank L. Johnson, Captain; D. P. Forrester, First Lieutenant; Charles Sample, Second Lieutenant; Charles Smith, Chaplain; Charles Hendrickson, Surgeon; George Keller, Orderly Ser- geant; George Healy, Q. M.; William Henry, S. of G.; N. Kribs, C G. ; Frank Van Kooten, Ordinance Sergeant; Henry Johnson, C. S. ; Frank Drescher, C. G. ; John Lutz, P. G. ; Frank Johnson, Preston H. Kensler and Frank Clee, C. C. The present mem- bership is about thirty. The I. O. G. T. Society at Connersville was organ- 164 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. ized March 17, 1880, with twenty-six charter mem- oers. The first officers were as follows: W. C. T., Thomas Smith; W. V. T., Nancy Ehinehart; W.Chap. W. H. Enos.; W. Sec, F. O. Sisct; W. F. S., John Bnrns; W. T., L. M. Mcintosh; W. M., George Bul- lard; W. D. M., J. H. Lillie; W. Q. G., J. P. Ley- endecker; W. O. G., George Schweikle; W. R. S., Henry Biefield; W. D. S., Reuben Snow; P. W. C. T., Nelson Huston. The present membership of the society is 125. CHAPTER XVIII. CONNERSVILLE TOWNSHIP. ORGANIZATION ANU BOUNDARIES— LAND SALES— EARLY SETTLEMENT AND INCIDENTS— EARLY SCHOOLS, EARLY MILLS, DISTILLERIES, ETC.— CHURCHES AND GRAVEYARDS— EAST CONNERSVILLE — MAPLEWOOD— HALF- CENTURY CITIZENS. /"CONNERSVILLE TOWNSHIP was organized ^-^ February 9, 1819, and its boundaries as then described wore: " Beginning at the southeast corner of Section 5, Township 13, Range 13; thence west to the western extremity of said county of Fayette; thence north four miles; thence east to the line divid- ing Sections 20 and 17, in Township 14, Range 12; thence east to the northeast corner of Section 20, in Township 14, Range 13, south to the place of begin- ning." In addition to its present territory, the town- ship then included the two southern tiers of sections of Fairview Township, and the two northern tiers of sections of Orange Township, which land was taken from it on the organization of Orange Township, in 1822. It is the largest township of the county, hav- ing thirty-two full sections of land, and is centrally located. LAND SALES. The lands of the township as disposed of by the Government, with the year of sale and the purchas- ers' names, are set forth in the following list: Township 14 north. Range 13 east. Section 31, sold in 1811, to Samuel Harlan. Section 30, sold in 1811, to Robert Brown, George Fragin, John Hughes and George R. Adair. Section 19, sold in 1811, to Abraham and David Heaton, Robert Brown and Jacob Case. Section 20, sold in 1812-13, to George Death, B. Homar, James Death, Sr., and Thomas Brown. Section 29, sold in 1813-14-15, to Isaac Martin, Joel White, James Ward and Phineas McCray. I Section 32, sold in 1814-15, to James Freel, Dan- iel Conner, Robert Williams and John Wilson. Township 13 north. Range 12 east. Section 1, sold in 1811 , 1813 and 1817, to Jeremiah Worsham, James Teudy, Nathan Aldridge and Basil Roberts. Section 2, sold in 1811-12, to William McConley, Roberts and Birson, Arthur Dixon and John Reed. Section 3 sold in 1811 and 1814, to Joshua Por- ter, John Vance, Samuel Snodgrass and James Kitchen. Section 4 sold in 1813 and 1814, to William Con- ner, John Thomas, Joseph Vance and Thomas Cully. Section 5 sold in 1813 and 1814, to William Maman, James Heron and John Thompson. Fractional section in 1814 and 1820, to Benjamin Sailor, William Martin and William Dailey. Township 14 north, Range 12 east. Section 36 sold in 1811 and 1813, to Arthur Dixon, William Sparks, Larkin Sims and William Denman. Section 27 sold in 1813, 1814 and 1815, to Abner Ball, John Henderson, Smith Lane and William Hall. Section 28 sold in 1813, 1814, 1815, and 1816, to John Fallen, James Alexander, Thomas Smith and James Smith. Section 29 sold in 1813, 1814, 1815 and 1816, to Alexander Saxon, James Alexander, James Smith and Jonas Williams, Jr. Section 30 .sold in 1814, 1820 and 1823, to Will- iam Sparks, Jonathan Eddy, Ira Wilcox, John McCrary and John McMillan. Section 31 sold in 1812, 1820, 1821 and 1823, to Hezekiah Mount, John Gregg, Jonathan Wilson and Samuel Ennis. Section 32 sold in 1813, 1814, 1816 and 1833, to John Vance, William Weir, William Bridges and James Greer. Section 33 sold in 1811, 1814 and 1817, to Joseph Justice, William Snodgrass, John Hughes and Plat B. Dickson. Section 34 sold in 1811, 1813 and 1814, to Thomas Reed, Moses Lockhart, James Brownlee and Thomas Hinkson. HISTOEY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. 165 Section 35 sold in 1811 and 1813, to John Kussell, Joseph Miner, John Perin and H. and B. Sailor. Section 23 sold in 1811 1812 and 1815, to Lewis Johnson, John Conner, Benjamin Sailor, Larkin Sims and A. Baily. Section 24 sold in 1811 and 1812, to Jacob Cass, Jacob Hackleman, Benjamin Sailor and Noah Beau- camp. Section 25 sold in 1811 and 1812 to James Adair, Alexander Saxon, John Conner and A. Tharpe. Section 28 sold in 1811, 18U and 1815, to A. Hathaway, Jonas Williams, John Perin and James Port. Section 19 sold in 1821, 1822, 1824 and 1830, to John Huston, Scott Horsely, Isaac Martin, A. R- Orr, David Milton and Benjamin Huston. Section 20 sold in 1811 and 1813, to Timothy Orr, Zachariah Glover, John Henderson and William Den- man. Section 21 sold in 1811 and 1813, to David Milton, Paul Davis, Benjamin Bond and William Bennett. Section 22 sold in 1811 and lS14,to Richard Tyner, Piatt B. Dixon, Adam Hamilton and James Dehaven. Township 13 north, Range 13 east. Section 5 sold in 1814 and 1815, to Daniel Norris, John Milliner and Cornelius Cummins. Section 6 sold in 1811, 1813 and 1814, to Samuel Harlan, Richard Thomas, Cornelius Williams and Thomas Bray. EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INCIDENTS. The first settlement in the township was made at Conner's trading-post or station, some time between the years 1804 and 1808. Here John Conner and family are believed to have dwelt for several years among the Indians, with no white neighbors save those on East Fork and on West Fork in what are now Union and Franklin Counties. However, the lands surrounding him were settled at a period be- ginning about the year 1811. Alexander Saxon with family emigrated from Georgia in the fall of 1811, and settled on the south- east quarter of Section 25. Near a point opposite where the lower mill in Connersville now stands, was the place for crossing the river. Here Mr. Saxon kept a canoe, and ferried travelers across the river. n The localities of settlement of a number of the following named pioneers can be traced by reference to the land entries given above. Moses Lookhart from Kentucky, settled in the township in 1812. Thomas Reed, from the same State, settled the same year. Joseph Minor located on the land where Joe and Sam Minor now live in 1812. John and Thomas Reed built cabins on the same land. They were father and son. Larkin Sims, from Kentucky, and Tobias Smith, from Virginia, located on their land in 1812. Thomas Sergeant, a native of North Carolina, removed with his parents to Virginia in 1796. In 1807 he removed to Kentucky, and in 1813 to Indiana Territory, and settled south of Connersville. In 1820 he entered land in Rush County |at the land sales at Brookville, and that winter removed thereon, cutting the road for the wagon as he went. Thomas Hinkson emigrated from Ireland to America in 1791, subsequently located in Adams County, Ohio, and in February, 1814, settled in this township on the land where his son Thomas, Jr. , now resides, which he had entered at Cincinnati, in the year 1812. The elder Thomas Hinkson was appointed the first surveyor of the county by Gov. Jennings, which position he occupied a number of years. He did much of the early surveying in this and in adjoining counties, having laid out some of the early additions to (Connersville. His death occurred in 1850. John McCormack settled in the vicinity of Con- nersville very early, and in the act forming the county, his house was designated as the place for holding the first courts. Further reference is made to him in the history of Columbia Township. Nathaniel Hamilton and family emigrated from Pennsylvania to Indiana Territory in 1810, and located above Brookville in the adjoining county, where they remained during the war of 1812, and in the spring of 1815 removed to what is now this town- ship, on land entered by a son, Adam Hamilton. Nathaniel, Jr., a son of the pioneer, was born in 1798, and is yet a resident of the vicinity where he, with his parents, located nearly seventy years ago. He is yet in possession of all of his faculties, with a clear mind, and is remarkably well preserved in body. Two of the sohs of Nathaniel, Sr. , were in the war of 1812. In 1815, besides those heretofore mentioned (all of whom resided west of the river) there had located on the same side of that stream John Philpott, emi- grating from Kentucky, located in the northern part of the township in September, 1814 (on the Ezra Martin farm); Stanhope and Robert Royster, the former of whom served for a number of years as County Commissioner and one of the Associate Judges of the county; John Perin, a native of Mas- sachusetts, who (in 1811) settled on land adjoining Hinkson; Benjamin Sailor (of the family who set- tled early in Franklin County) resided on the present farm of A. B. Claypool; Paul Davis, son of George, and James Alexander, from South Carolina; Zach- ariah Glover and one Hazlerigg; a Mr. Lacy; Benja- min Booe, from North Carolina, settled in Franklin 166 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. County in 1810, and in 1814 removed to this town- ship; Avery Gates, a native of Massachusetts, though for years a resident of New York, from whence he emigrated to this township in 1817. James Brownlee emigrated from Ohio to Frank- lin County, from whence he was gent as one of the delegates to frame the State Constitution. He came to this township about the year 1816, and subsequently filled the office of Associate Judge, and was a man of some prominence. John Miller, from Scott County, Ky., settled west of Connersville in 1819. Of those who settled east of the river early was William Sparks, who had early emigrated from Lau- rens District, S. C, and settled east of East Fork, in what is now Union County, and in October, 1814, removed to the Stephen Stoops place. James O'Dare, from the same State, settled in the same neighborhood about that time. South of Sparks located Nathan Aldridge, from Tennessee, in 1814. In the same vicinity and about 1814 or 1815 settled Samuel Harlan from South Carolina, James Tweedy, Corne- lius Williams and William Edwards. Joseph Justice emigrated to Indiana Territory in 1811, and located in the vicinity of Connersville in 1815. John Swift with his parents, from the State of New Jersey, settled in Ohio, and in 1818 came to what is now Connersville Township. William Jones, from Bracken County, Ky. (though a Virginian), with parents settled here in 1816. In 1813 Douglass Burton, with family, emigrated from South Carolina to Scott County, Ky., and in 1819 located on land north of Connersville, just over the line in Harrison Township, where the father died the summer following, aud soon thereafter the widow with her children removed to what is now the Infirm- ary Farm. Calvin Barton and brother Thomas, yet residents of Connersville and vicinity, are two of the number. The following extracts are from a letter written for the Examiner, in which it appeai-ed in 1878 over the signature of Brutus. The writer's early home was in the vicinity of Longwood, which he bad been absent from for a period of fifteen years: " Fifty years since I 'pitched my tent'ou tlie shores of this beautiful stream (Williams Creek). Scarcely a soul lives here now that lived here then. What is called the ' rolling prairie, ' the'farm of Garner Clawson, was then owned by one Car- michael. He sold it to John Trent and John Alexander. Dan. iel Cunningham, a Baptist preacher, owned the farm where Willis Ball's stone quarry now is. little dreaming that such huge slabs of flagging were lying beneath bis hallowed feet, while Amos Smith, a brick mason, lived on the farm now owned by John Tate. John McCrory, an Irishman from Pennsylvania, settled where James Ochiltree now lives. He was a tailor by trade and a good citizen. He lived until a few years ago, and died leaving a number of descendants, most of whom live in this county. At that time John and Benjamin Huston owned the farm now in possession of Robert Moffett. They sold it to John Kellum, a citizen from Preble County, Ohio. This farm supported a still-house under the control of John Philpott, who also run another one on the farm now owned by Ezra Martin, but which belonged to him at that time. A little further up the creek lived an excellent character by the name of John Horsley. Frederick Sane lived on the same farm. Jonathan McCarty, a Member of Congress, owned eighty' acres just west of Hors- leys, which in later years was known as ' Manis Porch,' and was a great resort for the boys. The farm is now possessed by Justice Reese and ' Dest-a-gob ' was its occupant. John Philpott and his son Will entered the farm known as the Moffett farm in 1838, and erected a flouring-mill thereon. A postofBce was afterward estaVilished here called Philpott's Mills. The name was afterward changed to Longwood, by Ross Smiley, in honor of the home of Napoleon at St. Helena. Mr. Smiley was the Postmaster for a quarter of a century. Dr. Ball came from Ohio and settled where his son Willis now lives, and has long since gone to that bourne from whence there is no return. Jacob Smith, a Pennsylvanian, and a Revolutionary soldier, the grandfather of our fellow-citizen, Sanford Smith, settled on the farm upon which Sanford is now nobly supporting his estimable mother. It was at the battle of Trenton, that, being hotly pursued by the British, he took his stand on a high bridge, solitary and alone, and as the enemy advanced he would pitch them over the side of the bridge with his bayonet, far down in the water below. He disposed of a score or two in this way. when the enemy yielded, and Jacob came off victorious; he fought nobly. Zachariah Glover then lived where Sam Atherton now resides, and ran a still-bouse. He sold to John Smiley, and he to Stout Atherton. Isaac Martin lived at the cross-roads just east of here, and was known as ' Amazing Grace,' on account of its piety. Timothy Orr lived where Theodore Applegate now lives. John Hawkins entered eighty acres where Sisson Joe now lives, after which he bought of Daniel Campbell, 160 acres joining him on the east. John Philpott, Jr., entered the Uncle George Smith farm, and built a meeting-house on what is now John Ludlow's farm in the year 1842. He was a Uoi- versalist in belief, and did all he could for the advancement of religion. The house was dedicated by a Methodist minis- ter by the name of Stone, who lived where Hamilton White now resides. Quite a number of the old pioneer preachers used to preach there, among whom were James Smith, Peter Wiles, Arthur Miller, George Campbell, Jacob Daubenspeck and a great many others. Still-bouses used to be numerous. There was one at Benjamin Booe's, Josh Wallace's and John Trents'. It was at the latter place that a man by the name of Massey shot and killed a negro. Massey made his escape and never was heard of after. John Ludlow, who is still among us, came here in 1839 and is one of the oldest residents in this part of the county. ****** Jonathan John, from Kentucky, settled in the vicinity of Connersville in 1816. He resided on the hill west of the city and his name, as will be noticed by the reader who peruses the pages of this volume, was closely indentified with the business interests of the county. He was an intimate friend of the Indian trader, John Conner. His death occurred in 1838. The Adairs, Russells and Martins settled in the township early. About 1819 the McCrorys, John and William, settled in the township. Jeremiah Worgh- HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. 167 aman from Virginia, located along the river in 1811. John Baily and family, from the State of Kentucky, removed to Connersville in 1819, and sub- sequently located on a farm five miles west of the vil- lage. Thomas White, from Tennessee, with parents, settled quite early in the township. Justice Wright located on Fall Creek in 1821. He was a native of Pennsylvania. As early as 1812 Joseph Minor, a native of Kentucky, located where his son Joseph now resides. In 1814 J. F. Marshall, a native of Vir- ginia, located in the township. William Edwards, a native of Maryland, settled here in 1817, also Rawl- ston Shields, a native of Pennsylvania, the same year. W. H. H. Tate settled here early. Hon. Oliver H. Smith, in his "Early Indiana," thus speaks of one of the early settlers of the vicinity of Connersville: "In early times before the first land sales of the beautiful Whitewater Valley, where Con- nersville, Liberty, Cambridge City, Centerville and Richmond now stand, there lived upon the east bank of Whitewater, a mile above Connersville, a most remarkable woman by the name of Betty Frazier. She was a small, tough looking, rather swarthy, woman. Her husband, George Frazier, was a poor cripple, and with their children was entirely sup- ported by Betty. They had settled upon a small fraction of Government land, intending to purchase at the sales. The land office was at Cincinnati, and Gen. James Findley was the receiver. The spring of the year, after a severe winter, had come; the sales were to take place the next winter, and Betty had the season before her to raise the money to pay for her land. She commenced with a young stock of hogs, caring for them daily, driving them to the best mast, and preparing a good patch of corn for the fattening process. She had one horse only to tend her crop, and to ride to Cincinnati when she drove her hogs down to sell, and buy her land. " One day about mid-summer she saw a horseman ride up to her cabin in full uniform. She met him at the bars: 'Well Gen. Hanna, how do you do?' 'Very well, Mrs. Frazier.' 'What on earth has brought you all the way from Brookville to my poor cabin ? ' 'I am very sorry to tell you, Mrs. Frazier, that I am the Sheriff, and have an execution against your property.' ' Well, General, I always submit to the law; come with me to the stable and I will give you my only horse, as the best I can do. ' There were no ' exemption laws ' then. Betty and the General proceeded to the stable. It was a strong log build- ing with a single door, no window, overlaid with a solid platform of logs, and filled above with hay for the horse. The door fastened outside with a large wooden pin in a log. ' There, General, is the horse — take him.' The General stepped in and commenced untying the horse. Betty immediately fastened the door outside, driving the pin into the hole to its full length, and left the General to his reflections while she attended to her household affairs. Time passed away; night came on, but no relief to the captured General. Morning came, and with it came Betty. ' Well, General, how did you sleep last night.' ' Not very well. I am ready to compromise this matter; if you will let me out and show me the ford over White- water (the river was muddy and high), I will leave you and the horse and return the execution ' no prop- erty found.' 'Upon honor?' ' Yes, upon honor.' Betty opened the door. The General mounted his horse and silently followed Betty down to the river side. ' There, General, you will go in just above the big sycamore, and come out at that haw-bush you see.' The General started; at the second step both horse and rider were under water out of sight, and the chapeau of the General was floating down the river. Still, he being one of the pioneer.s, and bis horse a trained swimmer, gallantly stemmed the current, and exactly struck the haw-bush, his horse swimming to the very, shore, while Betty stood on the bank scream- ing, ' I guess the Brookville oflicers will let me alone now until I have sold my pigs and bought my land.' The General rode on dripping wet to his brigade that mustered that day. But the end was not yet. Time rolled on; the pigs grew to be well fatted hogs. Betty mounted her pony; the little boys started the pigs for Cincinnati; they had ten days to get there before the land sales; the distance was about seventy miles. Nothing unusual occurred on the road until they arrived at New Trentoi, at Squire Rockafellow's. The night was stormy; the snow fell deep; next morning found Betty at the usual hour on the pony, well wrapped, with an infant a few hours old on her bosom. She arrived with her hogs at Cincinnati the day before the sale, sold them for cash, and the late Gen. Findlay told me that she stood by his side on the box and bid off her land, with her infant in her arms. Surely, ' truth is stranger than fiction.' " About the year 1818 on the Larkin's Sims farm just below Connersville was erected for that gentle- man, it is thought, the first frame house in the town- ship (outside of the village of Connersville.) It was built by John Perin. In 1823 or 1824 the frame portion of the dwelling house of Thomas Hinkson was erected and the large stone house — the main building, which, by the way, is very antique in its style of architecture, was built in 1827, as shown by an inscription on a stone form- ing a part of the chimney. The John Perin brick house on the N. Minor farm was built in 1824. 168 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. EAKLY SCHOOLS. The first schoolhouse in the settlement along the western side of the river, and about Williams' Creek, was built prior to the spring of 1815; for it — the rude log-cabin house — was standing there, on the Hinkson farm, at that time, and the following winter, 1815- 16, school was taught in it by Thomas Hinkson, Sr. At this time Nathaniel Hamilton attended the school. Mr. Hinkson was the teacher in that settlement for a number of years. He was a man of liberal educa- tion, having been schooled in his native county in a Catholic school. Mr. Hamilton is of the opinion that school had been previously held in this house by the same master. In this same settlement in 1819, in a log-cabin near where the Lockhart school - house now is. Miss lugham is remembered as holding school. Later teachers in the same settlement were Hannah Hathaway, John Justice and Millie Perin. Subsequently the scholars too far to the north attend- ed one of the schoolhouses located in Harrison Township and described in the sketch of that sub- division. In the settlement east of the river was what was known as "Solomon's school." An account of this school was written some years since by "Rambler," which is given below: "The house in which it was taught stood fifty or sixty rods nearly east of the present residence of John Stoops, near the south line of the land of Robert Williams, and was with slight exceptions such a house as all the girls and boys of those days got their education in. And from such schoolhouses, scattered over the great West, have gone out men of honest hearts, of strong nerves, of high and noble resolves, that have made their mark in the world. And could we trace through the high- ways, the by-ways, and the cross-ways of life all that attended that school, no doubt but we could find some occupying prominent public positions both in church and in state at the present time. We have never met any of the scholars of that school but two since 1822, and both of these were ministers in the Baptist Church (Elders George Harlan and William Sparks). "The building was about 18x22 feet, of round logs, with a fire-place occupying one end of it, and a file of six or eight boys were usually detailed to carry in the back-logs, while the lesser ones carried in the fore, middle and top sticks, and occasionally this huge pile of wood and the fire made by it would cause the cry of tire to be raised by some who were watching other things closer than their books. The windows consisted of one log removed from each of the three sides of the building, slats placed vertically in the space, and newspapers pasted on those slats and to the log above, then the paper oiled with melted lard applied with a feather to admit the light, then a temporary fortification, con- sisting of forks and poles was thrown up to prevent the stock from eating out the paper, thus saturated with the grease. The furniture in the room was as simple and primitive as the room itself. The writing- tables were one long board under each window and the same length of it, attached to the wall, and driv- ing pins therein, inclining a little downward at the outer end. At these the tables were placed, each writer sitting with his face to the window. The seats consisted of blue ash saplings, cut the j)roper length, split in two, two holes bored at proper angles in each end, and one in the middle for legs, then placed with the bark side up, the bark being all nicely shaved off. On these seats have we sat swinging our feet back and forth from early dawn to laterst eve, wishing we were anything else but a school-boy; wishing there was no such thing as a schoolhouse, school- teachers, school- books, pen, ink or paper in the world. Foolish, in- considerate, childish thought. But then we thought and acted and talked like a boy, but since we have viewed things from a different standpoint. "Could the schoolboy of the present day com- pare the stock of books now in use in the schools with that used in those primitive times, he could appreciate his advantages over those of the early set- tlers of the country. Geography, grammar, globes, out-line maps, and other modern facilities for study were neither seen nor talked of in the school room of those days. "There is one tribute of respect we willingly pay to the teacher, and that is, considering the time, the surroundings and the facilities, he taught a very good school. "In those days there were certain inalienable rights claimed by the school-boys, which had been handed down from time immemorial from father to son, and that was the right to close the door against school- teachers about the holidays; a right, too, to which in some localities they still adhere with the same ten- acity that a descendant of Abraham adheres to his nationality. Now the big boys and the little boys were not willing that this time-honored usage should pass by unimproved on the present occasion. Accord- ingly a council of war was held and the subject dis- cussed in the most formal manner, the question being: Shall we bar out the teacher and make him treat f was put and carried by such a vote that no veto could set aside. The nest great question was. How shall the castle, windows, door and chimney be so fortified that a successful attack cannot be made either from the front, fiank or rear. To do this, bolts, bars, benches, spikes, with a large lot of other weapons, offensive and defensive, were called into requision, not forgetting a good supply of fuel and provisions; HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. 169 for the siege might last several days. Morning came and with it came hope, fear, doubt, anxiety, solicitude, as to the result. Directly the teacher is seen in the distance, approaching the scene of contest quietly and peacefully ; he comes on unconscious of the spirit of mutiny and rebellion within. He comes to the door, attempts to open it; all is silence within; he guesses the cause, retreats, reconnoiters, examines the vulner- able points, gathers a huge rail and in old Roman style tries his battering ram on the door once. Crash it comes against the door. He retreats to a greater dis- tance to give it greater momentum. Crash it comes the second time, down comes the door, in comes the rail full length into the school-room; all is hurry- skurry within, and during the general fright, the teacher enters through the breach. ' Seize him and tie him,' was the rallying cry. It was like magic; soon he was surrounded, borne down by the crowd, who had merged all dignity in the right of the scholar. The teacher comes to terms, is released, and soon a equad of these quandam rebels is sent off to bring the treat. Meantime the benches are righted, the door is repaired, the good things come, all par- take, and care nothing whether they were Presidents or plebians. Thus passed the Christmas of 1818 at the old log schoolhouse. For the purpose of show- ing the changes in a place since that time we give the names of some who attended the school. There were the Gilkeys, Sparkea, Aldridges, Harlans, Thomases, Streets, Whites, Denisons, McCreas, and Williamses. In the southeastern part of the township Jonathan Shields taught an early school. EARLY MILLS, DISTILLERIES, ETC. Among the early industries of the township, out- side of the village, were, lirst, the John Reed grist- mill, which was ia operation in the spring of 1815; it was probably built in 1814. The mill was first constructed of logs in their natural state, but in the course of a year or more a frame mill building was constructed. The site of the mill was on Williams Creek, some three or four miles below Connersville. In 1816 a saw-mill was added. John A. White hewed the timber for it and assisted in its construction. Prior to 1819 John Vance built a grist-mill on Williams Creek. John Hughes, as early as 1820, had in operation a grist-mill on the same stream, on the J. Mounts farm. James Brownlee built what subsequently became known as the Nathan Buckley carding and fulling mill or machine. This was on Williams Creek, and was erected as early as 1818, if not earlier. Brownlee built in connection with it a saw-mill, and in 1825, or thereabouts, built a frame- for a grist-mill, which, however, was never used for that purpose. Mr. Buck- ley having purchased the property, removed the carding -machine into that frame. Further up the same stream, Avery Gates subse- quently erected a saw- mill. On the river, west side, was operated an early mill by Miller and Clink; later William Miller added to it a still-house and an oil-mill. In the northwestern part of the township, on Williams' Creek, an early saw-mill was built by John Kellum, and below on the same stream, he operated a grist-mill. Thomas Moflfett, who owned and operated a mill in Harrison Township, which had been built by John Philpott, subsequently (1847), erected a grist-mill further down the stream, in what is now Conners- ville Township. Stills were then numerous, for 'twas in a day when whisky and religion were not divorced, but went hand in hand. The smoke from the little cop- per still or from the larger distillery could be seen curling heavenward from many a pioneer's land. Among those then distilling were Thomas Burris and Glover Perin, one Calloway, Jphn Perin, John Reed, William Miller, Tobias Smith, Larkin Sims, William Thompson, James Vance and many others. East of the river, on Village Creek, in 1829, Christian Furry was operating a grist-mill with one run of stones. This mill is thought to have been built by Moses Wolverton, who also had in connec- tion with it a saw-mill. CHURCHES AND GRAVEYARDS. At the old burying-ground, in Section 20, on the E. Martin land in an early day, was built an Old School Baptist Church, which was used by that denomination for a number of years. The earliest grave marked by a tomb-stone, whose inscription is legible, is that of Nesbit Alexander, who died May 27, 1825, in the twenty fifth year of his age. Among the aged whose remains rest hero are Samuel Martin, died in 1851, at the age of seventy-two years; Ann Martin, in 1863, seventy- nine years; Alexander Saxon, in 1844, seventy seven years; Mary Saxon, in 1855, eighty-one years; Philip C. Hoyl, in 1841, eighty-eight years; Benjamin Booe, in 1839, sixty years. At the graveyard on the hill by the creek on the James Mount land stood a meeting-house built prob- ably forty odd years ago by the Methodists, and by them was occupied for many years, and later by other denominations, but all traces of it are now lost to the passer-by, and the few tomb-stones around the yard marking spots sacred to many have been suffered to fall down, and are now scattered over the ground, 170 HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY. trampeled on and rooted about by cattle and hogs which are let at large to roam about the hallowed spot. The first Methodist preaching place on the Gon- nersville Circuit in the township was at the dwelling of the grandfather of Thomas Hinkson. In 18'J3 the class consisted of the grandfather and wife, son Thomas the surveyor and wife, Mrs. Basil Roberts and daughters and Merrill Williams. There are now but two churches in the township, Bunker Hill and Village Creek. The former is a Methodist Episcopal Church and the latter an Old School Baptist. The building, which is of brick, of the former denomination is the second house of worship. Both it and the original building were erected by general subscriptions, and were to be used by all denomina- tions as a Union Church. The Methodists have for probably fifteen or twenty years held regular services at Banker Hill, the appointment being with some of the other churches along the western portion of the county. The Village Creek Church was constituted July 24, 1824:, Elders and Messengers being present from Lick Creek, New Bethel and New Hope Churches. The constituent members were Robert Gilky, Thomas Wolverton, William Denman, William Sparks, Phin- eaa McCray, Stephen Harlan, James Wood, Sarah Gilky, Mary Donman, Mary Sparks, Mary Harlan, Sarah McCray and Hannah McCray. The constitu- tion took place at the residence of Robert Gilky. The first house of worship was not built until 1826, meetings up to its completion being held at private houses. This hewed-log building was the meeting- house of the church society until in 1848, when it was replaced by the present brick edifice located at the burying-ground on the hill, probably one and a half miles southeast of the city of Connersville. The reg- ular resident pastors of the church have been Elders Minor Thomas, George Harlan (ordained in 1830), William Sparks (ordained in 1845), Samuel Harlan and Walter Benson and Charles M. Reed, the present incumbent. The present membership of the church is fifty-six. The entire number of members that have been identified with the church since its constitution has been 271. The graveyard of the church, it wovild seem from the following epitaph on the tomb-stone of Samuel Harlan, Sr., was set apart for such purposes by him: "This ground he did donate In which to bury dead, And when he cheerful met his fate He among the rest was laid." Mr. Harlan died in 1858, aged eighty-five years. This place of burial is about as old as the church organization. Among the aged who are here await- ing the final resurrection morn, are Sarah McCray, died in 1851 in her ninetieth year; Phineaa McCray, died in 1838 in his seventy-sixth year; Nancy Harlan, died in 1871 in her ninety-third year; Judith Honey- well, died in 1860 in her eightieth year; Abner Ball, born in 1785, died in 1846; Rhoda P. Ball, born in 1787, died in 1863; William Sparks, Sr., died in 1862 in his ninetieth year; John Milliner, born in 1786, died in 1856; Nancy Milliner, born in 1786, died in 1873; James Backhouse, died in 1849 in his eighty-seventh year; Charlotte Backhouse, died in 1864 in her eighty-fifth year; Bennett Langston, died in 1860 in his eighty-fourth year. EAST CONNEESVILLE. Just over the river from the city of Connersville, is situated the village of East Connersville, which was laid out on the northwest quarter of Section 19, Township 14, Range 11, by Basil MeCann, in Octo- ber, 1857. The village has since been incorporated and is provided with a substantial two-story brick sehoolhouse; and in the way of industries has two stores, a blacksmith shop, and a large planing-mill and wood-working establishment, which had its origin some ten years ago, in the Eagle Mills Manufacturing Company. MAPLEWOOD. The little village bearing the above name is sub- urban to Connersville, and was laid out on the land of Austin B. Claypool, being acknowledged by that gentleman March 13, 1877. In 1882 a large and substantial two-story brick sehoolhouse, beautiful in design, was erected in the place, and at this writing there is in process of construction a brick church edi- fice, which is on ground donated for the purpose by A. B. Claypool, who is one of the trustees and is su- perintending its erection. The society was organized in the fall of 1883 by Rev. J. S. Tevis, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church of this city. The mem- bership consisted of some twelve or fifteen persons who held membership in the city church, to which the charge is as yet connected, but will soon become an independent Methodist Episcopal Church. The vil- lage is supplied with one store. HALF CENTURY CITIZENS. The following list contains the names of such citizens of the township as had, in 1879, resided in the county fifty years or upward: A. B. Conwell, James Mount, G. L. Fearis, Will- iam Watson, G. M. Nelson, William H. Beck, David Beck, Taylor John, Greenup John, Calvin Burton, James Crosson, Thomas Burton, Nathaniel Hamilton, ^i^^ f)^.^-M(^^^^-cM^2^ HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 173 Train Caldwell, William Newkirk, D. L. Meeker, Basil McCann, John Swift, Levin Mcintosh, W. W. Fry- barger, Gale Ford, Andrew Applegate, Alex Minor, Joseph Minor, W. A. H. Tate, James Clawson, Wash Michnor, Clark Porter, Lewis Porter, A. J. Porter, Henry Wright, Elmore Edwards, John Kerr, Robert Marshall, Samuel Scott, Samuel Backhouse, Louisa Nelson, Helen Campbell, Sarah Morrison, Mrs. John Casady, Mary Mount, Margaret Edwards, Miss Hinkson, Miss Hinkson, Miss Lockhart, Eliza- beth White, Mrs. Dan Morrison, Martha Harlan, Mrs. William Spark, Mrs. Jasper Davis, Mrs. Edith Rees, Mrs. Tate, Mrs. William Brown, Mrs. Vance, Jane Lister, Mrs. Marshall, Miss Buckley, Mrs. Wanee, Mrs. S. B. Parker, Mary Justice, Mrs. N. H. Bark, Mrs. Samuel Backhouse, Helen Barnard, Ma- hala Montgomery, Mrs. Taylor John, Ann Shields, Mrs. Levi Hartman, Hester Roots, Olive Tate, Mrs. Clark Porter, Mary Acker, Mrs. Alexander, Samuel Minor, Dr. S. W. Vance, W. T. Dale, William M. Smith, Eleazer Smith, Jasper N. Davis, William Johnson, George Boee, James Lister, Isaac Dehaven, Jacob Dehaven, Levi Hartman, B. F. Claypool, A. B. Claypool, Jeptha Steele, Leonard W. Petro, Absalom Petro, Mathew Harlan, William Sparks, Thomas Hinkson, John Lockhart, James Vanhorn. CHAPTER XIX. HARRISON TOWNSHIP. BOUNDARIES, ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION— LAND ENTRIES— PIONEERS AND PIONEER SETTLEMENT— INDE- PENDENCE DAY, ly29—INDUSTRIES— SCHOOLS— CHURCHES— HALF-CENTURY CITIZENS. THE subdivision bearing the above name is bounded on the north by Wayne County and Posey Town- ship, on the west by Fairview Township, on the south by Connersville Township, and on the east by the West Fork of Whitewater River. It is one of the original townships into which the county was divided on its organization in 1819, and was then described as follows: "Beginning at the southeast corner of Section 17 in Township 14, Range 13; thence west to the western extremity of the county, thence north along the west line of said county to the line dividing the counties of Wayne and Fayette; thence east to the boundary; thence south to the northeast corner of Section 33, Township 15, Range 12; thence east to the northeast corner of Section 32, Township 15, Range 13; thence south to the place of beginning." Harrison as then described, in addition to its pres- ent territory, included the entire township of Posey, the northern two-thirds of Fairview, and so much of Waterloo as lies west of a line parallel with the east- ern boundary of Connersville Township. It lost its territory lying east of the river on the formation of Waterloo Township in 1821; it was lessened to the extent of Posey Township on the formation of the latter in 1823, and was still further lessened twelve sections on the formation of the township of Fair- view in 1851. Its surface is undulating and well adapted for agricultural purposes, having good natural drainage, and the greater portion being well watered by springs and streams, the larger of which are West Fork, Big and Little Williams Creeks, and Lick Creek. At the last appraisement the lands were rated for taxation at $38 per acre without and 141 with improvements. The people are industrious and given almost entirely to agricultural pursuits, there being one notable indus- try, a tile factory, in the township. For several years past some special attention has been given to the manufacture of butter and cheese, there having been established two dairies of probably less than 100 cows each, the proprietors of which are Enoch Cald- well and Warner Broaddus. The eastern part of the township is crossed north and south by the White, water Valley, and Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroads, and the citizens of that locality have, too, the advantage of the Hydraulic, which runs parallel with the railroads. LAND ENTRIES. With the exception of about five sections of land on its western border, the township lies within the "Twelve Mile Purchase," and was sold as set forth below: Township 15 north. Range 12 east. Southeast quarter of Section 83, October 22, 1811, to John Tyner. Southwest quarter of Section 33, October 22, 1811, to Joseph Caldwell. Northwest quarter of Section 33, October 28, 1811, to Richard Tyner. Northeast quarter of Section 33, October 28, 1811, to John Tyner. 174 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Northwest quarter of Section 34, October 22, 1811, to John Phillips. Southwest quarter of Section 34, October 22, 1811, to Train Caldwell. Northeast quarter of Section 36, October 22, 1811, to Larkin Sims. Northwest quarter of Section 36, October 28, 1811, to Thomas Carter. South half of Section 36, October 23, 1811, to Isaac Willson. Southwest quarter of Section 35, January 16, 1812, to Reason and Charles Davis. Southeast quarter of Section 34, July 16, 1812, to Solomon Hornly. Northeast quarter of Section 34, September 31, 1813, to Isaac Willson. Northwest quarter of Section 35, December 7, 1813, to William^Willson. Northeast quarter of Section 35, March 3, 1814, to John Ward. Southeast quarter of Section 35, August 10, 1814, to William Willson. Section 32, with the exception of a small fraction which was sold in 1814 to William Baker, was not sold until 1821-22, Minor Thomas and Thomas Ship- ley purchasing in 1821, and Ira Starn in 1822. Section 31 was disposed of in 1821-22, William and Hugh Dickey, Minor Meeker, John Dailey and Ebenezer W. Finey purchasing in 1821, and Collen Smith in 1822. Township 15 north, Range 13 east. John Beard purchased the northwest quarter Sec- tion 31, October 24, 1811; John Hardin a portion of the southeast quarter of the same Section, October 24, 1811; E. Harding the southwest quarter of that Sec- tion March 12, 1812. Township 14 north, Range 13 east. Archibald Reed purchased the southwest quarter of Section 18, October 23, 1811; Ebenezer Heaton the northwest quarter of Section 18, October 30, 1811; John Grewell, the northeast quarter of Section 6, October 23, 1811; Silas Gregg, the northeast quar- ter of Section 7, October 23, 1811; Edward Webb, the northwest quarter of Section 7, October 23, 1811; Zadock Smith, the southwest quarter of Section 7, March 14, 1812; John Grewell, the northwest quar- ter of Section 6, March 19, 1812; Andrew Thorp, the southeast quarter of Section 6, December 2, 1816; Edward Webb, the southwest quarter of Section 6, April 18, 1817. Township 14 north, Range 12 east. George Geage purchased the north half of Section 1, October 22, 1811; Jacob Shreller, the southeast quarter of Section 1, October 22, 1811 ; James Daugh- erty, the southeast quarter of Section 2, October 22, 1811. John White, the south half of Section 2, October 22, 1811. James Caldwell, the northwest quarter of Section 3, October 22, 1811. William Webb, the northwest quarter of Section 12, October 28, 1811. Alexander Dale, the northeast quarter of Section 4, October 28, 1811. William and John McCarty, a fraction of Section 5, December 9, 1811. John Perkins, the southwest quarter of Section 13, October 22, 1811. Joel Dickens, the northeast quarter of Section 14, October 28, 1811. Lewis Johnson, the southwest quarter of Section 14, October 22, 1811. Forest Webb, the northeast quarter of Section 15, October 28, 1811. Lewis Johnson, the southeast quarter of Section 15, October 22, 1811. Robert McCormick, the southeast quarter of Sec- tion 13, August 22, 1812. Asa Stone, the southeast quarter of Section 14, August 29, 1812. James Job, the northeast quarter of Section 9, February 22, 1812. Samuel Dehaven, the northwest quarter of Section 11, October 7, 1812. John Bradburn, the southwest quarter of Section 11, October 8, 1812. James Nichols, the southwest quarter of Section 12, July 11, 1812. Archibald Johnson, the southeast quarter of Sec- tion 12, August 30, 1813. George Hollingsworth, the northeast quarter of Section 12, July 29, 1813. William Henderson, the southeast quarter of Sec- tion 11, October 17, 1813. Benjamin Sailor, the northeast quarter of Section 11, August 30, 1813. Jesse Webb, the northwest quarter of Section 3, August 21, 1813. Charles Roysdon, southwest quarter of Section 1, April 5, 1813. William Dickey, fractional Section 8, October, 1813 and 1820. William Henderson, the southeast quarter of Sec- tion 4, September 17, 1813. Joseph Caldwell, the northwest quarter of Section 4, December 11, 1813. John Orr, fractional Section 17, September 6,1813. John McCormick, the northeast quarter of Section 13, October 22, 1813. Forest Webb, the northwest quarter of Section 14, August 9, 1814. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 175 Joseph Dale, the southwest quarter of Section 4, March 9, 1814. Alexander Dale, the northwest quarter of Section 9, September 9, 1814. John Murphy, the southeast quarter of Section 9, October 22, 1814. John Linder, the southwest quarter of Section 9, April 23, 1814. Isaac Seward, a portion of the northeast quarter of Section 10, October 13, 1814. John Peawell, a portion of the same quarter-sec- tion, June 10, 1824. Eli Scotten, the northwest quarter of Section 10, March 26, 1814. William Bell, the southeast quarter of Section 10, December 14, 1814. Richard Tyner, the southwest quarter of Section 10, November 19, 1814. James Caldwell, the northeast quarter of Section 3, August 18, 1814. Isaac Hackleman, the southeast quarter of Section 3, June 30, 1814. James Smith, the west half of Section 15, Sep- tember 2, 1815. Samuel McCormick, the northwest quarter of Sec- tion 13, December 1, 1816. Weir Cassady, the northeast quarter of Section 2, December 2, 1816. William Jeffrey and John I. Johnson, fractional Section 5, in 1820. William M. Birch, the northeast quarter of Sec- tion 6, and John I. Johnson, the southeast quarter, October 21, 1820. Hugh Dickey, the northwest quarter of Section 6, October 21, 1820. David Anderson, the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 6, October 21, 1820. Ira Starr and M. Meeker, the other half of that quarter, March 20, 1821. John and Matthew Hawkins, William Dickey and John I. Johnson, all of Section 7 excepting the north- west quarter, October, 1820. Francis Ellisgwood (most likely EUinwood), the northwest quarter of that section, January 10, 1822. Matthew Hawkins, a portion of fractional Section 17, October 21, 1820. Section 18 was entered in small tracts — John Darter, eighty acres in 1820; John Hawkins, William Saxon and William Philpott, the former two eighty- acre tracts, and the others eighty acres each, in 1821; Stephen Bilby and John Philpott, eighty acres each, in 1829. PIONEERS AND PIONKER SETTLEMENT. Many of the original purchasers of the lands of Harrison became actual settlers, improved the lands, played their part in transforming the wilderness in- to beautiful and fertile fields amid the privations and hardships of pioneer life, replaced the cabin with a substantial brick, the cumbersome log-stable with the commodious baru, gave up the sickle, the scythe and the cradle for the reaper and the mower, the "flail" for the steam-thresher, saw the wigwam of the sav- age give way to the church, witnessed generations born to know only by tradition the block-house, the trail of the Indian, and the wild animals, gave shape to the civil, political and religioushistory of the coun- ty, and at last, their bodies to the churchyard. Peace to their ashes. A number of the Caldwells emigrated from North Carolina in the early history of the West and settled in Preble County, Ohio, near the little village of Fairhaven, and in 1811, removed to what is now this township. Among the brothers were Joseph, James, Train, and perhaps, John. All settled on land above designated and Joseph built a cabin on Christmas Day. Their families were subsequently removed to their posse.ssions, but the alarming state of affairs on the approach of the war of 1812 induced them to return to Ohio, and in 1814 they again came to their possessions. For protection a block-house was built which was picketed in by an outer fence after the usual style to which they all resorted for fear of an attack. It stood on what is now the W. H. Florea farm, in Section 34. Joseph was a native of North Carolina and died in the year 1850. John died in 1872— was born in Guilford County, N. C, in 1798. Train was one of the first Associate Judges of the county on its organization. A number of their de- scendants are still residents of the county. William Webb, Sr., died in the county in 1863, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He was born in Virginia and in his infancy with parents removed to Kentucky, and in 1806 to Indiana Territory. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, removed to what subse- quently became the county of Fayette in 1813, and was one of the members in the constitution of the First Regular Baptist Church of the county. Alexander Kerr, from Ohio, settled in the town- ship early. About the year 1812 Patrick McCarty and John C. Smith, a son-in-law, settled in the township. They had previously emigrated from one of the Carolinas and settled in Franklin County. Mr. Smith was a soldier of the war of 1812. His son William M., long identified with the history of the county, having served the people in various official positions, was born in a block-house some miles west of Brookville in the fall of 1812. His grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, and the grandson, though in advanced life, served in the late war of the Rebellion. 176 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. John Tyner and wife Fannie, from North Car- olina, immigrated to Fraaklin County, and in 1813 to what became Fayette. Mr. Tyner became one of the first of the Board of County Commissioners, and died while so serving in 1822. The Kolbs were from Georgia; Tihlman settled in the township in 1811, and died in 1845. Francis Grofif, from Warren County, N. J., came to the White- water country about the year 1813, and became a res- ident of the township. William McCarty settled early. He was one of the chain-carriers of the surveying party which in 1817 were engaged in surveying the lands of the " New Purchase." Joseph and Alexander Dale, emigrating from Woodford County, Ky., settled in the township in 1815. Mrs. Eliza Florea, daughter of Joseph Dale, widow of Lewis C. and mother of the Florea Bros., attorneys at law in Connersville, was born in the township in 1815. She remembers that in 1822 some 300 Indians came to the forest surrounding her father's home. Her father traded a great deal with the Indians. These Indians in question came or stopped to trade. They had different kinds of wild game, deer and bear meat, turkeys, etc. They rode ponies with husk saddles. The eldest brother of Mrs. Florea was when a babe stolen by the Indians, but rescued by the father before a mile from the cabin. In 1815 a little colony left the vicinity of Bangor, Me., and settled temporarily at Columbia, near Cin- cinnati, Ohio. Daniel Campbell, John Savage and Jacob Nelson, all related, and Henry Welch com- posed the colony. Mr. Savage, in the fall of 1815, died at Columbia, and his wife and family, with the others mentioned, in the February following settled in what afterward became this township. Mrs. Sav- age was the mother of the venerable John Savage, of Connersville. The Widow Savage subsequently married John Adams, and in 1822 removed to what is now the Ben- jamin Thomas farm, situated in the southeastern part of the township. The brick house on that farm was erected for Mr. Adams in 1822, and is thought by Mr. Savage to have been the first brick house built in the township. The brick work was done by Nathaniel Leonard, and the carpenter work by Zach- ariah Parish. The Dickeys, James, Robert and William, settled here as early as 1815. Samuel and Isaac Dehaven, natives of Kentucky, immigrated to this county and settled in Harrison Township in about 1816. Isaac was in the war of 1812. Samuel Dehaven, Sr., who entered the land, was a native of Pennsylvania. The widow of Joseph B. Shipley and mother of Samuel J. of this township settled in the county in 1819, bringing with her several children from the State of Delaware. Samuel B. Ludlow, of New York State, in 1819 walked to the county of Fayette; subsequently entered land at the land office at Brookville, and in 1821 settled upon it. William Monteith, a native of Pennsylvania, located in the township about the year 1818. John Murphy, a native of Ireland, settled here in 1819. He came from the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio. Jame.4 C. Rea, a native of Rockbridge County, Va., located in the township in 1818, and played a conspicuous part in the affairs of the county, having been Justice of the Peace for nearly a quarter of a century, besides tilling other official positions. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and subsequently Ensign and Lieutenant in 1816 and 1818 in the State Militia of Virginia, and later Colonel in the Indiana State Militia. John Groendyke, a native of New Jersey, when young went to Long Island, N. Y., and in 1812 to Butler County, Ohio, and in 1814 to Dearborn County this State, thence into the subdivision under consid- eration about 1819. From about 1819 to 1822 a number of families coming from the New England States settled mostly in the "New Purchase" in the western part of the township, and founded what was called Yankeetown, which name it has since retained. Among these were Elder Minor Thomas, Joshua Wightsman, Elder Minor Meeker, Eleazer Carver, Francis Ellin- wood, Collen Smith, Stephen Ellis, and perhaps others. Elders Minor Thomas and Minor Meeker were ministers in the Regular Baptist Church, and with their families emigrated from New York to the lands elsewhere designated, in 1819. William W. Thomas, a son, was long and favorably known to the citizens of the county. His earlier years were passed in school- teaching, but after the close of that avocation he was through a long life closely and prominently connected with the farming interests of his township. Minor Meeker, Jr., a son of the Elder and father of C. C. Meeker, of Harrison Township, served his coun- try in the war of 1812, and represented this county several times in both branches of the Legislature. His death occurred in 1865. Moses Ellis, of the above-mentioned family from New York, emigrated to North Bend, Ohio, in 1818 and eight years later settled in this township. He was made the tirst Postmaster of that settlement, com- missioned November 28, 1827. The name of the Yankeetown office was Plumb Orchard. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 177 One of the Wightsmans — Elias R. — subsequently removed to Texas, and there surveyed and laid out the city of Galveston. John Thomas, the father of Benjamin Thomas, coming from New York settled here in 1822, having stopped several years in Ohio. The Trowbridges, from New York, settled here in 1822. Levi was a Major in the war of 1812. Thomas Shipley, a native of Maryland and soldier of the war of 1812, settled here in 1821. In 1820 David Gordon, a North Carolinian, and Jesse Ferguson, of Kentucky, effected a settlement in the township. Among those arriving in Harrison in 1822 and 1823 were Capt. Robert Broaddus, a Virginian, and Lewis Robinson, from New York, respectively. Not far from this time came Zenas Powell from Kentucky, and David Wolf from the same State, the latter being a native of Maryland, but removed to Kentucky in the beginning of this century. In 1825 settled Jonathan Clifford from Vermont, Joseph Taylor from the State of New York, though a native of Massachusetts, and Jesse Shaw from Guil- ford County, N. C. Mr. Shaw served in the war of 181 2, was for a period the miller at the old Goodlander mill and in 1853 removed to Wabash County, this State, where he died in 1884, aged eighty-seven years. INDEPENDENCE DAY, 1829. Independence Day, 1829, was observed by the cit- izens of the county by a celebration held on the farm of Col. J. C. Rea, near the "cross-roads." The orator of the day was Samuel W. Parker; reader of the Declaration of Independence, Caleb B. Smith; Col. William Caldwell, Marshall, and Thomas J. Sample, Assistant; Adam Banks, Chaplain. The music was under the direction of Ephraim Clifford and John Sample, Jr. There was a large assembly present and after the formal exercises of the day were over some 400 ladies and 600 gentlemen were dined, and at the tables a number of toasts were drank. Good music was furnished and the occasion was livened with the discharge of artillery. INDUSTEIES. The first grist-mill in the township was the Jacob Goodlander mill, located in Section 7, Township 14 north. Range 13 east, on the west fork of Whitewater River. It was built prior to 1823. For a number of years Thomas Campbell was the miller. This mill was patronized extensively, persons coming to it from miles distant. There has been no grinding here for upward of thirty years. A little more than two miles above this mill, on the river, opposite Waterloo, was the Troxell saw and grist-mill, which was built probably forty-five years ago by Jacob Troxell. This mill also ceased opera- tions a number of years ago. In 1819, on Lick Creek, there stood a saw-mill in Section 34, which was probably the first built in the township. Several years later it became the property of Minor Meeker, Sr., and later passed into the hands of Lewis Florea and continued in the Florea name until operations ceased. The frame is yet standing. On the same stream, probably a mile below, was the Capt. Broaddus saw-mill, built about 1839. In an early day the eastern part of the township was well supplied with mills, there being six on Williams Creek and all within an area of four miles. The first of these was built by one of the Kings in Section 6. It was a grist-mill and ground corn only. Some years subsequent to the erection of this mill, which was not far from 1825, a factory for the man- ufacture of wooden bowls was attached and run by Anson King and Joshua Wightsman. Another of these mills was for grinding both wheat and corn. It stood in the extreme southwest- ern part of the township and was built by Thomas Moffett probably fifty years ago. The other four were saw-mills, the oldest of which was located in Section 6, built by Levi Trowbridge not far from 1830. A little later was built another by Moses Ellis. It was located in Section 31, and passed into the hands of a son Lewis, who replaced the old mill by a large and commodious one, in which was a turning-lathe and machinery for the manufacture of shingles and lath. The mill was finally removed by Mr. Ellis to Benton- ville, where steam became the motive power. It is now in operation at that point. Some few years sub- sequent to the building of the Ellis mill, the third of the four saw-mills was built in the northern part of Section 31, by John Finney. The fourth stood in Section 7 and was built by John Campbell not far from 1842. This mill is still in existence, but has not been in operation for several years. There are at this writing no grist or permanent saw- mills in the township. Minor Meeker, Jr., carried on a tan-yard on his farm probably a half century ago, and a decade earlier Joseph Dale was operating a copper still on his land. Just north of what is known as the B. Thomas farm, a copper still was operated by Tharpe & Gordon, prior to 1839. A carding-machine was built on the branch on the D. Bale farm, by one Stockdale, about the year 1837. Located in the northwestern part of the township are extensive tile works, which have been in opera- tion for quite a period of years, carried on for some time by Ellis & Williams, and subsequently by John Payne, the present Auditor of the county. 178 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Among the early merchants at Harrisburg were Nathaniel McGlure and Lyman Thomas. The firm of Lackey & McCliire were granted license by the County Commissioners as merchants in the county, in July, 1827, for the period of one year, for which they paid 112. 50. In August, 1828, the firm was McClure & Dickson, and in 1829 Nathaniel McCluro & John Murphy. Lyman Thomas was licensed to keep a grocery and spirituous liquors at the " Cross-roads in Harrison Township" in 1828, which was renewed the following year. SCHOOLS. Probably as early as 1818, or thereabouts, there stood a log schoolhouse on the possessions of John Tyner, near where the lands of Mr. Tyner and those of some of the Caldwells cornered, in which school was held by William McKemmy, who is believed to have taught several consecutive terms in this building. It is thought that Manlove Caldwell and a man by the name of Banks taught later in this building or neighborhood. Mr. Train Caldwell, born in 1810, went to the Tyner schoolhouse to his first school. On the old Williams farm in the northeast quarter of Section 6 was built one of the early log school- houses. It is remembered to have been standing there in 1822. The following year a summer school was taught by Myriam Swisher. William W. Thomas taught here early and possibly was the first teacher in the building. About the year 1823, or perhaps a little later, a log schoolhouse was built in the southern part of Section 12, or the northern part of Section 13. Early teachers in this house were William Nelson, a Mr. Clark and Lunsford Broaddus. The nest house for this neighborhood was built one mile north. Some years subsequent to the Tyner house, a schoolhouse was erected at Harrisburg, in which Nelson Penwell and William Thomas are remembered as having kept school. Another of the early built schoolhouses in the northwestern part of the township stood on the pres- ent site of the Second Williams Creek Baptist Church, just across the road from the house hereto- fore mentioned on the Williams land. In about 1837 Isaac Scarce was teaching here. Other teachers in this building were Jasper Davis and Harriet Thomas. The following is a sample of a " reward of merit " of nearly sixty years ago, and was given in one or the other of these houses at this point: "This may certify that R. Shipley is a good boy and merits the praise of his teacher. April 18, 1828, Sally Trowbridge. Soon after 1838 a schoolhouse was built about one and a half miles north of the one at Second Williams Greek Church, and another about half a mile south of the church. Among those teaching in the north house were Harriet Thomas, Ann Ellis, Hiram Dale, C. M. Stone and Edwin Trowbridge. There are now in the township six schoolhouses, as follows: one at Yankeetown; one at Harrisburg; one two miles east of Harrisburg; the Hankins school- house; the Gossipville schoolhouse, in the eastern part of the township; Elephant College, on the Henry Mygat farm; the Wilderness, about one mile south of Harrisburg, and the Schrador, about two miles south of Yankeetown. CHURCHES. Regular Baptist Church at Lick Creek. (1814-46.) — In the years 1813 and 1814 a number of members of the Baptist Church removed from the lower part of the Whitewater Valley, chiefly from the bounds of Little Cedar Grove Church in Franklin County, and situ- ated on the West Fork of the Whitewater River. They had letters of dismissal, and on the 14th of May, 1814, there met at the house of James Tyner the following-named nineteen persons, and were there constituted .into a church by the name of Baptist Church of Jesus Christ, on Lick Creek: John Tyner, Forest Webb, James Tyner, Thomas Carter, Richard Kolb, William Webb, John Gilliam, Jehu Perkins, William Henderson, Jesse Webb, Robert Atkinson, Fannie Tyner, Katie Webb, Nancy Carter, Nancy Webb, Elizabeth Perkins, Lear Webb, Martha Hen- derson and Rebecca Anderson. In the following June a committee was appointed to look out for a site for a church building; and sub- sequently the land of Forest Webb, Jr., was chosen. That spring one pole and forty perches of land were purchased of that gentleman at a cost of $6, and in the following December there were added to it three poles and fifty-two perches which were purchased of the same man, and for which $20 was paid. On this latter land it was agreed in the spring of 1816 to build a meeting-house to bo thirty feet square and have a gallery. Lewis Johnson and James and Rich- ard Tyner were appointed to superintend the building of it. This church we learn was constructed of logs and stood near where the present one at the graveyard now stands, and was occupied as a house of worship until the year 1833, when a brick meeting-house 35x55 feet was erected. Enoch Applegate, John Mil- ieu, William W. Thomas, Alexander Dale and Will- iam Helm were appointed to superintend its erection. This building stood until 1882, when it was replaced by the present neat and commodious frame. Forest Webb and John Tyner were chosen Deacons of the church early in 1814. For a time in the beginning, the church, we judge from the rec- ords, was served by visiting Elders, as appear in the HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 179 minutes the names of Elders James Smith and Stephen Oldham as Moderators (both then of other churches). Later Moderators of that early period were Forest Webb, John Caldwell, John Tyner, Isaac Martin, Lewis Johnson, Elder William Miller and Elder Thomas. Elder William Miller it seems was ordained aa their minister June 3, 1820, and at this time appears the name of Elder William Thomas. These men were both early pastors of the church. Later, along in 1830-31-32, appear the names of Elder John Sparks, Elders Stephen Oldham, Joseph Martin and Wilson Thompson, the latter serving the church for a number of years beginning early in 1835. The church on Lick Creek flourished and became one of the strong churches of the Whitewater Asso- ciation, but dissensions and controversies on points of doctrine and discipline finally arose, which terminat- ed in a division of the church, occurring in 1846, at which time the church numbered 120 members. Out of this division grew two churches, which to- day are numbered among the living religious socie- ties of the county. The division was not simply local, but extended beyond county and even Association limits, and affected many of the Old School Baptist Churches of this entire region of the country. Both divisions or branches of the Lick Creek Church re- tained the name of the original church and each claims, we believe, to be the old organization. The same can be said of the Associations to which each belongs. It is not our purpose to set forth the claims of either, but to simply give an outline sketch of each. The two churches bearing the same name have been generally styled in order to designate one from the other, Means and Anti-means, although, we believe, the church to which has been given the name of Means does not countenance the appellation, hence as a matter of distinction we will style them North and South, in accordance with the relative positions they occupy to those cardinal points (South Church, Anti- means). In February, 1816, Forest Webb, Jacob Young- blood and James Tyner, of the Lick Creek member- ship, were chosen to select a place for a burying- ground and the result was the origin of the old grave- yard at the Lick Creek Church. Among the aged people whose remains rest by the old church and whose graves are marked by legible tombstones are the following-named: John Tyner, died in 1822, aged forty-five years; James Tyner, died in 1823, aged forty-seven years; Margaret Tyner, his wife, died in 1838, aged sixty-two years; Nancy Stephens, died in 1835, aged eighty-one years; Elizabeth Denman, died in 1842, aged eighty-four years; Mehitablo Kolb, died 1848, aged seventy-three years; Abigail Trowbridge, born in 1783, died in 1839; John Murphy, born in 1784, died in 1835; Doctor Ball, died in 1856, aged sixty seven years; Rachel Ball, died in 1870, aged seventy-nine years; Zenas Powell, died in 1863, aged eighty-seven years; Charity Powell, died in 1857, aged eighty-seven years; Mary Caldwell, died in 1873, aged eighty-two years: James C. Rea, died in 1876, aged eighty-seven years; John Steven, died in 1845, aged seventy-eight years; Mary Frazier, died in 1860, aged seventy- nine years; Mary Louderback, died in 1867, aged eighty years. Regular Baptist Church of Lick Creek (South 1846 -84.) — This branch after the division retained the church property and have since worshiped at the old site, until 1882 in the old brick meeting-house at the graveyard, and since in the neat frame edifice con- structed at that time. The regular minister of the old church at the time of the division was Elder Wil- son Thompson, who remained with those continuing worship at the same church. The membership of the Church South, or the number remaining at the old church in 1846, was about eighty-seven. Elder Thompson's successor was Elder Harvey Wright, who has served the church as regular minister the greater portion of the time ever since. During his absence for about one year his position was filled by Elder Jesse Jackson. Elder Thmpson was a strong man both in the affairs of church and state. He was a native of Kentucky, born in Woodford County, August 17, 1788. His father was a pioneer of that State when the forests were dense and inhabited almost en- tirely by wild beasts and savage Indians. Says Thompson: "I have often sat spell-bound while hear- ing my father relate the many dangers and hair- breadth escapes of his border life, and those of the Revolution." Our subject's boyhood was consequent- ly passed amid the thrilling alarms and trying priva- tions incident to border warfare and pioneer life. He received little schooling and that in a scattering way, attending the cabin schools for a few days at a time only, during which time he acquired only a smatter- in? of the common branches. When he commenced preaching he could not read a chapter or hymn intel- ligently. He early manifested great interest in relig- ious matters and at the age of thirteen years was con- verted. In 1810 he was licensed to preach within the bounds of the 'North Bend Association. His first sermon was preached at the house of a Mr. Cowgill, who lived near the line then dividing the counties of Boone and Campbell, Ky., he being then in his twen- ty second year. In the latter part of the year 1810 he settled in the State of Missouri and was there en- gaged in preaching for several years. In the spring of 1814 he removed to Ohio and resided near Spring- 180 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. field, now Springdale, Hamilton County. He had during the winter preached for the Baptist Churches at Mill Creek and Pleasant Run in that vicinity in connection with Springfield, which churches he con- tinued to attend until 1819, though in the mean- time he had made several journeys, preaching through Ohio, eastern Indiana and Kentucky; and through Kentucky, Tennessee and the Mississippi Territory. His father entered a quarter-section of land on In- dian Creek in the Whitewater country in 1814, and while prospecting in that region was accompanied by the son, who then preached his first sermon in Indi- ana. From 1819 to 1824 he was the assistant co-laborer with Elder Clark at the Baptist Church in Lebanon, Ohio. In 1834 he removed to Fayette County, Ind., and early in 1835 he took pastoral care of the Lick Creek Church, and the superintendence of the Second Williams Creek Church. He served the former church regularly for many years as pastor, and when old and feeble occasionally preached for that people until his death. May 1, 1866. ' ' Elder Thompson for many years was considered one among the most able investigators of Scripture in the Regular Baptist Church. He engaged in pub- lic discussion with the most talented mind, the most popular denominations; and in all his discussions^the public judgment accorded to him great success. In public debates he had, connected with his strong rea- soning powers, the faculty of selecting his proof-texts directly to the point, depending more upon the mean- ing and purport of the texts used than on the num- ber employed. When he took a position he was care- ful that it should be a tenable one; and after taking a position, he would not suffer himself to be driven or enticed away from it." After removing to Indiana, he made three exten- sive tours of preaching, one in which he traveled through Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and New Jersey; another, through Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina. The other tour was through the State of Georgia. He served several years in the State Legislature from the county of Fayette. His wife was Mary Gregg, whom he married in Kentucky, May 24, 1810. Regular Baptist Church of Lick Creek {North, 1846-84). — Some forty of the old Lick Creek Church membership, prominent among whom were James Tyner, William W^ebb, Alexander Dale, William W. Thomas and Enoch Applegate, withdrew therefrom in the spring of 1846, and in June declared them- selves the Regular Baptist Church of Lick Creek. Elder John Sparks was chosen their pastor. In 1847, an acre and a half of land lying one-half mile north of Harrisburg, was secured of John Caldwell and B. S. Trowbridge, upon which was erected the present frame church edifice now standing on that site. Alex- ander Dale, William W.Thomas, and James Tyner were the first Trustees chosen. In March, 1848, Elder D. H. Drummond began giving the church a portion of his time, and in 1854 Elder George Harlan was employed, and in 1863 Elder Erasmus D. Thomas' name appears as one of the Elders of this church. The member- ship of this church is the larger of the Lick Creek churches. Second Regular Baptist Church on Williams Creek. — This church was made up mainly by members formerly belonging to the Lick Creek Church, and was constituted July 21, 1832, representatives being pres- ent from the churches of Lick Creek, Franklin and East Fork of Flat Rock. The original membership was as follows: Eleazer Carver, Grigg M. Thomp- son, Abigail Trowbridge, Mary Johnston, Anna Draper, Harriet Thomas, Phcsbe Thomas, Schuyler Jagger, D. F. Thomas, Elizabeth Stephens, Benjamin Ste- phens, Martha Morphew, W. M. Buck, Ellen F. Buck, Elizabeth Carver, Phcebe Jagger and Elizabeth Rich (of which number Grigg M. Thompson is the only one now living). The first letter of the church and messengers were sent to the W^hitewater Association July 21, 1833, the letter being prepared by Grigg M. Thompson and Nathan Morphew. The following August the church was received into the Assooiation'as one of its mem- bers. The first Clerk of the church was Nathan MorpheW) who was followed by G. M. Thompson. For several years prior to the building of a meeting-house, serv- ices were held at the schoolhouse then standing on the present site of their house of worship, which'is of frame, and was built in 1846. The Trustees then chosen were Drury Tyner, Lewis H. Johnston and E. Carver. The pastors of this society have been Elders James Newhouse, G. M. Thompson, Wilson Thompson, and later, John Sparks, David Drummond, William Sparks, E. D. Thomas and Charles Reed. Wiley Chapel {Methodist Episcopal Church). — This church, located at the graveyard near Williams Creek, in the southwestern part of the township, is the out- growth of a class early organized at the house of a Mr. Hawkins in that vicinity. In 1823 among the members were the Hawkinses, the Curtises, Morrises and Weltons. The charge, on the organization of the Connersville Circuit in 1822, was placed on that cir- cuit, and it has since remained on the same circuit and circuits, growing out of the old Connersville Cir- cuit (Columbia and Glenwood). In about the year 1836 a common place for the worship of this society was at the house of Thomas ^.^-#^ '.m.( !£■,(**-•. ^3^ AVi >l i V, , h'> ^'•% -1 y/fVf> d^-^^Jt^ ;^ .iW'l- HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 183 MoflStt, and in that vicinity about this period was a favorite camp-meeting ground. Sabbath -school, too, was held in a building belonging to Mr. Moffitt, which had previously been used for a store. Among the members of the chiu'ch at about this period were Thomas Moffitt and wife, Robert Fielding and wife, John Hawkins and wife, and Mrs. Mary Campbell. The frame edifice now standing, though since remod- eled, was built not far from the year 1844. The ground for both church and burial purposes was deeded to the church by John Hawkins. The first interment made in the graveyard was the body of Frances M. Moffitt, who died March 10, 1845, aged five years. The Christian (Campbellite) Church, situated just east of the hamlet of Harrisburg, is the outgrowth of religious meetings held at private houses and in the schoolhouse at Harrisburg some years before the late war, though perhaps not formally organized until in 1864. It has been stated in print that the organiza- tion was eifected in 1864 by Elder W. G. Irvin, with thirty-two members. Among those early identified with the church were Warner Broaddua and wife, Edwin Wilson and wife, Edward Higham and wife, Thomas Robinson and wife, and Warren Drennen and wife. The neat and substantial church edifice in which the services of the society are held was erected in 1871, and dedicated that fall by Elder Daniel Van Buskirk. HALF-CENTURY CITIZENS. The following list contains the names of such persons as had in 1879 been residents of the county fifty years or upward: S. G. Tyner and wife, J. Gronendyke and wife, William Monteith and wife, Warner Broaddus, Sam- uel Pavey and wife, William Stephens, William Christman, William Wolf, George Wolf, David Wolf, James Dehaven and wife, W. VV. Thomas, Mary A. Honeywell, Benjamin Thomas, Josiah Kerr, Potter Kerr, Margaret Kerr, Elizabeth Kerr, Mary Moffitt, C. G. Dehaven, Stephen Thomas and wife, C. M. Stone, Eliza Florea, Franklin Booe and wife, Jane Lambert, John Ludlow, S. B. Ludlow, Hannah Lud- low, David Taylor and wife, Lewis Ellis and wife, Rachel Meeker, Nancy Hackleman, Mary Jordon, Thomas Shipley and wife, Joseph Caldwell and wife, Sidney Taylor and wife, David Gordon, Sanford Guard, Caroline Kolb, Zenos Powell and wife, Hiram Sparks and wife, John Bates, Miss E. M. Rea, Miss H. J. Rea, Emeline Sims, L. C. Stone, L. W. McCormick and wife, H. Hackleman and wife, Thomas Campbell and wife, U. B. Tingley and wife, Chester Meeker, Anson King, Rachel Hackleman, Hannah Murphy, Asenath Trowbridge, Jacob Dehaven and wife, Sara Caldwell and wife, Nancy Webb, S. J. Shipley, Eliza J. Morrifield, Garret Wolf, Mrs. E. Rogers, J. B. Bush, Sarah Smith, John H. Dehaven, Louden Smul- len, Elizabeth Bryant, Elizabeth Smullen. CHAPTER XX. JENNINGS TOWNSHIP. BOUNDARIES AND ORGANIZATION— LAND ENTRIES— EARLY SETTLEMENT AND PIO-NEER BIOGRAPHT— AQUINA— EARLY SCHOOLS— CHURCHES AND GRAVE-YARDS— MILLS AND DISTILLERIES— HALF-CENTURY CITIZENS. TENNINGS is one of the original five townships ^ into which the^couaty was divided by the Com- missioners February 9, 1819, when its boundaries were described as follows: "Beginning at the south- west corner of Section 16, Township 13, Range 13; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 21, Township 14, Range 13; thence east along the line dividing Sections 21 and 16 to the boundary line; thence south .along said boundary to the south- east corner of fractional Section 18; thence west to the place of beginning." In addition to its present territory the towuship then included more than one- third of the present township of Liberty, and more than one section of Harmony Township of Union County. This it lost on the formation of Union County in 1821. The township is in the form of a parallelopipedon and has for its northern boundary Waterloo Town- ship, its eastern boundary Union County, its south- ern boundary Jackson Township, and its western boundary Connersville and Jackson Townships. It contains eighteen sections or 11,520 acres of land, the surface of which is rolling and of excellent pro- ductive quality. The streams of the township are Simpson Creek, Mud Run, Village and a branch of Eli's Creek — all small. It is well piked and the northern portiou is crossed by the C, H. & I. R. R. LAND ENTRIES. The northern half of the township lies in Town- ship 14 north. Range 13 east, and the southern half in Township 13 north, Range 13 east. 184 HISTOKY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Disposing first of the former: John Keeaey purcliased the southwest quarter of Section 22, November 1, 1811. Lewis Noble, the southeast quarter of Section 26, October 23, 1811. Samuel Riggs, the northwest quarter of Section 17, October 30, 1811. John C. Death, the northwest quarter of Section 21, September 29, 1812. Abraham Vanmeter, the northeast quarter of Section 22, August 5, 1812. Isaac Fletcher, the southeast quarter of Section 21, October 30, 1813. David Fletcher, the northwest quarter of Section 22, October 27, 1813. Hill & Oldham, the southeast quarter of Section 22, October 13, 1813. William Knott, the southwest quarter of Section 26, July 21, 1813. Smith & Conner, the northeast quarter of Section 28, January 7, 1813. Samuel Bell, the northeast quarter of Section 33, October 12, 1813. Peggie Shields, the northwest quarter of Section 34, November 6, 1813. Jacob Darter, the southwest quarter of Section 34, November 27, 1813. Thomas Simpson, the northeast quarter of Section 23, January 11, 1814. Amos Sutton, the northwest quarter of Section 23, August 23, 1814. Daniel Boyles, Jr., the north half of Section 26, September 21, 1814. Michael Brown, the southeast quarter of Section 27, January 7, 1814. James Ward, the northwest quarter of Section 28, December 3, 1814. Samuel Bell, the southeast quarter of Section 83, January 17, 1814. Phineas McCray, southwest quarter of Section 33, February 2, 1814. Thomas Patton, northeast (juarter of Section 34, October 10, 1814. Richard Colvin, the southeast quarter of Section 34, September 8, 1814. Robert Abernathy, the northwest and southeast quarters of Section 35, March 10 and November 26, 1814. Jonathan Hougbam, the southwest quarter of Sec- tion 21, August 24, 1815. Valentine Harman, the southeast and southwest quarters of Section 23, March 4, 1815, and December 10, 1816, respectively. John Oldham, the southwest quarter of Section 27, January 16, 1815. Samuel Bell, the northwest quarter of Section 83, January 6, 1815. Samuel Wilson, the northeast quarter of Section 35, February 9, 1815. Joseph Dungan, the southwest quarter of Section 35, March 13, 1815. O. Stoddard and N. Robinson, the northeast quarter of Section 21, February 14, 1816. Zachariah Daree, the northeast quarter of Section 27, October 25, 1816. John Keeney, the southeast quarter of Section 28, March 8, 1816. Robert Brown, the southwest quarter of Section 28, November 30, 1816. The following lands are in Township 13 north. Range 13 east: Samuel Fallen purchased the southeast quarter of Section 3, October 28, 1811. Joseph Vanmeter the northeast quarter of Section 2, August 30, 1813. Giles Mattix the southwest quarter of Section 2, November 8, 1813. Joseph Vanmeter the northeast quarter of Section 3, August 30, 1813. Jacob Darter the northwest quarter of Section 3, April 9, 1813. Thomas Clark, the northeast quarter of Section 4, August 4, 1813. William Patton, the northwest quarter of Section 4, November 23, 1813. John Manley, the southeast quarter of Section 4, June 18, 1813. James Worster, the southwest quarter of Section 15, September 10, 1813. Harod Newland, the southeast quarter of Section 15, December 21, 1814. John Huff, the northwest quarter of Section 15, January 12, 1814. Benjamin H. Hanson, the northwest quarter of Section 14, September 10, 1814. Herod Newland, the northeast quarter of Section 14, March 10, 1814. Joseph Vanmeter, the northeast quarter of Section 2, March 18, 1814. Michael Brown, the southeast quarter of Section 2, January 7, 1814. Andrew Bailey, the southwest quarter of Section 8, August 9, 1814. Adam Pigman, the northeast quarter of Section 9, January 12, 1814. Jesse Pigman, the southeast quarter of Section 9, January 12, 1814. Herod Newland, the southwest quarter of Section 9, December 21, 1814. John Bray, the northeast quarter of Section 10, January 28, 1814. HISTOKY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 185 Benjamin Elliott, the northwest quarter of Section 10, January 4, 1814. Ephraim Bering, the southeast quarter of Section 10, April 2, 1814. John Hilif, the southwest quarter of Section 10, January 12, 1814. Hem-y Bray, the northwest quarter of Section 11, February 7, 1814. Jacob Mattis, the southeast quarter of Section 11, March 13, 1814. John Black, the southwest quarter of Section 11, March 29, 1814. William Manley, the southwest quarter of Section 4, March 10, 1814. John Wood, the northwest quarter of Section 9, August 28, 1815. Solomon Wise, the northeast quarter of Section 11, April 4, 1815. Elisha Crandel, the southeast quarter of Section 14, January 19, 1815. William and Robert Angent, the southwest quarter of Section 14, April 4, 1816. William P. and James A. Belton, the northeast quarter of Section 15, November 18, 1831. EARLY SETTLEMENT AND PIONEER BIOGRAPHY. It will be noticed that the earliest purchases made were in 1811 and 1812, the lands lying in the north- ern half of the township, excepting one in Section 3, south of Alquina. While this is true the first settle- ment effected was on land not entered until 1814. Thomas Simpson, Sr., wJio is credited with being the first to settle within the present limits of the sub- division, was a native of Maryland, born in 1778. He subsequently settled in North Carolina, where he was married to Sarah Mabry or Marberry, and in after years removed to the vicinity of Clinch River, in Tennessee. About the year 1805 or 1806, having in view the purchase of land in the Territory of Indiana, he removed to the vicinity of Harrison, Ohio, and was there awaiting the further preparation of lands for market. Here he lived several years, and when one Vantrees, a Government Surveyor, was making up the party for the survey of the " Twelve-Mile Pur- chase," Simpson joined them to act as hunter for the party. He accompanied them and remained until the survey was completed (which was in progress in 1808 -09), traveling and hunting over the country from Michigan to the Ohio River. On the approach of winter tho party built a log-cabin by a spring on the northeast quarter of Section 23 (Township 14, Range 13), which they occupied during the survey of that region of the country. After the completion of the survey, and in Decem- ber, 1809, Mr. Simpson, by means of a four-horse wagon, moved his family, consisting of wife and six children, to the cabin, and on that site passed the remaining years of his life, dying February 5, 1848, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. To Thomas Simpson, Sr., a son, still residing in sight of the spot where the old cabin stood, around which cluster so many recollections of frontier life, the writer is indebted for the above data, and much other contained in this volume. Mr. Simpson was born in Tennessee in the year 1800 and is conse- quently past four score years, yet is well preserved physically and retains a clear memory. In 1826 he married Joanna S. White, who too has been spared to spend the evening of their lives together. In the vicinity of the cabin, probably three-quar- ters of a mile south of the spring in that early day, was a camping- ground for the Indians which they frequently occupied and many were their visits to the Simpson dwelling, where they were always fed, which kindness they remembered and no depredations were committed in the neighborhood. Just north of the creek, which by the way was known by the Indians as Brush or Brushy Creek, and subsequently designated by the pioneers as Simpsons' Creek, in honor of the first settler, was the place of burial of the Indians, and on the arrival of the Simpsons was still used. Probably the major portion of the early settlers of Jennings were emigrants from the South, yet some of them were natives of the North and East but had emigrated thither in the earlier history of that sec- tion. John and Stephen Oldham, brothers, John Keeney, James Smith, and Samuel Hill, all men of families, immigrated to the Simpson neighborhood from Ten- nessee about 1810 or 1811. Smith and Oldham were ministers of the Regular Baptist Church. These with later settlers came from the neighborhood in Tennessee in which the Simpsons had resided and communication had been carried on between them and others by which means they and others were induced to come. Jacob Darter and family settled just west of Alquina in 1813. He and wife Catharine emigrated from Vii-ginia to Campbell County, Tenn., in 1811, where one winter was passed and in 1812 they re- moved to the old Adam Eli place on East Fork, in what is now Union County, where the husband rented ground and raised one crop, then came to what is now Fayette County. They are believed to have been the first family that settled in that vicinity. That same season Joseph Vanmeter, who lived on the William Louderback place and John Manley, who lived on the Joseph Rutherford place, came to the neighborhood; the former emigrating from Ohio. About this time Isaac and James Jones settled in that vicinity and it 186 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. is believed purchased land of Joseph Vanmeter. The followincr sketch of the life and labors of one of Jenning's pioneers appeared in the Liberty Herald of September 9, 1875: "Adam Pigman was born August 18, 1789, in Greene County, Penn. At one year of age, he was taken by his parents to Bracken County, Ky. , living some time in Fort Augusta, Bracken Station. At the age of four years his parents moved to Jessamine County, where he grew up to manhood, spending most of the time working at the carpenter's trade. When a boy, he often saw those old pioneers of Kentucky, Boone and Kenton, and was a nephew to James Har- rod, who built the first cabin on the historic 'dark and bloody ground.' In June, 1812, he enlisted in the army under Capt. Dowden, Col. Togue's regiment serving as Fourth Sergeant of his company, and in August his regiment marched for the seat of war. He was in the relief sent to Fort Wayne, which place they entered without firing a gun; then marched to the support of Gen. Winchester, in Ohio, following the defeated British and Indians under Proctor down the Maumee River for several days and nights. He was then detailed to help build Fort Amanda, on the Auglaize River, and was afterward in the relief sent to Gen. Winchester, then at Frenchtown, on the River Raisin, but was too late to participate in that bloody engagement which clothed Kentucky and Ohio in mourning. His command then marched to and helped build Fort Meigs, where, after considerable skirmishing, and enduring many hardships, known only to frontier life, in all of which he considered death preferable to dishonor, he was mustered out, and returned with a number of comrades to the home of his boyhood, where he again entered the service, this time as Lieutenant of his company. " He came to Indiana Territory in December, 1813, and entered a quarter- section of land in what is now Fayette County, and in the summer of the nest year, in company with the Huff family, started again for the far West, traveling through the wilderness on foot, driving stock for his board. They arrived at their destination, now Rigor's Mill, in September, 1814, and the first morning of his arrival ho shot nineteen wild turkeys. His first work in the now country was to build a house for Huff, hewing the timber, including the studding, braces' and rafters. It was the first frame house built within the limits of Union County, and the present residence of R. T. Maize. After the completion of the job, he went to Brookvillo — then composed of a few small cabins — and worked as journey carpenter with Tom Coldscott, and through this means obtained the money to pay for his land. He was married, November 4, 1815, to Mary, daughter of Adam Eli, from whom Eli's Creek derived its name. December 14, 1815, he and his wife moved on land in Fayette County, and on the night of their arrival snow fell to the depth of two feet and six inches, and lay on the gi'ound until the next spring; yet notwithstanding this and the many privations incident to new settlers, by the mid- dle of May they had cleared in the greenwood sis acres, and planted it in corn, and by the nest spring they had cleared twelve acres more, part of which they planted in fruit trees, being the first planted in the Village Creek Valley. For nine years they lived here, sometimes suffering greatly for the comforts of life, but always cheerful, submitting to any privation or labor that fell to their lot. " Fields were to be cleared in the green timber, roads to be cut through the trackless forest; school- houses were to be built; a means of defense was to be kept organized, in all of which he contributed his full share of means and time, serving as Captain of a com- pany of Territorial Militia for several years. In March, 1824, they moved to their present residence, to be near to and care for their aged parents. They had twelve children, ten of whom have already gone over the dark river, leaving them but two in their old age — Luranah, th& eldest, and Eli, who is a power of strength to them in their declining years. Adam Pig- man, now eighty six years old, in early life resolved to abstain from the use of whisky, coffee and tobacco, and has strictly adhered to that resolution from that year to the present time. Mr. Pigman and wife celebrated, November 4, 1875, the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage. They died, the former, September 17, and the latter September 23, 1876, aged eighty-seven and eighty years respectively." Many of those entering land settled upon it at about the time of purchase, or in some cases a little later, and were engaged for years in improving the same, while a few never settled their possessions, but bought for others or for speculation. Isaac Fletcher came from Ohio pretty early, but did not remain long. His laud was purchased by William Walker, who too came from Ohio. Aaron and Jonathan Haugham, from Kentucky, after a residence of some years, removed further West. The Nobles, Lewis, Daniel and Joseph, from Ten- nessee, were early settlers, but subsequently left the county. William Knott was from South Carolina. Michael Brown was from Lebanon County, Penn. In 1814 James Newland, from Bracken County, Ky., settled in the township. He had, in 1812, emigrated from the State of Pennsylvania. Reserved in the war of 1812-15. Jesse Pigman, who entered land here, was a broth- HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. 187 er to Adam Pigman, spoken of above. The Stod- dards and Kobinsons were from Ohio, and related. They resided on the land they entered for a j)eriod, then removed further West, to the Wabash country. Geoi-ge, the father of John C. Death, in whose name the land was entered, came from Ohio here, and subsequently removed to Montgomery County, this State. The Bells, Samuel and Joseph, from Kentucky, settled in the township quite early; also Stephen Goulding and the Woods, Jeremiah and John. Abraham Lyons, who died at Lyons' Station in 1880, at the advanced age of eighty years, was a native of Virginia, and with his parents removed to Kentucky, and in 1808 settled in Indiana Territory, and about the year 1815 located in the vicinity of Alquina. He was the father of ten children. The Veatches, Loudenbacks and Hutchinses were among the pioneers of the township. The Rosses, from North Carolina, were pioneers in the vicinity of Alquina. The Rutherfords were from the State of Pennsylvania, and settled in Sec- tion 4, on a tract of 170 acres, for which, in 1830, Joseph paid $800. It was one of the first farms opened up in the township. Samuel Riggs, with his parents, settled early in Washington County, Ohio, coming from the State of Maryland. In 1811 Samuel walked from Washing- ton County to this section of the country, selected and entered his land, and in 1819, with family, moved upon it and there passed his life. James Worster, a native of Pennsylvania, moved early in life to Bracken County, Ky., with parents. In 1814, with family, James emigrated to what lately became Jennings Township. He had previously served in the war of 1812. Subsequently his father, Robert, settled in the township, and was among the early school teachers of the county. He is said to have preached the first Methodist sermon west of the Alleghenies. Amos Miliner settled in the township in 1819. He was a Revolutiouary soldier, and in an early day emigrated from Pennsylvania to Bracken County, Ky. He died in 1851, in the ninety-second year of his age. William Lair, a soldier of the war of 1812, and son of a Revolutionary soldier, a native of Virginia, though reared in Harrison County, Ky., some time subsequent to the last war with England immigrated to what is now this township, where he entered land upon which he lived and died. Several sons and descendants are now residents of this county. David Sutton, a native of Pennsylvania, in about 1816 settled in the township on land where now resides his son A. B. David entered a large body of land, and upon a portion of which A. B. has resided nearly seventy years. David stopped for a time in Warren County, Ohio. In 1819 William Walker, a Virginian, settled in the township. He had previously lived for a time in the vicinity of Chillicothe, Ohio. He served in the war of 1812. The widow Garland Stanley, of North Carolina stock, with several childi-en immigrated from Campbell County, Ky. , in 1822 to Union County, this State, and in 1824 settled in this township. In 1833 John Jacob Scholl settled in the town- ship. He was a native of Pennsylvania, and the father of Jacob, Solomon and .George Scholl, of this township. Michael Petro, a Virginian, though from Ohio here, located in the township in 1816. ALQUINA. The origin of this little village seems lost to the few pioneers yet living in its vicinity. Fifty years ago it was a village of almost its present size. From tradition it is learned that one Green Larimore gave the name to the place. He was one of the early merchants there, and made some pretensions to per- form cures by the laying on of hands, and other simi- lar means. The village occupies ground in the northwestern and northeastern parts of Sections 2 and 3 respectively, located on the road leading from Connersville to Dunlapsville, a little east of the cen- ter of the township. The original proprietor of this ground was Joseph Vanmeter, and the date of entry, 1813. The records show that a south addition to the vil- lage was laid ofi" November 2, 1838, by Joseph D. Ross and Isaac Darter, and that the north part was laid off December 27, 1841, by Jacob Reed; surveyed by William Dickey. Among the early merchants of the village were Samuel N. Harlan, licensed in May, 1830; H. G. Larimore, licensed in January, 1831 (which was renewed for several years); Moses Lyons, licensed in 1836; Joseph D. Ross, licensed in 1837 (in January, 1839, Joseph D. Ross was Postmaster at this point, and the store was in the hands of Joseph D. & Sam- uel K. Ross, who were successors to Moses Lyons, the latter having built the store house); David Maze succeeded Ross, and in several years sold to John H. Eyestone. In September, 1839, license was granted to S. & T. Jackson to vend merchandise. Subsequent firms were Eyestone & Newland, H. H. & Thomas Jackson, and Maze & Jackson. A Mr. Mallery, John Cashner, Joseph Graham, Jacob Davis, Joseph Pullen, John Sims and Aaron Goulding have been among the earlier blacksmiths of the village. 188 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Not far from 1846 a tan-yard was put in opera- tion by John H. Eyestone and for more tlian a decade was one of the industries of the place. Not far from 1841 George P. Lyons, Samuel Branum, William Freely and a fourth party erected a steam power saw-mill, which was operated a number of years. Having changed hands several times was finally destroyed by lire when owned by Price & Bros. It was rebuilt and a planing-mill attached for the manufacture of sash and doors. In recent years it was removed to another location. The census of 1880 gave Alquina a population of 125. It has now a postoffice, two stores, two black- smith shops, one shoe shop, a schoolhouse and one church. EAKLT SCHOOLS. Among the early schools can be mentioned the one known as the Jones or Darter schoolhouse, situ- ated about half-way between those farms, and located, perhaps, a mile southwest of Alquina. About the year 1826 or 1827 school was taught here by Baylis Jones. Another schoolhouse of about this period, known as the Eyestone school, stood probably one mile east of the present Mount Garrison meeting- house, or two miles east of south of Alquina, on the Asbury Hanson farm. Green Larimore, Mr. Linn, Matthew R. Hull, Washington Curnutt and Thomas O' Brine were early teachers in this locality; also John P. Brown. Daddy Wooster is thought, too, to have taught one of the early schools in the southern part of Jennings Township. A little later school was kept in the vicinity of Alquina by Squire Harrison, of Connersville, and by a Mr. Barnard. These were all subscription schools, and the buildings constructed of logs. Gradually the schools received part public money, and finally came improvement in the build- ings, and the regular school districts supported entirely by public money. CHURCHES AND GEAVE-YARDS. On a beautiful kaoll in the northeastern part of the township, along Simpson's Creek, is situated what is known as the Simpson graveyard. It is on the farm and in sight of the spring where the cabin was built in the fall of 1808 which sheltered the surveying party, and soon became the home of Thomas Simpson, Sr., whose remains there rest, and whose name it honors. The first death, so far as is known, that occurred in the eastern part of the county, was that of a widow woman by name of McDade, who died probably before the war of 1812, or there- abouts, and her remains were here interred. There is no inscribed stone that marks the grave. The oldest grave marked is that of "Jesse, son of Thomas and Sarah Simpson, died March 27, 1816, aged two years, ten months and seventeen days." Another early inter- ment here was that of Elizabeth Sutton in 1822. Thomas Simpson, Sr., and wife, Sarah, dying in 1848 and 1865, respectively, and other members of the family, and a number of others are here buried. In July, 1814, not far from this place of burial, was chosen by Bros. Litteral and McLaughlin (a com- mittee appointed for such) the site of the first meet- ing-house of the New Bethel Regular Baptist Church. They paid for one acre of ground here purchased of Thomas Simpson, Sr. , 12, upon which was erected a log meeting-house 26x20 feet. Elder Stephen Oldham, Rebecca Oldham, John Keny, Polly Keny, Thomas Simpson (deacon), Sarah Simpson, Rebecca Conner, Katharine Williams, Charles and Jane. McLaughlin, James and Sarah Con- naway, John Keny, Sr., Jonathan Keny, Polly Keny, William and Ann Oldham, and Susan White, had, January 15, 1814, made application for a church soci- ety, and on the fourth Friday of February adopted Articles of Faith, and were on the following day con- stituted a Gospel Baptist Church by the name of New Bethel, by the Presbytery, Lazarus Whitehead, from Elkhorn Church, and James Smith. Until his death, in 1834, Elder Oldham served this people from the beginning. Subsequent pastors have been Elders William Sparks, George Harlan, Daniel Conner, Thomas Lyons and others. Elders Reed and Parker are the present pastors. In 1821 steps were taken to select another site for a church building, and in 1822 Elder Oldham gave to the society one acre of ground where llie present building stands; and upon it was erected a second log meeting-house, under the superintendency of Matthias Dawson, Aaron and Jonathan Haugham. In 1860 the present neat frame structure was erected on the site of the second building, at a cost of over $1,500. Alongside of this building is another neat frame structure, erected in 1853 by St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was organized about 1851, with the following membership: Jacob, Solomon Henry, Jacob, Sr., Daniel, Benjamin, Abraham John, Sr., John and William Scholl, Jacob and Charles Riebsomer, Isaac Brown, William Roth, Christian Isenhoser, Margaret, Nancy, Elizabeth, Sarah Eliza- beth, Jane and Elizabeth Scholl, Mary A. Tittering- ton, Hester Scholl, Mrs. William Rady, Rebecca and Sarah Rubsamer, Mrs. Brown, Anna M. Roth, Sa- trona Isenhoser, Elizabeth Heinbach, John and Sam- uel Smallwood, Daniel Gise, Thomas Huston, Robert Scarlet, Michael Brown, David Scholl, Sarah Hein- bach, Margaret Smallwood, Mary Huston, Amanda A. Smallwood, Mary and Eve Brown, Matilda Gi^e, and Hester Huston. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 189 The church building was dedicated October 16, 1853, by Rev. Riser, of Dayton, O. Regular services and Sabbath-school are held by this society through out the year. Present pastor is Rev. J. A. West. So- ciety is in good condition, with a membership of sev- enty-live. The Sabbath-school numbers 120 scholars. In the rear of these buildings is a burying- ground, a portion of which comprised a part of the ground given by Elder Oldham wheu the church was built. The grounds are in possession of the Trustees of the two churches. Among the aged buried here are the following: Samuel Wilson, aged eighty years ; Rachel, his wife, sixty -two years; Christian Brown, sixty-five years; Eve, his wife, sixty-six years; John Scholl, seventy-seven years; Sally, his wife, sixty- three years; Jacob Sholl, Sr., ninety-six years; Mary M., his wife, sixty-five years; Elder Stephen Oldham, fifty-nine years; Joseph Baldwin, seventy-six years; his wife, Sarah, seventy-two years; Nathan Roysdon, sixty-four years; William Roysdon, sixty-seven years; James Connaway, eighty -one years; Sarah, his wife, ninety-one years; Samuel Riggs, eighty-eight years; Elizabeth, his wife, seventy-nine years. The Methodist Episcopal Churches at Alquina and Mt. Garrison are at least sixty years old, and most likely were the outgrowth of classes formed prior to 1820. In 1828 or 1829 both were appointments on Whitewater Circuit, and to which they belonged for some years thereafter. As early as 1829 or therea- bouts, " Veatch's meeting-house on Mt. Garrison " is referred to. The house as originally built was about half its present size, and was constructed of logs, and is now the northern part of the present structure weather-boarded, the south half being built of frame to the old log building a number of years later. The building is at present about 36x5 J: feet. Among the early members were some of the Veatches, the Woos- ters, Eyestones and Miliners. The father of James Wooster was a Methodist minister, and at the son's house services were often held. The first house of worship for the Alquina congre- gation was ft log structure about 24x34: feet, and stood on the hill probably 100 yards east of the pres- ent schoolhouse. It occupied such position in 1839, but when built we cannot state. This building was used until the present one constructed of frame was completed. The dedication of the latter took place August 8, 1858— sermon by Rev. John W. Locke, then Presiding Elder of the district. Among the early members were the Darters, the Joneses and the Mills. At Mt. Garrison is a very old graveyard, where within ^the shadow of the old church sleep many to whom she looked for support in by-gone years. The ground for burial purposes was deeded by James Veatch, and that upon which the church stands was donated by John and Samuel Huflf. The earliest grave marked by a tombstone, whose inscription is legible, is that of Susannah, daughter of James and Mary Veatch, died July 9, 1819, aged one year and four days. Among the aged buried here are: Robert Wooster, died in December, 1830, aged one hundred and one years; Mary, his wife, in 1832, sev- enty-five years; James Wooster, sixty-six years; Nancy, his wife, eighty-six years; Amos Miliner, a Revolutionary soldier, ninety-one years; Jesse Pigmau, eighty-sevea years; Adam Ely, seventy-three years; James Veatch, eighty-five years; Elisha Cran- del, seventy-nine years; Margaret, his wife, sixty- eight years; James Bolton, seventy-two years; Jane, his wife, seventy-nine years; Adam Pigman, eighty - six years; Mary, his wife, seventy nine years. On Village Creek in Section 34 is located another burying-ground, where other pioneers rest, among them Hugh Bell, aged eighty-five years; William Lair, eighty six years; Samuel Bell, seventy-five years; Sarah, his wife, seventy-two years; Robert Shields, seventy-seven years; Margaret Shields, eighty-three years; Mary, wife of Philip Loudenback, eighty years. The oldest grave marked by a legible tombstone is that of John Lair, Sr., died October 7, 1821. The following epitaph is taken from a tomb- stone in one of the family burying-grounds of the township: "Not all the pains that e'er I bore Shall spoil my future peace, For death and hell can do no more Than what my Father please." MILLS AND DISTILLERIES. Among those who operated distilleries in the early period of the township's history were John Harlan, James Riggs, William Walker, Hige Hubbell and Michael Petro. Then quite extensive peach crops were raised and good peach brandy made. Copper stills at that period were found on nearly every spring or branch. The father of Job Stout distilled some later. The first and only grist-mill of the township was erected on Simpson's Creek some time prior to 1826, by Henry Cashner, who also run in connection with it a saw-mill and distillery. It subsequently passed into the hands of Peter Fiant, and later was owned by Lewis Monger, and for quite a number of years did considerable business, but finally fell into disuse. The old frame is still standing. HALF-CENTURY CITIZENS. The following list contains the names of such cit- izens of the township as had in 1879 resided in the 190 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. county fifty years and upward: Joseph R. Darter, Abraham Sutton, Abraham Lyons and wife, Nathan Stanley, James R. Darter, Greenbmy Hanson, Jarvey Ball, Sarah J. Murphy, James Hulgan, John Newland, Elizabeth Veatch, Isaac Louderback, Margaret Elliott. CHAPTER XXI. COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP. BOUNDARIES AND ORGANIZATION— LAND ENTRIES— PIONEBR SETTLEMENT AND BIOGRAPHV- MILLS AND DISTIL LERIES— SCHOOLS— CHURCHES AND GRAVE-YARDS— HAMLETS— HALF-CENTURY CITIZENS. COLUMBIA is the central of the southern tier of townships of the county, and lies south of Connersville Township, west of the river, north of Franklin County, and east of the township of Orange. It was one of the original townships into which the county was divided in 1819, and at that time its boundaries were designated as follows: "Begin- ning at the southeast corner of Section 33 in Town- ship 13, Range 13; thence west along the line divid- ing the counties of Franklin and Fayette to the west- ern boundary of the county of Fayette; thence north along said count}- line live miles; thence on a direct line east to the northwest corner of Section 8, in Township 13, Range 12; thence east along the line dividing Sections 8 and 9 in Township 13, Range 13; thence south on the line dividing said Sections 8 and 9, to the southwest corner of Section 16, Township and Range last aforesaid; thence east to the line divid- ing the counties of Franklin and Fayette; thence south along the said line to the place of beginning." The township then included, besides its present territory, all of Orange Township as it now is, except- the two northern tiers of sections, and all of Jackson as it now is, except the two eastern tiers of sections south of Jennings Township. This latter territory it lost on the formation of Jackson in 1820, and the former on the formation of Orange in 1822. The surface of the country is rolling, portions of which are considerably broken, though along the river are fine bottoms of most excellent land. The streams are Fall Creek in the north, "West Fork of Whitewater River in the east, and crossing the central and south- western portions are the north and south branches of Garrison's Creek. The land in general is less valu- able than in other subdivisions unless it be Orange- Population in 1880, 803. LAND ENTEIES. The land lies in Township 13 north. Range 12 east, and was sold by the government, as follows: Northeast quarter of Section 27, 1811, to John Grist. Northeast quarter of Section 28, 1811, to Moses Martin. Southwest quarter of Section 22, 1811, to Charles Scott and R. Russell. Northeast quarter of Section 33, 1811, to Edward Webb. North- east quarter of Section 34, 1811, to Elijah Limpus. Southeast quarter of Section 34, 1811, to M. Huston and H. J. Byram. Southwest quarter of Section 34, to Hugh Reed. Northeast quarter of Section 22, 1811, to Edward Webb. Southeast quarter of Sec- tion 22, 1811, to William Gerard. Northwest quar- ter of Section 14, 1811, to Nicholas Reagan. South- west quarter of Section 14, 1811, to William Eagan. Northwest quarter of Section 23, 1811, to William Helm. Northeast quarter of Section 15, 1812, to Morgan Vardiman. Southwest quarter of Section 23, 1812, to Gabriel Ginn. Northeast quarter of Section 9, 1812, to Benjamin McCarty. Northwest quarter of Section 34, 1812, to John Richardson. Southeast quarter of Section 28, 1812, to Enoch Limpus. Southeast quarter of Section 29, 1813, to Jonathan Gillam. Southeast quarter of Section 27, 1813, to Allen Crisler. Section 10, 1813, to John Knox, Jaraes Hamilton, James Newhouse and Chris- topher Ladd, each a quarter. Northwest quarter of Section 11, 1813, to W. S. Hand. Southwest quarter of Section 11, 1813, to Benjamin Sailor. Southeast quarter of Section 20, 1813, to John Bridges. South- west quarter of Section 22, 1813, to Reuben Conner. Southeast quarter of Section 15, 1813, to William Helm. Northwest quarter of Section 15, 1814, to William Conner. Northeast quarter of Section 17, 1814, to James Buchanan. Southwest quarter of Section 17, 1814, to Robert Mitchell. Fractional Section 18, 1814, to Charles Hardy. Northeast quar- ter of Section 20, 1814, to Elijah Stevens. North- west quarter of Section 20, 1814, to Wilson Waddams. Northwest quarter of Section 22, 1814, to John Conner. All except the southwest quarter of Section 8, 1814, to Benjamin McCarty, Samuel Logan and Samuel Newhouse each a quarter. Northwest quarterof Sec- tion 9, 1814, to R. Marshall, or Manhall. South half f^ jtjin.yLtAyt^tJ'n^// HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 193 of Section 9, 1814, to Benjamin McCarty. Northwest quarter of Section 27, 1814, to William Conner. Southwest quarter of Section 21, 1814, to James Wiley. Northeast quarter of Section 30, 1815, to Robert Glidwell. Southwest quarter of Section 15, 1815, to Benjamin Sailor. Northwest quarter of SectioQ 28, 1816, to Elijah Allen. Northeast quarter of Section 29, 1816, to Eaoch Hills. Northwest quarter of Section 29, 1816, to Lewis Bishop. South- west quarter of Section 8, 1817, to Gale Smith. Northwest quarter of Section 17, 1817, to Gale Ham- ilton. Fraction of Section 7, 1817, to S. Todd and William C. Drew. Eighty acres of Section 33, 1818, to Enoch Limpus. Eighty acres of the same section 1819, to Horatio Mason. (The remaining quarter of same section, 1831, in eighty-acre tracts to James Con- well, Henry Vandalson,Hugh Reed and Isaac Thomas.) East half of the southwest quarter of Section 27, 1818, to Allen Crisler. West half of same quar- ter, 1831, to William Wherrott. East half of the southwest quarter of Section 19, 1818, to Wilson Waddams. The rest of Section 19, from 1820 to 1835, mostly in forty and eighty. acre tracts, to Charles Hardy, Benjamin F. Utter, James Con well, George Klum, John G. Gray, John Ronald, John Combs, Horatio N. Burgoyne and William Jacobs. South- west quarter of Section 20, 1832, to Elijah Stevens. The rest of Section 21, from 1839 to 1834, mostly in eighty-acre tracts,to Wilson Waddams, James Conwell and Isaac Limpus. The rest of Section 17, from 1832 to 1835, in forty and eighty-acre tracts, toH. N. Burgoyne, W. C. Plummer and James Conwell. The rest of Section 30, from 1832 to 1836, in small tracts to Charles Stevens, Benjamin Tharpe, Job Waltz and James Conwell. Forty acres, Section 32, 1834, to James Wells, Jr. Eighty acres of the same Section, 1826, to F. A Conwell. A portion of fractional Section 7, 1830, to Thomas Hibbs; 1832, to John G. Gray. The rest of Section 29, from 1831 to 1834, small tracts, to Cornelius and Rinerd Rinerson. Section 31, from 1826 to 1836, in small tracts, James Moore, Charles Melond, James Linville, Charles Morrow and S. Resum. Section 32, from 1831 to 1836, in small tracts, Rinerd Rinerson, Moses Harrell, John J. Shaw and F. A. Conwell. PIONEER SETTLEMENT AND BIOGRAPHY. Similar tracts of land in this township to those in most others were chosen by the first settlors, namely, those along the water courses. It will be noticed that all entries of land made in 1811 were along the river and on other streams. The settlement of the township may be said to have been begun in the year 1811; however, it is quite probable that William Eagan, an Irishman, though from Maryland here, settled earlier. His brother, John, it is reliably said, was living in a cab- in just over the river from the Nulltown bridge, in Jackson Township, in 1809. The writer has been unable to learn anything definite as to this settle- ment, but inasmuch as John and his father resided on the east side of the river, and almost on its very banks, and from the fact of William entering land among the first, upon which he lived and died, it is not unreasonable to suppose that he most likely came at the same time the other members of the family came. The settlers who came in 1811, 1812 and 1813 settled along the streams named, and were with little, if any, exception, from the State of Kentucky. Those of whom any definite or satisfactory information could be obtained are William Helm, who on the 10th of March, 1811, with family emigrated from Mason County, Ky. He and his wife had been inmates of Bryant's Station during its memorable siege by the Indians, and the husband had been engaged for some time in the border wars. At the beginning' of the war of 1812 he was commissioned Major, and placed in command of the troops guarding the frontier. Judge Helm was deeply imbued with the hospitality of his countrymen. He was a strong and good man, and for a number of years was one of the Associate Judges of the county. "His judgment was sound, and his in- tegrity above question.'' He was the father of Mere- dith Helm, of this county. Dr. Jefferson Helm, of Rush, and Robert D. Helm, of Wabash. Edward Webb, John and perhaps Daniel Con- ner (the latter brothers) emigrated from Boone Coun- ty, Ky., and settled on the Big Bottom, where they resided a year or two or more, and while there visited the Whitewater country, and some time prior to the fall of 1813 selected and purchased laud, built cab- ins, set out two orchards and in the spring of 1814 removed their families. Mr. Webb was a man of con- siderable ability and figured conspicuously in the early affairs of the county. On the organization of the county he was chosen one of the Associate Judges and was honored with that office for twenty-seven con- secutive years, at the expiration of which time he ten- dered his resignation for the reason that his hearing had become so affected that he could not hear the tes- timony. In the fall of 1813 — not long before Christmas — Allen Crisler and Joshua Crigler, from Boone County, Ky., settled in the same neighborhood, and occupied one or both cabins above referred to until their own homes were built. Vincent Cooper emigrated from Kentucky, coming some time prior to the Crislers and Criglers. Michael Hackleman (from Kentucky), Abraham 10 194 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Bays, Charles Scott, the Gillams, Jonathan and Dav- id, and James Newhouse (from Virginia) settled in the township prior to 1814; Isaac, Enoch, Levi, Eli- jah and Jonathan Limptis, brothers, natives of Vir- ginia, though they had settled in Kentucky early, going from thence to Butler County, Ohio, and to what is now Columbia Township in 1813. Many of these early families were related and came from the same locality. The Webbs, Conners, Crig- lers, Crislers, Helms and Hacklemans were all con- nected in some way. Philip and Horatio Mason with their wives settled on Garrison's Creek in 1817. They emigrated from Herkimer County, N. Y. , in the spring of 1816, go- ing by sleigh to Olean Point on the Allegheny River, thence to Cincinnati by raft and to the vicinity of Laurel by wagon. Samuel Jenks, a brother-in-law to Philip Mason, was a resident of that vicinity and with him Philip stopped and shared their cabin home until in Januai'y, 1817, when he removed to a cabin upon land on Garrison's Creek, which he had previ- ously purchased. He assisted Mr. Jenks during the season of 1816 in raising a crop of corn. This sea- son was known throughout the United States as the cold season. Dr. Mason thus refers to it in his autobiography. "We finished planting our corn on the morning of the 7th day of June, our fingers suffering from the cold. Though we had frost early in Octo- ber, which injured our corn, yet we had what might be said to have been good crops, yielding at least fif- ty bushels of good corn to the acre." Dr. Mason became pi'ominent in the affairs of the county. Before Fayette County was formed he served as one of the Commissioners of Franklin County. He was active, useful and conspicuous from the very beginning in the pioneer settlements of the vicinity in which he resided and prominent in sub- sequent life. He was an early teacher, farmer, miller, merchant, physician, practicing at various points throughout the county. He was one of the early militia officers. In 1839 he was chosen the first Judge of the Probate Court of the county and served as such until 1834. He was elected to the State Leg- islature in 1835 with Caleb B. Smith. He served again in that body in 1838 and in 1840. Dr. Mason was a very prominent Free Mason. He served as Master of Warren Lodge of Connersville for a period of thirteen years, and as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State eight years. The following sketch istaken from the "Reminis- cences" of Hon. Elijah Hackleman, published in the Rushville Republican in 1884: "George Pogue emigrated from South Carolina in the year 1814, and settled at the 'Block-house' at William Wilson's, on the west fork of Whitewater, six miles above the town of Brookville, Franklin County. At that time it was necessary for all immi- grants to settle near some military post, for protec- tion against Indian invasions. In the spring of 1816 he moved to Fayette County, about five miles south- west of Connersville, and in 1818 he moved to the town of Conner.sville, remaining there until 1820, when he fitted up a team, and with two or three of his sons started to locate a home on White River. Mr. Pogue was accompanied by John McCormaek and family (a wife and two children), who had resided for many years in the vicinity of Connersville. Mr. McCormaek went out with the double purpose, first of boarding Mr. Pogue's hands while engaged in build- ing a cabin and clearing a few acres of ground; and secondly, of locating a home for himself. The site chosen by Pogue for his cabin is about one mile east of the court house in the city of Indianapolis, and about eighty rods north of the National road. After- ward when the location of the city of Indianapolis was made, it was found that a few acres of Pogue's clearing was on the 'Donation,' that is, within the four sections donated for a capital for the State. His family, after the cabin was built, immediately moved from Connersville to their new home. The next year (1821) Mr. Pogue's neighbors were John Willson, Thomas Chinn, and Harris Tyner. "Early in this year Mr. Pogue's horses strayed away toward the settlements on Whitewater, and soon afterward he took his dog and gun and started iu pursuit. Visiting Connersville, and not finding them, he then came through the new settlements on Little Flat Rock, spending some days with his son, William Pogue, and then started on his return home, making Richard Tyner's, on Blue River, near Mor- ristown, the first night. Here he heard of an Indian camp on Sugar Creek, some eight or ten miles west, where horses answering to the description of his had been seen a few days before ifi possession of the Indi- ans. The next morning Mr. Pogue started for the Indian camp, and the last time ho was ever seen was at the crossing of Blue River, near Mr. Tyner's. A few days after this his dog returned home. It was generally thought that the Indians murdered him; if so, it was probably the last mui'der committed by Indians in central Indiana. If I recollect correctly, a few years later one of his horses was found in pos- session of the Indians, in the Upper Wabash country. "The widow of Mr. Pogue lived here for a number of years, raising a large family of children. A few years ago she was still living, at an advanced age, with her daughter, Mrs. Anna Fullen, near Crawfords- ville, having spent a life-time in anxiously awaiting some ray of light on the mysterious disappearance of her long lost husband. The land on which the cabin HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 195 stood was bought by Gov. Noble, and the only time I ever visited the site was on the occasion when the "Great Commoner" from Kentucky, Henry Clay, made his first and only visit to the capital of our State, in October, 1842, and made his celebrated speech to 30,000 persons assembled in the beautiful grove near the residence of Gov. Noble. The senti- ments uttered by that great statesman became the keynotes for the Presidential campaign of 181:8. William Pogue and myself had come over from Rush- ville, by the way of Greenfield, and joined the escort of the State's distinguished guest at the latter place, and had done our share of ' kicking up a dust, ' along the National road to the Capitol, the main caravan f rom Eushville of 250 wagons having taken the direct road to Indianapolis. "But I must not digress, as these incidents may come up iu a future number. What I wish to say is, that after the speech, William Pogue invited me to take a walk with him, a few rods north from the speaker's stand, and visit the site where he, twen- ty-two years before, had helped his father erect the first cabin in all that country, on the banks of a beau- tiful little creek that still bears the name of 'Pogue's Run,' its clear, limpid waters still sparkling and flashing in the sunlight, as in the days of yore, ever reminding the visitor of that sturdy old pioneer, George Pogue, who, in primitive times, marked out the first road through the dense forest, from the White- water Valley to the site of the State capital, but of whose resting-place, no man knows. After the erec- tion of Pogue's cabin, Mr. McCormack located and built up a home somewhere in the vicinity, probably on what was afterward the 'Donation;' but of the exact site neither history nor tradition affords any satisfactory information this late day. Mr. McCor- mack died a little over fifty years ago, and part of his large family found homes in Rush County. One lit- tle waif (Mary Ann) floated to my father's house, and afterward became the wife of James Hawkins, who for a number of years was an honored citizen of the Upper Wabash Valley, and whose oldest son marched at the head of a company with ' Sherman to the Sea.' Mrs. McCormack always claimed to be the first white woman that lived within the limits of the city of Indianapolis, and her claim was probably cor- rect. She died about the year 1878, having lived a number of years with a second husband, a Mr. King, near the Bluflfs of White River. On the last visit of Mrs. King to her niece, Mrs. James S. Sailors, of Indianapolis, in 1875, an ovation was given her by some of the old citizens of the place, at which time a t7o(M->iaZ reporter snatched from oblivion several inci- dents of olden times, as related by her." The venerable John A. White, still a resident of the township, though his hair is silvered by the frosts of quite ninety winters, came to the neighbor- hood in August, 1815, locating on Williams Creek, but in the course of a year or little more removed to the vicinity of his present residence, and with little exception has resided there ever since. Mr. White is a native of Virginia, born in 1795. His father died when he was quite young; his mother remarrying, he, in his sixteenth year, left home, going to the State of Kentucky. In August, 1813, at Somerset, in that State, he volunteered in the Fifteenth Regiment, Kentucky Infantry, commanded by Col. Salter, Lieu- tenant-Governor of the State. He was on the vessel commanded by Commodore Perry, at Lake Erie, three days after the battle, and while it was yet stained with blood. He was in Shelby's brigade in the reserve of Johnson, at the battle of the Thames, and viewed the lifeless form of Tecumseh, on the batle-tield. He was on the picket line at New Orleans that brought on the battle, in which he participated; his service in all consisting of two compaigns, the first of three months' duration, when he retired to the farm, resuming his occupation. Here he remained, until, feeling that his country was in peril, he, like Cin- cinnatus of old, left the plow in the furrow, and again went to the front and served for a period of nine months and three days. Mr. White, in 1821, married Emelia, daughter of Allen Crisler, and they have shared life's joys and cares together upward of sixty-three years. A modest little log-cabin on the brow of a hill, just below the village of Alpine, com- manding a beautiful and picturesque view of the river and suiTounding hills, built by his own hands, and which for more than a half century has sheltered them from the storms of winter and summer's heat, is yet their dwelling place, where around the hearthstone of their early married years happy hours were whiled away, and where played their children and children's children, this venerable and pure-minded couple are passing the evening of their lives together.* In 1819, Joshua Heizer, a native of Virginia, and a soldier in the war of 1812, settled in the township. Reuben Conner, from Boone County, Ky. , settled in the township in 1819. He was occupied as a farmer, and died in 1847. He was the father of B. F. Con- ner, of this county. A number of these early pioneers not only were identified in the great transformation of the wilder- ness into blossoming fields, but played their part in the early political, civil and religious history of the county. We have noticed above the valuable services of Judges Webb and Helm and Dr. Mason. Two of the Conners, John and Daniel, were for a long ♦Since the above was written we learn that Mr. White has passed away, his death having occurred in the fall of 1S84. 196 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. period of years ministers in the Old School Baptist Church. The old residence built and occupied by Judge Webb about 1817 still stands, occupying a site on the fertile bottom land along Whitewater River, a situation commanding a beautiful view. It is of the second class of pioneer cabins, constructed of hewed logs, two stories high and the building in size being about 18x28 feet; on the north end of the building is a large chimney constructed of stone of various sizes, built on the outside of the house; two doors from without open into the house, one on either side. Below on either side is one window, though of differ- ent sizes, and on the east side of the second floor are two half or garret windows. Within the house are three apartments, one above and two below, each floor being provided with one fireplace, large below and small on the second floor. This is said to have been the substantial house of that day in the settle- ment. Just below Nulltown, and not far from the old burying-ground, stood the old block-house built by the settlement for protection against the Indians during the war of 1S12. The Winchol family settled in what is now the township, during the first decade in the century, and formed a part of that noble band instrumental in con- verting the forests of that day into the beautiful fields of this. MILLS AND DISTILLERIES. The first mill in the township is thought to have been a saw-mill erected by Allen Crisler. It stood not far from the present site of the barn of William Seals, at the north end of Alpine. This mill was in operation in the summer of 1815, and was built not far from that time, likely in 1814. Dr. Mason in his autobiography speaks of framing a mill-house for Allen Crisler in the summer of 1816. The Doctor traded his farm for the mill that fall, and thus speaks of it: "There was a very good saw-mill, with a separate building, a good stone wall for the first story, on which stood the frame I had put up for a mill-house, with one run of common granite mill- stones, and a bolting chest with a small bolt, which was turned by hand for bolting flour made from wheat." The mills were operated by the Doctor and his brother Horatio, who became a partner, until in the fall of 1818, when the same parties resumed their old possessions— trading back. In about 1817 John A. White commenced as the miller at this mill. Subsequently a still-house and hemp-mill were added, and all four operated by Col. Crisler, until a change in the coarse of the river destroyed the power and all vrent into disuse. Thomas Silvy built a saw-mill at quite an early date at Nulltown, which finally passed into the hands of the Null brothers, Israel and Michael, who built an addition to it — a little grist-mill — and after Cris- ler's mill went down, the Nulls built a very large flouring and grist-mill, which was not in operation many years, the canal and hydraulic destroying the power. Not far from 1844 the present grist-mill at Alpine was built by Thomas J. Crisler, James and John Limpus. This was operated by these men for a time, then passed through various hands, and in 1863 it was purchased by Thomas and A. N. Bruner, and it is still in the Bruner name. The saw-mill here was built by the same parties two years prior. In the early history of the township there were copper stills operated on almost every spring or branch. About 1819 William Helm had one in oper- ation on Garrison's Creek, and about the same time John Conner had one on his farm. On Garrison's Creek, in 1815 or thereabouts, there was quite an extensive distillery carried on by Wilson Waddams. He at first, while Indiana was yet a Territory, oper- ated a small still, and some later built the large one. There was a corn ci-acker in connection with the latter. About the year 1833 H. N. Burgoyne built a saw and grist-mill in Section 19 on the south fork of Garrison's Creek, which after changing hands a number of times fell into the possession of Nathan Lewis and brother, some twenty years ago, and was carried on by them two years, when they built the present saw-mill on that site. Probably one mile above the Wilson Waddam mill and distillery, on the south fork of Garrison's Creek, Isaac Thomas built a saw-mill not far from forty years ago. Isaac Limpus for several years operated a copper still on his land. Some forty-eight or fifty years ago James Limpus carried on distilling on a large scale near Columbia. The distillery now below Nulltown was removed from Jackson Township by a company some eight or ten years ago, by whom the business was carried on several years. It is not in use at present. EARLY SCHOOLS. The first schoolhouse built in the township was near the old graveyard and Franklin Church just below Nulltown, erected in the Kentucky settlement probably in the spring or summer of 1815. Gabriel Ginn, who is thought to have taught the first school in this house in 1815, was the master in that house and settlement for several years. This schoolhouse was built prior to the old Franklin meeting house that stood by it, which was commenced in 1815. Some years later school was taught in a cabin about HISTORY OF PAYETTE COUNTY. 197 one mile southwest of Alpine, by Mark Whitacre, a Kentuckian; Robert Helm and Miss Klum taught in that neighborhood. In 1821 or just prior thereto a log cabin schoolhouse was built about one mile west of Alpine; Daniel Mclntyre, a Kentuckian, taught here early. Misa Klum and Dr. Philip Mason also taught in this house. In speaking of the winter of 1820-21, Dr. Mason, in his autobiography, says, "I then engaged to teach a school during the next win- ter in a log-cabin schoolhouse that stood on my land. Early in December I commenced my school. It was made up of children from seven to seventeen years of age, all of whom had had very limited opportuni- ties of learning. A. B. C's. , spelling and reading constituted by far the most that was taught. A few learned to write, and a very few studied the simples of arithmetic." ***** Jq subsequent houses built for the accommodation of the children in this section of the county, or vacated dwelling cabins used for school purposes, Benjamin Smith, David Allen, George Winchell and Jefferson Cris- ler are remembered as teachers. In the northern part of the township, on the Hink- Bon Halstead land, stood one of the early school - houses of that section of the country. John Bonald taught the first school in this cabin. CHURCHES AND GRAVE -YABD8. At the grave -yard just south of Nulltown was originally located the Old School Baptist Church. The land now constituting the grave-yard and that adjoining it on the north, where the old meeting- house stood, was purchased of Abraham Bays and William Egan late in the year 1814, or in January, 1815. On the 5th of February, 1814, at an assembly of the Old School Baptists residing in the surround- ing country, it was agreed to meet at the house of Mary Martin on Garrison's Creek, March 27th fol- lowing, for the purpose of constituting a church. At this meeting Elders Lewis Dewesse and William Tyner, from Cedar Grove, Elder James Smith from West Fork, and Elder John Blades, with some lay members or messengers, constituted the church, which was designated, Franklin Baptist Church, with the following members: Charles Scott, William and Elizabeth Helm, Archibald and Rachel Guthrie, Allen and Frances Crisler, John and Polly Conner, Joshua and Sarah Crisler, David and Elizabeth Gilliam, Jonathan and Polly Gilliam, William and Sarah Morgan, Edward and Polly Webb, John Webb, James and Elizabeth Newhouse, and Hugh Brownlee. Meetings were held at private dwellings until the meeting house was constructed, which they agreed to build the following February. This meeting-house was constructed of hewed logs, having one story and a gallery. In March, 1815, Messrs. Webb, Crisler and Sailors were appointed to let the building of the meeting-house to the lowest bidder. It seems from the records that the gallery, pulpit lloor and seats were not finished until 1817; however, the building was in use long before its completion. The pulpit was for several years supplied by the preachers from the neighboring churches. John Con- ner was ordained an Elder in 1817, who, in connection with Elder James Newhouse, served the church until his death, and the latter until his removal. Later, another of the Elders was Daniel Conner. Elder Madison Conner was for years one of the regular res- ident ministers. Next came Elder William Sparks, who still preaches for them. The old meeting-house in the course of years became unfit for use, and not far from 1850 was abandoned, and the congregation secured land of Allen Crisler at Alpine, that point being more convenient, and upon it built the present frame edifice. In 1855 the present frame church building near the grave-yard before referred to was erected and has since been used by the Fayette Baptist Church. This was the outgrowth of the division in the church gen- eral, occurring in 1845 or 1840. June 30, 1849, Elder Daniel Conner, H. D. Conner and wife, Mary Conner, Nancy Reed, Henry Morrfs, Corwin Mills- paugh and wife, and Benjamin F. Carter were con- stituted the Fayette Baptist Church. Before the erection of the meeting-house services were held in the neighborhood schoolhouse. Elder Daniel Conner, until his death, was the regular preacher in charge of the congregation. He was assisted by Elders Harvey Wright, Corwin Millspaugh, H. W. Conner and Ben- jamin F. Carter, four gifts that had soon come out of the church, and were ordained in 1854, from that year until they were removed by death or left the neigh- borhood. One of the number. Elder D. H. Conner, is still with the conejreg'ation. The first person buried in the old grave yard was the body of Sally Martin, who died in 1814 or 1815. The oldest grave marked by a tombstone is that of Elizabeth Fullen, consort of Samuel Fullen, born Jan- uary 30, 1775, died November 18, 1818. Among the aged whose remains rest here and are marked by tombstones bearing legible inscriptions are Phoebe, wife of John Egan, died in 1855, aged sixty-five years; Levi Limpus, died in 1867, aged seventy-nine years; Elizabeth Limpus, died in 1854, aged sixty- four years; Joel Scott, died in 1855, aged sixty-nine years; Ellen Burrows, died in 1831, aged seventy- three years; Thomas Ross, died in 1877, aged ninety- six years. The Methodist Episcopal Church at Columbia is the outgrowth of the old Hardy class, composed of 198 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. the family of that name— parents, daughters, and a son, John, and possibly others. The father was a local preacher, who had traveled in Georgia before his location here. This was an appointment on the Oonnersville Circuit when it was organized in 1822, with which it remained until Columbia Circuit was organized in 1851, with Rev. Thomas Williams as preacher. Since that time Columbia has been one of the appointments with the several Methodist Episco- pal Churches in the western part of the county. Their next frame edifice was erected some years prior to the late war. Near the church is a beautiful cemetery which is dotted over with graves marked by a number of mon- uments of neat and pretty design. The yard does not give evidence of age, as the oldest inscription we found bears the date of 1845. Among the aged interred here were Liters Black, died in 1881, aged eighty-live years; William Jones, born in 1790, died in 1871; Lucinda Jones, born in 1790, died in 1862; William Wherrett, died in 1852, aged eighty-one years; Zimri Utter, born in 1794, died in 1880; Susan, his wife, born in 1798, died in 1864. TuUis Chapel, a Methodist Episcopal Church, situated in the northern part of the township, dates back to the organization of Connersville Circuit, in 1822, at which time a class had been assembling at the house of Mr. Hinkson, which was located in what is now the southern part of Connersville Township. Among the early members were John Hinkson and wife Elizabeth, and their daughter Susan, Anna Reagan, a Mrs. Roberts, William Harrall, and George Hinkson and wife. Of this class John Grace was the Leader. The first building erected by the society was of brick, and not far from the year 1836. The pres- ent building was built during the early part of the late war Until the organization of Columbia Cir- cuit in 1851, this appointment was on Connersville Circuit. It has since been connected with other so- cieties along the western part of the county — on cir- cuits that have since been the outgrowth of Conners- ville Circuit. The grave-yard near by is as old as the church. One acre of ground for both purposes was given by Henry Tullis. The new building was erected on ground deeded by John Messersmith. In 1829, or by the spring of 1830, the Rev. John D. Thompson, formerly an Old School Baptist minis- ter, though then recently preaching the doctrines of the Reformation (Campbellism), organized such a so- ciety at the house of Judge Webb, along the river near Nulltown. This may be said to have been the beginning of what years afterward resulted in the so- ciety organized at Columbia, which erected the church building still standing there, though with little ex- ception disused during the past decade by that denom- ination. Among those identified with the church in after years were the Blakes, Utters, Thomases, Heizers, Michners and Johnsons. Not far from 1855 the United Brethren Church located close by the Lewis saw-mill on the creek was erected, the organization having taken place some time previous. The minister organizing the society and for some time the preacher in charge was Rev. Mr. Shumway. Among the early members of the church were the Stephenses, Wilsons, and Cushners. Of the early ministers who preached to this people are re- membered Revs. John Morgan and Alexander Carroll. What is known as the old Webb burying-ground, located on high ground on the creek west of the old Webb homestead, heretofore described, had its origin in the family burying-ground of the Judge, after whose death the land fell to a son. Forest, who deeded it to the county for a public place of burial. This was not in use quite as early as the old Frank- lin j^ard. The first interment here was an infant grandchild of Judge Webb. In this yard rest the remains of many of the pioneers of the vicinity: Michael Hackleman, died in 1869, aged eighty years; Edward Webb, died in 1851, aged eighty-one years; Reuben Conner, died in 1847, aged sixty-nine years; Nancy Conner, died in 1870, aged eighty-six years; Sarah Gaines, died in 1858, aged seventy-six years; Allen Crisler, died in 1837, aged fifty-eight years; Frances Crisler, died in 1846, aged sixty-two years; Joshua Crigler, died in 1859, aged seventy- five years; Sallie Crigler, died in 1839, aged forty- five years. HAMLETS. Columbia, situated north of the center of the township, was laid out on the lands of Isaac Limpus and James Buchanan; that part north of Main Street and the State road, on the land of the latter, and that south of Main Street, on the land of Isaac Limpus. The surveying was done by Isaac Fowler, June 15, 1832. In 1849 an addition to the place was made by one Martin. Isaac Limpus is thought to have built the first frame house in the hamlet, and in it he kept a place of entertainment, or inn. He was licensed by the Commissioners to keep a grocery and retail liquor in 1834. The year previous John Hardy was granted a license as a merchant, which was renewed for several years. Later, George Scott, David Smith and George Logan sold goods here. In 1843 the hamlet had two general stores kept by George Scott and Horatio Mason and John Hardy; one wagon -making shop, by Louis Black; one general repair shop, by D. O' Darby; one shoe shop and postoffice combined, by William Wherrett, and one blacksmith shop, by Joseph Little. HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. 199 The estimated population of the place at this time is fifty, and it consists of a postoffice, one repair wagon shop, a blacksmith shop, and a church (two church buildings). Alpine, situated in the eastern part of the town- ship, is a station on the Whitewater Valley Railroad, and consists of a few dwelling houses, one store, one saw-mill, one grist-mill, a cooper-shop, and a black- smith shop. The hamlet of NuUtown is located on the same railroad, nearly two miles north of Alpine. It is also a station on the railroad, and a postoffice is lo- cated here. The place has two stores. Both Alpine and NuUtown owe their origin to the mills erected there. HALF- CENTURY CITIZENS. The following-named citizens were residing in the township in 1879, and had been residents of the county tifty years or upward: John A. White and wife, James Limpus and wife, T. J. Crisler and wife, John Limpus, Mary Conner, Margaret Limpus, Anna Reed, John Conner, William Perkins, Thomas Reed, William Mcllwain, James Cotton, Hiram Custer and wife, Levi Pike and wife, Charles Stephens, Julia Conner, Forrest Webb and wife, George Clam and wife, Charles Hardy and wife, Jack Stephens and wife, Jemima Heizer, Lydia Heizer, George Utter, Jemima Northern, Delilah Hall, G. W. Eddy, Jane Eddy, Otho McCarty. CHAPTER XXII. JACKSON TOWNSHIP. BOUNDARIES AND ORGANIZATION— LAND ENTRIES— EARLY SETTLEMENT— INDDSTRIES—EARLY SCHOOLS— THE OLD ROCK AT POPLAR RIDGE— CHURCHES AND GRAVE-YARDS—EVERTON— HALF-CENTURY CITIZENS. JACKSON TOWNSHIP occupies the southeastern corner of the county. It is bounded on the north by Connersville and Jennings Townships, on the east by Union County, on the south by Franklin County, and on the west by the West Fork of White- water River. Originally, its territory belonged to Columbia Township, and in August, 1820, it was ordered by the Commissioners that all that part of Colnmbia Township, as it is now bounded and recorded, which lies east of West Fork of Whitewater, be stricken off of said township, under the name and title of Jackson Township. In size it was then six sections less than at present. These six sections con- stituted the strip of territory described in the general county history (extending two miles east and west, and three north and south, across the eastern portion of the township) as acquired from Franklin County by an Act of the General Assembly, approved in Jan- uary, 1826. This strip of country was, by the Com- missioners, in March of that year, attached to the township under consideration. The boundaries of the township have since remained unchanged. The face of the country is rolling and in localities some broken. It is watered by West Fork, Wilsons', Duck, Eli's and Bear Creeks. In 1880 the population of the town- ship as shown by the United States census was 982. LAND ENTRIES. The lands disposed of by the Government with the date of sale and the purchasers' names are set forth in the following list: Township 13 north. Range 13 east. Southeast quarter of Section 27, October 28, 1811, to Eli Stringer. Southwest quarter of Section 27, October 28, 1811, to Thomas Henderson. Northeast quarter of Section 27, November 19, 1811, to Daniel George and James Mallach. Northeast quarter of Section 33, November 1, 1811, to John Salyer. North half of Section 34, October 28, 1811, to Thomas Henderson. Northwest quarter of Section 20, December 28, 1812, to George Monroe. Southeast quarter of Section 20, November 4, 1812, to John Richardson. Southeast quarter of Section 21, March 27, 1812, to John Morrow. Southwest quarter of Section 21, January 31, 1812, to Eli Lee. Southwest quarter of Section 34, December 4, 1812, to James and John Walters. Northwest quarter of Section 20, July 16, 1813, to Obediah Estis. Southeast quarter of Section 28, July 24, 1813, to Samuel Wallace and Archibald Morrow. Southwest quarter of Section 28, November 5, 1813, to John Pollard. 200 HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Southwest quarter of Section 35, November 16, 1813, to Ebenezer Smith. Northwest quarter of Section 33, March 10, 1813, to James Craig. Northwest quarter of Section 21, August 24, 1813, to William Adams. Northeast quarter of Section 32, June 21, 1813, to Hugh Abernathy. Southwest quarter of Section 32, October 10, 1814, to William Rish. Southwest quarter of Section 26, June 10, 1814, to Robert F. Taylor. Northwest quarter of Section 27, February 15, 1814, to Thomas Stockdale. Northwest quarter of Section 28, October 25, 1814, to Sarah Lee. Southeast quarter of Section 33, June 20, 1814, to Solomon Shepheard. Southwest quarter of Section 23, October 10, 1814, to Thomas Rish. Northwest quarter of Section 35, March 19, 1814, to John Mcllwain. Southeast quarter of Section 35, December 5, 1814, to Edward Caring. Northeast quarter of Section 21, December 16i 1814, to Thomas Garrin. Northeast quarter of Section 22, August 19, 1814, to David Fallen. Northwest quarter of Section 22, April 2, 1814, to Elijah Corbin. Southwest quarter of Section 22, July 5, 1814, to Thomas Stockdale. Northeast quarter of Section 23, December 10, 1814, to William Beckett. Southwest quarter of Section 23, October 24,1814, to Isaac M. Johnson. Northeast quarter of Section 29, July 18, 1814, to Solomon Shepheard. Northeast quarter of Section 25, July 25, 1814, to Jacob Bauokman. Northwest quarter of Section 19, August 22, 1814, to Elisha Stout and John Maple. Southeast quarter of Section 8, April 2, 1814, to James Newland. Northeast quarter of Section 17, August 25, 1815, to Levi Cambridge. Northwest quarter of Section 17, August 21, 1815, to Zachariah Cookney. Northeast quarter of Section 19, December 27, 1815, to John Williams. Southwest quarter of Section 19, August 28, 1815, to Thomas Toner. Northeast quarter of Section 7, October 20, 1815, to Benjamin White. Northeast quarterof Section 8, December 15,1815, to David Ferree. Southwest quarter of Section 20, November 27, 1815, to William Hopkins. Southeast quarter of Section 22, November 13, 1815, to James Morrow. Southeast quarter of Section 23, June 6, 1815, to John Fisher. Southwest quarter of Section 29, December 28, 1815, to Samuel Logan. Southeast quarter of Section 34, December 4, 1815, to Ebenezer Smith. Northeast quarter of Section 35, May 5, 1815, to Alexander Sims. Southeast quarter of Section 26, August 11, 1815, to Lyman Grist. Northeast quarter of Section 31, November 11, 1815, to Susanna Teagarden. Eighty acres of Section 30, November 22, 1816, to Edward Simmonds. Southeast quarter of Section 30, October 17, 1816, to Joel Scott. Southeast quarterof Section 29, January 13, 1816, to Thomas Logan. Southeast quarter of Section 17, September 11, 1816, to Levi Plummer. Northeast quarter of Section 18, December 10, 1816, to Samuel Harlan. Northwest quarter of Section 18, September 11, 1816, to Moses Ladd. Southeast quarter of Section 18, September 11, 1816, to B. Plummer and N. Ladd. Southwest quarter of Section 18, October 28, 1816, to John Plummer. Southeast quarter of Section 19, November 11, 1816, to Samuel Walker. Northwest quarter of Section 7, February 16,1816, to Benjamin White. Southeast quarter of Section 7, November 2, 1816, to Samuel Harlan. Southwest quarter of Section 7, June 18, 1816, to Nicholas Pumphrey. Northwest quarter of Section 8, April 2, 1816, to Morgan Vardiman. Southwest quarter of Section 8, November 2, 1816, to Samuel Harlan. Southwest quarter of Section 7, January 6, 1817, to Levi Plummer. Northwest quarter of Section 23, March 28, 1817, to John Fisher. West half of the northeast quarter of Section 26, April 8, 1817, to Ronand and Amanda Clarke. Southwest quarter of Section 30, August 8, 1817, to Calvin Kneisley. Southwest quarter of Section 31, September 15, 1818, to John Troth. West half of the northeast quarter of Section 30, January 15, 1818, to Blackly Shoemaker. ifds^j^^-^ s^s«i*»-rf.-,g:5N. \ dWf I *-*i._i ^i'="^i?'s