L I E> RAR.Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UN IVLRSITY 
 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 9772 
 
 In2 
 
 v.7 
 
 cop. 4 
 
 sa. hist. SURVEY 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/washingtoncounty78morr 
 
INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS 
 
 VOL. 7 NO. 8 
 
 WASHINGTON COUNTY 
 GIANTS 
 
 BY 
 
 HARVEY MORRIS 
 
 GREENFIELD, IND. 
 
 WILLIAM MITCHELL PRINTING CO. 
 
 1921 
 
LIEUT. ISAAC VAN BUSKIRK AND SERGT. JOHN VAN BUSKIRK 
 Company F, 27th Indiana. 
 
 CAPT. DAVID V. BUSKIRK 
 
 Company F, 27th Indiana Cavalry. 
 
 Tallest Man in Union Army. 
 
 CAPT. PETER KOPP 
 
 Company F, 27th Indiana. 
 
 Killed at Antietam. 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 "One thing will certainly interest you — that it is evident, 
 from our statistics, that the Indiana men are the tallest of 
 all natives of the United States, and these latter the tallest 
 of all civilized countries." This statement to Adjutant- 
 General Terrell, in a letter from Dr. B. A. Gould, of the 
 United States Sanitary Commission, during the tabulation 
 of the measurements of Union soldiers in the Civil war, 
 was the original inspiration of this publication. Later 
 investigations by Doctor Gould showed that the Union 
 soldiers from Kentucky and Tennessee averaged one-third 
 of an inch taller than the Indiana men. Subsequent inves- 
 tigations by Doctor Baxter, of the Provost-Marshal-Gen - 
 eral's office, added Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, California 
 and Nevada to Kentucky and Tennessee as having taller 
 men than Indiana; but the total men measured from these 
 seven states were less than half the number of Indiana men 
 measured. Moreover, Doctor Baxter's research showed 
 that the men from the Second Congressional District of 
 Indiana surpassed in height, by nearly one-third of an inch, 
 the men of any of these seven states. 
 
 The district measurements were peculiarly striking as 
 showing that the men from the Second were half-an-inch 
 taller than those from the next highest district in Indiana ; 
 nine-tenths of an inch above the average for the State; 
 and one and one-third inches above the lowest district. 
 Doctor Gould's attention had been especially drawn to 
 Indiana by Company F, of the Twenty-seventh Indiana, 
 in which he said there were sixty-seven men out of 101 who 
 were recorded at six feet or over; and which included the 
 
 367 
 
368 Washington County Giants 
 
 tallest man in the Union army whose record was complete, 
 measuring 82.5 inches in his stocking-feet. 
 
 Recent inquiry as to the ancestry of Gen. Thomas Jack- 
 son Rodman, the inventor of "the Rodman gun," developed 
 the fact that he was of a family included in what were 
 known as "the Washington County Giants," in an early 
 day; and, as Washington county was in the Second District, 
 attention was turned to this indication of an explanation of 
 the Civil war record. Mr. Harvey Morris, of Salem, kindly 
 undertook to gather up what information could be had at 
 this time as to these colossal Hoosiers, their antecedents, 
 and their descendants; and his valuable paper follows. To 
 it have been appended the pertinent parts of the reports of 
 Doctors Gould and Baxter; extracts from the history of 
 the Twenty-seventh regiment, and contemporary news- 
 paper comments on Company F; an earlier article on 
 "Washington County Giants," by Warden W. Stevens, to 
 which Mr. Morris refers; a tabulation of measurements of 
 Indiana forces in the Spanish-American war, specially pre- 
 pared for this publication; a tabulation of mean stature of 
 soldiers in the World war, as thus far completed, furnished 
 by the surgeon-general's office; and some biographical 
 information concerning Capt. David V. Buskirk, "the tallest 
 man in the Union army." 
 
 As will be seen from the appendices, there has been no 
 little discussion of the meaning of these statistics by biome- 
 tricians, for it is obvious that average differences in stature 
 are not matters of chance, but are produced by some cause. 
 The discussions show some marked differences of opinion, 
 which is quite natural; but they leave the impression that 
 an error has been made in dismissing suggested causes, 
 individually, on the ground that the cause under discussion 
 
Washington County Giants 369 
 
 would not of itself explain all the facts. The Civil war 
 statistics show that the drafted men of the Second Con- 
 gressional District of Indiana not only averaged taller than 
 those of any other Indiana district, but also taller than the 
 average of any other State represented in the Union army. 
 Probably Doctors Gould and Baxter were right in their 
 surmise that the drafted men did not average as tall as 
 the volunteers. In this case there had been a special selec- 
 tion of tall men for Company F, of the Twenty-seventh 
 regiment and it is known that this occurred in some other 
 States. Quite possibly the conditions may be due to a 
 combination of causes, and all possible causes are worthy of 
 consideration. 
 
 Heredity is presumably the chief influence on stature, 
 but it is not a constant influence. One of its manifestations 
 in Indiana is the superior average stature in the southern 
 part of the State, which was largely settled from the South. 
 As shown by all the statistics, the people of the southern 
 States, with the exceptions of Louisiana and Florida, aver- 
 age taller than the people of the northern States. In 
 Indiana families there are found the usual characteristics 
 of heredity in this respect, of deviations from the type and 
 recurrence to the type — or "throw-backs," as they are com- 
 monly called. An illustration of this is found in the notes 
 on the Buskirk family, appended, which produced the 
 tallest man in the Union army. 
 
 Age is another unquestionable factor in comparative 
 measurements. Doctor Gould fixes the age of full stature 
 at thirty years; and the consensus of opinion is that it is 
 not less than twenty-five years. The average age of sol- 
 diers at enlistment is commonly less than that. In the 
 Civil war, of the 118,254 measurements given by Terrell, 
 
370 Washington County Giants 
 
 75,135 were under twenty-five years. In the Spanish- 
 American war two-thirds of the Indiana troops measured 
 were under twenty-five. In the World war figures, the 
 average of muster-out stature is larger than that of muster- 
 in stature, as would be expected in the case of youthful 
 soldiers under good sanitary conditions. But in this regard, 
 the averages for Indiana are exceptions to the rule, the 
 muster-out stature being less. This may possibly be 
 explained by the smaller number, and different persons 
 measured. 
 
 It seems clear that, on the average, those who migrate 
 to new countries, or to frontiers, are taller than those who 
 do not; although Doctor Baxter dismisses this proposition 
 with the statement: "It is yet to be shown that enterprise 
 and ambition depend upon stature, and not on qualities 
 of the mind." But enterprise and ambition are not the only 
 controlling factors in such movements. Strength and en- 
 durance are fully as important, on account of the hardship 
 of travel, and usually the hardship of life after migration. 
 For example, before the building of the Pacific railroad the 
 number of people who went to the Far West for their 
 health was comparatively negligible, but now it is very 
 considerable. Pioneer life in America has never been one 
 of ease, and therefore never attractive to the weak or 
 infirm ; and the statistics indicate that this process of selec- 
 tion takes taller people, on the average. 
 
 Thus, the Civil war statistics show that the natives of 
 New York and New England who enlisted in the West 
 were taller, at all ages, than those who enlisted at home. 
 They show that our foreign born soldiers were uniformly 
 taller than the average of their respective nationalities at 
 home. In the World war, the natives of Alaska, and of the 
 
Washington County Giants 371 
 
 States nearest frontier conditions, rank among the highest. 
 In fact the whole history of the United States supports this 
 view, for the stature of Americans has been the subject of 
 comment for more than a century, although all Americans 
 were immigrants from Europe, or descendants of such im- 
 migrants. Quotations are unnecessary, but a typical one 
 is the following statement by Morris Birkbeck, 105 years 
 ago : "Nine out of ten native Americans are tall and long- 
 limbed, approaching or even exceeding six feet." 
 
 On the other hand, after a region ceases to be frontier, 
 and travel becomes comfortable, immigration loses this 
 characteristic. This is strikingly illustrated by the small 
 stature of the natives of Kentucky and Tennessee who 
 served in the Indiana forces in the Spanish-American war; 
 while the pioneer immigrants to Indiana from those States 
 were notoriously of large stature. It is probable that when 
 the measurements of the World war are fully tabulated, 
 they will furnish very decisive evidence on this point. 
 
 In fact there is a wide field for future investigation, both 
 as to causes of stature and the period of full growth; and 
 there are many existing collections of measurements that 
 would throw light on both, if they were tabulated. For 
 example, the Bertillon measurements of criminals, which 
 have been so widely kept in the United States for a number 
 of years, and which have been tabulated as to nearly every- 
 thing but stature, would no doubt add largely to the sum of 
 our information; and this would be an excellent field for 
 college and university work by students of biology. 
 
 There can be no doubt that climate, soil and food have 
 influences on both animal and vegetable life. The thesis 
 of Prof. Frederic Starr that the development of the white 
 race in America has been steadily in the direction of the 
 
37 2 Washington County Giants 
 
 characteristics of the American Indian has very tangible 
 foundation. The occurrence of great stature in special 
 localities is probably due, in part at least, to these 
 influences, though it is not to be traced easily. One fact 
 that might have some effect in this line is unquestionable, 
 and that is that the people of the Central West are not 
 now confined to a diet of the products of that region to any 
 such extent as they were in the earlier period. 
 
 The effect of in-door employment in checking growth has 
 long been recognized in Europe, and it is presumably begin- 
 ning to show in this country. The use of alcoholic liquors 
 in the period of growth is generally conceded to retard it; 
 but this would presumably have no material effect in com- 
 parative measurements in the United States. There may, 
 of course, be effective causes that have not been suggested 
 in the discussion of the subject thus far. 
 
 It is notable that there has been little consideration of 
 pre-natal influences; and yet it seems obvious that the 
 influences that have been mentioned could not account for 
 differences in a single family, with common parentage, and 
 no apparent change in external conditions. In such cases 
 it would seem necessary that the explanation must be found 
 in pre-natal influences of some kind. In this connection 
 it is of interest that recent experiments of Doctor Stocker, 
 at Woods Hole, are said to* show that the presence of 
 iodine, at certain stages of embryonic development, pro- 
 motes stature; and even tends to produce the "long skull" 
 as distinguished from the "round skull." It is well known 
 that iodine is an active thyroid stimulant; and it may be 
 that the presence of this, or some other chemical, may be 
 found a material factor. At any rate there are both abun- 
 dance and variety of chemicals in the waters of the Second 
 Congressional District of Indiana. J. P. Dunn. 
 
WASHINGTON COUNTY GIANTS 
 
 By Harvey Morris 
 
 In the early years of the last century, while Indiana 
 was engaged in constructing a system of Internal Improve- 
 ments, a large gang of men were employed on some such 
 work a short distance from New Albany, and among them 
 was one from Washington county by the name of Madison 
 Short. He was a giant in size and a Goliath in strength and 
 had bested all of the other men on the works, both in trials 
 and strength and in the rough and tumble fights so common 
 at that time. 
 
 One day, after having come out victor in some peculiarly 
 strenuous contest, the foreman of the gang spoke to him 
 about his success; to which he is said to have answered: 
 "O that is nothing. Up in Washington county where I live 
 there is a whole race of giants, and I being the runt, and 
 not able to hold my own with the common run of men. had 
 to come down here where there are just common folks." 
 I will again refer to Short in this article, and will briefly 
 notice some of this race of giants that he referred to, and 
 will show that the race has not died out with the passing 
 of time and the strenuous conditions of life that existed in 
 that day. And in this account, I shall divide them into 
 three classes, viz : Those who were early settlers or pio- 
 neers, and so far as possible, give the States from which 
 they came; the descendants of these pioneers; and our own 
 day giants. For they still exist. 
 
 We, no doubt, shall differ in our opinions as to where 
 the line dividing the ordinary man and the giant should be 
 drawn, but in this case, all of the men named, with but 
 
 373 
 
374 Washington County Giants 
 
 very few exceptions, will be well over six feet, and the 
 exceptions will be cases where they possessed unusual 
 strength, and will be noted. 
 
 Stevens, in his History of Washington County, mentions 
 many who will be named in this article, giving many 
 examples to illustrate their right to be termed giants, and 
 while I will name those he has referred to, I shall repeat 
 but very few of the incidents he has so fully set out, and 
 will give many names he has omitted. And so far as it 
 has been possible at this late day, I will give the names of 
 the States from which they immigrated to this county. 
 Mr. Stevens' article is added as an appendix hereto. 
 
 Almost all of these men were peacable, industrious, and 
 desirable citizens, who would have been an honor to any 
 community. They were largely consistent members of the 
 various churches of the county, Presbyterian, Baptist, 
 Quakers, Methodist and Christian. And it is well that they 
 were of such character, for had they been quarrelsome and 
 vicious, the good and quiet people would have been com- 
 pelled to leave and allow them to enjoy the country alone. 
 But with few exceptions, they were always found on the 
 side of peace and good order. 
 
 The men whose names I shall set out in this paper were 
 engaged in all of the various industries of their time, such as 
 ministers, lawyers, physicians, farmers, manufacturers, 
 mechanics, laborers, etc. 
 
PART I 
 EARLY SETTLERS 
 
 The champion of all these in all classes, who admittedly 
 stood at the head of the list in every kind of contest, was 
 Maj. Abram Stover. "Uncle Abe" as he was called, was a 
 large, well proportioned, portly man, near seven feet tall, 
 who could easily meet the efforts of all others in trials of 
 strength or physical contests. What the extent of his 
 strength actually was, no one seems to have known, as he 
 was never known to have been called on to test it to the 
 limit. 
 
 Madison Short, with whose name this paper opened, 
 while engaged on the work near New Albany, saw Mr. 
 Stover coming down the road towards where he was work- 
 ing, driving a four horse team. Short was well acquainted 
 with Stover, and this being soon after his talk with the 
 foreman about the Washington County Giants, he called 
 out to men working with him, "You think I am big, come 
 here and I will show you a real giant from Washington 
 county. " And when Stover drove up, he went out and 
 shook hands with him and introduced him. Stover was 
 prevailed on to stop and give some exhibitions of strength 
 which he did to the great astonishment of all present. 
 
 An old neighbor and friend of Stover related the follow- 
 ing incident of the first time he was called on to employ his 
 strength, then unknown to him. The neighbor said it was 
 told by Stover, as follows : 
 
 One day in the summer time he, a large over-sized, 
 awkward boy of sixteen, was walking along the public road 
 
 375 
 
376 Washington County Giants 
 
 when he was overtaken by a stranger on horseback, who 
 asked him some fool question, and received an answer in 
 kind. The man who had then passed him, turned and said 
 "You must be a fool." "That may be," said Stover, "but 
 it seems that there are two of us." This remark from the 
 boy seemed to rile the man and he rode back, got off his 
 horse, hitched him and came up to Stover and said he would 
 lick him and teach him better manners. Catching him by 
 his shoulders, he backed him into a fence corner and began 
 shaking him and finally drew back to strike, but Stover 
 was too quick for him and hit first, and the man went 
 down and took the count, and then some. Stover turned 
 him over and shook him, but he did not revive and he 
 became frightened. He picked the limp form up and put 
 it over the fence where the hogs that were then allowed 
 to run in the road could not get to him, and started along 
 the road as fast as he could run and crying; but soon he 
 met a neighbor who stopped him and asked what was the 
 matter, and Stover told him he killed a man up the road. 
 The man asked him how it was done and he related the 
 circumstances and said he hit him with his fist. The old 
 gentleman said, "Come back and we will see about it." 
 
 They went back and found the man still lying on the 
 ground unconscious, but breathing. There was a pond 
 near, and the old man told Stover to go to the pond and 
 get some water in his hat; and after carrying several hat- 
 fuls of water they revived him ; and when he was able to 
 talk, he related what had occurred the same as the boy 
 Stover, and looking him over said he had enough. 
 
 Stover, in telling this incident, said that was the last 
 time he ever hit any one with his closed fist; that he had 
 had many encounters since that time, but he always struck 
 
Washington County Giants Z77 
 
 with his open hand as he was afraid to use his fist because 
 he did not want to kill any one. 
 
 Another occurrence that was related to the writer by 
 one who claimed to have been an eye witness, probably 
 shows a greater test of actual strength than any other that 
 is now known. 
 
 Stover was a farmer, and in that day all of the surplus 
 of the farm had to be hauled to market at New Albany, 
 Jeffersonville or Louisville, in wagons, usually by four- 
 horse teams. The wagoners usually carried their own feed 
 and provisions and when they reached the city they would 
 put up at what was called a wagon yard. Stover frequently 
 went on these trips while a young man as well as in after 
 years. On one occasion, when Stover was about twenty- 
 one years of age, with those in whose company he had made 
 the trip, he stopped at a yard in Portland, now a part of 
 Louisville. These yards were infested by river gamblers 
 and Stover liked to play cards. He was well known as he 
 had often been there and had always held his own at the 
 games, even with those card sharks. On this occasion, some 
 of his friends found out that they had made up a conspiracy 
 to get him in a game and if he was winning, to start a 
 row and do him up, so they warned Stover and told him 
 not to be drawn in the game that evening, but Stover said 
 nothing. After supper, while the camp fires were still burn- 
 ing, they discovered Stover sitting on his wagon tongue, 
 which he had taken loose from the wagon, and in the midst 
 of a game with the gang. The friends gathered around to 
 see that no advantage should be taken of the "boy." The 
 game proceeded and Stover raked in the pot, when one of 
 the players accused him of cheating. This brought all to 
 their feet at once, and the friends noticed that Stover held 
 
378 Washington County Giants 
 
 the breast chains at the end of his wagon tongue with the 
 fingers of one hand through the rings. The lie was passed 
 and then action begun. Stover sprang away from the 
 crowd, jerked the heavy wagon tongue clear of the ground 
 and began swinging it around him with the one hand, like 
 a boy would swing a "whistling dick" at the end of a 
 "string," and making it sing equally as loud. The would-be 
 attackers stood off and looked with amazement. Stover 
 tauntlingly called out, "You want to lick me do you? Well 
 come on, swim in here, my little fishes, if you want to be 
 caught" — all the time swinging the heavy tongue with the 
 one hand, never once letting it touch the ground. But 
 they were satisfied that it was best — for them — to postpone 
 action. 
 
 When we take into account that the wagon tongue was 
 made of oak or hickory, ten feet or more long, about three 
 by five inches at one end and tapering gradually to about 
 three inches square at the other end, to which chains three 
 or more feet long were attached, and that Stover had hold 
 of the extreme end of the chains with one hand only, we 
 may be able to form some slight conception of the immense 
 strength required to swing it clear of the ground and with 
 such speed that it remained in the air as long as the motion 
 was kept up. After this display, there was no more seeking 
 a contest with the young giant. 
 
 A man by the name of John Brough married Stover's 
 daughter. Brough was in the giant class, and concluded 
 he wanted to measure strength with "the old man." Stover 
 finally consented. They met according to terms, when 
 Stover threw Brough over his head and in the fall he broke 
 his leg. The old man remained boss of the household. 
 
 Thomas Denney, though under size, being less than six 
 
Washington County Giants 379 
 
 feet tall, was considered the next in strength to Stover, and 
 in fact Denney 's friends claimed he was superior. Denney 
 lived north of Salem and Stover south. They were great 
 friends and frequently met in town. Their respective 
 friends often tried to get up a match between them and 
 finally arranged a public test in which Stover was awarded 
 the decision. They afterwards had several tests in private, 
 but would not talk about it. After one of them, Stover was 
 asked who won. He said "Denney is a good man and can 
 hit mighty hard," and no further information could be 
 obtained. 
 
 Thomas Denney came from Virginia to Washington 
 county. But I have been unable to learn from what State 
 Abram Stover migrated. He must have been quite young 
 when he arrived here. Many other stories are related of 
 these men, but to rehearse all of them would make too long 
 a story for a paper of this character. Many of them are 
 collected in Stevens' History of the County, and are added 
 as an appendix hereto. 
 
 James Uppinghouse and James Lee were two others in 
 the giant class, both large men of extraordinary strength, an 
 interesting account of whom may be found in the same 
 history. It is not now known where they came from. 
 
 Free speaking ministers also had to sometimes fall back 
 on the unusual strength with which they were endowed. 
 Aaron Hubbard, a minister of the Christian church, lived 
 at Little York in the northeast part of the county. He was 
 a large active man, of great strength, spare and sinewy and 
 without fear. And when preaching required all present to 
 keep good order. On one occasion, it is related, when hold- 
 ing services at a country church, a large bullet-headed 
 young man came in and noisily took a seat near the center 
 
380 Washington County Giants 
 
 of the room, and at once began creating a disturbance. 
 Hubbard remonstrated with him once or twice, but to no 
 purpose. The minister took off his coat, asked the congre- 
 gation to excuse him for a few minutes as he had a matter 
 outside to attend to. He walked down the aisle, took the 
 bully by the collar, lifted him out of the seat and carried 
 him out the door. A commotion was heard outside but no 
 one went to investigate and they soon came in together. 
 The bully took his seat. Hubbard went to the pulpit, put 
 on his coat and resumed the sermon where he had broken 
 off and the services were finished without further interrup- 
 tion. 
 
 Many other stories of similar character are told of Mr. 
 Hubbard, but this one shows his character, and it is said 
 that all seeking trouble at church services, made sure that 
 Aaron Hubbard was not present before they started any- 
 thing. 
 
 While slavery was not tolerated in Indiana, there were 
 many in this locality in sympathy with the institution. 
 Hubbard is said to have donated the ground upon which 
 the church at his place was located and practically paid 
 most of the cost of construction. He spoke strongly 
 against human slavery and once, after an unusually strong 
 sermon in the church on the subject, some of the members 
 took exceptions, and proposed to procure another minister. 
 Hubbard said nothing until he learned who the objectors 
 were and then at the next service, most of them being 
 present, he brought the subject up, and he was told that 
 they had concluded to procure another minister whose 
 views more nearly agreed with their own and they would 
 dispense with his services in that house. He said they were 
 welcome to engage any other minister they might select, 
 
Washington County Giants 381 
 
 but he would continue services in the house; that the 
 house stood on his ground, that he had paid all but a small 
 portion of the cost of construction and had preached with- 
 out compensation to speak of. Then said, "Now, brethren 
 if you are dissatisfied with my preaching, you can cut off 
 in one corner, the small portion of the house that your 
 contributions represent, procure your minister and hold 
 services in your portion of the house without interruption 
 from me, but I will continue to preach the WORD OF 
 GOD from the pulpit. That ended the controversy. He 
 was called "The fighting parson." 
 
 William Cravens was born in Virginia and grew up to 
 be a man of great size and strength and is said to have been 
 a great "scrapper" in his young days. But in early man- 
 hood he joined the Methodist church and soon became the 
 leading minister in his locality. He abhored the institution 
 of slavery and is said to have often condemed it in his public 
 sermons delivered in Virginia, which made him unpopular. 
 
 On one occasion, after a vigorous sermon on the subject, 
 some of his congregation took him to task and demanded 
 that he publically apologize for his act, which he readily 
 agreed to do and the time and place for such apology was 
 agreed upon and duly advertised. Mr. Cravens was 
 promptly on hand and took the pulpit and the house was 
 packed to the limit, and while he duly apologized for the 
 former sermon the apology was by far a severer arraign- 
 ment of the institution than the sermon had been. After 
 the conclusion of the services, the men of the congregation 
 gathered in groups to discuss it and one of them remarked 
 in rather a loud tone, that he ought to be horsewhipped. 
 Cravens overheard the remark, as was probably intended, 
 and going up to the group, seized hold of a small tree and 
 
382 Washington County Giants 
 
 gave such an exhibition of bodily strength as to astonish all 
 who witnessed it, and then turning to the speaker, said, 
 "The Lord did not give me such strength to allow myself 
 to be horsewhipped by a slaveholder." That ended the con- 
 troversy. He afterward moved to Indiana and continued in 
 the ministry and in those rough and strenuous times, his 
 vigorous and unmeasured condemnation of error and some 
 of the customs of the time, frequently necessitated him to 
 call on the immense reserve strength with which he had 
 been so generously endowed. But in Indiana he was at all 
 times highly respected, not only by the church people, but 
 also by those whom he arraigned most severely. He was 
 commonly termed "The fighting Methodist." 
 
 Four brothers, John, James, Hugh and William Rodman, 
 emigrated from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, where John 
 located, but his three brothers came to Washington county, 
 Indiana, in the early days of its history. John Rodman was 
 the grandfather of Admiral Hugh Rodman, now of the 
 United States Navy, and James was the father of General 
 Thomas Jackson Rodman, who invented the one-time 
 famous Rodman gun. 
 
 Doctor A. W. King, now of Redlands, California, to 
 whom I am indebted for much that is contained in this 
 paper, and who knew the three brothers, James, Hugh and 
 William, describes them as physical giants, six and a half 
 feet high and weighing fully two hundred and fifty pounds, 
 well proportioned and unusually fine looking men. 
 
 William lived in Salem and operated a mill. He had fair 
 business ability and was an earnest, consistent member of 
 the Presbyterian church and a model citizen. 
 
 Hugh was in every way the equal of his brothers, both 
 in size and strength. He lived on a farm, and frequently 
 
Washington County Giants 383 
 
 hauled produce to the city markets with a four or five-horse 
 team. It is said of him, on these occasions, that when load- 
 ing his wagon, to determine if he had a sufficient or too 
 much load for his team, he would back up to one of the 
 hind wheels, take hold of a spoke on each side of the hub 1 
 and if he could raise the wheel clear of the ground his team 
 would be able to pull it through, but if he was unable to lift 
 the wheel, he would unload a part, as it was too heavy for 
 the team. Some lift. 
 
 On one occasion when going to market with more than 
 one wagon, he had a boy driving the one in front. They 
 came upon some other teamsters who had stopped for 
 dinner. They had driven their wagons to the side of the 
 road but had built their fire in the middle of the road and 
 were sitting around it, four in number. There was not 
 room to pass around them and the boy stopped and asked 
 them to allow him to pass, which they refused. Rodman 
 then came forward and made the same request. They again 
 refused to move. He then said to them, "Gentlemen, I 
 will again ask you to move out of the road so we can pass, 
 and if you do not do it, I will move you." They dared him 
 to attempt it. Thereupon he picked one of them up with- 
 out any apparent effort and threw him to the side of the 
 road and as the others arose knocked them down in turn. 
 He again asked them to clear the road, which they promptly 
 did, and Rodman went on his way with his teams. He, like 
 his brothers, was a good citizen and did not seek trouble 
 nor occasions to display his strength. 
 
 James Rodman was, perhaps, the more aggressive of the 
 three brothers, but notwithstanding his size and strength, 
 was a good citizen. He was a prominent and influential 
 member of the Democratic party and of the Baptist church. 
 
384 Washington County Giants 
 
 Once in a crowd, a small man took offense at something 
 Rodman had said and pitched into him with a shower of 
 harmless blows. This Rodman endured good naturedly 
 until it became annoying, when he picked the little fellow 
 up and tossed him astride the crotch of a small walnut 
 tree near by. 
 
 George Housh was one of the large men even in that day 
 of giants, perhaps the equal of James Rodman in stature, 
 not fleshy but bony and muscular. A regular athlete and a 
 great wrestler. Doctor King says of him : 
 
 "I remember a wrestling match between him and James 
 Rodman on election day. They adopted 'side holts' and it 
 was long in doubt which would win. But finally Rodman, 
 who was a Sampson as well as a Goliath, got Housh on his 
 hip, swinging him over his head, threw him on his back 
 with a thud." 
 
 Andrew Housh, a brother of George, was perhaps, his 
 equal in size and strength, "but in no sense a sport," but a 
 zealous churchman. He was a tanner by trade. He owned 
 and operated a grist mill on the north bank of Muscackituck 
 river, at Millport. The power being supplied by a partner- 
 ship dam across the river owned by him and John DePauw, 
 who had a mill on the south bank. He was also an exhorter 
 and a "jack leg lawyer," practicing in petty cases before 
 justices of the peace. 
 
 According to Doctor King and as the following incidents 
 will show, "he had no mercy on the King's English." 
 
 At one time attempting to quote from the State constitu- 
 tion, "No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation 
 of contracts, shall ever be passed, "he had it, "The legisla- 
 ture shall make no ipso facto or other law to nulificate or 
 impair the vandility of contracts." 
 
Washington County Giants 385 
 
 At another time when defending a poor boy who had 
 been indentured during minority to a farmer and had run 
 away because of ill treatment, Housh, in his argument said, 
 "I often saw the boy at work in the field, in the boiling 
 sun, the pouring rain and the fleecing snow, poorly clad in 
 sackcloth and raiment and he appeared to be in indignant 
 circumstances." 
 
 At an infare dinner in passing the viands to the guests, 
 he observed "They are most melodious." 
 
 He complimented a lady who was showing him the 
 flowers in her garden on her "beautiful artificials." 
 
 Once in prayer meeting when pleading for charity for 
 some offenders he said, "Men are all prone to faculties and 
 infallibilities." 
 
 At times he also seemed as careless of the facts as he 
 was with the language. Speaking of a sudden freeze at an 
 early day he said, "A bunch of wild horses that were fight- 
 ing flies on the hillside, became frightened and ran down 
 the hill and all fell down on the ice on my mill pond and 
 I captured all of them." 
 
 Some one suggested that it was not usual to have ice in 
 fly time, but he was equal to the occasion and responded, 
 "By gracious, the pond froze solid in five minutes and it 
 began to freeze at the bottom." 
 
 A large sycamore log lodged on his mill dam and after- 
 ward, in telling of it he said, "It weighed a million tons and 
 it was all I could do to pry it off with a hand spike." 
 
 But notwithstanding his "faculties and infallibilities and 
 multitudinous ponderosities" he was kind hearted and gen- 
 erous to a fault. 
 
 Micajah Callaway, Sr., came from Virginia to Kentucky 
 with Daniel Boone where he continued as Boone's most 
 
386 Washington County Giants 
 
 trusted companion until Boone left Kentucky, when he 
 came to Washington county and lived a quiet life until his 
 death. His feats and history are so fully set out in the 
 Life of Boone that it is unnecessary to repeat them here. 
 
 Marston G. Clark, also of Virginia, was also an Indian 
 fighter, and a surveyor. It is said that in his early surveys 
 he used a grape vine instead of a chain. 
 
 At one time in the woods near his residence, he met a 
 young man with a new gun, that attracted his attention. 
 They were near a small dead tree that had been so charred 
 by fire that it was covered with black charcoal from top 
 to bottom. Clark asked to examine the gun. The young 
 man handed it to him and after having inspected it he said 
 to the young man, "I will now teach you a lesson you 
 should never forget. Climb that stump." 
 
 The fellow took one look at Clark and up the black 
 stump he went and when he came down Clark said, "The 
 lesson I wished to impress on your mind is, never hand your 
 loaded gun to a stranger in the woods," and handed the gun 
 back to him. 
 
 The man took the gun, backed off a few steps, threw it 
 to his shoulder and leveled it on Clark saying, "The lesson 
 is a good one, but you seem to have forgotten it as soon as 
 imparted, and now to impress its importance on you, you 
 climb that stump." Clark cast one glance at the eye looking 
 at him through the sights of the gun, and realizing he was 
 caught in his own trap, proceeded to go up the stump as 
 directed. When he came down he said, "We are even and 
 I rather like you. I live in that house over there. Come 
 with me and we will have dinner." When the man seemed 
 to hesitate, Clark said the rule does not hold good in a 
 man's house with his invited guests whom it is his duty to 
 
Washington County Giants 387 
 
 protect. They went to dinner together, and were always 
 friends afterward. 
 
 Henry Baker, who came from North Carolina, was a man 
 of great size and strength. Being forced to defend himself 
 against an enraged drunken man, he is said to have struck 
 the fellow a blow with his fist on the body and killed him 
 almost instantly. 
 
 Pritchard Morris, and his brother, Jehosaphat Morris, 
 Sr., also from North Carolina, would measure up in stature 
 with others named. At one time when there was a gather- 
 ing to erect a log house, Pritchard being present, they had 
 put up the rafters before dinner and after dinner, as usual 
 on such occasions, there were trials of strength. 
 
 Prichard Morris had climbed on the building where the 
 next work was to be done and sat watching those engaged 
 in these feats. Finally he said, "Boys I will show you 
 something to try." He then grasped a rafter with his hands 
 on each side of him, dropped his body between them, hang- 
 ing suspended by his hands, he worked his way up to the 
 peak of the rafters and down the other side without resting. 
 Taking his seat he said, "When any of you can do that I 
 will show you something else." But none was able to 
 match him. 
 
 When we take into account that Morris weighed more 
 than two hundred pounds and that the rafters were proba- 
 bly near three feet apart we may be able to form some con- 
 ception of the effort. 
 
 But we can not give incidents as to all of the men who 
 measured up to the standard and will only give the names 
 of many with the States from which they came so far as 
 known. George Hattabaugh, Virginia; Col. Henry Dewalt, 
 Pennsylvania, and Col. Ezekiel D. Logan, Kentucky, who 
 
388 Washington County Giants 
 
 organized and led the forces who pursued the Pigeon 
 Roost Indians; Robert Strain, David Vance, William and 
 Elisha Hobbs, brothers from North Carolina; James Young, 
 Sr., Garrett W. Logan, Kentucky; Alexander, Benjamin and 
 Samuel Huston, brothers, from Kentucky; Henry Wyman, 
 George Madison, Aaron and Jacob Short, from North 
 Carolina. They were not, as their name would indicate, 
 short, but long and large. Madison, whose name was men- 
 tioned at the beginning of this paper and in connection with 
 Abram Stover, is said to have originated the name Hoosier, 
 as applied to the people of Indiana. 
 
 As the story goes, he was working on the canal at Louis- 
 ville and one day, being victorious in a strenuous fistic 
 contest with three of the other laborers, he jumped up shak- 
 ing his fist and said : "You do not want to tackle me, I'm a 
 Hoosher (Husher). But those who heard him got it 
 Hoosier and ever after they called all men from Indiana, 
 Hoosiers. True or not, the story is characteristic of the 
 times and people. 
 
 Then there was Septemus Goodwin, commonly called 
 September Goodwin, Jesse Stanley, Sr., James Coffin, 
 North Carolina, Christian Prow, Sr., Godlove Kemp, asso- 
 ciate judge; George May, Sr., John Curry, Sr., David Den- 
 nis, Rhode Island; Abram Fleenor, John Aton, Adam 
 Barnett, Capt. Zephaniah Johnson, John Rowland, and 
 many others whose names have not been procured. 
 
 Daniel Soliday, who lived in the north part of the county, 
 was killed by the Indians. He was a man of great stature 
 and strength. He would never carry a gun for protection 
 against the Indians, saying that he did not fear any Indian 
 in anything like a fair contest. He had gone out in the 
 morning to look for stock and not returning, search was 
 
Washington County Giants 389 
 
 made. At the point where his body was found there was 
 every evidence of a fierce struggle. It appeared there had 
 been several of the Indians and that they had ambushed 
 Soliday. But how much the Indians had suffered was 
 never known as they always carried off the dead and 
 wounded when possible. 
 
 Jacob Soliday was perhaps the equal of his brother, but 
 always took his gun with him. He was killed, presumably 
 by the same party of Indians. He, too, had gone in search 
 of stock and when they found his body, there was no doubt 
 that he had put up a strong fight. The stock of his gun 
 was broken. The charge had been fired and the barrel was 
 bent and in his clinched hand he held the scalp lock of one 
 of the Indians which he had evidently torn from the head 
 of one of his adverseries. So there could be no doubt that 
 one at least had suffered severely in the encounter 
 
 The Indians were pursued as soon as a force could be 
 organized but they were not overtaken, it having taken too 
 long to get the men together in that thinly settled commu- 
 nity where the first consideration was to get the women 
 and children to a place of safety while the men were gone. 
 
 John Zink, Kentucky, was a young man of great size. 
 He joined the forces that went in pursuit of the Pigeon 
 Roost Indians, and with one of his companions, came up 
 with some of them in what is now Bartholomew county, 
 where Zink was wounded by a shot through the hips, which 
 rendered his lower limbs useless. His companion helped 
 him to cover and then went for assistance. On returning 
 later, Zink was not there, but they followed a trail and 
 cam upon Zink something like a mile away. He had 
 dragged himself by his hands, grasping bushes, roots and 
 anything he could get hold of, but still alive. They con- 
 
39° Washington County Giants 
 
 structed a litter and placed him on it and started back, 
 arriving at a spring where Vallonia now stands, late in the 
 afternoon and went into camp for the night, where Zink 
 died during the night. The body was brought to Salem and 
 buried on the farm now owned by Howard Brown, just 
 north of town. 
 
 Henry C. Munroe will be the last one in this class of 
 giant early settlers that I shall mention. And I do not 
 know how better to describe him than in the words of 
 Dr. A. W. King, who speaks from memory. So to quote 
 Doctor King: 
 
 ''Henry C. Munroe, a rock-rooted wheel horse of the 
 Democratic party, was at one time a member of the legis- 
 lature. He was a man of large stature, strong and muscu- 
 lar, a prosperous farmer in the (barrens) west of Salem. 
 
 "After the election of 1844, he watched closely for the 
 result. One night he was awakened by the booming of the 
 cannon (anvil) at Salem, and thinking it announced the 
 triumph of President Polk, he called up his wife and Jake, 
 armed them with boards and himself with his blunderbuss. 
 At every report of the cannon he would fire his fuzee — his 
 wife would strike a ringing blow on the barn and Jake a 
 strenuous blow in the hard road. After a few rounds the 
 colonel called a halt. 'Stop old woman, stop Jake. Maybe 
 we are too fast — that is to say — maybe it's the other fellow 
 that's elected.' But his heart was made happy next day on 
 getting the news." 
 
 So we see that life among these men was not all play 
 They took an active interest in affairs and passing events. 
 They were mostly good and active business men, and took 
 the political questions as seriously as we do in the day of 
 universal sufferage. 
 
Washington County Giants 391 
 
 The writer has in his possession a letter, dated January 
 7, 1831, written by John Rodman from the senate chamber 
 at Frankfort, Ky., to a resident of Salem. From the words 
 of the letter, I judge Rodman was a member of that 
 body. He describes an effort of the legislature to elect a 
 United States senator. The contest was between what he 
 terms the Clay men and the Jackson men. After sixteen 
 ballots, having failed to make a choice, by resolution, they 
 postponed the election for the session. 
 
 Politics with these men in their day was evidently not 
 very different from the present time. 
 
 These men, while of giant size and strength, were among 
 the very best citizens and would have been a credit to any 
 community in any time. Their sources of amusements 
 were few, aside from the trials of strength and physical 
 skill and they evidently made the best of their opportunities 
 along their limited lines. 
 
 Yet they subdued the wilderness, fought wild beasts and 
 savage men ; cleared the unbroken forest, established homes 
 for themselvs and families; built school houses and organ- 
 ized and maintained churches and made the waste places 
 fit for the habitation of civilized man. 
 
 What a pity these memoirs had not have been begun and 
 not only begun but completed fifty years ago, while most 
 of these remarkable men were living and the events fresh 
 in their memories. We now get at these events more as 
 traditions than as facts of history. But in the preparation 
 of this paper I have received the hearty co-operation and 
 assistance of Dr. A. W. King, of Redlands, Calif., whose 
 life span covers the period in which these men lived to 
 the present time, and whose wonderful recollection of 
 names and events has been of invaluable assistance. 
 
392 Washington County Giants 
 
 The most of these early pioneers were men grown when 
 they came to this county. They had attained their unusual 
 stature and development before they arrived here, and this 
 fact opens an interesting field for investigation. So far 
 as it has been possible to obtain the facts, I have given the 
 States from which they came. But in that day, the condi- 
 tions of life were very much the same in all newly settled 
 localities, and it is a well established fact, that the pioneers 
 of this country, as a class, usually make at least two moves 
 as the frontier receded, before they finally established them- 
 selves. And a large portion of their descendants followed 
 in the foot-steps of their fathers. 
 
 It is not claimed by the writer, that this account gives 
 the names of all of the men of that day, that might right- 
 fully be classed as giants. In fact such would be an impos- 
 sibility in the short time I have employed in the prepara- 
 tion of this paper. And then such a compilation would 
 make a book of large size, too lengthy for an article of this 
 character. The names here set out are only claimed to 
 represent a very few of the early inhabitants who were 
 entitled to a place by the side of those mentioned. 
 
 But now we must leave these early pioneers and pass 
 on to the next generation. For the race has not died out. 
 
PART II 
 SECOND GENERATION 
 
 "Like father, like son" is as true of races of men as 
 it is of other characteristics. And by following along our 
 line of investigation, we find the type of men of which we 
 are writing, continues through the second generation. 
 
 While it is probably as difficult to classify them as to 
 the age in which they lived, or the generation to which 
 they should be assigned, as it is to determine the dividing 
 line between an ordinary man and the giant, I shall assign 
 them to the class of the period in which they lived the 
 greater part of their lives. Many of those whose names 
 will appear in this class came to the county as children 
 with their parents, some of whom are named in the preced- 
 ing pages. Nor is this intended to be a list of all who 
 might be mentioned, but just a very few whose names the 
 writer can call to mind of his former acquaintances. All of 
 whom, like those in Part I, have passed over to the beyond. 
 Nor shall I devote much time or space to illustrations of 
 trials of strength as these forms of amusement seem to 
 have passed with the first generation. But they shall be 
 measured as to stature by the same rule as the former, and 
 we will find that they measure well up to the former stand- 
 ard. 
 
 Horace and Delos Heffren, brothers, natives of New 
 York State, were both well over six feet. Horace was a 
 lawyer and weighed more than four hundred pounds, and 
 was, perhaps, the largest man in the county at that time. 
 
 393 
 
394 Washington County Giants 
 
 Thomas J., John and James Harvey Rodman, sons of James 
 Rodman, mentioned in Part I. 
 
 Gen. Thomas J. Rodman was the inventor of the one- 
 time famous Rodman Gun; an improvement in the manner 
 of putting up artillery powder; and many other things used 
 by the army. The writer was recently told by one who 
 says he saw the exhibition, that one time when the general 
 was visiting his brothers here, he gave an exhibition of a 
 small machine, or repeating gun, that he held in his hands 
 .and fired twenty shots in less than a minute, hitting the 
 target each time. Jasper N. Rodman, son of Hugh, hereto- 
 fore mentioned, Hy. Peck, Caleb W. Morris, Noble Calla- 
 way and James H. Callaway, sons of Micajah Callaway, Sr., 
 Richard Hix, Lewis N. Smith, Sr., Charles W. Mobley, 
 John, George, Caleb, Harry and Christian L. Paynter, 
 brothers. John Paynter was in great demand as a young 
 man, to take charge of unruly schools, where the selected 
 teacher was unable to control them, and on account of his 
 great size and strength, he always succeeded. Robert, 
 Alfred and Brad Uppinghouse, brothers. Alfred Upping- 
 house, one time went to one of his neighbors, more than 
 half a mile away, to borrow a plow. He went on foot 
 across the fields and when he made the request, the neigh- 
 bor said yes, and pointed to the plow and asked him when 
 he wanted it. It was a large two-horse plow. He replied, 
 "I will take it now." He was asked how he intended to 
 get it home. He simply reached down, took the plow by 
 the beam with one hand, put it on his shoulder and walked 
 off with it and carried it home, crossing three high rail 
 fences which he climbed without setting the plow down or 
 stopping to rest. 
 
 Milas and James Young, Jr., who with Isaac Gordon were 
 
Washington County Giants 395 
 
 mighty hunters either with gun or rocks. Like the left 
 handed Benjaminites, they could throw a rock to "a hair's 
 breadth and never miss." 
 
 It is related of Milas Young that he could stand in front 
 of the hotel at the southeast corner of the public square in 
 Salem, and throw a silver dollar and land on the West 
 Market street bridge every time. A distance of more than 
 two and a half squares, with buildings intervening. 
 
 Cam. and Reuben Medlock, brothers. Cam. was a great 
 sprinter, and fox hunter. One day a neighbor heard some 
 hounds and pretty soon a red fox came loping along pretty 
 well tired out with Cam. Medlock right after him reaching 
 for his brush. And shortly the hounds appeared looking 
 as weary as the fox, but Cam. seemed as fresh as ever. 
 
 (Whether he caught the fox, deponent saith not.) 
 
 William Hattabaugh, commonly called "Mallet" on 
 account of the unusual size of his fists and his ability to hit 
 hard. Joseph Denney, William and George Weston, broth- 
 ers, Harrison and Joel Denney, brothers. Robert Tatlock 
 would not probably measure up to the full standard in 
 height, but what he lacked in stature, he could make up 
 in strength. He was a farmer and one time he was shifting 
 some mules from one inclosure to another, and they all 
 passed through the opening but one, about two years old, 
 which, mule like, seemed to wish to go out every place 
 except where the inclosure was open, and in its rounds 
 passed near Tatlock, who caught it and in some manner 
 threw it over the fence. 
 
 Christian Prow, Jr., Martin Souder, John C. Lawler, Eli 
 Elrod, Benjamin Luck, William G. Jamison, Lewis Shanks, 
 Moses Shrum, Virginia, Isaac H. Hiestand, Townsend 
 Cutshaw, Stephen D. Sayles, John Spigler, Jehosaphat M. 
 
396 Washington County Giants 
 
 Morris, Jr., David Cadwalader, a merchant in Salem. It is 
 said that one time he was needing some goods and roads 
 were so muddy that he could procure no conveyance and 
 he started afoot for the city, thirty-five miles away, made 
 his purchases and returned home before night. 
 
 In addition to those named, were the following of unusual 
 height but lighter build : Dr. Harvey D. Henderson, Olive 
 Stanley, George Clark, Philbert Marion Wright, Elwood 
 and Thomas Trueblood and David M. Alspaugh. 
 
 But why extend the list? Any community could have 
 furnished its full quota of men that would have measured 
 up to the standard, whose names we have not mentioned. 
 
PART III 
 OUR OWN TIME 
 
 And still the show goes on. All of the men whose 
 names have been heretofore recorded in this paper, have 
 passed away. But the cast is still well filled with characters 
 that fully measure up to the standards established by their 
 predecessors, without any diminution in numbers. And 
 as noticed in the preceding class, the incidents illustrative 
 of the possession of unusual strength grow fewer. 
 
 The names that I shall mention in this part, with per- 
 haps two exceptions, are those of men still living, but all 
 belong to the same age as applied to the races of men. Two 
 or three grew to mature manhood in the county, but have 
 since moved to other localities. But the names will be few, 
 not because their numbers are few, but because I deem it 
 unnecessary to extend this paper for the sole purpose of 
 mentioning names. 
 
 We have first, George, Frank and Charles Morris, broth- 
 ers, and Matthew, William and Augustus Markland, broth- 
 ers. Two very remarkable families, in size, appearance, 
 intelligence and business capacity, Alexander Brock, Com- 
 modore Dawalt, James B. Dawalt, John H. House, Ben- 
 jamin F. Trueblood, Flanders and Claborne Denney, broth- 
 ers; Jacob Williams, Harry Barnett, Dr. Spencer Smith, 
 Volney Shull and many others. 
 
 Jacob Williams is first of all, being seven feet, three 
 and one-half inches, well proportioned and a farmer by 
 occupation. 
 
 Henry W. Medlock, the long-time well known marshal 
 
 397 
 
398 Washington County Giants 
 
 of Salem, would not measure up in stature with the others, 
 but notwithstanding this undersize, he was capable of hold- 
 ing his own, as was shown by his long and turbulent expe- 
 rience as marshal with the best of them and proved more 
 than a match for all of the would-be bad men who sought 
 so often "to paint the town red" during the early years of 
 his official life. 
 
 He was a man about five feet, ten inches high, heavy 
 built and would weigh about one hundred and eighty 
 pounds. But I will give but one instance of his numerous 
 contests with violators of the laws who attempted to resist 
 arrest. And this one came under the personal observation 
 of the writer. Medlock, unlike the proverbial police 
 officer that is always absent when most needed, seemed 
 always to be on hand when his services were called for. 
 
 One summer day a man by the name of Hamilton, from 
 the east part of the county came to town, as he said, for 
 the express purpose of "doing the marshal." He was fully 
 six feet tall, well and heavily built and was the equal of the 
 marshal in weight. A fine looking fellow and one that 
 would have been picked out of crowds as an athlete. The 
 marshal had arrested him some time before for some infrac- 
 tion and on this occasion he said that it was the last time. 
 He was somewhat under the influence of liquor, and after 
 making his boast, left the parties to whom he was talking 
 and started across the street to look for his "Whiskers" as 
 the marshal was called. 
 
 Before he got quite across the street he came face to face 
 with the object of his search. They both stopped a few 
 feet apart. Hamilton reached for his gun but instantly the 
 marshal was upon him and beat him to it, taking the gun 
 out of his pocket and putting it in his own. Hamilton 
 
Washington County Giants 399 
 
 closed in and they clinched and soon went down in the 
 street. But it did not take many minutes, with the heavy 
 marshal sitting on his breast and gripping his throat with a 
 hold that could not be broken, to cause an unconditional 
 surrender which was accepted and the marshal arose. But 
 it seemed that Hamilton would not get up. The marshal 
 tapped his feet a time or two with his billy but that had 
 no effect. So he put up his club, bent over, took Hamilton 
 around the middle, threw him over his shoulder and walked 
 off with him to the justice's office. Hamilton afterwards 
 said to the writer, in speaking of this occurrence, "Whiskers 
 can arrest me any time in the future without trouble. For 
 I know when I'm licked." The foregoing is but one of the 
 numerous contests with violators of the law who attempted 
 to resist arrest by the marshal. Well might he be properly 
 called "The little giant." 
 
 But the men of this day are not ALL giants. In con- 
 trast with the seven feet, three and a half inches of Jacob 
 Williams, is a healthy, good looking, well proportioned man 
 but little over five feet. As a boy, he was able to hold his 
 own in the strenuous, rough and tumble life of the average 
 American boy and is now a quiet and active business man. 
 
 But why continue to mention names of men who might, 
 with equal propriety, be classed with those whose names 
 I have given? 
 
 Those whom I have mentioned are sufficient for the 
 purposes of this paper, and what is true of the localities in 
 which they respectively reside, is also true of the entire 
 county. And what is true of this county is also true of a 
 large portion of the counties of the State. 
 
 Any one who will take notice, even to day, will be very 
 forcibly struck with the large number of good looking, 
 
400 Washington County Giants 
 
 well proportioned men in any gathering, or that he will see 
 passing along the streets, who are from five feet ten to six 
 feet two inches in height. The most of these men he will 
 find are natives of the locality. Is this modern, or is it a 
 native characteristic of the race or the American type? 
 
 It is a well established fact that American men average 
 taller than those of any other country, but have, as yet no 
 means of knowing whether these tall men confined to cer- 
 tain localities or whether it is general with our people. 
 But when we take into account the restless disposition of 
 our people and that they are constantly shifting their habita- 
 tions, it would seem that we must conclude that they are 
 pretty evenly distributed, in the absence of reliable statis- 
 tics. 
 
 Measurements of the soldiers of the Civil war indicate 
 taller men in certain regions, but these may not be suffi- 
 cient to form a correct basis from which to determine the 
 question, although they were sufficient to form the basis 
 for an investigation. 
 
 When the statistics and measurements of the men called 
 for examination in the late war are fully compiled and 
 classified, showing as they do not only the measurements, 
 but also the nativity and the then habitation, we will have 
 the facts upon which to base an investigation of these inter- 
 esting questions and from which to draw pretty definite 
 conclusions. And what a field for investigation it will open 
 up. 
 
APPENDIX "A" 
 
 Since the foregoing paper was prepared, it has been sug- 
 gested to the writer that some readers might seriously 
 question the accuracy of the estimates of the stature and 
 size of the many men whose names have been mentioned. 
 Of course there is now no way of verifying the statements 
 as to all of the men named in parts I and II, but as to part 
 III I think I can offer ample proof that my estimates were 
 not over drawn. 
 
 I enlisted the services of Dr. Claude B. Paynter, of Salem, 
 who made most of the measurements in the selective draft 
 for the World war, and we took the measurements of the 
 first twenty-one men of six feet or more, that we could get 
 at a time when the doctor could make the measurements, 
 and I append the list with the doctor's measurements and 
 the weights. The names of eight of these men are set out 
 in the foregoing paper in Part III, the remainder of them 
 have not been mentioned heretofore. 
 
 All but five of them have passed the age of maturity — 
 thirty years — and the ages of these five are given with the 
 other data as to them. 
 
 They are all natives of the county and all still reside in the 
 county, except three, viz : George, Fred and John Morris, 
 and they grew to manhood here and recently went to other 
 localities, and their names are set out here because they are 
 a part of a family of five brothers, all over six feet. 
 
 The list of names will also bear out the statement of the 
 
 writer that the men whose names are set out in Part III, 
 
 are but a small part of those who might have been given. 
 
 And still there are many others that might be added to the 
 
 401 
 
402 Washington County Giants 
 
 list if we would take the time and trouble to get them and 
 the doctor together for the measurements. But this we 
 deem unnecessary as it was not intended to name all of the 
 class in Part III, and will only submit the following list: 
 
 Name Height Weight Age 
 
 George Morris ] 6-1' 205 
 
 Frank Morris I 6-2' 270 
 
 Charles Morris \ Brothers 6-1' 215 
 
 John Morris 6-6' 235 
 
 Fred Morris J 6-2' 210 
 
 Matthew Markland 1 6-4' 240 
 
 William Markland f- Brothers 6-2' 210 
 
 Augustus Markland J 6-4^' 265 
 
 Flanders Denney ] 6-2' 172 
 
 Claborne Denney J Brothers 6-2' 170 
 
 Silas Shull 6-4' 220 
 
 Albert Newby 6-i?4' 250 
 
 Elbert Smith 6-1' 225 
 
 Ruble May 6 200 
 
 Lawrence W. Paynter 6 215 
 
 Richard Green 6-5^' 255 
 
 Vance Spangler 6 160 20 
 
 Tony Markland 6-3' 160 21 
 
 Willie Wilson 6-6' 185 24 
 
 Frank Rodman 6-1' 175 24 
 
 Charles Gorman 6 165 23 
 
 APPENDIX "B" (Gould Statistics) 
 
 Extracts from "Investigations in the Military and Anthropo- 
 logical Statistics of American Soldiers, by Benjamin 
 Apthorp Gould, Actuary to the U. S. Sanitary 
 Commission, in the Civil War. 
 
 (P. 118) The height of full-grown man (Note. From 
 his data, Doctor Gould assumes that the average man does 
 not attain full growth until the age of 31) has been the 
 subject of as wide a diversity of statement, and seems as 
 completely undetermined even for any one nationality, as 
 
Washington County Giants 403 
 
 the law of growth by which it is attained. Among the 
 values given by the principal investigators within the 
 author's knowledge, the following may be cited, all the 
 numbers being here reduced to centimeters and to English 
 (American) inches. 
 
 Centimeters Inches 
 
 Buffon (mean value) 169.2 66.60 
 
 Tenon, from 60 men between the ages of 25 and 45, 
 
 measured at Massy 166.5 65.55 
 
 Quetelet, from 900 men enrolled for draft at Brussels 168.41 66.30 
 Quetelet, from 9,500 Belgian militia (province of 
 
 Brabant) 163.80 64.49 
 
 Quetelet, from 69 convicts at the penitentiary of 
 
 Vilvorde 166.40 65.51 
 
 Hargenvilliers, from French conscripts (20 years old) 161.50 63.58 
 Quetelet, from 80 students at Cambridge, England 
 
 (measured in shoes) 174.21 68.60 
 
 Forbes, from Scotch students at Edinburgh (in shoes) 173.45 68.30 
 Silbermann, from 559 conscripts in one Paris 
 
 arrondissement 164.34 64.70 
 
 Carus, "Proportionslehre" 171.20 67.40 
 
 Schadow, from his own measures 172.60 67.96 
 
 Zeising, from his own measures and Quetelets 173. 68.11 
 
 Liharzik, from 300 selected men in Vienna 175. 68.90 
 
 Danson, from 733 Liverpool prisoners, aged 25 and 
 
 upwards 168.80 66.46 
 
 Coolidge*, mean of 100 U. S. soldiers, natives of — 
 
 Indiana 175.58 69.125 
 
 Kentucky 17596 69.275 
 
 Ohio 175.37 69.044 
 
 Tennessee , 176.1 1 69.335 
 
 Maine 174.69 68.777 
 
 Vermont and New Hampshire 173-58 68.341 
 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut 173.19 68.185 
 
 North Carolina 176.22 69.377 
 
 Georgia 177.61 69.926 
 
 South Carolina 175.00 69.275 
 
 *Statistical Report on Sickness and Mortality of U. S. Army, years 
 1840-56, p 633. The measurements were of 100 soldiers, taken at ran- 
 dom, in the order of entry on the Adjutant General's books, from each 
 of 18 states. Recruits were not accepted under 65 inches at the time. 
 For discussion see Hammond's "Military Hygiene," p. 29.) 
 
404 Washington County Giants 
 
 Alabama I757I 69.176 
 
 Virginia 175.22 68.986 
 
 New York 172.23 67.806 
 
 Pennsylvania 172.99 68.107 
 
 New Jersey and Delaware 172.24 67.81 1 
 
 Maryland 174-13 68.556 
 
 Illinois 175.85 69.235 
 
 Missouri i74- 2 3 68.594 
 
 Another of Coolidge's tables gives a striking statement of the 
 proportion of each 100 who were over 6 feet tall. Of 1,000 men 
 measured in the British army, only 65 were 6 feet tall or more, and in 
 the French army only 4. Of the 1,800 American soldiers, 241 were 6 
 feet tall or more, or over 133 to 1,000, the record by states being as 
 follows : 
 
 No. over 6 feet Greatest stature 
 
 Indiana 18 6 feet 4^ in. 
 
 Kentucky 18 6 feet 2>Va in. 
 
 Ohio 15 6 feet z l A in. 
 
 Tennessee 18 . 6 feet 3 in. 
 
 Maine 11 6 feet 2 in. 
 
 Vermont and New Hampshire 6 6 feet 1 in. 
 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut 5 6 feet 3 in. 
 
 North Carolina 24 6 feet zVa in. 
 
 Georgia 30 6 feet 6^4 in. 
 
 South Carolina 15 6 feet 4V2 in. 
 
 Alabama 17 6 feet 4 in. 
 
 Virginia 15 6 feet 2 in. 
 
 New York 4 6 feet i l / 2 in. 
 
 Pennsylvania 5 6 feet 1 in. 
 
 New Jersey and Delaware 6 6 feet 1 in. 
 
 Maryland 9 6 feet 2 in. 
 
 Illinois 17 6 feet 3 in. 
 
 Missouri 8 6 feet 1 Vi in. 
 
 The exceeding wide range of these data can scarcely 
 be accounted for by any one influence. Nor, indeed, are 
 the means afforded in most cases for determining to what 
 extent the variations are fortuitous, and in what measure 
 they are due to differences in the classes of men under con- 
 sideration, or how far they may be dependent upon the 
 employment of different limits of age, in those cases where 
 limits were regarded. 
 
Washington County Giants 4°5 
 
 Even for our vastly more copious statistics, the age for 
 which the corresponding mean heights may be properly 
 used in determining the full stature of the average man, 
 remains somewhat uncertain. It seems to be shown by 
 the present investigation that these ages differ greatly for 
 different nationalities, and even for different classes of the 
 same people. The suggestion of Villerme that the stature 
 is greater, and the growth sooner completed, all other 
 things being equal, in proportion as the country is richer, 
 and the comfort of its inhabitants more general, seemed 
 from his data quite plausible; but it is not supported as a 
 general law by the information here collected. It was 
 based upon the hypothesis "that misery, that is to say the 
 circumstances which accompany it, diminishes the stature 
 and retards the epoch of complete development of the 
 body." Misery, in its here intended sense of excessive 
 poverty, affecting the supply of nutriment, physical pro- 
 tection from the weather, and needful rest, hardly exists in 
 the United States; yet the epoch of full development ap- 
 pears to be later in this than in any other country. The 
 fact, however, that privations or exposure will "stunt" or 
 prevent the attainment of normal height is beyond ques- 
 tion and appears to explain the results obtained for sailors, 
 as will be mentioned hereafter. 
 
 Here follow a number of tables giving measurements, by ages and 
 nativities, of 1,232,256 men, of whom 1,104,841 were white soldiers, 
 83,800 white sailors, 39,615 colored soldiers, and 4,000 colored sailors. 
 From these Dr. Gould reaches his conclusions that the age of full 
 stature in the United States is 30 years, and that "the well-known 
 phenomenon of a decrease in height after the age of forty-five or 
 fifty years exerts but a small influence." 
 
406 Washington County Giants 
 
 FULL STATURES, BY NATIVITY 
 
 Men in Union Army and Navy, 31 years of age and up. 
 
 No. Cen- 
 
 Nativity measured Inches timeters 
 
 New England 33,7^3 68.319 173.63 
 
 New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.. 61,351 68.109 173.00 
 
 Ohio and Indiana 34,206 68.971 175-19 
 
 Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois 4,570 68.865 174.86 
 
 Slave States, except Kentucky and Tennessee 13,409 68.843 174.86 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 12.862 69.300 176.02 
 
 British Provinces 6,667 67.551 171.58 
 
 England 8,899 66.993 170.16 
 
 Scotland 3,478 07.579 171.65 
 
 Ireland 24,149 67.138 170.53 
 
 France, Belgium and Switzerland 3-759 66.697 169.41 
 
 Germany 32,559 66.739 169.51 
 
 Scandinavia 3,790 07 .461 171.35 
 
 Spain and Miscellaneous 4,421 66.766 169.58 
 
 A comparison of these values can hardly fail to suggest 
 the suspicion that the full stature for a given nativity may 
 be different in the different States, and this is strongly cor- 
 roborated by the comparison of the special nativity tables 
 made for the men of each several States. Indeed the evi- 
 dence thus obtained falls but little short of demonstration. 
 
 Here follow several tables. Table XII gives stature of natives of 
 New England who enlisted in New England, as compared with natives 
 of New England who enlisted in the western States, and showing an 
 excess of stature for the latter at every age except 18 years, the 
 average excess for all being .19 inches. Table XIII gives a similar 
 comparison for natives of New York, with like results, the average 
 excess of stature of those who enlisted in the west being .49 inches. 
 Table XIV shows the stature of natives of Ireland and Germany by 
 place of enlistment, showing that those of both nationalities who 
 enlisted in Indiana averaged taller than those from any other State 
 except Missouri, the average being 67.268 for the Irish from Indiana, 
 and 67.584 for those from Missouri : and 66.842 for the Germans from 
 Indiana, and 66.965 for those from Missouri. 
 
 The adjoining States of Ohio and Indiana have in general 
 been considered together in these investigations, as 
 
Washington County Giants 407 
 
 "Nativity C." Circumstances led, however, to the separa- 
 tion of the natives of these two States during the assort- 
 ment of about two-thirds of the Indiana soldiers. This has 
 made it possible to give the figures for these soldiers in the 
 last table; and here also a comparison of the results, 
 obtained from the groups separately, illustrates the same 
 principle which is manifested by our other statistics. The 
 relative smallness of the difference between the statures of 
 natives of these two States might reasonably be supposed 
 to elude detection under the circumstances, yet for the 
 mean heights we find. 
 
 STATURES OF NATIVES OF OHIO AND INDIANA 
 ENLISTING IN INDIANA 
 
 Age Under 21 21-23 24-26 27-30 31-34 35-up. 
 
 Natives f Number 18,248 9,200 4,900 3,784 2,017 2,239 
 
 of Ind. [Height 67,424 68.628 68.774 68.891 69.095 68.929 
 
 Natives f Number 4,962 3,341 2,204 1,93° 1,287 1,882 
 
 of Ohio [ Height 67.263 68.456 68.614 68.668 68.865 68.787 
 
 Excess for Indiana 161 .172 .160 .223 .230 .142 
 
 (The average height of the 4,256 Indiana men of 31 years and up, is 
 69.008 inches; and the average excess over the Ohio men is .17 inches.) 
 
 From these tables and other similar ones which might 
 be formed from our statistics, the deduction is palpable that 
 agencies connected with the State furnishing the men to 
 the National army produced a decided effect upon the 
 stature, superposed upon whatever other influences may 
 have proceeded from the particular stock from which the 
 men sprang. 
 
 It is not difficult to form conjectures regarding the nature 
 of these agencies. A large proportion of those enlisting in 
 other than their native States had doubtless migrated in 
 childhood, while their constitution, and especially their 
 
408 Washington County Giants 
 
 osseous development, was readily affected by external 
 influences. Whether these were climatic, social, or alimen- 
 tary, it is perhaps premature to discuss at present. That 
 residence in the Western States, during the years of growth, 
 tends to produce increase of stature, seems established ; and 
 the indications are strong that the same is the case with 
 many of the Southern states. It would moreover appear 
 that those States which show for their natives the highest 
 statures, are those which tend most strongly to increase 
 the stature of those who remove thither during the period 
 of development. The westward course of population pre- 
 cludes any trustworthy inferences regarding the converse 
 of this statement. And furthermore, it is evident that the 
 relative stature for different States follows no manifest 
 geographical law. 
 
 The suggestion that calcareous districts, by furnishing a 
 more abundant and continuous supply of lime for the bones 
 while growing, promote their development, and thus tend 
 to increase the stature, seems to afford a partial explanation 
 for this phenomenon ; but it gives by no means a complete 
 solution of the problem, for the variations of stature are not 
 by any means proportionate to the amounts of calcareous 
 formations near the surface of the soil. Thus the marked 
 differences in the average statures of the natives between 
 Maine and New Hampshire, and between Vermont and 
 New York, cannot be accounted for on this theory. 
 
 P. 131. We may sum up many of our general inferences 
 regarding the full stature in a few closing sentences. That 
 the stature of a population is not in ordinary cases affected 
 by the temperature of the region which it inhabits, as was 
 supposed by Buffon, may be regarded as established by the 
 small influence which the latitude appears to exert. The 
 
Washington County Giants 409 
 
 statistics here collected show how slight any such influence 
 must be within the territory of the United States; for the 
 differences of stature here seem altogether independent of 
 climatic agencies, as will be perceived from a very cursory 
 inspection of Table XL For South America the same fact 
 is established by the researches of D'Orbigny, who espe- 
 cially discards the theory with emphatic repetition. For 
 Europe the non-dependence of stature upon latitude is too 
 well known to require illustration, and although there is a 
 wide diversity between the statures of the Latin and the 
 Teutonic races, it is in the direction opposite to that which 
 this theory implies. 
 
 That stature is not a distinctive characteristic of nation- 
 ality is demonstrated with equal certainty by these statis- 
 tics. Our tables XII to XV show incontestably the agency 
 of some local influence, by exhibiting the difference in 
 stature between men of the same stock and nativity reared 
 in different States. The same conclusion was forced upon 
 D'Orbigy by his South American investigations, and the 
 statistics of conscription in France and Prussia also make 
 this truth manifest by showing the wide diversity in the 
 mean stature of men of the same race, and born in districts 
 by no means remote from each other. 
 
 That the stature depends in any controlling degree upon 
 the domestic circumstances of a population, as affected by 
 abundance or need of the comforts of life, according to the 
 opinion of Villerme, can scarcely be maintained after con- 
 sideration of the facts here presented, although the effects 
 of privation or exposure upon the physical growth are 
 doubtless recognizable. 
 
 That the stature is chiefly affected by the elevation of 
 the districts inhabited, as suggested by D'Orbigny, who 
 
410 Washington County Giants 
 
 attributes the supposed inferior stature in mountainous 
 regions to the prolonged influence of a rarefied atmosphere, 
 seems equally untenable. Among the tallest men of Ken- 
 tucky, Tennessee and West Virginia are the dwellers upon 
 the slopes of the Alleghanies; the Green Mountains of 
 Vermont furnish a race of men among the tallest in all the 
 New England States; yet on the other hand the prairies 
 and level fields of Indiana and Illinois afford a population of 
 preeminent stature. The tallest men of France inhabit the 
 slopes of the Jura. 
 
 That all the influences here considered — climate, nation- 
 ality, comfort, elevation — may contribute in some measure 
 to affect the stature is more than probable ; that both ances- 
 tral and local influences are recognizable is certain. And 
 although we cannot succeed in determining what is the 
 chief agent, it may not be without value that we furnish 
 evidence of what is not. 
 
 (Following this, Doctor Gould gives a number of tables and quota- 
 tions as to seamen, negroes, and various races. His table shows 
 American sailors at age of full stature ranging from 66.778 for those 
 of New England to 67.765 for those from the northwestern States. 
 Colored soldiers from the free States averaged 67.056, and those from 
 the slave States 67.143. Colored sailors averaged 66.337 for the free 
 States and 66.641 for the Slave States. Measurements of 500 Iroquois 
 Indians showed an average full stature of 68.665 inches. The senior 
 and junior classes at Harvard and Yale averaged from 67.467 at 17 years 
 of age to 69.180 at 27 years. The smallest men appear to be the 
 Eskimos, who are reported at 130 centimeters. Patagonians, who are 
 frequently spoken of as "giants," were found by D'Orbigny to average 
 68.1 inches; and Doctor Gould says: "A probable explanation of the 
 exaggerated accounts of the stature of this really tall race of men is 
 given by D'Orbigny, who says that the breadth of their shoulders, their 
 bare heads, and the manner in which they drape themselves from head 
 to foot in the skins of wild animals, produce such an illusion, that his 
 own party had attributed to them an excessive stature, before any 
 actual comparison or measurement became possible." Of unusually tall 
 men, Doctor Gould found 3,613 who measured 75 inches or more in 
 those measured, and of these 598 were enlisted in Indiana. This was 
 
Washington County Giants 
 
 411 
 
 the largest number of men from any one State, but the proportion in 
 100,000 men was smaller than for Kentucky, Wisconsin, Minnesota and 
 Missouri. He proceeds — ) 
 
 During the investigation of the correctness of the records 
 for cases of extreme height, a very considerable number of 
 similar cases among the earlier volunteers were brought to 
 our knowledge; and it seems probable that the proportion 
 of very tall men, among the troops whose descriptive mus- 
 ters are not on file, was at least not inferior to that among 
 the later enlistments from which our statistics are neces- 
 sarily derived. 
 
 Among our own data fifty-one cases of stature, not less 
 than eighty inches, were recorded ; but many of these were 
 found to be erroneous on special investigation. Great exer- 
 tions were made to obtain information regarding others, 
 who are recorded as follows on the official musters : 
 
 Regiment Height 
 
 Unassigned Main Infantry 80 
 
 7th Vermont Infantry 80 
 
 128th New York Infantry 81 
 
 100th Ohio Infantry 84 
 
 169th Ohio Infantry 80 
 
 29th Indiana Infantry 8o}4 
 
 59th Indiana Infantry 83 
 
 59th Indiana Infantry 83^ 
 
 81st Indiana Infantry 80^2 
 
 89th Indiana Infantry 82 
 
 153d Indiana Infantry 83 
 
 1st Indiana Artillery 80 
 
 31st Illinois Infantry 8ij4 
 
 106th Illinois Infantry 83 
 
 109th Illinois Infantry 80 
 
 149th Illinois Infantry 83H 
 
 Unassigned Illinois Infantry 80 
 
 Unassigned Illinois Infantry 83 
 
 Unassigned Illinois Infantry 80 
 
 nth Michigan Cavalry 80 
 
 1st Michigan Artillery 81 J4 
 
 8th Wisconsin Infantry 80 
 
 46th Wisconsin Infantry 80 
 
 46th Wisconsin Infantry 80 
 
 26th Missouri Infantry 84 
 
 ht 
 
 Age 
 
 Place of Birth 
 
 in. 
 
 26 
 
 Maine 
 
 n. 
 
 40 
 
 Vermont 
 
 in. 
 
 21 
 
 Ireland 
 
 in. 
 
 22 
 
 New York 
 
 in. 
 
 37 
 
 Ireland 
 
 in. 
 
 20 
 
 Ohio 
 
 m. 
 
 30 
 
 Indiana 
 
 in. 
 
 38 
 
 Indiana 
 
 in. 
 
 23 
 
 Indiana 
 
 n. 
 
 24 
 
 Ohio 
 
 n. 
 
 25 
 
 Ohio 
 
 n. 
 
 3i 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 in. 
 
 21 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 n. 
 
 25 
 
 Illinois 
 
 in. 
 
 22 
 
 Illinois 
 
 in. 
 
 18 
 
 Ohio 
 
 n. 
 
 18 
 
 Illinois 
 
 n. 
 
 20 
 
 Illinois 
 
 n. 
 
 20 
 
 Illinois 
 
 n. 
 
 22 
 
 New York 
 
 in. 
 
 20 
 
 Michigan 
 
 in. 
 
 20 
 
 New York 
 
 m. 
 
 39 
 
 Norway 
 
 n. 
 
 39 
 
 New York 
 
 n. 
 
 28 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
412 Washington County Giants 
 
 The tallest man for whose stature the testimony is com- 
 plete and unimpeachable, is Lieutenant VanBuskirk, of the 
 Twenty-seventh Indiana Infantry. General Silas Colgrove, 
 formerly colonel of that regiment, writes that he has fre- 
 quently seen him measured, and that his stature was fully 
 eighty-two and one-half inches, without shoes, or 209 cen- 
 timeters. General Colgrove adds that he was a brave man, 
 and bore the fatigue of marching as well as most men of 
 ordinary stature. 
 
 Corporal Ira Stout, of the Fiftieth Indiana Infantry, Com- 
 pany E, was twenty-four years of age, and eighty-one inches 
 high (205.7 centimeters) at the date of his enlistment, 
 September, 1861. He was born in Ohio county, Indiana, 
 was a farmer by occupation, had blue eyes, light hair and 
 fair complexion. This information is corroborated by 
 Captain Percy Rous, his commanding officer, who states 
 that the man was soon discharged on account of disability, 
 and had done but little marching at the time. 
 
 Colonel Gregory, of the Twenty-ninth Indiana Infantry, 
 has obtained for us, precise information from Captain 
 Charles Ream, of Company K, concerning one of his men, 
 for whom he confirms the record. The somewhat inappro- 
 priate name of this man was John Bunch ; he was born in 
 Ohio, and at his enlistment, September, 1861, was twenty 
 years old, eighty and one-half inches tall (204.5 cen " 
 timeters), by occupation a farmer, with hazel eyes, light 
 hair, and light complexion. He was a notorious skulker, 
 was never with the regiment in a single battle, and deserted 
 in August, 1862. He was known in the regiment as the 
 "United States Ramrod." 
 
 Colonel M. W. Tappan, of the First New Hampshire 
 Infantry (three months regiment), believes our information 
 
Washington County Giants 413 
 
 to be correct in the case of Joseph H. Harris, of that regi- 
 ment, also eighty and one-half inches (204.5 centimeters) 
 in height, aged twenty-six years, born in Vermont, by occu- 
 pation a mechanic, eyes blue, hair brown, complexion dark. 
 
 Captain J. B. Redfield, formerly commanding Company 
 A of the Eighth Wisconsin Volunteers, vouches for the 
 record concerning a man in that company, Andrew J. 
 Sanders, who was born in New York, and was, at his 
 enlistment, twenty years old, and eighty inches (203.2 cen- 
 timeters) in height. 
 
 These are the five tallest men whose cases are well 
 identified, but only two of them, Bunch and Sanders, are 
 included in our tables. The circumstances that three of 
 them are from Indiana may be perhaps explained by the 
 especially careful inquiries which were made in that State, 
 on account of the high average stature of its inhabitants. 
 The testimony is overwhelming that very tall men do 
 not bear the fatigue of a campagin so well as persons of 
 ordinary stature; that they are less capable of performing 
 long marches, and are more frequently on the sick list 
 at other times. 
 
 APPENDIX "C" (Baxter Statistics) 
 
 Extracts from statistics, medical and anthropological, of 
 the Provost Marshal-General's Bureau, Washington, 1875. 
 
 In the latter part of the Civil war, the proportion of 
 disabilities from disease occasioned precautions for stricter 
 medical examinations for soldiers; and on January 11, 1864, 
 the "Medical Bureau of the Provost Marshal-General's 
 office" was organized. This took over the biometrical 
 work, and examined 605,045 drafted men, of whom 155,730 
 were rejected ; 225,369 volunteers, of whom 50,008 were 
 
414 Washington County Giants 
 
 rejected; and 79,968 substitutes, of whom 21,125 were 
 rejected. In 1866 an appropriation was made for compil- 
 ing these statistics, which work was completed and pub- 
 lished in 1875, under the supervision of Dr. J. H. Baxter, 
 These figures cover in part those used by Doctor Gould, 
 but are limited to 501,068 measurements that had "exact 
 records," and of these 315,620 were of American-born 
 whites. 
 
 Doctor Baxter added a large amount of information as 
 to statistics of other countries, and especially as to the min- 
 imum stature prescribed for soldiers. This has vaned at 
 different times. The lowest recorded for the ancient 
 Romans was sixty-three inches, of our measure; but under 
 the Emperor Valentinian, the minimum was raised to 65.55 
 inches, and the soldiers of the First Legionary Cohort were 
 required to be at least 70.3 inches. In France, Louis XIV 
 ordained a minimum of 63.938 inches. During the Napo- 
 leonic wars this was dropped to 60.788, and after slight 
 changes, was fixed by law in 1872, at 60,631. In the United 
 States, the minimum was established in 1790 at sixty-six 
 inches, and has usually been near that, though it was 
 dropped to sixty inches in 1864, which, of course, reduced 
 the averages thereafter. 
 
 There are two of Doctor Baxter's tables that are of 
 especial interest here. . One is his comparison by States 
 with Doctor Gould's figures; but in this he uses the aver- 
 ages for all ages in both, and not the age of "full stature" 
 (31 years and up) that is used in Doctor Gould's table given 
 above. The other is the average by congressional districts, 
 which shows startling results for Indiana, the extreme 
 variation between the districts being 1.346 inches. The 
 
Washington County Giants 415 
 
 enlistments at that time were by districts composed as 
 follows : 
 
 First. Counties of Daviess, Gibson, Dubois, Knox, Mar- 
 tin, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick; head- 
 quarters, Evansville. 
 
 Second. Clarke, Crawford, Floyd, Orange, Harrison, 
 Scott, Washington, and Perry; headquarters, Jeffersonville. 
 
 Third. Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, Jennings, Jeffer- 
 son, Lawrence, Monroe, and Switzerland ; headquarters, Co- 
 lumbus. 
 
 Fourth. Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Ohio, Ripley, and 
 Rush; headquarters, Greensburg. 
 
 Fifth. Delaware, Fayette, Henry, Union, Randolph and 
 Wayne; headquarters, Richmond. 
 
 Sixth. Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan, 
 and Shelby; headquarters, Indianapolis. 
 
 Seventh. Clay, Greene, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, 
 Vermilion, and Vigo; headquarters, Terre Haute. 
 
 Eighth. Boone, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Tippecanoe, 
 Montgomery and Warren ; headquarters, Lafayette. 
 
 Ninth. Benton, Cass, Fulton, Jasper, Lake, Laporte, 
 Marshall, Pulaski, Miami, Porter, Starke, St. Joseph, White, 
 and Newton; headquarters, Laporte. 
 
 Tenth. Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Kosciusko, Noble, 
 LaGrange, Steuben, and Whitney; headquarters, Kendall- 
 ville. 
 
 Eleventh. Adams, Blackford, Wells, Grant, Howard, 
 Hamilton, Huntington, Tipton, Jay, Madison and Wabash; 
 headquarters, Wabash. 
 
 Doctor Baxter's tables follow, with an extract of his dis- 
 cussion of the causes of variations. 
 
416 
 
 Washington County Giants 
 
 MEAN STATURE OF AMERICAN BORN, WHITE, UNION 
 
 SOLDIERS 
 
 Dr. 
 State No. Men 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 4,252 
 
 Kansas 729 
 
 Minnesota 3,682 
 
 Missouri 6,031 
 
 California 1,308 
 
 Nevada 21 
 
 Indiana 38,354 
 
 West Viriginia 5,187 
 
 Wisconsin 10,922 
 
 Maine 12,363 
 
 Iowa 7,823 
 
 Illinois 36,465 
 
 Michigan 12,583 
 
 Maryland 6,918 
 
 Ohio 39,3H 
 
 Vermont 3,374 
 
 Delaware 1,215 
 
 Pennsylvania 47,124 
 
 District of Columbia 2,883 
 
 Rhode Island 3,013 
 
 New York 43,798 
 
 New Jersey 1 7,084 
 
 New Hampshire 2,801 
 
 Massachusetts 6,280 
 
 Connecticut 2,009 
 
 Baxter 
 
 Dr. Gould 
 
 Height 
 
 Height 
 
 Inches 
 
 Inches 
 
 68.677 
 
 68.160 
 
 68.551 
 
 
 68.371 
 
 67.625 
 
 68.337 
 
 68.033 
 
 68,306 
 
 
 68.286 
 
 
 68.080 
 
 68.062 
 
 68.005 
 
 68.425 
 
 67.911 
 
 67.652 
 
 67.895 
 
 68.122 
 
 67.895 
 
 68.131 
 
 67,835 
 
 67.970 
 
 67.826 
 
 67.615 
 
 67.814 
 
 67.312 
 
 67.782 
 
 67.838 
 
 67.583 
 
 67.613 
 
 67.490 
 
 
 67.470 
 
 67.136 
 
 67.353 
 
 
 67.290 
 
 67.088 
 
 67.274 
 
 67.085 
 
 67.023 
 
 66.575 
 
 66.929 
 
 67.402 
 
 66.891 
 
 67.050 
 
 66.587 
 
 67.088 
 
 MEAN STATURE OF 38,354 INDIANA MEN IN UNION ARMY. 
 BY CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS 
 
 District 
 
 Number 
 
 Second 2,1 12 
 
 Third 1,709 
 
 First 3,224 
 
 Eleventh 3,404 
 
 Ninth 4,781 
 
 Seventh 4,810 
 
 Fourth 2,307 
 
 Fifth 3,028 
 
 Tenth 3,171 
 
 Sixth 5,097 
 
 Av. Height 
 Inches 
 68.916 
 68.407 
 68.315 
 68.303 
 68.302 
 68.289 
 68.080 
 67.912 
 67.808 
 67.660 
 
Washington County Giants 4*7 
 
 Eighth 4,7i i 67.570 
 
 Total 38,354 Average 68.080 
 
 (The average for the United States was 67.672. Doctor Baxter con- 
 curs with Doctor Gould in the belief that the earlier enlistments in 
 the Civil war averaged taller than these.) 
 
 CAUSES OF STATURE, AND PERIOD OF FULL 
 
 STATURE. 
 
 P. 16. "A striking peculiarity will be noticed in the 
 height of foreigners in the following tables. In every 
 instance, this height will be found greater than the mean 
 stature ascribed to the nation represented. In like manner, 
 emigrants from the Eastern to the Western States exhibit 
 a stature superior to that of the residents of their native 
 States. Mr. Gould observes that men born in New England, 
 but enlisting from the West, were found to have a mean 
 height varying from 0.380 inch to 0.340 inch, according to 
 age, in excess of the mean height of the volunteers from 
 New England itself. 
 
 "The cause of this superior height in those who have left 
 their native country has been much debated. Mr. Gould 
 suggests, in the case of men removing at an early age from 
 the East to the West, that the greater abundance of food 
 might have produced this excess. It is true that the fertile 
 lands of the West produce more abundant harvests, but it is 
 not likely that the supply of sufficient food to the young 
 varies in any important degree in the United States. 
 Besides, the same peculiar difference is observed to exist 
 in the cases of men who have migrated from one western 
 State to another, so that the reason assigned is clearly 
 unsatisfactory. It has also been argued that the prevalence 
 of Cretaceous formation in the geology of the West, by 
 
418 Washington County Giants 
 
 furnishing a more liberal supply of lime for the bones of the 
 growing youth, accounts for the phenomenon of his greater 
 stature. Although a deficiency of this material may pre- 
 vent hardening, and result in curvature of the long bones, 
 there is no proof that a superabundant supply would 
 increase their normal length. The natives of Maine, New 
 Hampshire, and Vermont, contiguous States, not varying 
 greatly in geological character, display marked differences 
 in mean stature. The suggestion has also been made that 
 men who leave their native soil to seek fortune in other 
 lands are corporeally superior specimens of their race; but 
 it is yet to be shown that enterprise and ambition depend 
 upon stature, and not on qualities of mind. It would, how- 
 ever, be of great service to this branch of statistics if a 
 record were to be accurately kept of the height, weight and 
 age of all male immigrants landing in New York. 
 
 "After all, the true explanation of this curious fact is 
 probably to be found in the difference of age of the men 
 examined. The height of soldiers in all European countries, 
 excepting in Great Britain, is recorded at the period of 
 their conscription, and this occurs from their eighteenth to 
 their twentieth year. It is indisputably established that 
 height continues to increase very perceptibly up to the 
 twenty-fifth year; full growth, indeed, not being completed 
 until later. Now the lowest mean age to be found in Tables 
 Nos. 4 to 9, inclusive, is 25.248 years, and the mean age of 
 the six nativities represented in them is 27.319 years. The 
 comparisons, then, have all the time been made of grown 
 men, twenty-five years old and upward, with lads of nine- 
 teen. According to Quetelet's tables of growth, the mean 
 height at nineteen years is 1.655 metres, and at twenty-five 
 years it is 1,682 metres — a difference of 2.7 centimetres, or 
 
Washington County Giants 419 
 
 1.063 inches. Our tables show the mean height at nineteen 
 years to be 67.07 inches, and at twenty-five years to be 
 68.05 inches. 
 
 "The age announced by other authorities as that of com- 
 pleted growth varies considerably. In France, Bernard 
 gives it as the thirty-second year; Champouillon from the 
 twenty-third to the twenty-eighth ; Baron Larrey, the twen- 
 ty-eighth ; and Allaire, from the thirty-first to the thirty- 
 fifth year. In Belgium, Quetelet decides for the thirtieth, 
 and in Switzerland M. Dunant for the twenty-sixth year. 
 Liharzik, in Vienna, and in England, Aitken, Danson and 
 Boyd regard the twenty-fifth as the year of matured growth. 
 Doctor Beddoe selects the twenty-third year, though he 
 admits a slight increase after that age." 
 
 APPENDIX "D" 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM ADJUTANT TERRELL'S 
 REPORT, 1869 
 P. no, Vol. 1. Document No. 14. 
 
 Height and Ages of Indiana Soldiers. 
 Exhibit showing the height and ages of 118,254 Indiana 
 soldiers in the United States service, War of the Rebellion. 
 (There is no record of the descriptions of about 88,000 
 soldiers from this State.) 
 
 Document No. 15 
 NATIVITY OF INDIANA SOLDIERS 
 
 Height 
 
 No 
 
 . of Men 
 
 Age — Years No. of Men. 
 
 Under 61 inches 
 
 
 50i 
 
 Under 17 years 270 
 
 At 61 inches 
 
 
 293 
 
 At 17 years 634 
 
 At 62 inches 
 
 
 971 
 
 At. 18 years 21,935 
 
 At 63 inches 
 
 
 2,503 
 
 At 19 years 10,519 
 
 At 64 inches 
 
 
 5,387 
 
 At 20 years 9,435 
 
420 
 
 Washington County Giants 
 
 At 65 inches 9,171 At 21 years 9,705 
 
 At 66 inches 14,373 At 22 years 7,835 
 
 At 67 inches 15,328 At 23 years 6,789 
 
 At 68 inches 19,140 At 24 years 6,013 
 
 At 69 inches I5,47 2 At 25 years 4,891 
 
 At 70 inches I5,<>47 At 26 years 4,283 
 
 At 71 inches 8,706 At 27 years 3,738 
 
 At 72 inches 6,679 At 28 years 3,929 
 
 At 73 inches 2,614 At 29 years 2,769 
 
 At 74 inches i,357 At 30 years 3,001 
 
 At 75 inches 409 31 to 34 years 8,391 
 
 Over 75 inches 336 35 years and over 14,127 
 
 Total reported 118,254 Total reported 118,254 
 
 (In a note to this table, Gen. Terrell gives an extract from a private 
 letter to him from Dr. B. A. Gould, saying: "One thing will certainly 
 interest you — that it is evident, from our statistics, that the Indiana 
 men are the tallest of all natives of the United States, and these 
 latter the tallest of al civilized countries." Dr. Gould modified this 
 later, as quoted above.) 
 
 Place of birth Number 
 
 Indiana 58,294 
 
 Ohio 22,91 1 
 
 New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.. 9,228 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 7,677 
 
 Other Slave States 5,947 
 
 Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin 2,124 
 
 New England States 902 
 
 Other Free States 146 
 
 Total American born 107,139 
 
 Germany 5,242 
 
 Ireland 2,983 
 
 England 1,084 
 
 Foreign countries not designated 948 
 
 Canada 61 r 
 
 Scotland 245 
 
 Total Foreign born 11,115 
 
 Grand Total 1 18,254 
 
 (The total number over 6 feet tall, in the above measurements is 
 11,392 or nearly 10 per cent. At page 240 Gen. Terrell gives the 
 average height of 38,850 "drafted men, recruits and substitutes, natives 
 of the United States, and citizens of Indiana," at 5 feet, 7.28 inches.) 
 
Washington County Giants 421 
 
 APPENDIX "E" 
 (Non-official information) 
 
 Extracts from History of Twenty-Seventh Indiana Vol- 
 unteer Infantry, by Edmund R. Brown, of Company C, 
 later Department Commander Grand Army of the Republic, 
 Indiana. 
 
 P. 21. "As to nativity, the majority of the Twenty-sev- 
 enth were simply Western conglomerates. At least ninety 
 per cent, of the officers and men, if not more, were Ameri- 
 can born. But, while a few of them were descendants of 
 that band of numerous progeny — the original freightage of 
 the Mayflower — and of other early settlers of the Colonies, 
 many of them were of the third or second, or even of the 
 first generation, born this side of the Atlantic. If some of 
 us proudly claimed a strain of Puritan or Cavalier blood in 
 our veins, it had undeniably been crossed with German and 
 Low Dutch, Scotch and Irish, until it was impossible to 
 decide which now predominated, and few cared about it 
 anyway. * * * One of our companies had such a pre- 
 ponderance of German-speaking men in it that we called 
 it our "Dutch Koompany." Yet most of these young men 
 who spoke the English language brokenly, had been born in 
 the United States, and, in some instances, their fathers 
 before them had been. With them, in the same company, 
 were also men not of German descent, and, along with the 
 rest, were three or four genuine Hibernians, rather recent 
 arrivals. All of the companies had more or less of these 
 'sprigs of the Emerald Isle.' * * * 
 
 "A characteristic of the Twenty-seventh that often at- 
 tracted attention was the large proportion of tall men which 
 
422 Washington County Giants 
 
 it contained. It is generally known that we had with us 
 the tallest man in the entire United States army. This has 
 been definitely settled. Capt. David Buskirk stood full six 
 feet eleven and one-half inches in his stockings. It was 
 the plan, at first that his company should be composed 
 wholly of men six feet tall or over. Though this was found 
 impracticable, the company still had in it, at the start, 
 eighty men of that class. 
 
 "It would be safe to say that the other companies aver- 
 aged at least fifty six-footers each. Some quite short men 
 (or boys) brought the average down considerably; but the 
 matter of our unusual average height was the subject of 
 frequent remark, particularly in the early part of our ser- 
 vice. 
 
 "And we measured well, in comparison with others, in 
 at least one other respect. In that respect we exceeded 
 some others by many feet. Quartermaster-sergeant Crose 
 often referred to his comical, though laborious, experiences 
 in supplying the men with shoes that were large enough for 
 them. Each time he drew shoes, it was necessary for him 
 to bundle up the fives and sixes and go around among the 
 neighboring regiments and exchange them for nines and 
 tens. For this purpose, the Ninth New York and Twenty- 
 ninth Pennsylvania were his favorite resorts, while they 
 remained in the Brigade. They contained mostly city-bred 
 men, with diminutive pedal extremities. 
 
 "On the point of the average age of the men of the 
 Twenty-Seventh, it is more difficult to speak, in the 
 enforced absence of the figures. The opinion has been 
 expressed that the average was higher than in most other 
 regiments. The writer does not concur in that opinion. 
 The fact that our men had been so generally accustomed 
 
Washington County Giants 423 
 
 to out-door life and to physical labor, may have given them 
 an older appearance than if the contrary had been true. 
 Anyway, the few known facts at hand and the general 
 impression as it is recalled, seems to the writer to be con- 
 clusive that the Twenty-seventh was below, rather than 
 above, the average age. At all events the average could 
 not have been high. 
 
 COMPANY F 
 
 P. 596. "This company was peculiar at the start in at 
 least three respects. First, it had three very tall men for 
 commissioned officers; two of them being the tallest men 
 in the regiment, and one being the tallest in the Union 
 army. Secondly, it had more tall men than any other com- 
 pany in the Twenty-seventh. Thirdly, the homes of its 
 members were the most widely scattered over the State. 
 
 "Company F was frequently called 'The New Albany 
 Railroad Company.' It was also twitted good humoredly 
 as hailing from between the two State's prisons. New 
 Albany and Michigan City, at opposite extremes of Indiana, 
 almost three hundred miles apart, were represented in the 
 company, as well as many of the towns between them. The 
 prominent reason for this was that several of the company 
 had been employes of the railroad (the Monon) connecting 
 these two points. 
 
 "An officer of such giant-like stature as Lieutenant 
 (afterward Captain) Van Buskirk could not fail to invest a 
 company with some special interest. This is still more evi- 
 dent when it is remembered that in his disposition and 
 habits he was almost as different from others as in his 
 stature. He was remarkable for his simple, unaffected and 
 kindly ways. He was always approachable, to everybody 
 
424 Washington County Giants 
 
 and he had no hesitancy in approaching others. A major- 
 general was no more to him than a private soldier. Owing 
 to his absolute sincerity and utter absence of asperity, as 
 much as to his size, no one ever took offence at anything 
 he said." 
 
 Extract from Bloomington Republican, July 13, 1861. 
 
 "RECRUITING. Peter Kopp and several other gentle- 
 men of this place are raising a company of grenadiers for 
 the United States service. They admit no recruits under 
 five feet ten inches, and equally stout and able-bodied. We 
 pity the rebel upon whose neck the foot of 'Big Pete' shall 
 come down with a vengeance. There will be no chance for 
 him to even say his prayers before his life is crushed out of 
 him. Some of the others engaged in raising the company 
 are among our most athletic citizens. Their recruiting 
 office, we believe, is at Williams & Sluss livery stables." 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM INDIANAPOLIS PAPERS. 
 
 The following items concerning Company F, indicate that the repor- 
 torial forces of Indianapolis were nearly "swamped" by the rapid 
 arrivals of volunteers at the beginning of the war ; and also that the 
 incoming soldiers were at times disposed to "have fun" with the 
 reporters. 
 
 "The Monroe County Grenadiers, Captain B. Pete, 
 arrived yesterday, and will go into camp at Camp Morton." 
 Sentinel, August 8, 1861. 
 
 "A COMPANY OF SIX-FOOTERS. Captain Kopp, a 
 gentleman who has seen service in Napoleon's wars, arrived 
 in the city yesterday with a company of six-footers that he 
 had recruited for the United States service. Captain Kopp, 
 
Washington County Giants 425 
 
 with his corps, went into camp at Camp Morton and he 
 will immediately enter upon the business of drilling them 
 so that they may be ready to answer as soldiers should at 
 the call of their country. " Sentinel, August 13. 
 
 "MONROE COUNTY GRENADIERS. A few days 
 ago a company of 'six-footers' arrived in this city from 
 Monroe county and went into camp. The company is 
 composed of the largest men we have seen from any section 
 of the State. The second lieutenant is a 'whale,' but some 
 of the others are whales, too, but a trifle smaller. The fol- 
 lowing are the officers of the company. 
 
 Peter Kop, Captain; 
 
 Francis Otwell, First Lieutenant; 
 
 David V. Buskirk, Second Lieutenant." Journal, August 
 16. 
 
 "Captain Kop, of Monroe county, the commander 
 of the six-foot grenadiers, now at Camp Morton, is putting 
 his company of magnificent Hoosiers through their daily 
 drills rigidly, determined to have the most soldier like corps 
 in the regiment." Sentinel, August 18. 
 
 "Col. Colgrove's regiment, left for Washington 
 unarmed, because he refused the arms tendered him by 
 Governor Morton." Sentinel, September 23. 
 
 APPENDIX F 
 
 THE VAN BUSKIRK, OR BUSKIRK FAMILY. 
 
 The family of Captain David Van Buskirk presents some 
 interesting features in the matter of heredity in physical 
 development, and especially as to the points of deviation 
 
426 Washington County Giants 
 
 from and recurrence to type. It is also a family which 
 presents in a forcible way the problem of stature influences 
 in the Second Congressional District of Indiana, as the 
 ancestors who located there were not notably tall. Capt. 
 Van Buskirk died on August 12, 1886, on the family farm, 
 where he was born, near Gosport; and the fullest account 
 of him in print is an obituary notice published in The 
 Republican Progress, of Bloomington, on August 18, 1886. 
 The editor of the paper was a personal friend, and the 
 account appears to be accurate, with the exception of a 
 few minor errors. As original material it is worthy of 
 preservation, and is therefore reproduced here, as follows: 
 
 "DAVID V. BUSKIRK DEAD 
 
 "David V. Buskirk, one of the best known men of Mon- 
 roe county, died at his home in Bean Blossom township, 
 on Thursday afternoon, last. About a year ago, Mr. Bus- 
 kirk, who was an extraordinarily large and corpulent man, 
 became alarmed by the difficulty he experienced in breath- 
 ing, and fearing danger from fatty degeneration of the 
 heart, which his physicians advised him was threatened, 
 he begun to use precautions in diet, and resorted to other 
 means to reduce his abnormal weight. For a time his symp- 
 toms and condition gave promise of permanent improve- 
 ment, but dropsy was finally developed and he begun to 
 grow rapidly worse some two months ago, and died from 
 blood poisoning brought about by his general condition. A 
 number of members of the various Grand Army Posts, and 
 other citizens, attended the funeral on Friday- afternoon, 
 and the burial took place on the farm, in the family burying 
 ground. Few men have been more respected and honored 
 than 'Big Dave Buskirk,' as he was generally called, and 
 
Washington County Giants 427 
 
 few men have been more richly entitled to the confidence 
 of his fellows by reason of honesty, true friendship, general 
 morality and worth of character. He was the soul of honor 
 and integrity, and was fully appreciated by his neighbors 
 and acquaintances. The following with reference to 
 deceased, is taken from the 'History of Monroe county/ 
 and is supposed to be accurate : 
 
 "David Van Buskirk, farmer and stock raiser, was born 
 upon the farm he has always occupied, November (October) 
 23, 1826, and was the eldest of ten children born to James 
 and Mariah (Campbell) Van Buskirk, natives of Ohio and 
 Tennessee, and of German (Dutch) and Scotch-Irish de- 
 scent respectively. David was reared on a farm, was fairly 
 educated, and on March 16, 1849, married Lucy Ann, 
 daughter of Isaac and Patience (Stillwell) Buskirk, of Ger- 
 man (Dutch) lineage. Mr. Van Buskirk, by this marriage 
 had six children, born to him: D. C, J. I., Cinthy (Ridge), 
 John, Thomas and Getty. He lost his wife March 16, 1866. 
 He was next married, May 26, 1867, to Mrs. Martha Able, 
 of Monroe county, and daughter of Madison and Sarah 
 (Wilborn) Stephenson. They had born to them two chil- 
 dren : Michael (deceased) and Mariah Ann. Mrs. Van B. 
 died February 22, 1873, an d our subject took for his third 
 wife, October 26, 1874, Mary Able, sister of the second wife. 
 He enlisted in July, 1861, in Company F, Twenty-seventh 
 Indiana Infantry, under Capt. Peter Clapp (Kopp) and Col. 
 Silas Colgrove. He was engaged first in the first battle of 
 Winchester, where he was taken prisoner, being confined 
 for about three months. He was finally sent to Annapolis, 
 Md., exchanged and next took part in the battles of Chan- 
 cellorsville and Gettysburg, besides numerous skirmishes. 
 He went out as Second Lieutenant, but his captain was 
 
428 Washington County Giants 
 
 killed during his imprisonment, and he received an appoint- 
 ment as First Lieutenant, and after the battle of Antietam, 
 made Captain. In the fall of 1862 his command was trans- 
 ferred to General Thomas' division, and on April 26, 1864, 
 he resigned on account of disability, and returned to farm- 
 ing. In 1866-68, he was elected county treasurer of Monroe 
 county, on the Republican ticket, but was defeated in a 
 struggle for State treasurer in 1876. He had not since made 
 any attempt to secure office. Mr. Van Buskirk owned 450 
 acres of land on White River bottom, highly cultivated, 
 well stocked, and which had the addition of a fine residence, 
 out buildings and orchard, and was one of our oldest 
 settlers, having always lived here. He had provided hand- 
 somely for all his children, and had always taken great 
 interest in their education, having given them all courses 
 at college. He enjoyed good health until he left the army, 
 since which time he had been affected with rheumatism. 
 Mr. Van Buskirk was the largest and tallest man in the 
 county, and one of the largest in the State. He weighed 
 390 pounds, and stood six feet ten inches in his stockings. 
 He was a Republican, and very benevolent. Mr. Van B.'s 
 grandfather, Isaac Van Buskirk, was a soldier of the Revo- 
 lution, and his uncle, John Van Buskirk, served in the war 
 of 1812, having been wounded at the battle of Tippecanoe. 
 Isaac, son of John Van Buskirk, served in the Mexican war, 
 and in the late rebellion. He was killed at the battle of 
 Chancellorsville, at the time being a lieutenant. The wives 
 of the above mentioned soldiers are all sleeping peacefully 
 in the family graveyard on David Van Buskirk's place. This 
 burying ground is located on a hill east of the house, and 
 from the spot you may command a view of the entire 
 country." 
 
Washington County Giants 429 
 
 The family tradition is that the original American ances- 
 tors were two Van Boskerk brothers who came over from 
 Holland, in their own ship, to New Amsterdam. The ship 
 was ballasted with brick, with which they erected the first 
 brick house on Manhattan Island. They were unquestion- 
 ably an old Knickerbocker family, as may be seen from 
 mention of them in the various publications of the old 
 Dutch records of New York. 
 
 The original Indiana ancestors were two brothers, Isaac 
 and Michael, both Revolutionary soldiers. It is said that 
 the reason why part of the family dropped the "Van" was 
 that Michael's land warrant was made out without it; and, 
 as it would have been necessary to go back to Pittsburg to 
 have it corrected, he decided that it would be simpler to 
 change his name. However, the same change has been made 
 by most of the descendants of Isaac, also. Captain David 
 did not use it, but used "V." as a middle initial. 
 
 The Revolutionary Isaac served in the "Virginia Guards," 
 and his record, and those of three succeeding generations of 
 soldiers, are on their tombstones at Gosport. He came to 
 Indiana from West Virginia in 1805, and first located near 
 Campbellsburg, in Washington county, removing thence to 
 the farm near Gosport, which has since been known as the 
 family home. He was about six feet tall, and rather slender 
 in build. He had eight sons and four daughters. Of his 
 sons, the descendants of three present some noteworthy 
 features. 
 
 Perhaps the descendants of his son Abram are most wide- 
 ly known in Indiana, on account of political prominence. 
 Abram had four sons, viz : John B. ; Judge Samuel, of the 
 Supreme Court of Indiana; Judge George A., of Blooming- 
 ton; and Judge Edward C, of Indianapolis. None of these 
 
 
430 Washington County Giants 
 
 were tall men except George A., who was over six feet, and 
 quite heavy. But George Buskirk, of Indianapolis, a son of 
 John B., who is five feet nine inches in height, has a son, 
 Fred G. who is six feet one, and a grandson, fourteen years 
 of age, who is taller than his grandfather, and weighs 132 
 pounds. Judge Thomas Buskirk, of Paoli, another son of 
 John B., who is five feet seven, has a son, Horace K., who 
 is six feet; and a grandson, Thomas B., Jr., who is six feet 
 one, at nineteen years of age. 
 
 Another son of the Revolutionary Isaac, was John, who 
 was severely wounded at the battle of Tippecanoe. It is 
 stated that "he was speared through, and they pulled a silk 
 handkerchief through the wound to cleanse it." He recov- 
 ered, but the wound eventually caused his death. He was 
 the father of two Union soldiers, who served in Company F, 
 of the Twenty-seventh Indiana regiment, whose pictures 
 are reproduced herewith. Lieutenant Isaac Buskirk was 
 familiarly known as "Blue Ike," on account of a blue birth- 
 mark on his cheek, and to distinguish him from several 
 other Isaacs. Sergeant John Buskirk was familiarly known 
 as "Sandy." Both of these brothers were over six feet tall, 
 and of rugged build. 
 
 The most notable of the sons of the Revolutionary Isaac, 
 in connection with the question of stature, was James. He 
 was six feet one, and quite fleshy. He married Maria Camp- 
 bell, of an Ohio family who were all tall. Of their chil- 
 dren, David V. was six feet ten and one-half inches, in his 
 stockings; Joseph, now living at Moscow, Idaho, is six feet 
 four; James, now at the Soldiers Home, at Danville, Illinois, 
 is six feet two; Isaac, who died during the civil war, and 
 three daughters, Jerusha, Cynthia and Mary, were all about 
 six feet. 
 
Washington County Giants 431 
 
 Capt. David V., of this family, was born on the family 
 farm, near Gosport, and grew up there. He married his 
 cousin, Lucy V. Buskirk, who was a small woman, weighing 
 about 130 pounds. They had four sons and two daughters 
 who are now living, as follows : David C., now seventy-one 
 years of age, and living at Long Beach, California, is six 
 feet, two; Isaac, living at Gosport, is six feet five; Thomas 
 (Judge), living at Bloomfield, is six feet two; John, living 
 at Ben Davis, is six feet one, and the two girls : Cynthia, 
 (Mrs. John T. R. Ridge, of Gosport), and Gettysburg, 
 teacher at the girl's school at Clermont, are about six feet. 
 
 David V. Buskirk was very strong and active as well as 
 unusually tall. His ordinary weight was about 385 pounds. 
 It is said that after his boys were grown he could life two of 
 them at arm's length. His oldest boy, David C, was nick- 
 named "Scroggy," and on his twenty-first birthday, his 
 father said : "Scroggy, the day I was twenty-one, I laid my 
 father on his back on the barn floor." Scroggy thought it 
 was possible that he could duplicate the record; and his 
 father observed that he was rather stiff with rheumatism 
 since the war, but would give him a trial. When they 
 clinched, Scroggy was lifted up and laid on the floor like a 
 child. 
 
 In his youth, he was a great wrestler. On one occasion 
 he was flat-boating to New Orleans, and they tied up for 
 the night on the Tennessee shore. One of the boatmen, 
 named Davis, who was himself a noted wrestler, went 
 ashore, and announced that they had a man aboard who 
 could throw any man in Tennessee. Somebody said to send 
 for "Big Eph," and shortly a very powerful negro appeared. 
 He sized up Buskirk, and said : "Say when you're ready." 
 Buskirk said "ready," and in a trice the negro clinched him 
 
432 Washington County Giants 
 
 and had him down. Buskirk got up, and said : "Now you 
 say when you're ready. " When they clinched he avoided 
 the negro's trick throw, and after a warm struggle threw 
 the negro for the second and third falls. This was the only 
 time he was ever thrown. 
 
 One of the popular tests of strength in early times was 
 lifting with a handspike. A handspike was put under a 
 log that was too heavy for two men to lift, projecting 
 equally on both sides. W r hen the contestants lifted at the 
 two ends, the necessary result was that the stronger pulled 
 up his end, and forced his opponent to let go. David V. 
 Buskirk was never defeated at this. After the war, there 
 was a very powerful negro, named Tom Travis, employed at 
 the saw-mill on the Buskirk place, who had outlifted every- 
 body in the vicinity. One day he told Captain Buskirk 
 that he was sorry he had not known him before he was 
 crippled by rheumatism, as he would have liked to lift 
 against him. The captain replied that he could not bend 
 over to lift from the ground, but that he would give him a 
 trial with a log that was high enough above the ground to 
 avoid the need of bending. The test was made in that way, 
 and Travis was able to stand the strain for only a few 
 seconds before he was forced to abandon his hold. 
 
 Captain Buskirk's death was caused by dropsy, which as 
 usual increased his normal size. It is stated that at his fu- 
 neral it was necessary to enlarge the door of the house to 
 get the coffin in and out; and that there were six horses 
 to the hearse — this being explained by the statement that 
 the roads were bad. That condition would make the pre- 
 caution reasonable, for when the roads in that vicinity are 
 bad, they are very, very bad. 
 
Washington County Giants 433 
 
 APPENDIX G. 
 
 Spanish-American War Statistics 
 
 Measurements of 5,768 Indiana troops, Spanish-Am. war. 
 (At time of enlistment) 
 
 Nativity No. 6 ft. Average Height 
 
 Indiana 4,410 142 5 ft. 7.70 in. 
 
 Ohio 401 8 5 7.52 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 136 3 5 7.47 
 
 111., Mich., Wise, Minn 295 11 5 7.97 
 
 Other States 344 10 5 7-8o 
 
 Foreign born 182 5 5 7.52 
 
 Totals 5,768 179 5 7-67 
 
 Note. The official published "Record of Indiana Volun- 
 teers in the Spanish-American War" tabulates 7,421 men, 
 but without their measurements. In the muster-rolls there 
 do not appear any measurements for the Signal Corps, the 
 Engineer Company, and the Colored Companies, which pre- 
 sumably accounts for the total of only 5,768 measurements. 
 
 Tabulation of One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Indiana 
 Spanish-American War. 
 
 Nativity No. 6 ft. Average Height 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Staff &c 15 o 5 ft. 7-75 in. 
 
 Company A 68 4 5 8.41 
 
 Company B 66 3 5 7.89 
 
 Company C 81 1 5 7.42 
 
 Company D 83 o 5 7.39 
 
 Company E 63 1 5 7.87 
 
 Company F 98 6 5 8.23 
 
 Company G 69 o 5 6.83 
 
 Company H 76 1 5 7.49 
 
 Company 1 65 o 5 7.28 
 
 Company K 65 2 5 7.43 
 
 Company L 88 5 5 8.05 
 
 Company M 80 6 5 7.85 
 
 Totals 917 29 5 7.69 
 
434 
 
 Washington County Giants 
 
 Ohio 126 5 5 7.67 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 4 o 5 6.81 
 
 Mich., Wise, 111., Minn 71 4 5 8.33 
 
 Other States 69 2 5 7.00 
 
 Foreign born 43 1 5 6.68 
 
 Regt. Totals 1,230 36 5 7.65 
 
 Notes. Exceptional stature, Ongle A. Moritz, Co. B, 6 ft. sV^ in-* 
 age 18, born at Fort Wayne, Ind. 
 
 Company F are all recorded as born at South Bend — absurd, of 
 course. 
 
 One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Regiment, Spanish- 
 American War. 
 
 Nativity No. 6 ft. Average Height 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Staff &c 22 o 5 ft. 8.44 in. 
 
 Company A 61 2 5 8.42 
 
 Company B 69 3 5 7.52 
 
 Company C 66 1 5 7.32 
 
 Company D 66 1 5 7.70 
 
 Company E 69 o 5 7-35 
 
 Company F 65 3 5 7.97 
 
 Company G 71 3 5 7.35 
 
 Company H 59 2 5 8.21 
 
 Company 1 67 3 5 7.66 
 
 Company K 72 1 5 7.80 
 
 Company L 63 3 5 7.49 
 
 Company M 66 1 5 7.61 
 
 Ind. totals 816 23 5 7.71 
 
 Ohio 59 2 5 7.27 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 21 o 5 6.88 
 
 111., Mich., Wise. Minn 41 2 5 7.63 
 
 Other States 59 3 5 7-70 
 
 Foreign born 17 1 5 8.72 
 
 Regt. totals 1,013 31 5 7.68 
 
 One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Regiment, Spanish-American War. 
 
Washington County Giants 435 
 
 Nativity No. 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 Staff &c 24 
 
 Company A 59 
 
 Company B 57 
 
 Company C 67 
 
 Company D 76 
 
 Company E 56 
 
 Company F 63 
 
 Company G 74 
 
 Company H 72 
 
 Company 1 68 
 
 Company K 79 
 
 Company L 59 
 
 Company M 53 
 
 Ind. totals 807 
 
 Ohio 22 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 50 
 
 111., Mich., Wise, Minn 69 
 
 Other States 51 
 
 Foreign born 20 
 
 Regt. totals 1,019 32 5 7.66 
 
 One Hundred and Sixtieth Regiment, Spanish-American 
 
 War. 
 
 Nativity No. 6 ft. Average Height 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 Staff &c 17 
 
 Company A 56 
 
 Company B 66 
 
 Company C 74 
 
 Company D jt, 
 
 Company E 58 
 
 Company F 74 
 
 Company G 72 
 
 Company H 68 
 
 Company I y^ 
 
 Company K 61 
 
 Company L 54 
 
 Company M 66 
 
 Ind. totals 812 23 5 7.48 
 
 ft. 
 
 Average 
 
 Height 
 
 I 
 
 5 ft. 
 
 8.2 in. 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 7.20 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 7.82 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 776 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 7.26 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 7.04 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 7.60 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 7.60 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 8.39 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 742 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 7-52 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 770 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 7.00 
 
 58 
 
 5 
 
 7.67 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 7.66 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 7.20 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 7.69 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 7.87 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 7.69 
 
 
 
 5 ft. 
 
 8.60 in. 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 7.85 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 740 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 8.57 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 7.51 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 747 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 7-35 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 7-97 
 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 7.03 
 6.08 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 7.29 
 
 1 
 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 7.13 
 7.60 
 

 
 5 
 
 6.40 
 
 o 
 
 5 
 
 7.64 
 
 o 
 
 5 
 
 7.29 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 76.73 
 
 436 Washington County Giants 
 
 Ohio 83 2 5 7.27 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 5 
 
 111., Mich., Wise, Minn 32 
 
 Other States 61 
 
 Foreign born 28 
 
 Regt. totals 1,021 25 5 7.43 
 
 One Hundred and Sixty-first Regiment, Spanish-American 
 
 War 
 
 Nativity No. 6 ft. Average Height 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 Staff &c 8 o 5 ft. 7.60 in. 
 
 Company A 15 1 5 7.50 
 
 Company B 82 2 5 7.33 
 
 Company C 86 3 5 7.74 
 
 Company D 83 6 5 7.93 
 
 Company E yy 2 5 7.34 
 
 111., Mich., Wise, Minn 74 1 5 7.97 
 
 Company F 72 1 5 8.00 
 
 Company G 74 2 5 7.74 
 
 Company H 83 3 5 8.18 
 
 Company 1 76 3 5 7.74 
 
 Company K 91 4 5 7.85 
 
 Company L 61 2 5 7.80 
 
 Company M 76 4 5 8.29 
 
 Ind. totals 884 33 5 7.80 
 
 Ohio 92 3 5 7.48 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 56 2 5 8.07 
 
 Other States 82 5 5 7.74 
 
 Foreign born 61 2 5 8.3 
 
 Regt. totals 1,249 46 5 7-83 
 
 Twenty-seventh Artillery, Spanish-American War. 
 
 Nativity No. 6 ft. Average Height 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 Staff &c 25 2 5 ft. 8.80 in. 
 
 Men 69 2 5 y.yy 
 
 Ohio 8 o 5 7.94 
 
 111., Mich., Wis., Minn 6 2 5 9.90 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee o o 
 
Washington County Giants 437 
 
 Other States 14 o 5 6.67 
 
 Foreign born 3 o 5 7-66 
 
 Battery totals 125 6 5 7.96 
 
 Twenty-eighth Artillery, Spanish-American War. 
 
 Nativity No. 6 ft. Average Height 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 Staff &c 17 o 5 ft. 8.03 in. 
 
 Men 63 2 5 8.77 
 
 Ohio 11 1 5 8.59 
 
 111., Mich., Wise., Minn 2 o 5 8.00 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee o o 
 
 Other States 8 o 5 7.59 
 
 Foreign born 10 o 5 5.92 
 
 Battery totals in 3 5 8.29 
 
 WORLD WAR APPENDIX "H" 
 
 World War Statistics 
 
 Table. Mean Stature by States of Soldiers at Demobiliza- 
 tion (1919) 
 
 State No. of Men Mean' Stature 
 
 Measured Inches 
 
 United States 102,304 67.72 
 
 Alaska 13 69.43 
 
 Mississippi 2,099 68.61 
 
 Tennessee 2,807 68.61 
 
 Texas 4.361 68.60 
 
 Alabama 1 ,930 68.57 
 
 Georgia 3,397 68.51 
 
 Oklahoma 2,310 68.44 
 
 Nebraska 819 68.44 
 
 Kansas 1,012 68.43 
 
 Arkansas 2,576 68.41 
 
 South Dakota / 416 68.39 
 
 Oregon 1,069 68.38 
 
 Washington 2,025 68.38 
 
 Montana 264 68.35 
 
 Arizona 130 68.33 
 
 South Carolina 828 68.32 
 
438 Washington County Giants 
 
 Minnesota 1,950 68.31 
 
 Iowa 1 ,609 68.28 
 
 Idaho 164 68.26 
 
 Florida 1,022 68.22 
 
 North Carolina 1,815 68.22 
 
 West Virginia 1,686 68.20 
 
 Utah 104 68.19 
 
 Wyoming- 80 68.19 
 
 Kentucky 2,921 68.13 
 
 Colorado 225 68.13 
 
 Virginia | 1,920 6S.or 
 
 Missouri 2,836 67.98 
 
 North Dakota 358 67.96 
 
 Nevada 18 67.91 
 
 California 481 67.91 
 
 Louisiana 2,070 67.86 
 
 New Mexico 229 67.82 
 
 Wisconsin 2,675 67.79 
 
 Indiana 3,944 67.73 
 
 Illinois 6,687 67.65 
 
 District of Columbia 231 67.60 
 
 Ohio 7,076 67.48 
 
 Michigan 3,715 67.32 
 
 Delaware 300 67.26 
 
 Maryland 1,138 67.20 
 
 Vermont 446 67.19 
 
 Maine 693 67.17 
 
 Connecticut 996 67.08 
 
 Pennsylvania 10,874 67.01 
 
 New Jersey 3, 180 66.93 
 
 New York 9,207 66.92 
 
 New Hampshire 413 66.80 
 
 Massachusetts 4,782 66.77 
 
 Rhode Island 403 66.54 
 
 Table. Mean Stature by States, of Recruits. 
 
 States Arranged in Order of Standing. 
 
 State No. of Men Mean Stature 
 
 Measured Inches 
 
 United States 873,038 67.49 
 
 Texas 34531 68.40 
 
 Oklahoma 19,429 68.28 
 
 Mississippi 8,543 68.27 
 
Washington County Giants 439 
 
 Tennessee 14,426 68.27 
 
 Arkansas 10,111 68.20 
 
 Kansas 9,57i 68.20 
 
 Alaska 106 68.15 
 
 Colorado 6,635 68.15 
 
 North Carolina 14,668 68.15 
 
 Arizona 3,850 68.13 
 
 Idaho 4,031 68.10 
 
 Oregon 2,748 68.09 
 
 Nebraska 10,774 68.08 
 
 South Dakota 3,892 68.05 
 
 Iowa 19,537 68.04 
 
 Minnesota 27,341 68.04 
 
 Kentucky 15,502 68.02 
 
 Alabama 15,088 68.01 
 
 Montana 11 ,648 68.01 
 
 Georgia 20,305 67.99 
 
 Washington 13.316 67.96 
 
 Missouri 24,964 67.95 
 
 North Dakota 6,444 67.92 
 
 West Virginia 12,367 67.87 
 
 Utah 4,568 67.85 
 
 Nevada 1,441 67.83 
 
 Virginia 17,616 67.80 
 
 Wyoming 1,927 67.79 
 
 Indiana 23,194 67.75 
 
 California 35,461 67.67 
 
 South Carolina 9,343 67.64 
 
 District of Columbia 4,486 67.63 
 
 Louisiana 12,356 67.60 
 
 Wisconsin 18,433 67.60 
 
 Florida 5,895 67.58 
 
 New Mexico 2,690 67.50 
 
 Illinois 69,491 67.40 
 
 Ohio 52,814 67.38 
 
 Maine 3.315 67.28 
 
 Michigan 41,872 67.23 
 
 Delaware 1,891 67.19 
 
 Vermont 2,077 67.12 
 
 Maryland 9,192 67.08 
 
 New Hampshire 2,240 66.97 
 
 New Jersey 29,958 66.77 
 
 Massachusetts 29,534 66.76 
 
 New York 87,818 66.72 
 
 Pennsylvania 77, 186 66.72 
 
 Connecticut 13,585 66.71 
 
 Rhode Island *. 3,928 66.40 
 
440 Washington County Giants 
 
 APPENDIX "I" 
 
 Extract from "Centennial History of Washington County, 
 Indiana" by Warden W. Stevens (Indianapolis, 1916), pp. 
 646-651. 
 
 WASHINGTON COUNTY GIANTS 
 
 In early times Washington county was celebrated far 
 and wide as being the home of a race of giants, and the 
 wonderful feats of strength performed by some of these 
 men are scarcely believable. There were a number of stal- 
 warts who knew not how strong they were when under 
 any kind of excitement or when their power was put to the 
 test. Among the men who made up the class of giants 
 that gave the county its reputation were Abram Stover, 
 Thomas Denney, James Uppinghouse, James Lee, John 
 Brough, William Cravens and others. 
 
 It was generally conceded that Stover possessed the 
 greatest strength of them all and a number of incidents 
 have been handed down relative to his gigantic strength. 
 He was a man of commanding appearance, six feet high, 
 with a huge frame and sturdy manhood. He never vaunted 
 about the superiority of his muscular powers, was never 
 quarrelsome, but stood up for his rights and was ever 
 ready to meet an opponent on friendly terms, even if it 
 came to a fist fight to settle the mooted question. In fact, 
 none of the strong men of early days were prone to be 
 quarrelsome. Had they been vicious and of a fighting 
 disposition, they would have been the terror of the country. 
 When a young man showed that he possessed extraordinary 
 strength and prowess, he always had his champions and 
 backers ready to pit him against any and all comers of 
 like age and experience. 
 
Washington County Giants 441 
 
 These lists were usually planned for muster days and 
 4th of July celebrations. A ring was formed in which the 
 contestants met and woe be to the individual who dared to 
 interfere any way in the contest, other than to urge his 
 favorite to supreme effort, or prompt him what to do. A 
 public gathering of any kind was a very dull affair if there 
 were not a number of fights, wrestles and foot races to 
 give life to the occasion. 
 
 Thomas Denney was always considered a close second 
 to Stover, as a powerful man, and many of his champions 
 were ready to stake their money on him, if a contest 
 between the two men could be arranged. The two men 
 were close friends and could not be induced to engage in a 
 fist and skill contest publicly, but their partisans finally 
 arranged for a "whisky barrel" contest during a public 
 gathering at Salem. The test was to be taking of a barrel 
 of whisky by the chime, raising it up and drinking out of the 
 bunghole. Judges were selected and a full barrel of whisky 
 was rolled out in the street. It fell to Denney's lot to make 
 the first test. After "lifting" the barrel, which weighed 
 about four hundred pounds, he slowly raised it up and took 
 a drink out of the bunghole. Stover walked up leisurely, 
 laid hold of the barrel, raised it up easily, took the drink 
 and set it down without a jar. There was then some dis- 
 cussion about the decision, each side claiming the victory, 
 but the judges, after mature deliberation, gave the wager 
 to Stover, because he had made a clean lift, while Denney 
 had rolled the barrel part of the way up against his legs. 
 
 This test did not exactly satisfy Denney, so, meeting 
 Stover in Salem a short time after this test was made, he 
 proposed that they go upstairs into an empty room, on the 
 corner of lot 9, north side of the square, and take a friendly 
 
442 Washington County Giants 
 
 set-to, in order that the matter would be satisfactorily 
 settled, no outsiders to be admitted. Stover readily con- 
 sented, and upstairs they went, laid off their coats and 
 began their knock-down test. After sparring a bit, Stover 
 planted one of his mauls squarely on the side of Denney's 
 head and down he went. After taking a few breaths they 
 went at it again, when Stover, watching his opportunity, 
 landed a heavy blow in Denney's face, bringing a flow of 
 blood and sending him staggering against the wall. The 
 merchant below, hearing something fall heavily upon the 
 floor above, proceeded to investigate the matter. When he 
 reached the room they were just turning for their coats, 
 when Denney remarked, "Where shall we go to take it." 
 Often after that time their partisans would endeavor to get 
 up a fight between them, but the response of each would be, 
 "He is a mighty stout man and we prefer to be friends." 
 
 UPPINGHOUSE PICKS A QUARREL WITH STOVER 
 
 Upon one occasion there was a log-rolling south of Salem 
 and Stover went early to lend a helping hand. James 
 Uppinghouse put in an appearance in the afternoon and had 
 sought an opportunity, for some time, to test his strength 
 with Stover. Shortly after his arrival he noised it around 
 that he had come with the intention of whipping Stover 
 before he left the clearing and took particular pains to 
 exasperate him in many ways. Finally, some one told 
 Stover about the threat Uppinghouse had made, which put 
 him on his guard. The never-failing jug was passed around 
 frequently and it wasn't long till Uppinghouse began to 
 feel that he was the best man in the State, and again di- 
 rected his insults toward Stover, when the latter said, "I 
 understand you have come here to give me a licking." 
 
Washington County Giants 443 
 
 Uppinghouse said, "That's my intention, " to which Stover 
 replied, "Well, here we go/ They squared off for the fight, 
 every one present gathering around to witness the contest. 
 Uppinghous made a few unsuccessful passes at Stover who 
 waited for a favorable opportunity, when he landed a blow 
 between his opponent's eyes, knocking him backward and 
 over a log some ten feet distant, seemingly a dead man. 
 Bystanders went to him and with whisky and water duly 
 administered, brought him to his senses again, when, after 
 being assisted to his feet, he said : "Abe, give me your hand, 
 I don't desire any further test, and from henceforth I am 
 your friend." 
 
 James Lee was much of a man and in all his bouts with 
 others always came out successfully. He was over six 
 feet tall, weighed over two hundred pounds and was indeed 
 a very wiry, athletic man. He finally concluded he was a 
 match for Stover and upon several occasions sought a set- 
 to with Stover. There was an election in Salem when he 
 finally picked a quarrel with Stover, who became quite 
 enraged, and at the first pass he downed Lee and went after 
 him with fire in his eyes, but a half dozen men laid hold ot 
 him and finally dragged him off of his opponent and suc- 
 ceeded in quieting him down a bit, when Stover, taking a 
 good breath said: "Boys, I am glad you came to Lee's 
 rescue, for I might have killed him." 
 
 Grocers used to buy all their sugar in large hogheads, 
 weighing a thousand or twelve hundred pounds. One had 
 been received by a grocer on the south side of the public 
 square, near where Stover and some friends were seated on 
 a bench engaged in conversation. A young man, who was 
 one of the bullies of the town, came along and having about 
 three good drams ahead, saw Stover and offered to bet him 
 
444 Washington County Giants 
 
 that he could put the hogshead of sugar on end. Stover 
 remarked : "Young man, I never bet, but that is a pretty 
 good lift for you or any other common man." At this the 
 young fellow seized hold of the hogshead and set it up- 
 right, when, slapping his fists together, he swore that he 
 "was the best man in the county, young or old, and if any 
 man didn't believe it, let him try it on." Stover made no 
 reply, which emboldened the young fellow to move up 
 closer to the old man and continue his braggadocio. Stover 
 rose up slowly, doubled up his monster fists and said : 
 "Young man, I am getting a little past my prime, perhaps, 
 but (taking a step forward) I think I am as good as ever 
 for a few jerks." Stover's manner and appearance were 
 enough for the young blood, and reaching out his hand 
 towards Stover said : "It's my treat, come on." When 
 asked afterward why he calmed down so suddenly, he said : 
 "When I saw those huge fists and that mighty man facing 
 me, I saw I had no business with him other than to cultivate 
 his friendship and then retire in good order." 
 
 COLONEL STOVER BESTS HIS SON-IN-LAW 
 
 Colonel Stover had a son-in-law, named John Brough, 
 who was a powerful man and had never been worsted in 
 any of his athletic contests with others. He was so con- 
 fident of his superiority over his fellows that he even 
 imagined that he was a match for his father-in-law. They 
 met at a log-rolling east of Salem and after a few whiffs at 
 the jug he bantered Colonel Stover for a tussel just for a 
 little fun. Stover told him to make a "running shoot" at 
 him and he'd see about it. Brough slipped back a few feet 
 and came at the colonel like a catapult. As he came in 
 reach the old man caught him by his trousers and about the 
 
Washington County Giants 445 
 
 neck, raised him up and threw him back over his head. 
 Brough landed on some poles and broke his leg. 
 
 Upon one occasion a muscular fellow who clerked in 
 Booth's store, on the north side of the square, made the 
 assertion that no man could put him over the counter. 
 Uppinghouse accepted the challenge and essayed the task. 
 A long tussel ensued, and when Uppinghouse began to tire 
 the young fellow watched his opportunity and unexpectedly 
 toppled his adversary over the counter, who fell with a thud 
 that jarred the whole building. The young man then 
 boasted that no man could put him over, not excepting 
 Stover. The colonel happened to be in town and was 
 hunted up and told that a fellow wanted to see him at 
 Booth's corner. A large crowd followed to see the sport. 
 Arriving at the store, Stover was told what had happened 
 and of the banter made by the young giant. "You think T 
 can't put you over the counter, do you?" asked Stover. "1 
 know you can't," said the young man. Without another 
 word Stover stepped up to the young fellow, took him by 
 one leg and an arm, and while he was squirming and wrig- 
 gling in vain endeavor to loosen the vise-like grasp of 
 Stover, he was easily set down on the inside of the counter 
 and then lifted back again, about as readily as a ordinary 
 person would handle a child. 
 
 AN INCIDENT AT THE CONSTRUCTION CAMP 
 
 While the public improvements were being prosecuted 
 between Salem and the Ohio Falls, there were some power- 
 ful men engaged in work from time to time, and almost 
 every day some sort of strength test would come off. A 
 fellow named Short proved to be the giant of all the gangs 
 and he was frequently complimented on his great size and 
 
446 Washington County Giants 
 
 muscular powers. To such praise he would always reply, 
 "Why, boys, there is a race of giants up in Washington 
 county and I being the runt and unable to take my own part, 
 was obliged to come down here as a matter of self-preserva- 
 tion." One day, while all hands were busy, Short saw 
 Stover coming down the road with a four-horse team of 
 produce for the market. He said to his fellows, "Now, here 
 comes one of those giants I was telling you about," and he 
 went out and greeted the colonel heartily. 
 
 Stover was then introduced to the boss of the gang, 
 when work was suspended and all adjourned to a nearby 
 grocery. The saloon keeper was a practical pugilist and 
 had heard of Colonel Stover, but after sizing him up, 
 remarked, "Short, if your man is a mountain I can lick him." 
 And without further warning squared himself for a fight. 
 Stover said he had not come there for trouble and instead 
 of dealing the fellow a blow with his ponderous fist, he 
 lutched him by the wrist, pulled him forward, took hold of 
 his shoulder with the other hand and was about to twist his 
 opponent's arm out of its socket, when the doughty chap 
 bellowed for mercy. Stover let him go, saying, "That's how 
 I could break your arm as easy as I could a chicken's leg." 
 The fellow then set up the drinks to the crowd and told 
 Stover he was his guest for a week. On his way back home 
 the colonel was halted and treated like a lord. He boxed 
 with two at a time, lifting weights and performed many 
 feats of strength that were remarkable, making him the 
 hero of the day. 
 
 There never was a muster in the whole country round 
 that Stover did not attend. He was promoted finally to be 
 colonel of a regiment of the militia and in the fall of 1825 
 was appointed brigadier-general pro tempore. His aid was 
 
Washington County Giants 447 
 
 Capt. John Duckworth, a man no less portly and good- 
 looking than himself. In gaudy parade costume and impos- 
 ing equipage and mounted on fiery steeds these men rode 
 before the regiment. Colonel Stover made a speech and 
 then, with his staff officers, retired amid the plaudits of the 
 admiring throng. Colonel Stover lived on a farm, located 
 about four miles southeast of Salem, on the Greenville road. 
 He lived to the advanced age of eighty-seven years, his 
 death occurring on April 6, 1875. He came to the county 
 from Virginia in 1815.