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AUTHOR'S PREFACE
In the preparation of this history, the author has endeavored to carry
out the following design, viz; to give only the most important and interesting-
events, and to place them hefore the reader in not only an attractive hut syste-
matic form. The chronological arrangement of the history proper from the
traditional period to the present time, is treated in decades, as hy this method,
the gradual de\-elopment of the people and the resources of the county can be
best appreciated. Following this will he found separate chapters on such
phases of our history as deserve individual treatment. The military annals,
the churches, the secret societies, the ship-lniilding industry, the car w<irks,
banks and banking, the Ijench and bar, etc., etc., ha\e been described from
data furnished bv men ni'St capable and most intimately acquainted with
these subjects.
If some of our frailties have been exposed, the account of our material
de\-eloi)ment, and the high character and ability of our earlier leaders more
than overbalance the weaknesses of those periods, and should sen-e to direct
and enthuse the lives and efforts of this and succeeding generations. The
author has endeavored most conscientiously to make this work authentic and
complete and has freely cnnsulted authorities lioth local and otherwise.
He is indebted to man\- persons in the preparation of the chapters follow-
ing the decade^ as well as in writing the body of the work, and believes that
the facts thus presented may be relied uixm as being authentic. To John
Owens, of Charlestown, he wishes to give the greatest credit for the facts
procured frtm the storehouse of his memory and his library, and for the
suggestions he has made. Col. Reuben T. Durrett, of Louisville, Hon. Jonas
G. Howard and Dr. D. L. Field, both of JefTersonville, and others have added
greatly to the value of the work. English's "Conquest of the Northwest,"
Dillon's "Indiana," Dunn's "Indiana," and other volumes have furnished
much. In fact every precaution has been taken to record the history of the
county correctly and the author is profi.aindly grateful for the encouragement
he has received.
Lewis C. B.mru.
PUBLISHER'S PREFACE
All life and achievement is evolution : fjiesent wisdom comes from past
experience, and present commercial pros])erity has come only fn.m past exer-
tion and sufl'ering. The deeds and motives of the men that have gone before
have lieen instrumental in shaping the destinies of later communities and states.
The de\elopment of a new country was at once a task and a privilege. It re-
quired great courage, sacrifice and privation. Compare the present conditions
of the residents of Clark county, Indiana, witli what tliey were one hundred
\ears ago. From a trackless wilderness and \irgin prairie it has come to be a
center of prosperity and civilization, with millions of wealth, systems of inter-
.secting railwavs, grand educational institutions, marvelous industries and im-
mense agricultural productions. Can any thinking person be insensible to the
fascination of the study wliich discloses the incentives, hopes, aspirations and
efforts of the early pioneers who so strongly laid the foundation uprm which
has been reared the magnificent prosperity of later days? To perpetuate the
story of these people and to trace and record the social, political and industrial
progress of the community from its first inception is the function of the local
historian. A sincere purpose to preserve facts and personal memoirs that are
deserving of preservation, and which unite the present to the past is the motive
for the present publication. The work has been in the hands of able writers,
who have, after much patient study and research, produced here the most com-
])lcte biographical memoirs of Clark county, Indiana, ever offered to the
pu])lic. A specially valuable and interesting department is that one devoted
to the sketches of representative citizens of this county whose records deserve
perpetuation because of their worth, effort and accomplishment. The prb-
lishers desire to extend their thanks to these gentlemen who ha\-e so faithfulh'
labored to this end. Thanks are also due to the citizens of Clark county for
the uniform kindness with which they have regarded this undertaking, and for
Iheir nvuiv ser\ices rendere<l in the gaining of necessary information.
In placing "Baird's History of Clark County, Indiana" before the citizens,
ihe ]jublishers can conscientiously claim that they have carried imt the ])lan
as outlined in the prospectus. Every biographical sketch in the work has been
submitted to the party interested, for correction, and tlierefore any error of
fact, if there be any, is solely due to the person for whom the sketch was jire-
pared. Confident that our efforts to please will fully meet the appn il)atiiin
of the public, we are,
Respectfully,
The PuRi.isiiERS.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER L
TRADITIONAL EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF CLARK COUNTY.
The Welsh in America in Twelfth Century — \\'hite Indians or Stranger
People at Falls of the Ohio — Madoc — Evidences of Early Inhabi-
tants in Clark County — Great Battle at Falls — La Salle 17
CHAPTER II.
EARLY HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY BEFORE ORGANIZATION.
The French Claim — British Claim — Virginian Claim — Ceded to United
States — Early Names of Clark County — First Settlement — First
Flood of Ohio River 23
CHAPTER III.
THE ILLINOIS GRANT.
George Rogers Clark's Instructions From Patrick Henry — Capture of
Kaskaskia, Cahokia, St. Phillips, Prairie du Rocker — Helm at
Vincennes — Vincennes Captured by British — Clark's Recapture of
Vincennes — Virginia Gives 150,000 Acres of Land to Clark and His
Men — The Grant — The Survey — The Allotments — Clarksville —
Original Settlers — General Clark's Residence 26
CHAPTER IV.
ORGANIZATION OF CLARK COUNTY THE FIRST DECADE 180I-181O.
Organization — Name — Extent — Springf\-ille — First Court — Division Into
Townships — Jeffersonville — Early Settlers — Aaron Burr — Indiana
Canal Company — Spring\'ille Anti-Slavery Convention — Jonathan
Jennings — Charlestown — Early Mills 46
CHAPTER V.
THE SECOND DECADE 181I-182O.
New Counties Cut Off From Clark County — Roads and Ferries — New
Settlers — Gov. Posey — Utica — Early Notices of Charlestown — New
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Washington — New Providence — Early Notices of Clarksville and
Jeffersonville — Tunnel Mill — The Jeffersonville Ohio Canal Com-
pany — First Steamboat — Indian Brutality — The Jeffersonville
Springs 62
CHAPTER VI.
' THE THIRD DECADE 182O-183O.
Early Mills — First Newspaper — The State Prison — Early Schools —
General La Fayette's Visit to Jeffersonville — Jeffersonville Proposed
Capital of Indiana — New Villages and Townships — Notices of
Jeft'ersonville and Clarksville yj
CHAPTER VII.
THE FOURTH DECADE 183O-184O.
Earlv Notices of Charlestown and Jeft'ersonville, Bethlehem. New Wash-
ington and Utica — First Steam Ferry Boat — Utica Township —
Hibernia — Hamburg — Jeffersonville Replatted — Jeffersonville In-
corporated as a City — Flood of 1S32 — Cholera — First Bridge Across
River — Bennettsville — New Market — Attempt to Remove Count}^-
seat to Jeffersonville — High Moral Standard of People 88
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FIFTH DECADE 184O-185O.
Jeffersonville Enlarged — Noted Visitors — Death of General John Carr —
The Millerites — Sellersburg — Site of State Prison Changed — Flood
of 1847 — The Indiana Canal Company — Mexican War Troops —
Benson's Addition — Schools 96
CHAPTER IX.
THE SIXTH DECADE 185O-1860.
Broom Hill — Bridgeport — Henry ville — Memphis — Oregon Township —
Otisco — Carr Township— Petersburg — Union Township — ^Jefferson-
ville Railroad — J. M. & I. Company — Fort Wayne and Southern —
Ohio Falls Marine Railroad Company — Public Schools of Jefferson-
ville Opened — Citizens' National Bank Established — County Seat
Question — Social. Religious and Intellectual Condition of People
in this Decade 104
CHAPTER X.
THE SEVENTH DECADE 186O-187O.
The War — Bridge Across the River — Severe Winter — O. & M. Built. . . 114
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XI.
THE EIGHTH DECADE 187O-1880.
Steamer James Howard Launched — Marysville Laid Out— United States
Quartermaster Depot Built in Jeffersonville — Jeffersonville Fire
Department Organized — Smallpox Epidemic — Female Convicts Sent
to Indianapolis — The Crusades — County Seat Fight and the Removal
to Jeffersonville — The Glass Works — Jeffersonville Orphans' Home
Founded — The Panic and Strikes of 1877 117
CHAPTER XII.
THE NINTH DECADE 1880-189O.
A\'arder Park in Jeffersnnville — Sweeney's Foundry — Great Floods of
1883 and 1884 — Depths of Water in Jeffersonville — Xatural Gas —
Campaign Enthusiasm — Borden Institute Founded — Jeff'ersonville
Water Works Finished 124
CHAPTER XIII.
THE TENTH DECADE 189I-I9OO.
The Cyclone — Collapse of Big Fuur Bridge — The G. A. R. Reunion —
Remains of Jonathan Jennings Removed — Company G. Indiana
X^ational Guard — Spanish ^\'ar Company — Improvements 127
CHAPTER XIV.
THE ELEVENTH DECADE I9OO-I9IO.
Centennial Decade — Celebrations at Jeff'ersonville and Charlestown —
Cornerstone of Jeff'ersonville Carnegie Library Laid —Contents of
Cornerstone — St. Augustine's Church Burned — Last Mule Car —
Interurban Approach to Bridge Built — Forestry Reservation Cre-
ated — Spring Hill School — First Electric Car Over Bridge —
Picturesque Charlestown — Jeffersonville Improvements — Toll Roads
Made Free — First Electric Car to Seymour — Cornerstone to Poor
Asylum Laid — Flood of 1907 130
CHAPTER XV.
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY I7S6-1844.
Port Steuben — Governor St. Clair — General Harmar — Captain John
Armstrong — Early Militia Offfcers — Battle of Tippecanoe — Pigeon
Roost Massacre — Indian \\'arfare — Black Haw!; War — The
Rangers 137
TABLE OF CONTEXTS
CHAPTER X\'I.
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY 1844-1860.
Teffersonville Blues — The Mexican War — Charlestuwa Companies —
The F'ourth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry at Jeffersonville
— Capt. Ford's and Capt. Simonson's Companies of Dragoons from
Charlestown — General Taylor in JefTersonville 152
CHAPTER XVII.
Rousseau's Regiment — Camp Joe Holt — Jefferson Genera' Hospital —
Jefifersonville During War of Rebellion — United States Quarter-
master Depot — The Indiana Greys — The Clark Guards — Home
Guards — Morgan's Raid 159
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE MILITARY' HISTORY' OF CLARK COUNTY'.
The Forty-ninth Indiana \'olunteer Infantry 1861-1865 — Organization —
Leaves for the Front — First Skirmish — Cumberland Gap — The
Fights and Frolics of the Regiment — The Return Home — Colonel
Keigwin 1 78
CHAPTER XIX.
THE MILITARY' HISTORY' OF CLARK COUNTY.
• Sterling's Battery — Company D, Fifty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer
Infantry — Company D, Seventy-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infan-
try — Companies I and B, Eighty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry —
Company E. One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Indiana Volunteer
(Tenth Cavalry) — Company M, One Hundred and Thirty-first
Indiana Volunteer (Thirteenth Cavalry) — Company G, One Hun-
dred and Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantr}- — Jefifersonville
Rifles 1876 — Company G. First Regiment Indiana National Guard,
Jeffersonville — Company E, One Hundred and Sixty- first Indiana
Volunteer Infantry — Company M, First Regiment, Indiana X^ational
Guard 198
CHAPTER XX.
FREE MASONRY IN CLARK COUNTY'.
Early History — Blazing Star Lodge — Posey Lodge — Clark Lodge — X'ew
Washington Lodge — Utica Lodge — Jefifersonville Lodge — Buckner
Lodge — Henry\ille Lodge — Xew Providence Lodge — Horeb Chap-
ter — Jefifersonville Council — Jeffersonville Commandery — The
Eastern Star 211
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXI.
ODD FELLOWSHIP, PYTHL\NS AND OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES IN CLARK COUNTY.
Odd Fellows — Knights of Pythias — The Ell<s — Modern Woodmen —
Knights of Honor — German Aid Society — Knights and Ladies of
Honor — Railroad Men"s Organizations — Red Alen — Eagles — Royal
Arcanum — Pathfinders — Golden Cross 220
CHAPTER XXn.
HISTORY OF ST. PAUL's PARISH, JEFFERSONVILLE, THE ONLY' EPISCOPAL
CHURCH IN THE COUNTY.
Earl}- Church History — First Church — Present Church — Church Societies 229
CHAPTER XXHI.
THE METHODIST CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.
Earliest Societies — Samuel Parker — Benjamin Lakin — Peter Cartwright
— Early Revivals — History of Wall Street Church. Jeffersonville —
History of Port Fulton Church. Charlestown — Xew Washington
Circuit — Henryville Circuit — Otisco Church and Circuit — Utica
Circuit — Morton Memorial Church — German Methodist, Jefferson-
ville 242
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.
Organized in 181 2 — The Charlestown Church — The First Presbyterian
Church of Jefi'ersonville — Pisgah — \[t. \'emon — Owen Creek — X'ew
Washington — Bethlehem — Xabbs — Utica — Mt. Lebanon — Otisco —
Mt. Zion — Hebron 259
CHAPTER XXV.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.
Roman Catholics in Clark's Regiment — Missionaries — St. Augustine's,
Jeffersonville — St. Anthony's. Jeft'ersonville — Schools — St. Joseph's
Hill — Church Societies 270
CHAPTER XXMI.
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY'.
THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENT CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY'.
Location of Christian Churches in Clark County — Earliest Organization —
Founding of the Advent Church — Dr. Field — Present Church
Rebuilt in 1899 276
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE REFORMED CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.
The Church in Jeffersonville — Tlie Church in Sellershurg 278
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE BENCH AND BAR OF CL.ARK COUNTY.
Previous to the Convention of 1851 by Judge C. P. Ferguson — Subse-
quent to the Convention of 185 1 by Hon. Jonas G. Howard 282
CHAPTER XXX.
BANKS AND BANKING IN CLARK COUNTY.
The First Bank — Tlie Second Bank — The State Bank — The Citizens'
Xational Bank of Jeffersonville — The First X^ational Bank of
Jeffersonville — The Bank of Charlestown — The First Xational Bank
of Charlestown — The Henryville State Bank — The Borden State
Bank — The X'ew Washington State Bank — The Sellershurg State
Bank- — The Citizens' Trust Company of Jeft'ersonville 315
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE RIVER STEAMBOAT BUILDING AND STEAMBO.VTING FLATBOATING AND
FALLS PILOTING HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS AND THE NINE FOOT STAGE.
Frontage on River — Advantages — Keelboating — Flatboating — Broad
Horns — The Falls — Dangers of X^avigation — First Steamboats on
River — The Steamer United States — The French Boat Yard — Falls
Piloting — The Howard Ship Yards — Flood Stages of River —
Barmore Ship Yard — Improvements of River by Congress — Falls
Improvements 321
CHAPTER XXXII.
HOSPITALS AND HOMES.
Jeffersonville Hospital — ]\Iercy Hospital — Hauss Sanitarium — Old
Ladies' Home — Orphans' Home — Poor Farm 357
CHAPTER XXXIII.
PUBLIC UTILITIES.
The Ferry Company — The Pennsylvania Railroad Company — The Balti-
more & Ohio Southwestern Railroad Company — The Big Four —
The Monon Railroad — The Cumberland Telephone and Telegraph
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Conipaii}- — The Home Telephone Company — The Jeffersonville
Water Supply Company — The United Gas and Electric Company —
The L. &• S. I. T. Co.— The L. & X. R. & L. Co.— The L & L. T. Co. 362
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE INDIAX.\ REFORMATORY AND THE AMERICAN CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY.
The Old State F'rison — The Prison South — The Reformatory — Descrip-
tion of Institution — The Ohio Falls Car and Locomotive Company —
The Ohio Falls Car Company — Location — Plant — The American
Car and Foundry Company 375
CHAPTER XXXV.
JOURNALISM IN CLARK COUNTY.
Early Xewspapers — The Xational Democrat and Evening Xews — The
Jeffersonville Times — The Jetlersonville Gazette — The Jeffersonville
World — The Penny Post — The Clark County Republican and
Jeffersonville Star — The Clark County Sentinel — The Clark County
Citizen 386
CHAPTER XXXVI.
SCHOOLS OF CLARK COUNTY.
Early Conditions of Schools — Steady Advancement — Early Charlestown
Schools — Public Schools Started in Jeffersonville — Present Condi-
tions 394
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE LIME AND CEMENT INDUSTRY.
Early Lime Burners at Utica — Extent of Shipments — Decadence of the
Business — Cement Mills of Clark County — The Portland Industry. 399
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES.
The Grand Army of the Republic, Daughters of the American Revolution,
C. A. R., L'nited States War Veterans, Historical Society 403
CHAPTER XXXIX.
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF CLARK COUNTY.
Hardships of Early Doctors — Early Practice — Early Practitioners —
Sketches of Doctors Early and Late 410
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XL.
THE JEFFERSONVILLE CARNEGIE LIBRARY THE BORDEN MUSEUM.
Old Township Library — Air. Carnegie's Gift — Building — Books — Circu-
lation — Professor \\'illiam Borden's Aluseum — Collection of Speci-
mens — \^alue 425
CHAPTER XLL
INDUSTRIES AND STATISTICS.
Manufactured Products — Agricultural Statistics — Temperature — Rain-
fall — Population — Wealth — Charlestown — Jeffersonville — Advan-
tages 428
Bic)gra])hical 431
INDEX
HISTORICAL
Advent Christian Church in Clark
County 277
Agricultural Statistics 428
Allottments. The 34
American Car Foundry Company 382
Ancient Order of Hibernians.... 275
Armstrong, Captain John 138
Atlantis Tradition 17
Attempt to Remove Countyseat to
Jeffersonville 94
Baptist Church in Clark County. 237
Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern
Railroad Company 370
Banks and Banking 315
Barmore Ship Yards 327
Battle of Tippecanoe 144
Bench and Bar 2S2
Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks 224
Bennettsville 93
Big Four Bridge 368
Biographical 431
Black Hawk War 149
Borden Institute — founded 126
Borden Museum 426
Bridge Across River 115
Bridgeport 104
British Claim 23
Broom Hill 104
Burr. Aaron 57
Camp Joe Holt 160
Campaign Enthusiasm Ill
Captain Ford's and Captain Si-
monson's Company of Dragoons
from Charlestown 157
Capture of Cahokla, Kaskaskia,
St. Phillips. Prairie Du Rocker 27-30
C. A. R 403
Carnegie Library 425
Carnegie Library, Cornerstone
Laid 130
Can- Township 106
Car Works Established 114
Catholic Knights of America.... 274
Ceded to the United States 24
Celebration at Jeffersonville and
Charlestown 130
Centennial Decade 130-135
17
23
26
46
62
Chapter I . .
Chapter U.,
Chapter in.
Chapter IV.
Chapter V. .
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIV
Chapter XXV
Chapter XXVII
Chapter XXMII
Chapter XXIX
Chapter XXX
Chapter XXXI
Chapter XXXII
Chapter XXXIII
Chapter XXXIV
Chapter XXXV
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter XXXVII
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter XL
Chapter XLI
Charlestown
Charlestown Military Companies
Cholera
Christian Church in Clark County
Citizens' National Bank Estab-
lished
Clark County Citizen
Clark County Xamed
Clark County Organized
Clark County Republican
Clark County Sentinel
Clark Guards, The
Clark's Re-capture of Vincennes.
Clarksville
Company M. First Infantry, In-
diana National Guard
Condition of People, Socially, Re-
ligiously and Intellectually.
During Sixth Decade
Cornerstone to Poor Asylum Laid
77
88
96
104
114
117
124
12'i
130
137
152
159
178
198
211
220
229
242
259
270
276
278
282
315
321
357
362
375
386
394
399
403
410
425
428
60-68
155
92
276
110
391
24
46
391
391
16i
28
70
210
111
135
INDEX
County Seat Fight and Removal
to Jeftersonville 120
County Seat Question 110
Cumberland Gap 183
Cumberland Telephone and Tele-
graph Company 373
Crusades, The 119
Cyclone, The 127
Dangers of Navigation 324
Daughters of American Revolu-
tion 403
Death of Jonathan Jennings.... 93
Death of General John Carr 97
Decade, First 46
Decade, Second 62
Decade. Third 77
Decade, Fourth 88
Decade, Fifth 96
Decade. Sixth 104
Decade. Seventh 114
Decade, Eighth 117
Decade, Ninth 124
Decade, Tenth 127
Decade. Eleventh 130
Depth of Water in Jeffersonville 125
Division Into Townships 48
Eagles, Fraternal Order of 227
Early History of Clark County
Before Organization 23
Early Lime Burners at Utica. . . . 399
Early Militia Officers 142
Early Mills 57-77-96-60
Early Names of Clark County 24
Early Notices of Charlestown,
Jeffersonville, New Washing-
ton, Bethlehem and Utica 88
Earlv Notices of Clarksville and
Jeffersonville 70-86
Early Settlers 50
Eastern Star 219
Eighty-first Indiana Volunteer In-
fantry, Companies I and B.... 199
Enlargement of Jeffersonville... 96
Episcopal Church in Clark County 229
Evidences of Early Inhabitants in
Clark County 17
Ferries in Clark County 62
Ferry Company 370
Field. Doctor 91
Fifty-third Regiment, Indiana Vol-
unteer Infantry, Company D.. 198
Fire Department Organized 117
First Bank in Clark County 72
First Bridge Across the River. . . 92
First Court 48
First Court House 68
First Electric Car Over Bridge.. 133
First Electric Car to Seymour... 135
First Flood of Ohio River 25
First NewspajjCr 78
First Settlement 24
First Skirmish of the Forty-ninth
Regiment 182
First Steamboat 73
First Steamboats on River 325
Flatboating 323
Flood of 1832 91
Flood of 1847 100
Flood of 1907 135
Forestry Reservation Created.. 132
Fort Sackville 29
Fort Steuben 138
Fort Wayne and Southern 107
Forty-ninth Indiana Volunteer In-
fantry 178
Fourth Regiment Indiana Volun-
teer Infantry at Jeffersonville. 156
Free Masonry in Clark County.. 211
French Boat Yard 327
French Claim 23
Frontage on River 321
G. A. R. Reunion 127
General Hamilton's Expedition.. 28
General Lafayette Visits Jeffer-
sonville 79
General Taylor in Jeffersonville. 158
George Rogers Clark's Instruc-
tions from Patrick Henry 26
German Aid Society 226
German Evangelical Church 280
German Reformed Church 278
Glass Works 121
Grand Army of the Republic... 404
Great Battle at Falls 21
Great Floods of 1883 and 1884. . 124
Golden Cross, United Order of. . 228
Governor Posey 66
Governor St. Clair 139
Hamburg 90
Harmar, Colonel 137
Hauss Sanatarium 360
Helm at Vincennes 28
Henryville 105
Hibernia 89
High Moral Standing of People.. 95
Historical Society of Clark Coun-
ty 408
Home Telephone Company 373
Hospital and Homes 357
Howard Ship Yards, The 330
Illinois Grant 26
Improvements During Tenth
Decade 129
Improvements of River by Con-
gress 355
Improved Order of Red Men 227
Incorporation of Jeffersonville as
a City 91
Indei)endent Order of Odd Fel-
lows in Clark County 220
Indian Brutality 74
Indiana Canal Company 57-100
INDEX
Indiana Greys 166
Indiana National Guards, First
Regiment. Company G 207
Indiana Reformatory 37b
Indian Warfare 147
Industries and Statistics 428
Jeftersonville 49-88
Jeffersonville Blues 152
Jeftersonville Gazette 390
Jeffersonville Hospital 357
Jeffersonville Canal Company... 72
Jeffersonville Journal 390
Jeffersonville Proposed Capital of
Indiana *»4
Jeffersonville Orphans' Home
Founded 122-357
Jeffersonville Railroad Company 107
Jeffersonville Re-Platted 90
Jeffersonville Rifles 205
Jeffersonville Springs 75-94
Jeffersonville Times 389
Jeffersonville Star 391
Jeffersonville Water Supply Com-
pany 36;j
Jeffersonville World 390
Jefferson General Hospital 161
Jennings. Jonathan 59
J. M. & I. Railroad Company.. 107
Journalism in Clark County 3S6
Kaskaskia 2S
Keelboating 32^
Keigwin. Colonel 197
Knights of Columbus 275
Knights of Honor 225
Knights and Ladies of Honor.. 226
Knights of Pythias 221
Knights of St. John 275
LaSalle 22
Last Mule Car 132
Louisville & Northern Railway
and Lighting Company 366
Louisville & Southern Indiana
Traction Company 365
Lime and Cement Industry in
Clark County 399
Madoc Tradition 17
Marysville Laid Out 117
Memphis 105
Mercy Hospital 358
Methodism in Clark County 242
Mexican War 154
Mexican War Period 102
Military History in Clark Coun-
ty 137-152-159-178-198
Millerites. The 99
Modern Woodmen of America.. 224
Monon Railroad 370
Morgan's Raid 171
National Democrat and Evening
News 388
National Guard • • 128
Natural Gas 126
New Market 94
New Providence 69
New Settlers 63
New Villages and Townships.. 85
New Washington and Utica 89
New Washington 69
Noted Visitors 79-97
Ohio Canal Company 72
Ohio Falls Car Company 383
Ohio Falls Marine Railroad Com-
pany 108
Ohio & Mississippi Railroad
Built 115
Old Ladies' Home 359
Old State Prison 375
One Hundred Twenty-fifth Indi-
ana Volunteer Infantry. Com-
pany E, Tenth Cavalry 202
One Hundred and Thirty-first
Indiana Volunteers, Thirteenth
Cavalry, Company M 204
One Hundred Thirty-seventh In-
diana Regiment 204
One Hundred Forty-fourth Indi-
ana Volunteer Infantry, Com-
pany G 205
One Hundred Sixty-first Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, Company E 209
Organization of Clark County.. 46
Oregon Township 105
Orphans' Home 357
Otisco 106
Panics and Strikes of 1S77 122
Pathfinders, The 227
Patriotic Societies 403
Penny Post, The 390
Pennsylvania Railroad Company 367
Petersburg 107
Physicians and Surgeons 410
Pigeon Roost Massacre 147
Poor Farm 360
Piloting 329
Presbyterian Church in Clark
County 259
Previous to Convention of 1851 282
Prison South 376
Public Schools of Jeffersonville
opened 109
Public Utilities of Clark County 362
Rangers. The 150
Rebekah, Daughters of 221
Remains of Jonathan Jennings
Removed 128
Return Home 196
River, The 321
Roads and Ferries 62
Roman Catholics in Clark's Regi-
ment 270
Roman Catholic Church of Clark
County 270
Royal Arcanum 227
INDEX
Rousseau's Regiment 160
Reformatoi-y. The 375
Schools of Clark County 394
Sellershurg yy
Seventy-seventh Indiana Volun-
.teer Infantry. Company D 199
Severe Winter, A 115
Site of State Prison Changed.. 100
Sixty-sixth Regiment 199
Small-pox Epidemic 118
Spanish War Company 12S
Springville, Anti-Slavery Conven-
tion 59
Springville 4'i
Spring Hill School 133
Statistics and Industries 428
Sterling's Battery . 198
Steamer James Howard
Launched 117
Subsequent to Convention of 1851 293
Survey, The 33
Sweeney's Foundry 124
Tenth ^Cavalrv 202
Tunnel Alill 71
Toll Roads Made Free 134
Union Home Guards 170
Union Township 107
United Gas & Electric Company 362
United States Quartermaster's
Depot Built at Jefferson-
ville 115-117-165
United Spanish War Veterans of
Clark County 405
Utica 89
Utica Townships 89
Virginian Claim 23
Vincennes Captured, British.... 29
Virginia Gives One Hundred Fifty
Thousand Acres of Land to
Clark and His Men 32
War, The 114
War of the Rebellion 159
War With Spain 208
Warder Park 124
Welsh in America in Twelfth
Century 18
White Indians or Stranger Peo-
ple at Falls of Ohio 18
INDEX
BIOGRAPHICAL
Adams, William 093
Applegate, James D 762
Anderson, Albert L 490
Andrews, Prof. Francis E 437
Antz. Charles F 618
Armstrong, Fi-ank S 797
Armstrong, James Howard 798
Badger, Louis 801
Baird, James A 87V
Baird, Lewis C 857
Bare, Jacob P 822
Barnes, Hon. Willis L 894
Barratt, William H 885
Baldwin, John Hutchinson 583
Ballard, Hon. Curtis W 788
Barnett. William J S12
Barrett, Capt. Anderson 659
Beard, James H 505
Beck, Cornelius 649
Bell, George W ',,,[', 709
Bentley, Edwin B 808
Bigelow, Jonas David 557
Biggs, Abner 768
Blankenbaker. David O... 707
Bottorff, Charles M 889
Bottorff. Columbus J 692
Bottorff, Joseph E 594
Bottorff, John W 815
Bottorff, Moses E 672
Bottorff, Peter H 633
Bottorff, Robinson Prather 596
Bottorff, William E 78V
Bottorff, William J 854
Borden, Prof. William W 496
Bower, Addie 842
Bower, Benton B 825
Bower, Daniel W 915
Bower, Daniel J 698
Bower, John M 823
Bower, William E.. Sr 752
Britan, W. A 834
Brock, Thomas J 463
Brock, Rev. Francis Marion 466
Brown. James Edgar 669
Brown. Wendell 479
Brayfleld, Carl 804
Buttorff, Porter C 729
Burke, James E 777
Burtt. Balie L 765
Burtt. Henry F 582
Burlingame, Major Benjamin F. . 532
Byrn, John 846
Cain. Edward B 484
Calloway, A. J 733
INDEX
Carr, Elisha 911
Carr, Joseph L *>•"
Carr, F. M., M. D 828
Carr, James ^1"
Carr, Frank W ^=>1
Casey. John Joseph 60o
Cisco, Capt. William F 537
Clapp, John W 83^
Clapp, John V 840
Clarke. George R 393
Clark, Joseph 9^*2
Clark, William T 56a
Clegg, James A 'i' ' 2
Cohen. David, M. D til*
Cole. James L 853
Cole, John C 851
Cole, Mordicai B 848
Coll, Bernard A 445
Coll, Maurice 439
Coleman, Jesse E 650
Collings. William E 624
Colvin. Matthew 630
Cook. David S "22
Colwell. Faires ''44
Conro.v. Martin A 502
Coombs, Edgar 1 684
Coombs, D. H 890
Cortner, William P 839
Covert, Edward 870
Coward, George W., Capt 471
Crawford, Josiah C 830
Creamer, Edgar Leon 522
Crone, Oliver ''49
Crum, John F 667
Dailey, Hon. Reuben 52S
Davis, Edward G 443
Davis. Frederick W 493
Davis, William A 539
Dean, Frank F 850
Dean, Charles W 547
Deibel. William H 676
Denzler Gustave Adolph 564
Denser, William M 873
Dilger, Henry F 458
Dix, George B 629
Dix. Oscar 627
Dobbins. Frank G 767
Donaldson. Peter C 538
Dow. Daniel Milburn 685
Doubet. Joseph C 520
Duffy. James H 589
Duffy, Captain James T 688
Duffy, Oscar H 598
Dugan, Capt. Henry 533
Dunbar Family 677
Dunlevy, Matthew H 757
Eberts, Conrad 616
Eberts, Jacob 616
Elrod. Richard, Jr 771
Enlow, Joseph Thomas 573
Enlow, John E 760
Enders. Ferdinand. Sr 728
Evans, Sargent W 888
Faris, William W 868
Ferguson, James R 770
Finley, George W 478
^Fischer, Henry 917
-Fischer. Matthias 7pl
'Fisher. Andrew. M 833
Flood, Richard L 447
Flvnn. Edward H 436
Forward. H. C 847
Fox. Wilmer T 590
Foster. William Henry 571
Freeman. Thomas W 901
Frank, H. Monroe 612
Frank, Adolph 1 579
Frv, Abraham 703
Funk, Austin, Dr 449
Gibson, Judge George H. D 816
Gibson, Jacob 679
Gibson, James K 704
Gienger, John 455
Giltner, Allen A 880
Giltner, Stephen H 882
Gilbert. Frank R. M 485
Glass, John A 845
Glaser, John L 518
Goedeker. John Henry 680
Goodman. Joseph 526
Goodwin. Charles Sharp 632
Goodwin, William 631
Glossbrenner, Jacob Edgar 488
Glossbrenner, James C 743
Graham, Oliver P., M. D 643
Graves, Edward M 831
Green, The Family 781
Goyne, Jefferson D 477
Haas, Joseph M 872
Haddox, Joseph E 547
Hallet, John Milton 687
Hancock, Hon. Chas. F. C 774
Hand. Major George D 730
Hanka. Henry 700
Harmon, Lillian ■ 910
Harrison, Henry W '. 577
Hartwell. Richard Meldrum 663
Haymaker, Joseph M 809
Hawes, Joseph J 731
Hauss, Robert Q., M. D 720
Hawes, Ep 764
Heaton. Hiram E 655
Hevn. John 514
Hikes, Walter S 800
Hobson, William Fletcher 535
Hoffman, Capt. Henry 640
Hoffman. John H 642
Holloway, F. V 875
Holman. Andrew J 904
Holman. Walter J 635
Holman. Isaac 636
Holzbog, George H 482
INDEX
Holzbog, Walter J
Holmes, Basil Robinson 611
Hoover, John W 511
Howard, James 431
Howard, James 892
Howard, Clyde ''•^'■^
Howard, Hon. Jonas George 440
Howard, Capt. Edmonds J 464
Howard. William, Capt 527
Howser, Robert M 754
Howes, Epenetus 646
Howk, Rev. Jolin Simonson .... 790
Hughes, Edward C 896
Hunt, John W 716
Hutchison, Joseph M 609
Hutsel. Allen A 841
Hydron, Edwin Wilkes 503
Ingram, Col. John Nelson 516
Ingram, William T 516
Irwin, Walter 664
Jacobs, George T 863
Jacobs, Thomas D 673
Jacobs, Wallace Lawrence 775
Jackson, George, Sr 70o
Jennings, Theodore S 665
Johnson, Oscar Theodore 457
Johnson, James A 864
Johnson. John R 460
Joiner, Harvey 696
Jones, Dr. Cadwallader 805
Keigwin, James S 500
Reiser, Frank 695
Kelly, S. P 874
Kendall, James J 549
Kern, Frank X 883
Kiger. Theodore J 66S
Kiger. James D 867
Kirk, John M 738
Koetter, John Bernard 712
Lancaster. John R 745
LeCIare, Thomas L 519
Leppert, John C 541
Lemmon, Walter Lewis 556
Lentz. Edgar Mitchell 647
Lentz, Jacob 635
Lentz, Nicholas 638
Lewman, Thomas J 869
Lewnian, Winnie Clare 780
Llndley, Thomas J 645
Lindley, Eli M 467
Loomis, Arthur 653
Loomis, John 599
Long, Theodore S 552
Long, William H 824
Lusher. George W 623
Lutz. Henrv S 803
Lutz, Henry J 862
McRride. Claude B 71Ji
McCulloch, Walter Erie 904
McCuIloch. Charles W 734
McCormick, Frank P 813
McGregor, James 531
McKinley, Charles Edwin 683
McKinley, Samuel 545
McMillin, John 818
Mackey, John 627
MaGruder, John L 837
Marble, Claytes McHenry 652
Marra. James 542
Marsh, James K 434
Martin, George W 592
Mauzy, John M 568
Mayneld, Frank M 491
Meiboom, J. Henry 608
Meloy, Charles P 8SV
Meloy. .lohn Morton, M. D 724
Meriwether Family 62i
Miles, Albert R 8.S1
Miller, James L 561
Miller, Omer L 905
Mitchell, John A 799
Molck. Joseph 566
Montgomery. Harry C 776
Morrow, William, Sr 656
Moore, Joseph G 521
Morgan, Joseph C 726
Morris, William J 747
Mullen, Thomas 586
Murphy, John B 525
Myers, Peter F 506
Myers, Newton H 580
Nanz. George 569
Nicholson, Joseph, Sr 711
Owens, John A. H 778
Packwood, Henry 70S
Payne, Francis Eugene, Jr 554
Payne, Paradv 916
Peel. Charles C 510
Peet, Harry D 682
Pernett, Edward S 878
Perry, Thomas W 475
Perrine, Edward L 740
Pevton, David C, M. D 585
Pfau, William C 648
Piers, Thomas J 658
Pile, Burdet Clifton 601
Poindexter. Charles Edgar 452
Potter. John Ellis 743
Prall, Elam G 761
Prall, Thomas F 753
^rather, David L 674
^rather, Jefferson 674
Quick, William 524
Ratts. Henry H 829
Rauschenberger. John 560
Reddina;. Floyd J 678
Renn, Peter P 721
Reynolds, Hon. James M 725
INDEX
Richards, Lewis E 544
Rickaid, George M 536
Rigsby. Charles R 553
Robinson, Hamilton 750
Rosenberger, Joseph 71V
Rubey, William A 795
Ryans, Edward Arthur 548
Same, Frank H 563
«-^ample, William Tit
vSample, Thomas W 835
Saunders, Louis 559
Scheller, John 736
Schmidt. Benjamin 718
Schimpff, Charles A 473
Schinipff. Rudolph A 453
Schwaninger, Charles A 480
Schwaninger, Willacy Joseph. .. . 604
Scott, Aaron P 699
Sheets, Rev. William H 507
Shepherd, Capt. Francis B 574
Smith, Jacob S 661
Smith. Mitchell P 550
Smith. William W 671
Smith. Henry E 766
Snider, Joseph G 486
Scott. Samuel L 746
Shadday. Walter G 461
Sharp. Harry C 907
Sharpless Family 857
Spangler. David Alden 634
Sparks. Nathan 603
Speith. John F 512
Spriestersbach. Hon. Louis 865
Stacy. Amos B 694
Stalker. Benj, F 542
Stevens, Thomas R 843
Sullivan, Samuel D 886
Swartz. Benjamin F 641
Swartz. Charles F 657
Swartz. George Wiley 637
Sweeney. William 607
Sweeney. William Oscar 662
Swengel. George W 827
Sylvester, Emery 670
Taggart. James E 469
Taggart. Dr. Josiah 814
Talley. John 69V
Taylor, James W 628
Townsend Family 819
Townsend, LaFayette D 755
Van Liew. Capt. John R 595
Voigt, Hon. George H 588
Volmer. Henry J 555
Wade, Jonathan 714
Walker. James H 758
Ward. Rev. John S 494
Warman. Aaron N 741
Watson, David W 913
Weber, William 523
Whiteside. Isaac F 784
Whiteside Bakery 911
Willey, Frank R 515
Willey, Wyatt Emory 859
Willey, Wyatt E . . . 861
Woerner. Frank 570
Wood. James N 897
Wood, Samuel X 626
Work. W. F 893
Worrell. Luther M 576
Young. William G 450
Zulauf, John C 793
HISTORICAL
CHAPTER I.
TRADITIONAL EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF CLARK COUNTY.
That the country north of the Falls of the Ohio and adjacent to the river
was inhabited by a strange people many years before the first recorded visit
of a white man, there can be no doubt. The relics of a former race are scat-
tered throughout this territory, and the many skeletons found buried along
the banks of the river below Jeffersonville are indisputable evidence that a
strange people once flourished here. Of all the legendary stories told of pre-
Columbian visitors to the American continent, the Madoc tradition takes prece-
dence. The Atlantis tradition, twelve thousand years old; the Phoenician
tradition, dating from three quarters of a century before the Christian era;
the Chinese tradition of the Buddhist priest in the fifth century; the Norse
tradition of the tenth century ; the Irish tradition of the eleventh century ; and
the ]Madoc tradition of the Welshmen in America near the close of the eleventh
centurv, all lay claim to the honor of being accounts of the first visit of white
men to the North American continent. The greatest probability of truth
seems to attach to the Aladoc tradition, and the evidence from many different
sources gives it a greater credibility than any of the other accounts.
This tradition is to the effect that a colony of Welshmen, who had emi-
grated to America in 1170, found their way finally to the Falls of the Ohio,
and remained there for many years, being finally almost exterminated in a
great battle with "Red Indians."
Owen Gwyneth, Prince nf \\'ales, died in 1167, and left seventeen sons.
Disputes and contentions arose among them as to who should succeed the
father, and Aladoc, one of the sons, thinking it better prudence to try his
fortune elsewhere, set sail with a good company of Welshmen and traveled
westward until he reached the shores of another continent. The new land
ofifered such a fair and alluring prospect that JNIadoc returned to Wales and
brought back a considerable number of Welsh to join his colony in the "New
World." \Miere they landed is conjecture, but the testimony of many authori-
ties, and the stories and traditions of manv of the early settlers of this west-
1 8 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
em country prove to a greater or less degree of probability that white Indians,
who spoke an almost pure ^^'elsh tongue, existed in several localities.
In 1582 the first account of this Welsh emig-ration to America appeared
in "Hakluits's Divers Voyages Touching the Discovery of America," etc.. and
his authority was Gutton Owen, a \\'elsh bard, who flourished during the reign
of Henr\- VII. The account also appears in an addenda to Caradoc's "Histoiy
of \^"ales," which was translated into English in 1584. In America the first
mention of the Madoc tradition belongs to Captain John Smith, who gives it
as the only discovery prior to that of Columbus (See "Generall Historie of
Virg-inia, New England and the Summer Isles," London, 1624, page i), but
the personal evidence corroborati^•e of this tradition begins with a statement
by the Rev. Morgan Jones, in 1685. ( See Gentlemen's Magazine. London,
1740, page 103). The Rev. Mr. Jones was sent out by Governor Berkeley, of
Virg'inia, as chaplain of an expedition to South Carolina. Arriving at Port
Royal on April 19, 1660, they lay at a place called Oyster Point for about eight
months, at which time, being almost starved by their inability to procure
provisions, he set out with five companions through the wilderness. His nar-
rative continues as follows : "There the Tuscarara Indians took us prisoners
because we told them we were bound for Roanoke. That night they carried
us to their town, and shut us up close, to our no small dread. The next day
they entered into a conversation about us, which after it was over, their in-
terpreter told us that we must prepare ourselves to die the next morning.
Thereupon being very much dejected and speaking in the British (Welsh),
tongue, 'Have I escaped so many dangers that I must now be knocked on the
head like a dog?' His words were understood by one who seemed to be a
war captain, and through his intervention the six prisoners were spared."
These men remained with the Indians for four months, and, the minister
states, "During which time I had the opportunity^ of conversing with them
familiarly in the British (W'elsh) tongue, and did preach to them three times
a week in the same language."
Captain Isaac Stewart, an officer in the Provincial Cavalry of South
Carolina, in 1782 was captured by Indians and taken westward of Fort Pitt.
He and a \\^elshman named John Davy were kept in bondage for over two
years and were finally taken up the Red river to an Indian settlement. Davy
understood and conversed with this tribe of white Indians in his native tongue.
(See American Museum, Vol. 2, page 92, July, 1787).
The Rev, John ^^■illiams, LL. D., in a book entitled "An Inquiry into
the Truth of the Tradition Concerning the Discovery of America by Madog,"
published in London in 1796, gives the testimony of numerous persons who
had been among the ^^'elsh Indians in America. These incidents are too
lengthy to relate here, but they show that enough testimony relating to \\'hite
Indians who sixike the Welsh language lias been collected l)v writers in the
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. I9
past to give the story more weight than attaches to the Norse, the Chinese, the
Irish or the Phoenician traditions of pre-Columbian discovery.
In later years historians have delved deep into this subject, and George
Catlin, who published "Letters and Notes on the Manners of the North Ameri-
can Indians" in 1857, says that the Mandan Indians, among whom he lived
and studied their histoiy and peculiarities, were descendants of the Welsh
colony established in America by Prince Madoc in the twelfth centurj'. This
entire tribe of Welsh Indians was almost wiped out of existence by the small-
pox in the summer of 1838. In 1842 Thomas S. Hinde, an antiquarian of
more than local reputation, gave some valuable infonnation touching the
Madoc tradition. In answer to inquiries made by John S. Williams, editor
of The American Pioneer, he wrote as follows :
"Mount Camiel, Illinois, May 30, 1824. Mr. J. S. W'illiams : Dear Sir —
Your letter of the 17th. to Major Armstrong, was placed in my hands some
days ago. The brief remark and hints given you are correct. I have a vast
quantity of western matter, collected in notes gathered from various sources,
mostlv from persons who knew the facts. These notes reach back to remote
periods. It is a fact that the Welsh under Owen Ap Zuinch. in the twelfth
century, found their way u]) the Mississippi, and as far up the Ohio as the
Falls of that river at Louisx'ille, where they were cut ofif by the Indians; others
ascended the Missouri, were either captured or settled with and sunk into
Indian habits. Proof I. In 1799, six soldiers' skeletons were dug up near
Jeffersonville. Each skeleton had a breastplate of brass, cast with the Welsh
coat-of-anns, the Mermaid and Harp, with a Latin inscription, in substance,
'virtuous deeds meet their just reward." One of these plates was left by Cap-
tain Jonathan Taylor with the late Mr. Hubbard Taylor, of Clark county, and
when called for by me in 1814 for the date Dr. John P. Campbell, of Chilli-
cothe, Ohio, who was preparing notes on the antiquities of the \A^est, by a
letter from iNIr. Hubbard Taylor (a relative of mine), now living, I was in-
formed that the breast-plate had been taken to Virginia by a gentleman ot
that state. I supposed as a matter of curiosity. Proof II. The late Mr. ]\Ic-
Intosh, who first settled near this and had been for fifty or sixty years prior to
his death, in 183 1 or 1832, a western Indian trader, was in Fort Kaskaskia
prior to its being taken b}- General George Rog'ers Clark, in 1778. and heard,
as he informed me himself, a Welshman and an Indian from far up the Mis-
souri speaking and conversing- in the Welsh languag-e. It was stated by Gil-
bert Imlay, in his history of the west, that it was Captain Abraham Chaplain,
of L'nion county, Kentucky, that heard this conversation in ^^'elsh. Dr.
Campbell, visiting Chaplain, found it was not he. Afterwards the fact was stated
by ]\IcIntosh. from whom I obtained other facts as to western matters. Some
hunter, manv years ago. informed me of a tombstone being- found in the south-
ern part of Indiana with the initials of a name, and '1186' engraved upon it.
20 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
The Alohawk Indians had a tradition among them respecting the Welsh, and
of their having been cut off by the Indians at the Falls of the Ohio. The late
Colonel Joseph Hamilton Davis, who had for many years sought for infonna-
tion on this subject, mentions this fact, and of the Welshman's bones being
found buried on Corn Island."
The early pioneers of Kentucky, in their intercourse with the Indians,
who frequently visited the Falls of the Ohio for the purposes of trade, got
from them the tradition of Madoc, and Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, the presi-
dent of the Filscn club, of Louisville, in the 23d publication of that society,
gives an account which was related to him by an aged W'elshman named Grif-
fin in the early sixties. Griffin related as follows :
"On the north side of the river, where Jeffersonville now stands, some
skeletons were exhumed in early times with armor which had brass plates
bearing the Mermaid and Hai^p, which belong to the Welsh coat-of-amis. On
the same side of the river, further down, a piece of stone supposed to be part
of a tombstone was found, with the date 11 86 and what seemed to be a name
-or initials of a name so effaced by time as to be illegible. If that piece of
stone was ever a tombstone over a grave, the party laid beneath it must have
been of the Welsh colony of Aladoc. for we have no tradition of any one but
the Welsh at the Falls so early as 1186. In early times the forest along the
river on both sides of the Falls for some miles presented two kinds of g-rowth.
Along the margin of the river the giant sycamores and other trees of the forest
primeval stood as if they had never been disturbed, but beyond them was a
broad belt of trees of a dift'erent growth, until the belt was passed, when the
original forest again appeared. This indicated that the belt had been de-
prived of its original forest for agricultural or other purposes and that a new
forest had grown up in its stead. He said, however, it was possible that the
most important of these traditions learned from the Indians concerned a great
battle fought at the Falls of the Ohio, between the Red Indians and the ^^'hite
Indians, as the Welsh Indians were called. It has been a long time since this
battle, but it was fought here and won by the Red Indians. In the final
struggle the \Miite Indians sought safety on the island since known as Sand
Island, but nearly all who sought refuge there were slaughtered. The rem-
nant who escaped death made their way to the Missouri* river, where, by dif-
ferent movements at different times, they went up that river a great' distance.
They were known to exist there by different parties who came from there and
talked Welsh with the pioneers. Some Welshmen living at the Falls of the
Ohio in pioneer times talked with these White Indians, and although there
was considerable difference between the Welsh they spoke and the Welsh
spoken by the Indians, yet they had no great difficulty in understanding one
another. He further said, concerning this tradition of a great battle, that
there was a tradition that many skeletons were found on Sand Island, mingled
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 21
promiscuously together as if left there unburied after a great battle, but that
he had examined the island a number of times without finding a single bone,
and that if skeletons were ever abundant there they had disappeared before
his time."
John Filson, the author of the first history of Kentucky, published in
1784, was a believer in the Madoc tradition, and while in Louisville collecting
material for his history, discussed the subject with such men as General
George Rogers Clark, Major John Harrison, Colonel Moore and others. At
a meeting of a club of prominent citizens in that city about this time Filson
was invited to attend, and the subject of the Madoc tradition was brought up
for discussion. General Clark spoke first, and confined himself to what he had
learned from a chief of the Kaskaskia Indians concerning a large and curious-
Iv shaped earthwork on the Kaskaskia river, which the chief, who was of
lighter complexion than most Indians, said was the house of his ancestors.
Colonel Moore spoke next, and related what he had learned from an old In-
dian about a long war of extermination between the Red Indians and the
White Indians. The final battle, he said, between them, was fought at the
Falls of the Ohio, where nearly the whole of the \\'hite Indians were driven
upon an island and slaughtered. General Clark, on hearing this statement by
Colonel Moore, confinned it by stating that he had heard the same thing from
Tobacco, a chief of the Piankeshaws. Major Harrison spoke next, and told
about an extensive graveyard on the north side of the Ohio, opposite the Falls,
where thousands of human bones were Ijuried in such confusion as to indicate
that the dead were left there after a battle, and that the silt from inundations
of the Ohio had covered them as the battle had left them.
The testimony of many living men of Clark county today bears out the
statement about the number of skeletons to be found in the vicinity of the Big
Eddy. The late Dr. Beckwith, of Jeffersonville, had in his possession a skull
from this graveyard at the Falls, and he pronounced it not the skull of an
Indian. The White Indians, or, as some of the other Indian tribes called
them, the "Stranger People," were possibly the builders of the mysterious
fortifications on the hill crest, two hundred and fifty feet above the river, at
Fourteen Mile creek. It is without doubt the most elalaorate and extensive work
of defense erected by the vanished race. It is the only one of its kind in
the United States. It has an area of about ten acres and has the remains of
strong fortifications along its exposed front. These fortifications consisted of
a wall with watch mounds or towers at intervals, five of which can yet be
traced. Students and antiquarians have shown that it was not built by North
American Indians, but its origin, like the battle at the Falls, is made obscure
by the hazy lapse of centuries, and we can only surmise as to what it was and
who built it, whether by the Stranger People or the Mound Builders; but
that it was of a race previous to the Indians is certain. Bones of a race ante-
22 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
dating the Red Indians are frequently found in the mounds in this vicinity.
As an historical and antiquarian curiosity its ruins are far more remarkable
and interesting than the dilapidated castles along the German Rhine.
Among the traditional or semi-traditional accounts of early white ex-
plorers to the Falls of the Ohio, the visit of the French explorer, La Salle, may
be mentioned. The Indiana country was claimed by the French by virtue of
his discovery of the Ohio river. The account of this voyage is as follows :
Robert Cavelier Sieur de la Salle in i66g started on a voyage of dis-
covery down the Ohio, and it is said that he floated as far down as the Falls
of that river, where his guides and crew deserted him. Not daunted by this
misfortune, he made his way back to the French settlements to the north. An
iron hatchet which he left here in a small tree on the bank of the river is said
to have been found imbedded in the tree one hundred and thirty-nine years
afterward. La Salle is credited with being the earliest white man ever in this
vicinity, but his discovery amounted to nothing. From shortly after his sup-
posed visit other explorers began to periodically discover the river, until the
settlers came and the "Beautiful river" became a highway for travel, rather
than an entrance into a mysterious land.
Xote : I am indebted to Colonel Reuben T. Durret, President of the
Filson Club, of Louisville, Kentucky, for much of the material in this chapter.
CHAPTER II.
EARLY HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY BEFORE ORGANIZATION.
From the discoveries of Robert Cavelier Sieur de la Salle and the earlier
voyage of the Jesuit Fathers Charemonot and Breboeiif, France claimed all of
the Indiana, Ohio and Illinois country as early as the seventeenth century.
The Iroc|uois nation also claimed it, but France was an aggressive power, and
the wars of the Indians against her encroachments availed nothing. At the
treaty of Utrecht, April ii, 1713, Louis XIV renounced in favor of England
all claims except those to the St. Lawrence and Mississippi valleys. Both
nations claimed the region west of the Alleghany ^Mountains, along the Ohio
river, and the resultant squabble was that war known as the French and Indian
war, 1754 to 1763. The Treaty of Paris ended this war and Indiana, to-
gedicr with all of the other territory east of the Mississippi claimed by France,
^vas ceded to England. This territory, of which Clark county was a part, thus
passed to the rule of the British nation, to remain a colony until the war of
the Revolution was terminated by the Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783.
In the year of 1766 the British parliament insisted upon the Ohio river as the
southwestern boundary and the Mississippi river as the western limit of the
dominions of the English crown in this quarter. By this measure the entire
northwest, or so much of it as afterwards became the Northwest Territory,
was attached to the Province of Quebec, and the tract that now constitutes the
state of Indiana was nominally under its local administration.
Virginia began to lay early claim to the vast area beyond her western
border, but government was still nominal, and the few white settlers and
Indians were generally a law unto themselves. In 1769 Virginia, acting upon
the authority of her royal grants, by an enactment, extended her jurisdiction
over all the territory northwest of the Ohio river, and by that act the county of
Botetourt was organized and named in honor of Lord Botetourt, governor
of the colony of Virginia. It was a vast country, about seven hundred miles
long, with the Blue Ridge for its eastern and the Mississippe for its western
boundary. It included large parts of the present states of \\'est Virginia.
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and was the first county organization covering
what is now Clark county. After the conquest of the Indiana and Illinois
country by General George Rogers Clark, in 1778. the county of Illinois was
erected by the Virginia legislature (in October of the same year) out of the
great county of Botetourt, and included all the territory between the Pennsyl-
24 liAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
vania line, the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the northern lakes. Colonel Tohn
Todd was appointed the first county lieutenant and civil commandant of the
county. He perished in the battle of Blue Licks, August i8, 1782. and
Timothy de Montbrun was named as his successor.
The close of the war of the Revolution found the American states deeply
involved in debt and with no resources in prospect, except such as might be
derived from the sale of their lands west of the Alleghanies. Some of the
states claimed that the title to this vast unsettled domain to have ^•ested in
the various colonies whose charters had extended their limits indeffinitely to
the west, and there was a special claim from Virginia on account of her con-
quest and the retention of possession through George Rogers Clark. Other
states objected to this, but on October 20. 1783, Virginia authorized a cession
to the Federal government, and on March i, 1784, our countn* passed from
Virginian rule to that of the United States of America. A plan for the di-
^-ision of this vast tract was taken up immediately and a scheme for the forma-
tion of ten states out of it was reported. The names of the states as proposed
were as follows : Sylvania, Chersonesus, Michigania, Washington, Saratoga,
Metropotamia, Assenisipia, Illinoia, Polypotamia and Pelisipia. These last
two names concern Clark county, as it lay partly in both as proposed. Both
of these states lay south of the thirty-ninth parallel and north of the Ohio
river, and their dividing line was a meridian drawn through the rapids of the
Ohio. Pelisipia was to be the eastern state and Polypotamia the western.
To think that our mail might have been addressed to Charlestown, Pelisipia,
or to Borden, Polypotamia, may appear strange, but such was the plan of the
early fathers. However, the plan failed to carry, and the name of Indiana
was finally given our great state when the territory was organized, and the
illustrious name of Clark given the county when it was created in 1801. Xo
legislative measures ever enacted meant so much to Clark county as the Ordi-
nance of 1787. This celebrated act, entitled "An ordinance for the govern-
ment of the territoiy of the United States northwest of the river Ohio." was
passed by Congress July 13. 1787. By this great organic act— "the last
gift," as Chief Justice Chase said, " of the congress of the old confederation
to the country, and it was a fit consummation of their glorious labors" —
provision was made for various forms of territorial government to be adopted
in succession, in due order of the advancement and development of the west-
ern country. The sixth article provided that. "There shall be neither slavery
nor involuntary sen-itude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punish-
ment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. This ques-
tion of slavery was a bitter one, and within a few years was to become the
chief issue in the politics of the territory of Indiana, but it was a luilwark
behind which the best men of the time stood, and even the action of a legisla-
ture was powerless to have this paragraph changed. The settlement made at
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., I^'D. 2;
Clarkesville, mentioned in a succeeding chapter, and the building of the fort
at Jeffersonville in 1786 were the beginning of the settlements of Clark county.
This period of the history of the county will be more fully treated in the
chapter on the military annals.
In 1793 the first of the great floods ever recorded overtopped the banks
of the Ohio and the few settlers who had built their cabins in the rich low-
lands were forced to retreat to higher ground for safety, while their fences,
and, in some cases, their cabins, floated away. This flood was not as great
as the flood of 1832. but no record of the stage of the water is in existence.
CHAPTER III.
THE ILLINOIS GRANT.
The grant of land by the state of Virginia January 2. 1781, to General
George Rogers Clark and his men was a fitting recognition of the value of
their sen-ices in the "Conquest of the Northwest." Around this grant and
the events leading up to it cluster nearly all the early history of Indiana Terri-
tory and the Northwest Territory. The events leading up to this grant of
land to Clark and the Illinois regiment date from the instructions he received
from Patrick Henry, then governor of Virginia, January 2, 1778. Two sets
of instructions were given to Clark, one intended for the public eye, as
follows :
"Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark :
"You are to proceed, without loss of time, to enlist seven companies of
men, officered in the usual manner, to act as militia, under your orders. They
are to proceed to Kentuck3% and there obey such orders and directions as you
shall give them, for three months after their arrival at that place: but to re-
ceive pa}-, etc., in case they remain on duty a longer time, etc., etc., etc.
"Given under my hand at \Villiamsburg-, January 2, 1778. "P Henry."
The private instructions given into the hand of Clark are, in part, as
follows :
"Virginia Set. "In Council Williamsburg, January 2, 1778. "Lieutenant
Colonel George Rogers Clark: "You are to proceed with all convenient speed
to raise seven companies of soldiers to consist of fifty men each, officered in
the usual manner, and armed most properly for the enterprise, and with this
force attack the British post at Kaskaskia. It is conjectured that there are
many pieces of cannon and militarj^ stores to a considerable amount, at that
place, the taking and preservation of which would be a valuable acquisition
to the state. If you are so fortunate, therefore, as to succeed in your expedi-
tion, you will take every possible measure to secure the artillery and stores,
and whatever may advantage the state. For the transportation of the troops,
provisions, etc., down the Ohio, you are to apply to the commanding officer
at Fort Pitt for boats, and during the whole transaction you are to take es-
pecial care to keep the true destination of your force secret ; its success de-
pends upon this. Orders are therefore given to Captain Smith to secure the
two men from Kaskaskia.
"It is earnestly desired that you show humanity to such British subjects.
KtbiDfc-Ncfc, Ut Gb-NKKAL CLARK AT CLARKSVILLE.
Krum "t'dmiuest of the Northwest." Copyright 1S95. Used by special permis-
sion of tlie publishers. The Bobbs-Morrill Company.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 2,y
and Other persons as fall into your hands. If the white inhabitants of that post
and neighborhood will give undoubted evidence of their attachment to this
state, for it is certain they live within its limits, by taking the test prescribed
by law, and by every other way and means in their power, let them be treated
as fellow citizens, and their persons and property be duly respected. As-
sistance and protection against all enemies, whatever shall be afforded them,
and the commonwealth of Virginia is pledged to accomplish it. But if these
people will not accede to these reasonable demands, they must feel the conse-
Cjuences of war, under that direction of humanity that has hitherto dis-
tinguished Americans, and which it is expected you will ever consider the rule
of your conduct, and from which you are in no instance to depart. The corps
you are to command are to receive the pay and allowances of militia and to
act under the laws and regulation of this state now in force as to militia. The
inhabitants of this post will be informed by you that in case they accede to the
offers of becoming citizens of this commonwealth, a proper garrison will be
maintained among them, and every attention bestowed to render their com-
merce beneficial ; the fairest prospects being opened to the dominions of France
and Spain. It is in contemplation to establish a post near the mouth of th.e
Ohio. Canniin will be wanted to fortify it. Part of those at Kaskaskia will
be easily brought thither or othenvise secured as circumstances make neces-
sary. You are to apply to General Hand, at Pittsburg, for powder and lead
necessary for this expedition. If he cannot supply it, the person who has that
which Captain Sims brought from New Orleans, can. Lead is sent to Hamp-
shire by my orders, and that may be delivered to you. Wishing you success,
I am your humble servant, "P. Henry."
It will be seen from the above that the campaign was to be of such a char-
acter that the men themselves were not to know more than that the service
was to be on the frontier and against the Indians and British, as they well
knew the British were secretly in league with the Indians and furnishing them
with the munitions of their cruel and treacherous warfare.
Thus was the expedition launched and the organization of his forces be-
gun. The end of May, 1778, found the little army encamped on Com Island,
a long narrow strip of land reaching from what is now Fourth street to Four-
teenth street, Louisville, Kentucky, and laying very near the south side of the
river. On June 24, 1778, they embarked in the boats which had been pre-
pared — shot the falls, and in the sombre shadow of an almost total eclipse
of the sun began the first part of their expedition against the British posts at
Kaskaskia. Their voyage down the river to the mouth of the Tennessee,
and the march of one hundred ad twenty miles through the wilderness, to-
wards Kaskaskia without pack horses, wagons or other means of conveying
their munitions of war, baggage or provisions than their own robust selves,
was a feat of endurance that tried their hardihood.
^8 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Througli forest dark, dense and tangled, across glades of intervening
prairie lands which were often covered with reed-like grasses, higher than the
head of the tallest among them, over hill and through valley, often withiut
water for hours, save only that which each man carried, under the blazing of
a Southern Illinois summer sun. without transportation of any kind, no horses,
no wagons, no tents, no baggage, no artillery ; this band of heroes led i)y a
hero, pressed nn. \\'hen in the confines of what is now Williamson county,
Illinois, the guide, Saunders, became confused and lost his bearings and the
troops believing he was betraying them, were on the point of wreaking sum-
mary punishment on him for his suspicioned treachery, when he recognized a
point of timber which he said marked the way to Kaskaskia.
The little band pressed on with clothes ragged and soiled with the wear
of the march, and faces scratched and laruised In- liramliles and briars, foot-
sore and weary with the labor of forced marching and want of proper rest, with
only the sod for a bed, and the canopv of heaven for a covering when at night
they lay down for a few hours' sleep in strict silence, not a shot being- fired for
fear its echoes might be heard by some prowler and the news of their apprnach
carried to the enemy. Arriving withn a few miles of Kaskaskia on the e\'ening
of July 4, 1778. no time was lost in effecting the capture, and when the n-iorn-
ing of July 5th broke the town was Virginian and not Britsh. Clark in-ime-
diately hastened to send a detachment of troops to take possession of Cahokia,
St. Phillips and Prairie du Rocher. on the Mississippi. The fort and town
of Vincennes. ha\-ing Ijeen left by Abbott, the English Governor, virtuallv in
the hands of the French inhabitants, was garrisoned, the American flag raised
and Capt. Leonanl Helm put in command.
Clark being now in possession of all the military posts, turned his at-
tention at once to making the best terms he could with the numerous Indian
tribes. Helm continued in command at Post Vincennes. but his force was
small, and Fort Sackville was described as "wretched," "a miserable stockade
without a well, barrack, platform for small arms, or even a lock to the gate."
General Hamilton, the commandant at Detroit, headed an expedition
against Helm at Vincennes, and on December 17, 1778, Fort Sackville and
the ancient town of Vincennes again came into possession of the British. Helm
and his twenty-one men demanded and received all the honors of war upon
their surrender to an enemy, which numbered between five hundred and six
hundred men. In February, 1779, Clark began his memorable march from
Kaskaskia against Vincennes. After incredible difficulty and severe exposure,
marching and wading through the icy water of swamps and overflowed
streams, with an insufficiency of provisions and baggage, the worn and wearied
expedition appeared before the town, and Clark, with his usual generalship,
compelled Hamilton to surrender, and the final downfall of the British in the
Wabash and Illinnis ccmntrv was acconiplished.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 29
When Clark marched his little army from ^Massac to Kaskaskia, across
the glades and timberlands of Southern Illinois, it was summer time. Soft
winds wafted the perfume of flower-sprinkled prairies, and the fragrance of the
woodlands about the marching troops, the water of the streams was compara-
tively low, and the swamp lands were firmer to the tread of their moccasin-clad
feet. The canopy of sky and cloud was covering enough by night, and while
the blazing of a June sun was far from soothing to spirts or temper, it was not
to be compared to the hardships to which the troops on the march to the cap-
ture of Vincennes were to encounter.
At the crossing of the Little Wabash, Clark cheered them on, and called
to his aid an Irish drummer, celebrated for his fund of droll and comic songs,
the singing of which, at a time when the men were chilled almost to freezing
bv the icv waters through which they had been wading, sometimes for an
hour, up to their armpits, would put new life in.to the men, and agai'.i they
would struggle on. What a picture ! What melody can equal the living pic-
ture of this band of heroes or the song of this wild Irishman's singing? The
painters of the picture have passed away. The song of the singer is stilled
forever, but truly their works live after them.
The party on the i8th heard the morning gun at Fort Sackville, at Vin-
cennes, and when they reached the A\'abash, below the mouth of the Embarass
river, they were exhausted, destitute and starving — literally starving, with no
means of crossing the ri\-er, which was merflowed and was several miles wide.
On the 20th of February a party of French, in a boat, was hailed and came
to the little army. From them Clark learned that the French of Vincennes
were true to the oath of Vincennes, which they had taken the previous summer,
and that the British garrison had no knowledge of the approach of the expe-
dition, indeed, had no knowledge that an expedition had e\'en been planned,
much less had they thought it possible that men wcjuld undertake so hazardous
an. expedition, and one which, if undertaken must, as they thought, result in
the death of every soldier from the hardships of the march. And now, with
the facts before us it seems to us they accomplished the impossible. By wading
and rafting they managed to cross to the highlands below Vincennes. Clark
immediately sent the following notice to citizens of Vincennes': "To the in-
habitants of Post Vincennes : Gentlemen : Being now within two miles of your
village, with my army, determined to take your fort tonight, and not being-
willing to surprise you, I take this method to request such of you as are tnie
citizens, and would enjoy the liberty I bring you, to remain, still, in your
houses. Those, if any there be, that are friends to the King, will instantly re-
pair to the fort and join the hair-buyer general, and fight like men. and such
as do not go to the fort and shall be discovered afterwards, they may depend
on severe punishment. On the contrary, those that are true friends to liberty
shall be treated as friends deserve. And once more I request them to keep out
30 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
of the streets, for everyone I find in arms on my arri\-al I shall treat as an
enemy.
"G. R. Clark."
Clark's army, consisting of one company from Cahokia, commanded by
Captain McCarty, and one company from Kaskaskia, commanded by Captain
Charleville, and were composed of French, and the rest, about seventy men,
were Americans of liis old command, in all not over one hundred and seventy
men, were made to appear to the villagers' minds as mvtch greater by this pe-
culiar note, and to still further deceive them and to make the garrison believe
a large force was about to attack them, Clark marched his men back and forth
among some mounds in the prairie, changing the flags, so that the British be-
lieved many times the true number of fierce Kentuckians were about to assail
them, as the British onl}- knew them as Kentucky bordermen, and had no
thought that more than half were Illinois French. At about sunset on Feb-
ruary 23d, Lieutenant Bayly was sent with fourteen men to make an attack
on the fort. He led his men to about thirty yards of the fort, where they lay
concealed behind a bank of earth, protected from the guns of the fort. Every
one of the Americans was an expert rifleman, and whenever a porthole was
opened a storm of Inillets whistled in. killing or wounding the men at the guns,
so that none would work the cannon. At nine in the morning of the 24th,
while his men were eating the first breakfast they had had for sex'eral days,
Clark sent the following note to the British commandant:
"Sir: In otder to save yourself from the impending storm which now
threatens 3'ou, I order you immediately to surrender yourself, with all your
garrison, stores, etc. If I am obliged to storm, you may depend upon such
treatment alone, as is justly due a murderer. Beware of destroying stores of
any kind, or any papers or letters that are in your possession, or hurting one
house in town, for, bv heaven, if you do, there shall be no mercv shown you.
"G. R. Clark'"
This note may seem brutal to modern minds, but when it is remembered
that it was addressed to a man who was paying a bounty to the merciless sav-
age as a reward for the murder, not only of the American men, but of helpless
women and innocent children, it is not too harsh. Governor Hamilton was
deeply impressed by this note, it is certain, by the meek reply returned by him,
which" is as follows :
"Governor Hamilton begs leave to acquaint Colonel Clark that lie and
his garrison are not to be awed into any action unworthy of British subjects."
About midnight of the 23d Clark had cut a ditch near the fort, and in it,
secure from the guns of the fort, the riflemen lay, with watchful eye and un-
erring aim. They poured in a steady fire, and in fifteen minutes had silenced
two pieces of artillery and killed evei")' gunner approaching them or had driven
them away from their guns, horror-stricken at the certainty of death or of
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.j IND. 3 1
wounds, if but tlie smallest portion of their person was exposed but for an in-
stant. This terrible fire was kept up for eighteen hours. This incessant fire
convinced the garrison that they would be destroyed, and Governor Hamilton
sent Clark the following note :
"Governor Hamilton proposes to Colonel Clark a truce of three days,
during which time he promises that there shall be no defensive work carried
on in the garrison, on condition that Colonel Clark will observe, on his part,
a like cessation of offensive works, that is, he wishes to confer with Colonel
Clark, as soon as can be, and promises that whatever may pass between them
two and another person, mutually agreed on to be present, shall remain secret
until matters be finished, as he wishes whatever the result of the conference
may be, it may tend to the honor and credit of each party. If Colonel Clark
makes a difficulty of coming into the fort. Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton will
speak to him by the gate.
"Henry Hamilton."
February 24. 1779.
Clark replied :
"Colonel Clark's comi)liments to Governor Hamilton, and begs to say
that he will not agree to any terms other than Mr. Hamilton surrendering
himself and garrison at discretion. If ]\Ir. Hamilton wants to talk with
Colonel Clark, he will meet him at the church, with Captain Helm."
A conference was held and Clark demanded a surrender, (itherwise he
threatened to put the leaders to the sword for the gold paid for American
scalps. He was in earnest and the garrison so understood. In an hour Clark
dictated the following terms of surrender, which Hamilton accepted :
"First — Lieutenant-Go\-ernor Hamilton agrees to deliver up to Colonel
Clark, Fort Sackville and all the stores, etc.
"Second — The garrison to deliver themselves as prisoners of war, and to
march out with the arms and accoutrements.
"Third — The garrison to be delivered up by tomorrow, at ten o'clock.
"Four — Three days are allowed the garrison to settle their accounts with
the inhabitants and traders.
"Fifth — The officers of the garrison are to be allowed their necessary
baggage.
"Signed at Post Vincennes, this 24th day of February, 1779.
"Agreed to for the following reasons : First, remoteness from succor ;
second, state and quantity of provisions; third, the unanimity of the officers
and men in its expediency ; fourth, the honorable terms allowed, and lastly,
the confidence in a generous enemy.
"Henry Hamilton."
Lieutenant-Governor and Superintendent."
On the 25th this surrender took place. Fifty thousand dollars" worth of
32 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
arms and stores were turned over to Clark. Governor Hamilton, Major Hay
and some other officers were sent under guard to the capital of Virginia. Sev-
enty-nine prisoners were paroled and sent to Detroit.
An expedition up the \\'abash, under command of Captain Helm,
resulted in the capture of seven British boats which were manned by
about forty men and loaded with valuable goods and provisions, intended for
Fort Sackville, worth at least fifty thousand dollars. Thus was consummated
the scheme of conquest which originated in the brilliant mind of the genius,
Clark. Dillon says, "With respect to the magnitude of its design, the valor
and perseverance with which it was carried on, and the momentous results
which were produced by it, this expedition stands without a parallel in the
annals of the valley of the Mississippi. English says : "Measured by the
standard of great results, the map of the magnificent territory, acquired mainly
through his agency, speaks louder in behalf of General Clark and his little
army than any words of praise." When compared with other portions of the
United States, the five states of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin,
and part of Minnesota comprise the very heart of the Republic. The resolution
of the General Assembly of Virginia, January 2, 1781, provided that a
gratuity of land not to exceed one hundred and fifty thousand acres should
be given the officers and men of Clark's army. In 1783 another act was passed
"for locating and surveying the one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land,
as follows :
"Be it enacted by the' General Assembly, That William Flemming, John
Edwards, John Campbell, ^^'alker Daniel, gentlemen, and George Rogers
Clark, John Montgomei-y, Abraham Chaplin, John Bailey, Robert Todd and
William Clark, officers in the Illinois regiment, shall be, and they are hereby
constituted a toard of commissioners and that they or the major part of them,
shall settle and determine the claims to land under the said resolution. That
the respective claimants shall give in their claims to the said commissioners on
or before the first day of April, 1784; and, if approved and allowed, shall pay
down to the said cijmmissioners one dollar for eveiy one hundred acres of
such claim, to enable them to survey and apportion the said lands. The said
commissioners shall appoint a principal surveyor, who shall have power to
appoint his deputies, to be approved by the said commissioners and to con-
tract with him for his fees. That from and aftei^ the said first day of April,
1784, the said commissioners, or the major part of them, shall proceed with
the surveyor to lay ofif the said one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land
on the northwest side of the Ohio river, the length of which shall not exceed
double the breadth ; and, after laying out one thousand acres at the most con-
venient place therein for a town, shall proceed to lay out and survey the resi-
due, and divide the same by fair and equal lot among the claimants ; but no
lot or sun-ey shall exceed five hundred acres. That the said commissioners, in
BAIRU S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
33
their apportionments of tlie said land, sliall govern themselves by the allow-
ances made by law to the officers and soldiers in the Continental Army. That
the saiid commissioners shall, as soon as may be, after the said one hundred and
forty-nine thousand acres shall be surveyed, cause a plat thereof, certified on
oath, to be returned to the register's office, and thereupon a patent shall issue
to the said commissioners or the survivors of them, who shall hold the same
in trust for the respective claimants ; and they, or the major part of them,
shall thereafter, upon application, execute good and sufficient deeds for con-
veying the several portions of land to the said officers and soldiers."
The frontage of the "grant" upon the Ohio river extended from a point
about midway between Silver creek and Falling run, up the river to a point
opposite the upper end of eighteen Mile Island, and lay almost wholly in Clark
county. The divisions of this tract of land are unlike the regxilar United
States survey of the public lands, which is based upon lines running at right
angles to the cardinal points of the compass. The lines here run northeast
and southwest. Why this sui-\-ey was made in this position it is impossible to
tell, unless it resulted from trying to make the lines mn perpendicular to the
Ohio river when the sui"\-ey commenced.
At the preliminai-y negotiations for peace in Paris in November, 1782,
between England and her revolted, successful American colonies, both France
and Spain, for similar reasons of discovery and partial occupancy, filed their
protests against the claim of either of the lately contending parties to "the
Illinois country." It cannot be too often repeated, to the everlasting honor of
General Clark, that it was his conquest in 1778 that detemiined the contro-
versy in favor of the infant republic, and carried the lines of the new nation
to the Mississippi and the northern lakes. Otherwise the east bank of the
Ohio, or possibly even the Alleghanies, would have formed its western bound-
ary in part. The final convention signed at Paris, September 3, 1783, con-
firmed the claim of the United Colonies as made good by the victories of Clark.
On August 3, 1784, the commissioners met in Louisville for the purpose of
allotting the land of the grant, and to decide who was entitled and who was
not.
The state of Virginia appointed William Clark, a cousin of the general, as
sur\'eyor. He selected his assistants as follows : Edmund Rogers, David
Steel, Peter Catlett, and Burwell Jackson. This cession or grant was made by
Virginia; but she relinquished soon after her right to the United States, on
condition that the previous donation would be respected. From this time Vir-
ginia has not retained ownership of land north of the Ohio river. William
Clark and his party divided themselves into companies. Some of his men
were poor engineers, and many mistakes occurred. Peter Catlett was especial-
ly notorious for inaccuracies. He surveyed that portion of the county now
occupied by Oregon, a row of five-hundred-acre tracts off the west side of
.3
34 EAIRU S lilSTORV OF CLARK CO., IND.
AX'ashington, and the greater part of Owen. From his mistakes resuUed many
lawsuits, wlien in later days land became more valuable. Says William Clark:
"I discovered several errors by Catlett in going into his district to subdivide
some of the five-hundred-acre tracts." They were principally made in laying
down watercourses. David Steel surveyed that part of the county now oc-
cupied by Charlestown, Utica, and Union townships; and his surveys are
almost without errors. Burwell Jackson surveyed the township of Silver
Creek, a part of Monroe, and besides assisted in laying off Clarksville. Ed-
mund Rogers and William Clark sun^eyed the remaining part of the count}-.
The area of some of the tracts in the grant instead of being fi\e hundred
acres, as intended, miss that figure by one hundred acres.
The provision for a town in the grant was made by the following act :
That a plat of said land (one thousand acres) be returned by the surveyor
to the Court of Jefferson which was then in Louisville, to be by the Clerk there-
of recorded and thereupon the same shall be and is hereby invested in William
Flemming, John Edwards. John Campbell, ^^''alker Daniel, George Rogers
Clark. John Montgomery, Abram Chaplin, John Bailey, Robert Todd, and
William Clark. The lots are to be laid off into one-half acre each with con-
\-enient streets, and the same shall lie and is hereby called Clarksville.
On each lot there was to be built a good dwelling house, at least eighteen
feet by twenty feet, with a brick or stone chimney, to be completed three years
after the deed with recei\'ed. If these terms were not comi)lieil with the cdui-
missioners had the right to sell again the lot and use the money in public im-
provements. After some time, however, it was found necessary to enlarge
this provision in order to give the young colony a chance ti) grow, and induce
early settlers to make it their residence.
However, the inducements did not seem to induce, and Clarksville"s claim
to greatness lies in her histoiy rather than in her prospects.
The grant outside of the town of Clarksville was allotted to those en-
titled, and from this allotment originate all the titles to property in the tract
at the present day.
\\'illiam H. English, in his "Conquest of the Northwest," has the only
authentic roll of officers and soldiers who "assisted in the reduction of the
British forts." and the following is a copy with their allotments Each
number represents five hundred acres, unless otherwise indicated. Where a
letter precedes a number it indicates that that tract is subdivided and the
subdivisions lettereil.
OFFICERS.
Clark, George Rogers, Brigadier General — Xos. 2-j. 36, 62. 84, 165, 168,
185. 208, 212, 223, 227, 229, 242, 285, 288, 297: four acres in 74, and forty-
five acres in 141. Total, 8,049 acres.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 35
Montgomen-, John, Lieutenant Colonel — Nos. 35, 40, 51, 143, 167, 202,
239, 270, 283 and B141, 351 acres. Total. 4.851 acres.
Bowman. Joseph, Major — Nos. 5. 49, 97, 125. 140, 186, 193, 237, and
B32. 312 acres. Total. 4.312 acres.
Lynn, William. Major — Nos. 12, 93, 105, 132, 181, 217, 218, 291 and
B216. 312 acres. Total. 4.312 acres.
Quick, Thomas, Major — Nos. 21. 70. 163. 204. 215, 233, 265, 284, and
B276, 312 acres. Total. 4.312 acres.
CAPTAIN.S.
(3.234 acres each.)
Bailey, John — Nos. 16, 22, 24, 81, 225. 226, and ^^194, 234 acres.
Brashear. Richard — Nos. 68. 1 1 1. 112. 1 14, 134, 236 and B194, 234 acres.
George, Robert — Nos. 17, 137, 146, 159, 172. 275 and A149. 234 acres.
Herrod. \\'illiam — Nos. 91, 99. 164, 234. 261. 264, A148.
Helm, Leonard — Nos. 66. 147. 201. 266. 269, 279, 149.
Kellar. Abraham — Nos. 71. 120. 156. 173. 238. 295, B148.
McCarty. Richard — Nos. 63. 80. 90. 228. 251, 259, A190.
Rodgers. John — Nos. 11, 72, 207, 235, 282, 296, A248.
/Ruddell, Isaac — Nos. 14, 34. yj . no. 153. 179. B190.
Shelby, James— Nos. 42. 43. 88, 89. 95'. 249. B248.
Taylor. Isaac — Nos. 109. 129, 144, 151. 253. 293. loi.
Todd. Robert — Nos. 3. 36. 48, 55. 122, 203. A246.
Williams. John — Nos. 9. 75. 115, 152, 166, 240 and loi.
Worthington, Edward — Nos. 2,1- 67. 69, 131. 176. 199 and B246.
LIEUTENANTS.
(2.156 acres each.)
Bowman. Isaac — Nos. i. 158, 213. 289 and A32.
Calvit. Joseph — Nos. 41, 50, 61. 161. and A216.
Carney, Martin — Nos. 38. 192. 250. 263. and C154.
Chaplin. Aliraham — Nos. 145. 180, 222. 267 and A276.
Clark. Richard — Nos. 15, 18, 191, 274, and part 160.
Clark. William^ — Nos. 96, 103. 272. 287. and part 160.
Dalton. Valentine — Nos. 76. 104. 206. 247. C155.
Davis, James — Nos. 39. 136. 187. 257. and B154.
Floyd. Henr\ — Nos. 65, 107. 230. 280. and A 154.
Gerault. Jnhn — Nos. 82. 117. 175. 189. and A133.
36 BAIRD's HISTOKV of CLARK CO., IXD.
Harrison, Richard — Nos. 102, 135, 139, 183, and B133.
Merriweather, James — Nos. 26, 92, 150, 214. and A106.
Montgomery, James — Nos. 6, 83, 127, 252, and C133.
Perault, Michael — Nos. 23. 78, 256, 277, and C106.
Robertson, James — Nos. 25, 200, 260, 294, and B106.
Slaughter, Lawrence — Nos. 8, 58, 157, 221. and A271.
Swan, John — Nos. 37, 98, 100. 209, and B156.
Todd, Levi — Nos. 29. 46, 87, 290, and C271.
Williams, Jarrott — Nos. 197, 241, 258, 268, and part 160.
Wilson, Thomas — Nos. 10, 45, 47, 298, and A169.
ENSIGN.
(2,156 acres.)
Vanmeter, Jacolj — Nos. 7, 64, 182, 232. and 156 acres in B155.
CORNET.
(2,156 acres.)
Thurston, John — Nos. 53, 244, 278, 292, and 156 acres in A155.
SERGE.\NTS.
(216 acres each.)
Brand, John — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in D and E130.
Brown, James — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in D & E273.
Crump. William — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in A184.
Dewit, Henry — 16 acres in 196 and 200 acres in 121.
Elms, William — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in 108.
Irby, James — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in A and B138.
Kellar, Isaac — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in C and D245.
Key, Thomas — 16 acres in 194 and 200 acres in B and E245.
Merriweather, Wm — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in 4.
Miles, Michael — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in A and B85.
Moore, John — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in A and B126.
Morgan, Charles — 16 acres in 196 and 200 acres in 178.
Oreer, John — 16 acres in 160 and 100 acres in C211 and 100 acres in 31.
Parker, Edward — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in part of 4.
Patterson, Robert — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in D and E177.
Pittman, Euckner — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in D and E171.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 3/
Prichard. William — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in C and D124.
Rubey, William — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in C and D118.
Strode, Sam — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in 19.
Treat, Beverly — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in A and B142.
Vaughn, John — 16 acres in 196 and 200 acres in 178.
Walker, John — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in A and B130.
Williams, John — 16 acres in 169 and 200 acres in B and E124.
PRIVATES.
(108 acres each.)
Allen, David — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 188.
Anderson, Joseph — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in C178.
Ash, John — 8 acres in 210 and 100 aci'es in 19.
Asher, William — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in C59.
Bailey, David — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in B195.
Bamet, Robt. — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in C162.
Batten, Thos. — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in A273.
Baxter, James — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in C273.
Buckley, William — 8 acres in 208 and 100 acres in D162.
Bell, William — 8 acres in part of 210 and 100 acres in 184.
Bell, Sam — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in A 162.
Bentley, James — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 184.
Bentley, John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 184.
Bethey, Elisha — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in E108.
Bigger, James — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in 262.
Bilderback, Charles — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in D85.
Blackford, Sam'l — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 20.
Blankenship, Henr>' — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in B162.
Booton, Travis — 8 acres in 248 and 100 acres in C85.
Booton, \\'illiam — 8 acres in 48 and 100 in B44.
Bowen, Ebenezer — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres- in A 128.
Boyles John — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in C60.
Bryant, James — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 188.
Bulger, Edward — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in A195.
Burk, Nicholas — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in 113.
Bush. William — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 219.
Cameron, Angus — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in C281.
Camp, Reuben — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 86.
Campbell, John — 8 acres in 248 and 100 acres in D60.
Camper. Moses — 8 acres in 169 and 100 acres in E52.
38 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Camper, Tilman — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in C52.
Conore, Andrew — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in A170.
Chapman. William — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in A205.
Chenowith, Richard — 8 acres in loi and 100 acres in C30.
Clark. Andrew — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 231.
Clark, George — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in E205.
Clifton, Thomas — 8 acres in K)6 and 100 acres in 188.
Cofer, William — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in B286.
Choheren, Dennis — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in C231.
Copland, Cornelius — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in A60.
Consule, Harman — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in C205.
Cowan, John — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in A231.
Cox, Richard — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in B59.
Cozer. Jacob — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in B205.
Cozer, Peter — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in B52.
Craze, Noah — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in A52.
Crosley. William — 8 acres in 169 and 100 acres in D52.
Curry, James — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in D205.
Curtis, Rice — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in B60.
Davies, Asael — 8 acres in 246 and 100 acres in C220.
Davis, Robert — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in E59.
Dawson, James — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in 113.
Doherty, Frederick — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in A220.
Dohej'ty, Xeal — 8 acres in loi and 100 acres in D30.
Doran, Patrick — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in E220.
Dudley, Amistead — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in E60.
Duff, John — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in 86.
Elms, James — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in 86.
Elms, John — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in D220.
Evans, Charles — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in B220.
Faris. Isaac — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in B94.
Fear, Edmund — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in C73.
Finley, Samuel — 8 acres in 32 and 100 acres in D30.
Finn, James — 8 acres in 32 and 100 acres in E 94.
Flanaghan, Dominick — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in A73.
Floyd. Isham — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 188.
Foster. William — 8 acres in 32 and 100 acres in A30.
Freeman. William — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in E73.
Flogget. William — 8 acres in 32 and 100 acres in 121.
Frost, Stephen — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in B73.
Funk. Henry — 8 acres in 141 and 100 acres in D73.
Carrot. Robert — 8 acres in 169 and 100 acres in C224.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 3O
Gaskins, Thomas — 8 acres in 276 and 100 acres in B273.
Gagnia. Lewis — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 1 13.
Gaylor. Gasper — 8 acres in 194 and 100 acres in D224.
Gihnore, George — 8 acres in 276 and 100 acres in C94.
Glass, ^lichael — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 121.
Glenn. David — 8 acres in 216 and 100 acres in 20.
Godfrey, Francis — 8 acres in 276 and 100 acres in A94.
Goodwin. William — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 262.
Grav. Georg-e — 8 acres in 216 and 100 acres in E224.
Greathonse. William — 8 acres in 216 and 100 acres in B224.
Green, John — 8 acres in 276 and too acres in D94.
Grimes. John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in A 124.
Guthrie "\\'illiam — 8 acres in 216 and 100 acres in A281.
Gwin. William — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A224.
Hacker. John — 8 acres in 148 and 100 acres in D28.
Hammet. James — 8 acres in 133 and 100 acres in E138.
Hardin. Francis — 8 acres in 133 and 100 acres in D13S.
Harland. Silas — 8 acres in 190 and 100 acres in D13.
Harris. James — 8 acres in 190 and 100 acres in D28.
Harris, John M — 8 acres in 106 and 100 acres in E128.
Harris, Samuel, Sr. — 8 acres in 106 and 100 acres in D128.
Harris, Samuel, Jr. — 8 acres in 106 and 100 acres in C128.
Hatten. Christopher — 8 acres in 148 and 100 acres in A28.
Hayes, Thomas — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 198.
Henry, David — 8 acres in 154 and lOO acres in A^J.
Henry, Hugh — 8 acres in 154 and 100 acres in B57.
Henry, Isaac — 8 acres in T54 and lop acres in A13.
Henry. John — 8 acres in 154 and 100 acres in B13.
Higgins. Barney — 8 acres in 190 and 100 acres in D57.
Holmes, James — 8 acres in 169 and 100 acres in E13.
Honaker, Henry — 8 acres in 133 and 100 acres in C57.
Honaker, Peter — 8 acres in 133 and 100 acres in E57.
Hooper, Thomas — 8 acres in 149 and 100 acres in part 19.
House, Andrew — 8 acres in 148 and 100 acres in E28.
Hughes, John — 8 acres in 148 and 100 acre^ in C28.
Humphris, Samuel — 8 acres in 190 and 100 acres in C13.
Isaacs. John — 8 acres in 271 and 100 acres in B123.
James, Abraham — 8 acres in 155 and 100 acres in D108.
January, James — 8 acres in 271 and 100 acres in C198.
Jarrald. James — 8 acres in 155 and 100 acres in B128.
Johnson. John — 8 acres in 271 and 100 acres in E170.
Tohnston, Edward — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in inrt 1 13.
40 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Jones, Charles — 8 acres in 169 and 100 acres in A 198.
Jones, David — 8 acres in 271 and 100 acres in C138.
Jones, John — 8 acres in 194 and 100 acres in B198.
Jones, ]\Iathe\v — 8 acres in 169 and 100 acres in C170.
Joynes, John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 219.
Kendall, Benjamin — 8 acres in 155 and 100 acres in 245.
Kendall, William — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in D44.
Kenton, Simon — 8 acres in 155 and 100 acres in E198.
Key, Georg-e — 8 acres in 246 and 100 acres in C79.
Leare, William — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in A54.
Lemon, John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in Ai 19.
Levingston, George — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 86.
Lindsay, Arthur — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in D79.
Lockart, Pleasant — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in D34.
Lovell, Richard — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 219.
Lniisford. George — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 86.
Lunsford, JNIason — 8 acres in 246 and 100 acres in E44.
Lunsford, INIoses — 8 acres in 246 and 100 acres in E119.
Lnsado, Abraham — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in A79.
Lutterell, Richard — 8 acres in 169 and 100 acres in B79.
Lines, John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in C119.
Lyne, Joseph — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in E79.
McBride, Isaac — -8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D130.
IMcDermet, Francis — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in B54.
McDonald. David — 8 acres in 248 and 100 acres in A211.
McGar, John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 219.
McLitire, Alexander — 8 acres in 10 1 and 100 acres in C130.
McManus, George — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A286.
McJNIanus, John, Sr. — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D286.
McManus. John, Jr. — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in C286.
McMullen, Samuel — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in A254.
McNutt, James — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in E126.
Mayfield, Micajah — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in D184.
Mahoney, Florence — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E281.
Manifee, Jonas — 8 acres in 106 and 100 acres in E254.
Marr, Patrick — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 219.
Martin, Charles — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B254.
Mershorn. Nathaniel — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in C254.
Millar, Abraham — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in C54.
Montgomeiy, John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 231.
Monroe, James — 8 acres in 169 and too acres in D254.
Moore. John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in C126.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 4I
Moore, Thomas — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in A123.
Murphv, John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 86.
Murry. Edward — 8 acres in ig6 and 100 acres in E54.
Myers, \\'iniam — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in D126.
Nelson, Enoch G — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E85.
Newton. Peter — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 20.
Oakley. Jijlin — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in 4.
O'Harrow. Michael — 8 acres in 149 and 100 acres in B211.
Oreer. Daniel — 8 acres in 160 and 100 acres in 31.
Oreer. Jesse — 8 acres in 160 and 100 acres in 31.
Oreer. William — 4 acres in 210, 4 in 196 and 100 in 31.
Osburn. Ebenezer — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E211.
Oundsley. Charles — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D211.
Pagan. David — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 19.
Paintree. John — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in Bi 77.
Patten. James — 8 acres in loi and 100 acres in B30.
Paul. John — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in 123.
Peters, John — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B281.
Phelps. Josiah — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A 177.
Pickens. Samuel — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in 121.
Piner. Jesse — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B171.
..^^Prather. Henry — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in C171.
Priest. Peter — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A171.
Pruitt. Josiah — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D170.
Purcell, William — 8 acres in ig6 and 100 acres in 123.
Pulford. John — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E31.
Ramsey. James — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D119.
--Ray. William — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B118.
Rubey. William — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A118.
Ruddle. Cornelius — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E118.
Rulison. William — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in C177.
Ross, Joseph — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 113.
Sartine. John — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D116.
Sartine. Page — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in C116.
Saunders. John — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A 174.
Sevems — Ebenezer — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D174.
Severns. John — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 195.
Shepard. George — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A116.
Shepard. Peter — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 195.
Sitzer. John — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E2.
Sitzer, Michael — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B2.
Simpson. Thomas — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B59.
42 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Slack, William — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in K174.
Smith, (iecirge — 8 acres in 149 and 100 acres in A2,
Smith, William — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in C44.
Sworden. Jonathan — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E116,
Snow, George — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in C174.
Spear, Jacob — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B174.
Spilman, Francis — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D2.
Spilman, James — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 262,
Stevens, Shep — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 108.
Stephenson, Samuel — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E286.
Swan, William — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A44.
Swearingen, Van — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B116.
Talley, John — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in DJ42.
Taylor, Abraham — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in C142.
Teall, Levi — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in 6170.
Thompson, William — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in 262,
Thornton, Joseph — 8 acres in 74 and 100 in C2.
Tygert. Daniel — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 108,
Taylor, William — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E142.
Vance, Hanley — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D243.
Vanmeter, Isaac — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in C243.
Venshioner, George — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in Birg.
Walker, Thomas — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A210.
Watkins, Samuel — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A243.
\\"alen, Barney — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E255.
^^'elch, Dominique — 8 acres in 149 and 100 acres in B255.
White, Layton — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in D255.
White, Randall — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in E195.
\\hitecotton, James — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in 123.
\\"hitley. William — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in 262.
\\'hitehead, Robert — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 20.
^^'hitehead, William — 8 acres in 196 and 100 acres in 20.
\\'ilson, Edward — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in A255.
\/^^'illiams, Daniel — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in E243.
\\"itt. Robert — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B243.
Wood, James — 8 acres in 169 and 100 acres in C255.
Yates, Isaac — 8 acres in 74 and 100 acres in B210.
Znckledge, William — 8 acres in 210 and 100 acres in E162.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 43
RECAPITI'I.ATION.
I Brigadier General "^-049 acres
I Lieutenant Colonel 4.851 acres
3 Majors — 4.312 acres each 1 1,936 acres
14 Captains^3,234 acres each 45,276 acres
20 Lieutenants — 2.156 acres each 43,120 acres
23 Sergeants — 216 acres each 4,968 acres
I Ensign 2,156 acres
I Cornet 2,156 acres
236 Privates — 108 acres each 25,488 acres
300 ]\Ien 149,000 acres
The following taljle will show the number of the tract upon which the
various cities, towns and villages were located, and the name of the soldier to
whom same was allotted :
Charlestown. 117, Lieutenant John Gerault.
Charlestown Landing, 56, General George Rogers Clark.
Hamljurg, 108, Sergeant \\'illiam Elms and others.
Henr}^ville, 254-5, Private James JMonroe and others.
Herculaneum, ^y. Pri\-ate David Henry and others.
Hibernia. 105, Alajor William Lynn.
Jeffersonville, X'o. i. Lieutenant Isaac Bowman.
]\Iarysville, 248, Pri\-ate Travis Booton and others.
Alemphis, 203. Captain Robert Todd.
Xew ^Market, 196, Sergeant John Vaughan and others.
Otisco, 210, Private John Biggar and others.
Petersburg, 130. Private Isaac AIcBride and others.
Port Fulton, 2, Private Francis Spilman and others.
Sellersburg. no. Captain Isaac Ruddle.
Springville, 94, Private Isaac Paris and others.
Ltica, 16, Captain John Bailey; 17, Captain Robert George.
A\'atson, 36, Captain Robert Todd.
Clarksville, opposite the falls, just below and adjoining Jefferson\-ille.
Old fort above Fourteen Alile creek, 76. Lieutenant Valentine Dalton.
The deed for the Illinois grant was not recorded by the commissioners
until about 1823. It appears on page 270 of Deed Record No. 30 in the deed
records of Clark county. It is a peculiar coincidence that General Clark had
a double title to the land which became his in the Illinois grant. After the
44 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
close of his memorable campaign, where he had fairly earned the title "the
Hannibal of the West," he lost no time in pacifying the Indians. The loyal
Piankeshaws held a council and insisted on presenting the General with a tract
of land two and one-half leagues square, on the west side of the falls of the
Ohio, the location of his subsequent grant from Virginia.
General Clark was a citizen of Clarksville for many years and took an
active part in elections and public affairs, but being a bachelor, he divided his
time between Indiana and Kentucky. As early as 1783 a number of log
houses had been built in Clarksville and a town government was organized,
pursuant to the charter. In the record book of the Trustees of Clarksville,
pages 66 and 67, appears a resolution to confirm the title of the following per-
sons, as they were the original settlers in the town :
David Owens, John Owens, brothers.
Levi Theel (Teall), private in Illinois regiment.
William Burgoe.
Robert George, captain in Illinois regiment.
William Clark.
Martin Carney.
John Jackson.
Valentine T. Dalton (lieutenant in Illinois regiment).
John INIartin.
George Clear.
Christopher Hewet.
William Burge.
Jacob Miner.
John Cleghorn.
Joseph Cleghorn.
Joseph Sprolsman.
Philip \\'alkes.
Nancy Smith.
Buckner Pitman.
This resolution is dated August 7, 1784. The town, however, did not
prosper, and in 1797 there were but twenty houses in the place. The Captain
Robert George mentioned above had brought a party of settlers out to the
"grant" from Pennsylvania, and some of the names in thc' resolution were of
his party. Mrs. Nancy Smith's daughter, aged twelve, was shot and scalped
by the Indians in 1790. She had gone to the spring about a quarter of a mile
from the stockade for water, and after the Indians had scalped her they left
her for dead. The men in the fort brought her in and to the surprise of all,
she finallv recovered. Tlie hair on her head o-rew in again, but ven' coarse
IND.
45
and snow white. She married a man named Pitman, whu, with his family,
afterwards emigrated down the river and settled on an island abont twenty
miles above Natchez, Mississippi, called Fairchild's Island.
The Valentine Dalton in the resolution drew the old stone fort at Fourteen
Mile creek in the allotment of land in the grant.
The place selected by General Clark for his residence was at the upper
end of the village on a point later on called General's Point. Here he had a
full and delightful view of the falls, but he took little pains to improve the site,
having raised only a small cabin. His lonely life here was enlivened at one
time by a party of jovial hunters, who left him at the end of their visit in the
best of spirits. Shortly after their departure he was stricken with paralysis
and fell into the fire, burning one of his legs badly. This burn finally made
amputation necessary and Dr. Ferguson performed the operation amid sur-
roundings that are probably without a parallel. It was before the day of
anaesthetics and a fife and drum corps marched around the cabin playing dur-
ing the operation, and it is said that the old General kept time to the music with
his fingers, and when the music finally stopped asked, "\A'ell. is it off?"
He died at the home of his sister, Mrs. Lucy Croghan, at Locust Grove,
Kentucky, February 13. 1818. and is buried in Cave Hill cemetery, Louisville,
Kentuckv.
CHAPTER IV.
ORGANIZATION OF CLARK COUNTY.
.THE FIRST DEC.-XDE.
William Henry Harrison, the first Territorial Governor of the Territory
of Indiana, created Clark county by gubernatorial proclamation February 3,
1801. Emigrants had begun to settle at man}- points along the Ohio river,
and for the convenience of these settlers it became necessary to establish a new
county by cutting off a portion of Knox county. Clark county was the first
to be created out of the territory included within the original limits of Knox,
so that she has the proud distinction of belonging to the second generation of
Indiana counties. Knox county was organized June 20, 1790, by proclama-
tion of General Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory. This
county not only included all of what is now Clark county, but nearly all of
what is now Indiana. The new county which was to bear the name of the
illustrious George Rogers Clark was a state in itself. The proclamation creat-
ing Clark county was dated February 3, 1801, and the description of the tract
is as follows : Beginning on the Ohio at the mouth of Blue river, now the
boundary line between Harrison and Crawford counties, up the said river to
where the trail leading from Vincennes to the Ohio Falls crosses said river:
thence by direct route to the nearest point on (the east fork) W'hite river:
thence up said river to the branch thereof which runs towards Fort Recoxery.
and from the head springs of said branch to Fort Recovery : thence along- the
boundary line between Indiana Territory and the Northwest Territory, south
to the Ohio river: thence down said river to the place of beginning. It may
be difficult to trace these lines at the present day, but the point on Blue river
where the line left the stream was about where the town of Fredericksburg
is located in the southern part of Washington county. The line runs almost-
north througli the entire leng-th of Washington county until it strikes the east
fork of the \\'hite river. This stream is followed in a northeastwardly direc-
tion through Jackson, Bartholomew, Shelby, Rush and Henry counties. The
line runs from a point at the head springs of this stream in a straight line
noi-theastwardly through Randolph and Jay counties to Fort Recovery, which
is situated just across the Ohio state line, about opposite the center of Jay
county. The line returns to the Ohio river at the mouth of the Kentucky river
and thence down the Ohio to the point of beginning. Here indeed was a niag-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.. IXI). 47
nificent scope of territtjry. It included either in whole or part the following-
counties : Harrison, Floyd, Clark, Washington, Jackson, Scott, Jefferson,
Jennings, Ripley, Decatur, Franklin, Bartholomew, Shelby, Rush, Favette,
Lnion, Henry. Randolph. Wayne and possibly part of Ja}- and Switzerland
counties.
\o other name could ha\-e been applied to this noble tract of land which
included within its bounds n(jt onl}- the town of Clarksx'ille, but also the grant
of land given to General Clark, his officers and men by the state of Virginia,
January 2, 1781.
At this early day there were l)Ut few families residing in the wilderness
which is now embraced in the bounds of Clark count}-. One fan-iily resided
at the present site of Charlestown — a few more south and southeast of here,
and a few more six miles east at a place called "Armstrong's Station."
Clark county at its creation embraced about one-fifth of the present area
of the state of Indiana. It would have been appropriate if Clarksville could
have been chosen as the countyseat. but geographical considerations had to be
temembered, so the town of Spring\-ille was selected April 7. 1801, as the new
seat of justice.
Springville was a rising- and prosperous little town, about four miles from
the river, and about one mile southwest of Charlestown. As early as 1799 a
Frenchi-nan kept a store at the place where Springville was afterwards located.
C'nc of the priiicipal traders was a man named Tulh-, and for this reason the
Indians called the place Titllytown. The town of Springville was platted
about the year 1800 and in 1802 it was a thri\-ing little village of probablv
one hundred bona fide inhabitants. It was on the old Indian trail from the
falls of the Ohio to the Indian nations of the north, west and east. Being the
first camping station north of the falls, it naturally prospered. It was laid
off aln-iost wholly on survey No. 115 of Clark's Grant. (See plat.) The
streets running north and south were seventy feet wide and those running east
and west were one hundred feet wide. The lots were one hundred feet front
and two hundred feet deep. In 1801 the prospects of the little town were
brightest. There were twc) taverns, one kept by John Ferguson and the other
by Nicholas Harrison, who also had a store. The latter was also a Justice of
the Peace. There was a blacksmith shop, a wheelwright shop, a hatter shop,
etc. Old Dr. Vale was the physician, E\-en Shelby county surveyor, etc.
Near by a still house operated. A short distance west lived Jonathan Jen-
nings, the first Governor of Indiana. Just below the towii on Pleasant run
John Bottorff carried on the milling business. The location of the still houses
and trading posts made Spring\-ille a great rendezvous for Indians, and this,
together with its location on the trail, made it a very prosperous village for
those days.
The settlers in this localitv were often alarmed bv the drunkenness and
&
48 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
insolence of the Indians, who had traded and bartered at Tuhytown. Here
the red men were swindled out of their skins, venison and bear meat by the
villainy of the Frenchmen and the small price which they received for their
goods was usually invested in whisky, ruinous to themselves and dangerous to
the settlers. They would generally get no further from Springville on their
way homeward than where Charlestown is now situated, and their drunken
revels would make night hideous and usually resulted in bloodshed.
Springville and vicinity was at this time the only purely American settle-
ment in Indiana ofT of the river, although there were Americans scattered all
through the French settlements elsewhere.
After the county seat was removed to Jefferscmville, June 9, 1802, the
town began to dwindle away until within a few years it had wholly disap-
peared. Not a vestige of it now i-emains to tell the curious where it stood, and
where once was heard the sound of simple industry, where once the leading
men of early days met to transact the necessary business of the courts, nothing
remains but a rural scene, a winding country road and the song of birds above
the growing crops.
On April 7, 1801, the first court in Clark county was held at Springville.
It was named the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, and it was
created by the Governor, William Henry Harrison. It was composed of Jus-
tices Marston, Green Clark. Abraham Huff, James Noble Wood, Thomas
Downs. William Goodwin, John Gibson, Charles Tuley and William Harwood.
The men composing this court were the leading citizens of the county at the
time, and nearly all have left their mark upon some phase of our early history.
The first and most important work of the court was to divide the county
into townships, so that the administration of justice might begin an active
operation. The boundaries of the three townships of Clarksville, Springville
and Spring Hill, into whicli the county was divided, were given as follows:
The first to begin on the Ohio, opposite the mouth of Blue river ; thence
up the Ohio to the mouth of Peter McDaniel's spring branch ; from thence in
direct course to Pleasant run, the branch on which Joseph Bartholomew lives,
and down that branch to the mouth thereof: thence down Pleasant run to
where the same enters into Silver creek : thence a due west course to the west-
ern boundary of this county; to be called and kmiwn by the name of Clarks-
ville township.
The second to begin at the mouth of Peter ^McDaniel's spring branch :
thence up the Ohio to the mouth of Fourteen ^lile creek: thence up the main
branch thereof to the head : and from thence a due west course to the county
line, and from thence with the same to Clarksville township, and with the line
thereof to the Ohio at the place of beginning: to be called and known by the
name of Springville townsliip.
The third one began at the mouth of Fourteen Alile creek: thence with
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BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 49
the line of Springville township to the county Hne ; thence with the same to the
Ohio river ; and thence clown the same, to incUide the remaining part of the
county, to the place of beginning; to be called and kn(iwn by the name of
Spring Hill township.
From these three original townships the number has grown to twelve.
Jeffersonville, Utica, Charlestown, Owen and Bethlehem townships Ijnrder
upon the river; Union is in the center: Carr and Silver Creek are on the west;
Monroe and Wood are on the north and northw'est ; Washington and Oregon
are in the northeast.
The first "constables of the county" were Charles Floyd for Clarksville
township, William F. Tulev for Springville and Robert Wardel for Spring
Hill.
The court transacted a great amount of business and appointed all the
necessary officers for the county. Samuel Gwathmey w'as appointed Protho-
notary Clerk of the several courts : Jesse Rowland, Judge of Probate ; Davis
Floyd, Recorder: Thomas Douns, Treasurer; Marston G. Clark, Surveyor;
Samuel Hay, Sheriff: Peter McDonald, Coroner.
On December 24, 1S03, Davis Floyd and John Owens were appointed and
commissioned pilots on the Falls. Augtist 14, 1802, the court ordered the
first jail built at Jeffersonville. It was built by William Goodwin, with Davis
Floyd on his bond of nine hundred dollars.
This was a most vigorous beginning for the young county, but the re-
moval of the county seat to Jeffersonville sounded taps to Springville's hopes
as well as reveille to the ambition of the little villag'e on the banks of the Ohio.
However, Spring\'ille remained a village as late as 1810.
Jeffersonville had grown to be a scattering border of houses and stores
along the river front, extending up from old Fort Steuben. On June 23, 1802,
Isaac Bowman, who owned tract No. i of Clark's Grant, disposed of part of
it to Marston Green Clark, William Goodwin, Richard Pile, Davis Floyd and
Samuel Gwathmey as trustees to lay off a town and sell lots. The tract con-
tained one hundred and fifty acres and John Gwathmey laid it off according
to a design said to have been devised by Thomas Jefferson, for whom the town
was named. The original plan resembled a checker-board ; the black squares
to be sold in lots, the red squares to be crossed diagonally by streets, leaving
four triangular spaces for parks in each square through which the streets
passed. This design was not adhered to, and the present plan was adopted in
1817. The boundaries of the original town of Jeffersonville are as follows:
Beginning at a point on the north bank of the Ohio river at low-water mark,
eighty-eight feet west of the west line of Fort street ; thence parallel with the
w^est line of Fort street to a point on Ohio avenue fifty feet south of the south
line of Court avenue ; thence with a line parallel to the south line of Court
avenue and fifty feet from it to the west line of Watt street ; thence with the
4
50 DAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
west line of ^^'att street to a point on the north hank of the Ohio river a low-
water mark; thence with the meanderings of the north bank at low-water mark
to the beginning; containing about one hundred and fiftj' acres.
About this time settlements began to be made in Bethlehem township, and
the Flaskets. Rodgers, Giltners. Hamiltons, Kellys, Thislers, Abbotts and
Simingtons began to improve their new farms. Jacob Giltner, Sr., came
from Kentucky to Clark county about 1808, but was born in Pennsylvania in
1767. His wife, Elizabeth Donagan, was from Lancaster county, of the same
date. When the family came to Clark county there were four in the house-
hold — two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, and Mr. and Mrs. Giltner.
Jacob Giltner bought three quarter sections of land at the land office in
Jeffersonville. For many years after becoming a resident of the township he
ran a distillery in connection with farming. By trade he was a linen stamper,
when goods were made of that kind by the pioneers. During the War of 1812
he was drafted, but on account of a physical disability was exempted. He was
a member of the Lutheran church, and died in 1859. Mrs. Giltner died a few
months after her husband, in the same year.
^^'illiam Kell)', Sr., was born in Virginia, but was taken to Kentucky by
his parents when a child, and came to Clark county in 1806. He married
Margaret Kelly, who bore him thirteen children, four dying in infancy, the
remaining nine growing up to maturity. He located one mile and a half
northwest of Bethlehem village, before the land was suiweyed. ^^llen the sur-
vevs were completed he attended the public sale in Jeffersonville in 1S09, but
previously had made no clearing", on account of the uncertainty of g^etting the
land desired. He bought two quarter sections, and began the work of improve-
ment. He died June 27, 1837. Mrs. Kelly died September 13. 1854.
W^illiam Kelly. Jr.. was born August 12. 1812. and married Elizabeth
Starr, whose maiden name was Hammond. May 4, 1858. There are but few
of the Kelly's left in the county.
William, son of Archibald and Sarah Hamilton, was born near Frankfort,
Kentucky, October 10, 1790. WHien twenty-two years of age he emigrated
with his mother and two sisters to Bethlehem township, landing at the mouth
of Knob creek March 25. 1812. The Ohio river at that time made landing
easy by the backwater up these small streams. He immediately opened a tan-
ner}' on one of the branches of Knob creek, which he ran till his death in 1845.
His son, John T., continued in the business of his father up to 1865, when the
old tannery was abandoned for more lucrative employment. \\'illiam Hamil-
ton married Margaret Byers (who was born near McBride's IMill, Woodford
county, Kentucky, April 4, 1795, and who came to Jefferson county, Lidiana,
in 1816), October 30, 1821. Mrs. Hamilton died May 9, 1875, near Otto.
Robert Simington was a settler and an owner of land in the township in
1805, though his claim was subject to dispute after the public sales in 1809.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 5I
He owned seven hundred and fifty acres in fractional sections 2i2 and 33. Sim-
ington left in 1817, after selling most of his property, and settled one mile be-
yond Hanover, in Jefferson county, Indiana, where he died in 1849.
The Abbotts were among the first men of their day. considered in the
light of sportsmen. John Abbott was the ancestor of the Abbotts in this
county, and from him descended many of the same name.
John Thisler began clearing off land below Bethlehem at an early day.
The old fami now runs up close to the village.
Moses Rodgers was among the first and most successful of the early
settlers.
Lucas and \\'illiam Plaskett, the latter a flat boatman, were here during
the; first decade.
All these men, with their wives and families, took an active part in pre-
paring the way for future generations; and to their credit it can be truly said,
they did their work well. Let us see that posterity shall improve on the past.
The first settler in Monroe township was Robert Biggs, who came here
in 1806 from Kentucky. He settled on Biggs's fork of Silver creek. Biggs
lived and died in sight of Henryville. He took much pleasure in hunting,
and was considered a superior marksman.
Joseph Miller settled in sight of Henryville about 1806. or, what is more
probable, a year or two afterwards; for Robert Bigg-s must have married one
of his daughters. Miller was from Kentuck\- : his family consisted mostly of
daughters, the onlv son dying many 3'ears since, and of course the family
name is now extinct. He died about 1830.
Nicholas Crist, a brother-in-law of Abner Biggs, settled about one mile
west of Henry\'ille in 1808 or 1810. He was bom in Pennsylvania, but came
here from Kentucky. He married a daughter of Robert Biggs. Crist re-
moved to Clay county. Indiana, in 1830 or 1831, and died at"^n extreme
old age. '
Robert Cams, who was from Pennsylvania by way of Kentucky, settled
one mile east of Henryville about 1810. He carried on farming.
Zebulon Collins, who was no doubt a brother of the famous scout and
hunter, \A'illiam Collins, settled a year or two before the Pigeon Roost massa-
cre one mile and a half east of Henryville. Here he beg'an to operate a still
house, and finally a way tavern on the Charlestown and Brownstown road.
During a part of his life he was chosen as a justice of the peace. It was at his
tavern that the first polls were opened in the township, and from this fact the
township derived its first name, that of Collins. The township was abolished
afterwards and the territory was taken into other townships. It was here tliat
a company of soldiers was stationed in 1813 when Mr. Huffman was killed by
the Indians, to protect the frontier. Collins was originally from Pennsylvania.
Mr. Huffman was an emigrant from Pennsvlvania and settled on the
52 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
west bank of Siher creek, one and a half miles from Henryville, three or four
years before his death, in 1813.
Among the later settlers who came after Indiana was admitted as a state
were James Allen and David McBride, brothers-in-law, from Pennsylvania.
Juda Hemming", who emigrated from Kentucky, and Islam McCloud, of South
Carolina, were the only early settlers in the township in the extreme south side.
The most prominent family in the extreme west was that of Lawrence
Kelly, who came from Pennsylvania, and was here as early as 1810. His sons
were Hugh, John, Abram, William and Davis, who lived, in the township till
their deaths. Martha Kelly married John Lewis, Sr., of Monroe township.
Another daughter married William Blakely, a Virginian, Ijut here from Ken-
tucky. One of the daughters married William Patrick, whose descend-
ants are ciuite numerous in the county at this time.
John Deitz and wife, both Germans, came to Monroe from Kentucky
while the grant was yet in its infancy.
On the west side of the township, near the Oregon line, AN'illiam Beckett,
of Pennsylvania, settled about 1810. His family was very large, and consisted
mainly of sons. He died many years ago. There are now but few of the
family, with their descendants, in this section.
Josiali Thomas settled in the same section years ago, manying one of the
Beckett girls.
During the years when the other townships were tilling up with settlers
rapidly, Monroe was left uut in the cold. There were no early permanent set-
tlers between Henryville and the Pigeon Roost settlement.
A\^illiam E. Collins, by birth a Pennsylvanian, was one of the first white
men in the neighborhood of the northwestern corner of the township. He
came secondarily from the interior of Kentucky, whither he had gone from
Louisville in quest of game. Learning that game was abundant in this region
— the Pigeon Roost ground — he came hither. His son Henry met hf"s' death
from the hands of the Indians. Kearns, one of the oldest sons of the family,
settled near the old battleground in 1813, where he resided until his death.
Seymour Guernsey was born in Connecticut, and emigrated to Utica
township, Clark county, in 18 17. From Olean Point, on the Ohio river, about
one hundred and fifty miles above Pittsburg, the family took passage in a boat,
on which they made the entire trip to their place of landing. ]\Iehetabel Beard-
sley. his wife, was born in New Haven. Connecticut, and bore him before arriv-
ing here two sons — Burritt and Seymour — and one daughter — ]\Ialinda Ann.
After remaining in the vicinity of LTica for one year and raising a crop he
removed to Alonroe township, where he and his wife died. The marriage
produced four sons and two daughters.
One of the most prominent families in this township is the W'illey family.
Barzillai Willey was a soldier of the Revolution, and was born in Xew York,
V
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 53
and came to Cincinnati in 1808 from Utica, in that state. All the land below
the city at that time belonged to the Harrisons and Sedams. After remaining
here for two years, accumnlating a boatload of produce, he started for Xew
Orleans. Arriving at the Falls of the Ohio, he found them impassable, and an-
chored on the west side. After waiting here some time for the river to rise,
and having his merchandise damaged considerably by the cold weather, he
sold his load to the best advantage possible and made Jeffersonville his home
for one year. In 181 1 he moved to Monroe township and settled near Mem-
phis; but at that time there was no such township as Union in the county.
After a life of much hardship and ripe experience, he died at the residence of
his son, J. F. A\"illey, in the township of Utica, n 1854.
Colonel John Fletcher Willey, the son of Barzillai Willey, was one of the
foremost Union men in Southern Indiana during the war of the Rebellion.
In Oregon township the Henthorns, who settled in the vicinity of New
Market, came from Virginia. Robert Henthorn, the founder of the village,
was a prominent man in the affairs of his time.
The Coverts came from Pennsylvania in 1798 and settled near the old site
of ^^'ork■s mill. The family was composed of Bergen. Daniel. Peter and John
Covert.
In 181 7 James A. \\'atson came to Clark county and settled on grant
No. 59. He moved to Oregon township in 1850, and settled on the bottoms
of Poke run.
One of the early and most prominent families in Oregon was the Henlys.
They rose to occupy some of the highest positions in the gift of the people.
Thomas J. Henly represented the third district of Indiana in congress for two
or three terms. In 1842 he and Joseph L. \Miite fought a hard battle for con-
gressional honors. This district being overwhelmingly Democratic, it was al-
most impossible for a Whig to secure a prominent office. White lost the elec-
tion and Henly went to congress.
In the northwest corner of O.regon township the early settlers were made
up of John Taflinger and family, John Todd and family, Alexander McClure
and James Beckett, with their wives and families. Many of their descendants
are now living in this part of the township, well-to-do farmers and artisans.
In Silver Creek township the Poindexter family was quite an early one.
C. S. Poindexter. a native of Virginia, was born in 1797. and came to New Al-
bany with his father's family at an early age. After remaining in New Albany
for a short time, he removed to the vicinity of Sellersburg. where he had pre-
viously bought a tract of land from Absalom Littell. Nancy (Holland) Poin-
dexter, his wife, was bom in Virginia and died in Sellersburg in 1854, at an
advanced age. By this marriage were born seven children, five sons and two
daughters.
54 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
The Littell family came from Pennsylvania and settled on Silver creek,
one mile east of Petersburg. There were five sons and two daughters.
The \\'ellses were from North Carolina. They settled on Camp run as
early as 1800. There were four daughters and five sons.
William Adams was of Scotch-Irish extraction. He had a large family,
and settled on Camp run.
An early statistician says there were five hundred voters in Clark county
in 1840 by the name of Bottorff. John Bottorff was the father of twenty-six
children. They were long^-lived people, and from them descended a numerous
posterity, who now live in nearly every state in the Union.
In 1794 James Noble Wood and his wife settled in Utica township on
the present site of Utica. He established the first feny there in 1795. He.
was the foremost man in the township in early days, and had a reputation of
being a great hunter. Wood made three trips to New Orleans, the first in
1805, when the whole countiy from Louisville to Natchez was an unbroken
wilderness. On retvtrning he walked through the countrj' of the Choctaw
and Chickasaw nations. The second trip was made in 1806, and the third in
1807. James Noble W'ood was present when most of the treaties were made
with the Indians at Vincennes. He saw Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet
(Tuthnipe), and the chief Meshecanongue. In 1805 he met Aaron Burr at
Jeffersonville, and with him was much pleased.
Judge W^ood's character is evidenced by the active part he took in the
affairs of his time. He died near Utica, March 25, 1826. He was a fine his-
torian, a faithful citizen, a devoted husband, and withal a man of many excel-
lent parts. Margaret Wood was of fine physique and veiy handsome. She
had musical talents of no ordinary degree ; she was also a fine swimmer. Her
heart seemed to overflow with kindness and generosity, and in the world she
had no enemies.
BaaiJLR. Prathej, the father of all the Prathers in the township, came here
from North Carolina in 1801. His sons — Thomas, William, Walter, Basil R.,
Jr., Judge Samuel, Lloyd, John and Simon — were all married when they came
here, except the last named. They settled throughout the township, and
formed a class of men possessed of many admirable qualities.
Jeremiah Jacobs came here with his family from North Carolina in 1800,
and settled near the old fort. His family was large, and its increase steady.
A goodly number of his descendants are now living in this vicinity, respected
and hospitable citizens.
In the fall of 1802 Matthew Crum, from Virginia, settled within one-
half mile of the Union Methodist Episcopal church. He married his wife. Miss
Margaret Spangler, near Louisville in 1800. who bore him one child, William
S., born October 28, 1801, before coming to this township. The marriage
of Matthew Crum and ^Margaret Spangler resulted in a family of ten sons and
two daughters.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 55
In 1819 John Lewman came tn Utica township from Xortli Carolina with
his father. In this family were four brothers and three sisters.
Hezekiah Robertson was born in Alaryland, and came with his father's
family to this township when fifteen years of age. In the family there were
six brothers and two sisters. They immediately began the work of clearing,
living here the most of their lives.
In the year 1802 John and Elizabeth Schwartz came from Pennsylvania
with a family of four children and settled five and a half miles above Jefterson-
ville. His vocation was farming. In Indian wars he took an active part, but
on account of his age did no fighting. His death was caused by an accident
in June, 1824. Mrs. Schwartz lived to be over seventy years of age.
The Bottorfifs settled in Utica township about the year 1S15. In all af-
fairs of the township they took a prominent part, and are now among the sub-
stantial people of the- county.
The Lutz family came to Utica township from North Carolina and are
now scattered over the township in considerable numbers.
There' is no record of the first permanent settlement in Wood township.
Whether George Wood was the first white man who settled in the township
we cannot say ; but it is quite certain he was among the first. Wood emigrated
north in 1802 and settled near Charlestown, where lie resided till 1807. He
then removed to the Muddy Fork valley and settled for life one and a half
miles below where New Providence was afterwards located. George \\ ood
was a native of South Carolina: he died ten or twelve years after removing to
this township.
After Wood came John and Robert Burge, James Smith. Matthew Barn-
aby. jMoses Harman. Elijah Harnian, James \\'arman and Sjmon Akers. To
protect themselves from the savages a block house was erected on George
Wood's farm in 1808. After this means of defense became generally known.
John Giles, Jonathan Carr and Samuel Harrod came, accompanied by their
families. In 18 10 John McKinley, of Shelby county, Kentucky, settled in the
same valley: in 181 1 Samuel Packwood came from Shenandoah county, Vir-
ginia. The Burges, Harmans. Smith and Barnaby emigrated from North
Carolina; Giles and Akers were from Kentucky: likewise W'arman and a man
named Frederick Gore and others. Carr and Harrod were from Pennsylva-
nia. Harrod had two sons, W'illiam and Henry. The former was by trade a
miller, and for many years owned a notable mill on Silver creek. Henry for
several years was Clerk of Clark county.
In 1813 came James McKinley, brother of John, whose name we have
already mentioned. William Packwood, brother of Samuel, came in 1819.
These were the parents and grandparents of many sons and daughters now in
this region, and well known far and near.
Among the other earlv settlers were Charles Rubertson. James Baker and
56 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND,
brother Jesse, Micaiah Burns, Thompson Littell, \\illiam Kelly. Michael Bor-
ders, Christopher Morris. \\'illiam Gibson. James Johnson and brother Lance-
lot. James Brown (who came from North Carolina in 1824 at six years of age
and settled in the Silver creek valley with his father's family). John Bell,
George Brock, Isaac Baggerly. Cyras Bradford, George Goss and his brother
David, John Goss, Matthew W'est, Thomas Halow, mostly from^ the south.
Robertson was from Virginia, and the Bakers from South Carolina: Bums
was from Vermont ; Littell and Bradford were from New York state : the re-
maining ones whose names have been mentioned were from North Carolina.
Among other earlv families in the county can be mentioned the Absalom
Little faniilv. near Sellersburg : James. John and Charles Beggs. near Charles-
town ; John and David Owens, near Charlestown : the Pettitt family, near So-
lon ; Nathan Robertson, near Charlestown ; the Hay family and Parson Todd's
familv, near Charlestown ; Henry Bottorff, James Garner. David Lutz and
Mathias Hester, near Charlestown ; Amos Goodwin, near L'tica. and the
Amicks, Cortners and Clapps. in Oregon township. The customs of these
earlv people was simplicity and plainness of dress and address. Their lack of
wealth prevented the introduction of superfluity, and their dependence upon
each other seemed to endear them in their several associations.
During the first decade of Clark county history the settlements along the
river at Bethlehem, Utica, Jefifersonville and Clarksville, and those back at
Charlestown, Springville and New Providence, were the only ones in the county
where more than three or four families had congregated. Charlestown w^as
then the second town in the county, a population of probably four hundred peo-
ple, in and near the place.
The land at this time was covered with an almost unbroken forest and
with canebrakes of vast extent. Game was unlimited, and the settlers had only
to venture into the forest to obtain an ample supply. The presence of a salt
lick attracted the denizens of the forest, and the fox, the panther, the cata-
mount, the wildcat, the bear, the black and gray wolf and the wild hog made the
journey through the forest extremely hazardous. Deer of several kinds, the
raccoon, the opossum, the otter and the mink were numerous, while the squir-
rels in some instances became a pest. Migratory fowls, such as the wild goose,
wild ducks, brant and sandhill cranes, were found in profusion, and the forests
were enlivened by the brilliant-hued plumage of thousands of paroquets. The
wild animals were to be feared next to the Indians, and more than one story
testifies to their iferocity when brought to bay or attacked.
James Anderson, who lived on Becket's Fork of Silver creek, shot at two
panthers while in the forest a short distance from his cabin, killing one. The
other attacked him ferociously and in the melee he lost his gun and his knife.
He fell on the beast and manag^ed to get its face down, but Udt until it had
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 57
terribh' lacerated him. After he had strangled the animal he recovered his rille
and killed it. but not until he was about hors de combat from loss of blood.
Up to the year 1800 it was unsafe to venture far from the settlements
without weapons. Buffalo' were reported by some of the early pioneers, Bull
Creek being so named because a buffalo bull was killed near its mouth by one
of the early settlers. One ambitious sportsman of this period declared that he
had witnessed the last mastodon crossing the river from Iventucky near Four-
teen Mile creek.
As earlv as 1794 a mill had lieen built on the Alill Ivun creek. It is men-
tioned in a deed recorded in Record Xo. 1 1, pages 188 to igo. This is evidently
the earliest mill in the county. In 1800 Spencer Collins built a grist mill on
]\Iuddy Fork, near where the village of Petersburg now stands. It came into
the hands of Samuel and Peter Bottarff in 1815. Montgomery's mill, one and
three-fourths miles above Petersburg on Elk Run, was about the earliest mill
in the northern part of the ctninty. Some time between 1802 and 1804 John
Schwartz put up a water mill in Utica ti.iwnship, on Six Mile creek. Straw's
mill on Silver creek was put up not long after this date by Rezen Redman. In
1808 George ^^'ood built the first mill in ^^'ood township.
William Pervine was next to John Work in the milling business. He
established a mill on Fourteen Mile creek about 1808. He did a big business,
but sold cut to a Mr. Walker in 181 5. This mill was finally made into both a
grist and saw. mill and tlid many years service. These mills were among the
earliest necessities of the settlers and their builders not only reaped their re-
ward from the business, but added to the attractiveness of the countv Iw build-
ing them.
In 1803 Samuel Gwathmey built the first frame house in Jeffersonville.
Before this time log houses sheltered the seven hundred inhabitants of the vil-
lage. The first licensed ferry at Jeffersonville was established in 1803 by }ilars-
ton G. Clark. In 1808 a J\Ir. Sullivan established and ran a ferry between
Bethlehem and ^^'estport, Kentucky, ^^'ith the early settlers of Clark county
the matter of schools and churches was not wholly forgotten. In subsequent
chapters both the schools and the various churches will be treated fullv. It is
worthy of note here that the first Methodist church in Indiana was built near
Charlestown in 1807. and the building, "old Bethel meeting house", built of
logs, still stands. The vear 1806 is memorable as the date of the visit and
scheeming of Aaron Burr, and his use of the canal project to cover his political
designs in the ^^'est. On August 24. 1805. the Territorial Legislature of In-
diana, passed an act incorporating the Indiana Canal Company for the pvu'pose
of digging a canal around the Falls of the Ohio at Jeffersonville and Clarks-
ville. The incorporators were Aaron Burr. John Brown. George Rogers
Clark, Jonathan Dayton. Davis Floyd, Benjamin Hovey, Josiah Stevens, Wil-
liam Croghan, John Gwathmey, John Harrison, Marston G. Clark and Samuel
1^8 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
C. Vance. The project was a most important one for Jeffersonville and Clarks-
ville, and was commented upon by several travelers of that period as the be-
ginning of a period of prosperity and growth. The line as sun^eyed seemed
more practical than the one marked oS on the Louisville side of the river. The
attempt of Burr, Hovey and others to secure the canal for Indiana led the Ken-
tuckians to tiy their chances, and with governmental aid their project was car-
ried to completion. The inability of the Indiana incorporators to finance their
scheme no doubt gave their competitors a great advantage, and the arrest of
Burr on a charge of treason in 1807 made the success of the undertaking an
impossibility. The estimates of the cost of this canal are amusing.
The total cost was estimated at two hundred and fifty-two thousand six
hundred and thirt3r-eight dollars. This included the purchase of two hundred
negroes at six hundred dollars each, making a total of one hundred and twenty
thousand dollars. That amount would be increased by their clothing, subsis-
\ tence, loss by desertion and mortality to one hundred and eighty thousand dol-
lars. It was calculated that when the canal was finished the company would
have on hand one hundred and eighty negroes valued at five hundred and fifty
dollars each, or a total value of ninety-nine thousand dollars. This would re-
duce the cost of labor to eighty-one thousand dollars. If the plan had suc-
ceeded it would have made the country around Jeffersonville, New Albany and
Clarksville one great city. Victor W. Lyon and other engineers still ably con-
tend that a canal is a practical possibility on the Indiana side. This proposed
canal should start near Six Mile island, and by following the course of Laca-
sagne creek, a natural channel would be found to connect with Mill Run creek.
This creek could be followed to Silver creek and thence across low lands
southwestwardly to the lower end of New Alliany. The ambitions of Burr's
friends were to have him become a citizen of Indiana and to return him to con-
gress. His trip to Vincennes, under the assumed name of Colonel Burnham,
was to see Francis Vigo, who had been very prominent in a previous scheme
to have Indiana and Kentucky break oft from the Union and unite with the
Spanish provinces west of the Mississippi. An agent was appointed to select
several five hundred acre estates for Burr to choose from, one of which was
on the Ohio river just above Jeffersonville. The idea of returning him to con-
gress fell through with, but Burr continued to visit some of his adherents in
Jeffersonville, and caused several boats to be built there. It was never estab-
lished that any of his Clark county friends knew of his designs against the
Spanish authority either in Texas or Mexico, but the probabilities are that they
were privy to his whole scheme. Before the scheme was fully ripe the militia
at Jeffersonville, acting on information of his treason, seized the boats that had
been built there for him, and Davis Floyd, his host, while visiting the village,
was arrested and tried as an accomplice in the crime of his friend.
At this time, 1807, Charlestown had not been laid oft", Spring\-ille was
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 59
already declining, Clarksville had but four or five houses, and JeiTersonville
not more than forty houses.
A Mr. Josiah Espy, who was here in 1805. found Clarksville in the san.ie
state of decay which affected Spring\'ille later on, but with not such fatal re-
sults. He says, "At the lower end of the Falls is the deserted village of Clarks-
burgh, in which General Clark himself resides. The general has not taken
much pains to improve the commanding and beautiful spot, having only raised
a small cabin. While the villages and settlements throughout the country were
weak the people themselves, in common with the rest of the territory, were
strong in the advocacy of their political beliefs. The sixth article in the Ordi-
nance of 1787 prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory. In 1807 the
pro-slavery- party had grown strong and were petitioning congress to suspend
this article. The anti-slaveiy element became aroused to the danger, and in
Clark county a mass meeting was called for October loth, at Springville, to
take action on the legislative resolution which the pro-slavery people had been
strong enough to put through. There was a large attendance and a general
harmony of sentiment. John Beggs was elected chairman and Davis Floyd
secretary. A committee composed of Absalom Little, John Owens, Charles
Beggs, Robert Robertson and James Beggs was appointed to draw up a- me-
morial against the Legislature's resolution. James Beggs was evidently the
author of the memorial, which after briefly reviewing the histor}' of the slavery
controversy in Indiana, proceeds : "And although it is contended by some that
at this day there is a great majority in favor of slavery, whilst the opposite
opinion is held by others, the fact is certainly doubtful. But when we take into
consideration the vast emigration into this territory, and of citizens too de-
cidedly opposed to this measure, we feel satisfied that at all e\'ents Congress
will suspend any legislative act on this subject until we shall, by the Consti-
tution, be admitted into the L^nion, and have a right to adopt such a constitu-
tion, in this respect, as may comport with the wishes of a majority of the
citizens. . . The toleration of slavery is either right or wrong, that it is in-
consistent with the principles upon which our future constitution is to be
formed, your memorialists will rest satisfied, that, at least, this subject will not
be by them taken up until the constitutional number of citizens of this territory
shall assume that right." This petition was presented to the senate on Novem-
ber 7, 1807, and was referred to Messrs. Franklin, of North Carolina; Kitchell,
of New Jersey, and Tiffin, of Ohio. They reported on the 13th that it was inex-
pedient to suspend the sixth article, and a resolution to that effect was adopted
on the 17th. The house received this same communication on the 6th and re-
ferred it, but no action was taken after the report in the senate. It was during
the strife over the cjuestion of slavery that there appeared a new champion in
the field in the person of Jonathan Jennings. In 1806 Jonathan Jennings
emigrated to Indiana, and for a short time stopped in Jeffersonville, but soon
bo BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.. IXD.
after pushed on to Vincennes. He soon afterward returned to Charlestown
and adopted that place as his home. His slogan was. "Xo slavery in Indiana,"
and throughiiut his long and lirilliant career he kept the slavery question to
the front. Jonathan Jennings was a man of the people, and owed much of his
brilliant success in politics to his peculiar knack of keeping close to them. An-
ecdotes of his doings were treasured up — how he used to take an axe and
"carrv up a corner" of a log house ; how he took a scythe in the field and kept
ahead of half a dozen mowers: and other deeds which appealed to the hearts
of the men aniDng whom he was campaigning. He was the political sage of
Southern Indiana, and his home the mecca of many aspiring politicians, who
sought his advice on public cjuestions. Clark county has produced no more
brilliant character. His incorruptible integrity, his refusal to bow to political
expediency, his hospitality, his thorough understanding of the lives and needs
of the people, and his firmness of character place him in the front rank among
Indiana's great men. Clark county had the honor to furnish both candidates
in the first campaign for governor in the new state.
Thomas Posey, the territorial governor, and pro-slavery standard bearer,
was a resident of Jeffersonville, as Jennings was a resident of Springville.
In the year 1808 a new town was laid off a short distance north of Spring-
ville. The original proprietors were Barzillai Baker and James IMcCampbell.
John Hay and Charles Beggs were the surveyors, and the town, like many
other places, derived its name, Charlestown, from one of its surveyors. What
induced the founders to lay ofif a new town back in the woods, as it was then
situated, will never become kno\\n. Charlestown is situated upon grant num-
ber 1 17. and in the original plat there were one hundred and fifty-nine lots and
about ninety-five acres of land. The lots were eighty by two hundred feet,
and the founders of the town donated the proceeds of the sale of thirty lots
for ])ul)lic buildings. In the central part of the new town a plat of aliout three
acres was reserved for a public square.
The excellent location for a town, and the decadence of Spring\-ille were
both a help to Charlestown, and the original town was enlarged from time to
time. The first addition lay north of Thompson street and comprised abi ait
thirteen acres. James Ross added forty-two acres, and James INIcCampliell
twenty-nine acres some time afterwards. John Naylor added twelve acres.
Barzilla Baker added twenty-eight acres and James Gamer six acres. Charles-
town now contains nearly three hundred acres.
The early milling history of Charlestown township is without a parallel
in Tniliana history, and this honor belongs to John W^ork. He settled
near Charlestown, on Fourteen Mile creek, in 1804. and found a mill already
in operation on the one hundred acres which he purchased from John and
James Bate. Mr. \\'ork operated the mill until bis conception of the tunnel
project in 1814. He was a man of great mechanical and mathematical talents.
I
JOXATliAX JEXXIXGS. Ul- CllARLESTUWX, IXDIAXA.
FIRST STATE GOVERNOR.
FROM A MIXIATCRE OWXED BY MR. WILLIS BARNES.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 6l
and the calculations and actual work which he performed stamp him as a
genius. His old mill was discontinued and a new one erected. The new mill
was begun in 1814 and will be described in a subsequent chapter. Among the
early families who settled in Clark county in the first decade of her history ■
besides those mentioned previously were Jonathan Jennings, in Charlestown ;
the Yarborough family in Jeffersonville ; the Wood, Burge, Smith, Barnaby,
Harman, ^^'arman, Akers, Giles, Carr and Herrod families in Wood township:
the Adams and other families in Washington township ; the Slider, Warman
and other families in Carr township ; the Hutchings and other families in Owen
township; the Crist, Cams, Connel. Becket and other families in ^Monroe town-
ship. With the ad\-ent of settlers still-houses began to appear, and from their
number it seemed as if they were thought as necessary as mills. In Bethlehem
township Joseph Jones, Jacob Giltner and George Sage distilled the juice of
the corn. In Carr. Charles Goatman ; in Charlestown, Jonathan Jennings and
others: in INIonroe. Zebulon Collins: in Owen, Mr. Levi, a Mr. Needham and
Samuel Struseman : in Utica, Samuel Pratlier: in Washington, Jacob Bear,
Fitch. Helterbridle. Samuel Montgomery and William Fisher: in fact the dis-
tillation of whisky and brandy seemed to be among the first undertakings of
the pioneers. Xearly every farmer had something to do with the manufacture
of spirits, yet strange to say, there is no record of much drunkenness. Keeley
cures were unknown, and the chief executive of the state saw nothing in the
widespread manufacture of "John Barleycorn" to excite his wrath. Barrels
of whisky with the heads kn(icked in were the usual thing at liberal public
gatherings, but, as one writer says. "It was not such whisky as we get now." It
is a matter of pride to the people of the county now that there is not a brewery
nor distillery within our boundary. Januar}- i, igo6, there were one hundred
and sixteen saloons in the county, drawing their heavy supplies of beverages
from outside sources. The end of the first decade of Clark county history
finds little of the land cultivated and the people still primitive and simple. The
dangers which they faced in beast and savage foe remained, and the second
decade was to be ushered in with a massacre as brutal as that of the valley of
the \\')X)ming in 1778.
In 1810 the population of Clark county was five thousand, six hundred
seventy.
CHAPTER V.
THE SECOND DECADE— 1811-1820.
With the increase in her population by the ad\-ent of new settlers, Clark
county began to dwindle in area by the organization of new counties from her
territory. Jefferson county was cut off and organized in 1810; Washington
in 18 14: Floyd in 18 19, and Scott in 1820. One of the signs of a coming
population was the opening up of new roads between the settlements. Perhaps
the most useful as well as the earliest road in the county was the Jefi'ersonville
and Charleston road, laid out in the year 1810. It passed through the Fry
settlement and on to Charlestown b_\' way of Spring\-ille. Before the township
of Utica was organized there were three roads leading from Charlestown to
Jeffersonville, all of which passed through the township as it now is. They
were designated as the W^estern, Middle and Eastern roads. The Fry settle-
ment road was and is still known as the Middle road : the Eastern road ran
over to Utica and thence down the river to Jeffersonville. It is now known as
the Utica pike. That which led to Springville cut ofif a small slip of the north-
west corner of the township. It has long been discontinued.
The danger of the Falls gave the ferry at Utica the advantage over tlie
Jeffersonville ferry. The latter place had long been considered dangerous b}'
those who knew it best. Many boats with their cargoes had gone to the bot-
tom on the Falls as the result of inexperience and lack of care. Between the
years 1800 and 1825 the fen-j^ at Utica did an immense business. Emigrants
were streaming into the interior counties like bees, and the white covered
wagons were as familiar as steamboats are now. These emigrants took the
Charlestown road, passed b)' way of New Washington on to the W'abash or
beyond, through the dense forests which then covered the land. In 181 1 a
ferry was established at Bethlehem which has continued to this day with va-
rious degrees of success.
In 181 2 Aaron Hoagland kept a ferry about one mile below Bethlehem.
In 1815 there were ten ferries in Clark county. W'ith the establishment of
ferries, roads were opened up and in 18 18 a road was built from Bethlehem
to Madison. This was the first road in this township. It ran over the best
and highest land between the two places, and at Bethlehem it descends to the
town from the top of a bluff nearby, two hundred feet above the river. The
approach and view of Bethlehem from this road presents an interesting pic-
ture with the fertile valley spread out below and the majestic river with
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 63
Steamboats and other water craft in the distance. It was not long before roads
were built to Charlestown and to New \^'ashington. Charlestown being the
early county seat there were roads leading into the town from all parts of the
county. One road which led to Charlestown landing is in use yet. but not of
much consequence. At the latter place existed a feny wliich was established
about 1796 by a Peter McDonald. IniSij there were two roads leading
from Charlestown to Salem, called the upper and lower Salem roads. A
later road was built to the mouth of Bull creek, where a ferry had been kept
from early times by the Pettitt family. The ferries at Jeffersonville had been
running since 1802, when ]\Iarston G. Clark was granted a license. In 1807.
Joseph Bowman was granted a ferry license. The ten ferries in existence in
181 5 were owned by Marston G. Clark. William Clark, Joseph Bowman,
Peter McDonald, John Pettitt, Richard Astor, Robert Patterson, X. Scriljner.
James Noble \A'ood and \\'illiam Plaskett.
The second decade of the century still found Clark county A^-ild, primitive
and sparsely settled. Emigrants were attracted to the locality, and during this
period settlements began to appear here and there and the small patches of
cultivated land relieved the weary stretch of forest and cane brakes. The
Yarborough family came to Jeffersonville in 1810. At this time the village
had only a few log houses and -very little else to recommend it as a place of
residence. In ^^'ood township Samuel Packwood emigrated from Virginia
in 181 1, and Carr and Herrod in 1810, from Pennsylvania. Herrod had two
sons, William and Henry. William became a miller, and for manv years
owned a notable mill on Silver creek. Henrv was a politician and for several
years was Clerk of the Clark County Circuit Court. In 181 3 came James
McKinle^', a brother of John ]\IcKinley, mentioned before. In 1819 came
William Packwood. a brother of Samuel, and at various times during this
period came Charles Robertson, James and Jesse Baker, Mica Burns, Thomp-
son Little, Amos Little, ^^'illiam Kelley, Michael Borders, Christopher Morris,
A^'iliam Gibson, James Johnson. James Brown. John Bell. George Brock,
Isaac Bagerly. Cyrus Bradford, George Goss, David Goss, John Goss. Mathew
West and Thomas Harlowe. These emigrants were mostly from the south.
The settlement in ^^'ood township was made within easj^ distance of Wood's
blockhouse. The Indians often visited these new settlements in the county,
and generally appeared friendly, but they were treacherous to the core, and the
settlers were never safe so long as the savages were with them. The visitors
loved whisky, and the owners of the still houses were friolish enough to sell
to them. Their love for strong drink would prompt them to declare the most
undying affection for the white man. On one occasion a gallon of whisky
brought a man out of captivity, and to receive it the Indians brought tlieir
prisoner to Clarksville from the far north.
One diversion of the settlers was to shoot at a target, a sport which the
64 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Indians were particularly fond of. and when the pale faces were beaten in the
contest, which was often purposely permitted, the joy of the red skins was
unbounded. This condition of affairs existed throughout the county until
1812, and up to the time of Harrison's victory at Tippecanoe. It was not long
after this that the Indian began to take up his march to find less civilized but
more congenial homes and hunting grounds far to the west. With this ever
present sword of Damocles removed from over their heads the pioneers
breathed their first free air and went forth unarmed to their labors.
In 1817 John Borden and Stephen Borden came to Wood township from
Rhode Island, together with Henry Dow from Connecticut.
Dow purchased land : so also did John Borden. Dow returned to his
home in Connecticut. Borden having laid out the town of New Providence,
naming it after Providence, Rhode Island, returned home also. In i8t8.
leaving his children, two or three in number, with relatives in his old state,
accompanied by his wife and Joseph Cook — a young man of influence and re-
spectability, and by trade a blacksmith — he removed to this so-called land of
promise. Dow came in 1819. bringing with him John Fowler, a son-in-law,
and an unmarried daughter, also two sons unmaried, and HeniT, a son who
was married — altogether about si.xteen men, women, and children. William,
Brannan, a man of wealth and respectability, with a large family, came soon
after Dow, from New York. Bannannel Shaw and family from Rhode Island,
soon followed Brannan. Then came Thomas Bellows. His family was com-
posed of his mother, then a widow ; two sisters. Lydia and Laura : a brother,
David, and of course his wife and children. The company in which the Bel-
lowses came was composed of Samuel Hallett and Silas Standish, with their
families: Joseph Durfy and Peleg Lewis, without families, all from New
London county, Connecticut.
The Bordens took the lead in affairs at New Providence, John being the
first storekeeper. He engaged in blacksmithing. farming and sheep raising,
and kept an inn, and his wife continued the business from the time of her
husband's death in 1824, until 185 1.
The first school taught in Wood township was in 181 1 by Closes Wood,
a brother of George. Samuel Packwood started the first tannery in Wood
township in 1812. The first saw mill was erected in 1820 by Henry Dow,
Sr. On the opposite side of the county Willis Brown established the first store
at Bethlehem in 181 5. Abram Kimberlain established possibly the earliest
tannery in the county near Knobbs Station. It was in operation in 1812.
The establishment of mills and tanneries was continued eyen in the face
of Indian troubles. After the battle of Tippecanoe the commercial and agri-
cultural life of the county grew apace, and as conditions permitted new set-
tlements were made and schools, churches, mills and tanneries followed as a
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 65
matter of course. Distilleries continued to be pnititable until the government
taxed the product, when they disappeared.
In 1812 the village of Bethlehem was platted. W. C. Greenup was the
surveyor, and the town was laid out with streets parallel to the river, and a
reservation was made for a public square in the center. Much of the land upon
which Bethlehem is built was owned by John Armstrong of Revolutionary
fame. In the original plat there were one hundred and tw-enty-fottr lots.
Jefifersonville in 1812 was a sleepy little town of possibly five hundred
people. In this year the question of the removal of the county seat to Charles-
town came up and was settled ; and the next year the first and original court-
house was built at Charlestown. In September of 1812, the people of the
county were thrown into a panic of fear by the Pigeon Roost Massacre (see
Military Annals). Many people crossed the river to Kentucky for safety, but
after a few weeks regained courage. Several block-houses w^ere built as a
result of this scare, but it had little or no efifect on the new settlers who con-
tinued to come in. In Washington towaiship several block-houses were built
Jesse Henly erected one on wdiat is now the Charlestown and New Washing-
ton road, two miles and a half south of New Washington village in 1812. The
house stood near the mouth of Henly's cave from which a plentiful supply of
water was furnished. After the excitement went down the block-house was
abandoned. It has entirely disappeared.
Mr. Pervine put up a fort on Fourteen-mile creek near his mill. It, too,
has long since passed away.
On Frederic Fisher's farm, one mile north of New Washington, a block-
house was erected in 1812. There was one also in a little settlement called
Hookertown, but which has entirely disappeared.
Colonel Adams himself put up a private block-house. In it the family
lived for a year or two, and then returned to their old but more comfortable,
log cabin.
The Indians seldom gave the white settlers in \\'ashington township any
trouble, except a few petty thefts which they committed, and which, fortunate-
ly, the settlers were always able to bear. In 181 1 the Adams family removed
to Clark county from Terre Haute.
General Harrison was engaged at that time in trying to conciliate the
Indians on the frontier. It was on this account that the family mo\-ed to
Washington township. In the spring of 1813, Col. Martin Adams enlisted
as a ranger to fight the Indians on the borders, and made several campaigns.
On the i8th of August, 1825, he married ]\Iiss Jane H. Davis. The Davises
came from Kentucky and settled in Jefferson county, Indiana. The title of
colonel he recei\-ed from his service with the Rangers.
John Russell lived in Washington villige in 181 1. He was a Revolu-
tionary soldier, and died many A-ears ago.
66 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Henry and William Robinson came from Nelson county, Kentucky, in
1814, in compan}- with father, mother. fi\'e brothers and three sisters. The
former was born December 31. 1803: the latter February 9, 1806. The
family settled on the road leading from Xew Washington to Bethlehem on
their arrival.
Jesse Henly was one of the wealthiest men in the township in 181 1. He
bought his land in most instances from the government. At the time of his
death he owned twent}--one hu.ndred acres.
William Montgomery, a man who took much interest in all township
questions, was the father of ten sons and three daughters. A large number
of his descendants are now living in this county.
The Foutses came from North Carolina : their descendants are scattered
in many parts of the United States.
In 181 1 the Willey family took up their residence on a farm near where
Memphis is now located. Barzillai Willey. the father, became a Incal
preacher and was engaged in the milling business for se\-eral years. He left
a family of eleven children, all of whom, except one son. John Fletcher Willey,
emigrated farther west. John Fletcher \\'illey is the head of the numerous
Willey family in Clark county.
In 1813 Jeff ersonville became the seat of Indiana government temporarily.
Governor Posey did not like Corydon as a place of residence. On
December 2']. 181 3, he sent a communication to the legislative council stating
that he had gone to JefTersonville. where he could be near his physician, who
lived in Louis\-ille. He added that if the Legislature had any business with
him it could be sent on to the former city. This communication evidently '
did not please the Legislature, for on January 6, 1814. a preamble and reso-
lution was adopted criticising Governor Posey for leaving the seat of govern-
ment. The resolution in part reads : "Whereas, the expense of near fifty dol-
lars a day doth arise to the people of the territory by reason of the Legislature
being kept in session, all of which evil and inconvenience doth arise from
the Governor leaving the seat of government and going to Jeffersonville." etc.,
it w-as resolved to adjourn sine die. that the people might not be put to the
extraordinary expense of fifty dollars a day by the members remaining at
Coiydon.
Governor Posey did not get offended at the Legislature and resign. He
remained in of^ce until November 7, 1816. Most of the time he lived in a
"mansion" at JefTersonville. This old-fashioned house stood until about 1836.
The above mentioned breed of legislator is no more. He has gone the
wav of the cave-bear, the three-toed horse and the ichthyosaurus.
In 1812 the first Presb3-terian church in the county was established in
Charlestown. In 1814 Silver Creek township was organized. This township
is the smallest in the countv and takes its name from Silver Creek, the
GOVERNOR POSEY's RESIDENCE.
From "Conquest of the Xorthwest." Copyriglit lS9n. Used by special
sion of the publishers. The Bobbs-Merrill Company.
perniis-
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 67
in the cniint}'. In early days Siher Creek township was
covered witli a magnificent growth of oak, liickory, beecli and poplar trees of
immense size. Tliese forest trees furnished great sources of income to the
early settlers, and ga\-e employment to many hands, and to tlie farmers during
the winter season in cutting and hauling it to market. Much of this early
timber was hauled to the creek and taken to the river on freshets. A great
deal of the lumber from this timber was used in steamboat building, a rising
industry at that time.
In 1816 the County Commissioners met at Charlestown and proceeded
to separate the northeastern part of the grant and that portion of territory
which had been annexed to it into four townships, one of which was Washing-
ton. This same year the town of Utica was laid out. August gth. marking
the culmination of a long anticipated hope. In the original sun'ey there were
two hundred and twenty lots, one hundred feet square. Lot number one was
in the southwest corner, from which all the rest were numbered. Five lots
were given for public purposes by those having the matter in charge — James
Noble Wood. Samuel Bleight and John Miller. The shape of the town is
that of a rectangle and the streets run parallel to the river. Front street is
seventy feet wide: Walnut street is fort\'-three feet: Mercer and \\"arren
thirty: and all others are sixtv feet in width.
Doctor Bleight contracted witii a James Ferguson, of Louisville, in
1816. to build one hundred log cabins with clapboard roofs at twenty-five dol-
lars each. In 1817. when Samuel Morrison arrived in Utica, he found all of
these cabins built and some of them occupied. The original plan of Jefiferson-
ville, in which every other lot was lost for business purposes, was changed in
1 81 7. An act of the Legislature in that year authorized the town board to
replat all that part north of Market street, and J. K. Graham platted that part
of the city as it is now laid out. New deeds of conveyance were given to all
the property holders, who held property under the original deeds of 1802.
The new plan had in lots numbered from one to two hundred and forty-six,
and out lots numbered from two hundred and forty-se\'en to two hundred
and fifty-three.
Originally JNIulberry street was Front street : Pearl street was First ;
Spring street was Second ; ^^'all street was Third, etc. This is the plan of
that part of the original town at the present day with the exception of the
names of the streets. Charlestown. the county seat, had meanwhile been
pushing ahead and the industry and ambitions of her citizens received
favorable comment from travelers.
Mr. Palmer, the Englishman who journeyed through the Ohio valley in
1817. has this to sav in his subsequent book of travels in the United States:
"Charlestown, the seat of justice for Clark county, is situated in the center
of a rich and thriving settlement, thirtv-two miles southwest from ]\Iadison.
68 baird's history of clark co.^ ixd.
two miles from the Ohio river, and fourteen from the Falls. This village, like
many others in the ^\'estern countiy. has sprung up suddenly by the magical
influence of American enterprise, excited into action by a concurrence of
favorable circumstances."
The following notice of the place in contained in Dana's Georgraphical
Sketches on the Western Country, published in i8iq:
"Charlestown, the county seat of Clark, is situated two miles from the
Ohio, twenty miles south of -west from Madison, and fourteen miles above
the Falls. It is one of the most flourishing and neatly built towns in the state;
contains about one hundred and sixty houses, chiefly of bi'ick, a handsome
court-house, and is inhabited by an industrious class of citizens. There are
numerous plantations around this town, consisting of good land, and better
cultivated, perhaps, than any in the state. This tract is within the grant
made by the state of Virginia to the brave soldiers, etc., etc. Charlestown's
first postmaster was Peter G. Taylor, of New York."
Down to 1849 the mail came three times a week by way of Louisville,
from Cincinnati. The steamboats brought the mail in most cases down the
river. From the villages along the Ohio mail routes led off to the county seats
and little post-offices in the townships. Mails were carried to all the villages
of any importance in the county, on horseback, in a pair of saddle-bags. A
mail-carrier was a person whom all persons delighted to see. Letters then,
more than now, were precious articles.
On February 26, 1819, the County Commissioners advertised for bids to
build a jail at Charlestown. Daniel P. Faulkner erected tlie building, and
all necessary out buildings. The jail was of logs.
The first court-house was built on tiie northeast side of the present square
about 1817, just between the building and the fence.
In the spring of 1813 a party of Lidians came to within nine miles of
Charlestown on a raid, and concealed themselves near the house of a Mr.
Hofifman. on the banks of Silver creek. They fired upon and killed Hoffman
and then shot his wife, inflicting a wound supposed to be fatal, but from which
she finally recovered. They took his grandson, aged nine years, a prisoner,
and kept him about nine years until the Federal Government was prevailed
upon to take the matter of his return up and redeem him. During this time
he had become almost savage and it was with some difficulty that he could
be prevailed upon to leave the savage tribes and return home to his friends. At
this time there were soldiers camped within a short distance of Hoffman's,
but it being Sunday, they were visiting a family some distance away. From
the number of horses stolen by these savages, and from other signs it was
evident that they had visited several different parts of the county, but they
were never caught, as their skill in retreating down rivulets and streams made
this difficult to do.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 69
This was the last of tlie Indian atrocities in Clark county, with a few
minor exceptions of the abductions of children and the theft of horses and
cattle. The braves who at earlier times roamed their hunting grounds with
lordly mien, had now become thieving, begging vannints and their hegira
to newer and wilder lands in the boundless ^^'est called forth no tears nor
resolutions of regret from the settlers on the creeks and runs of Clark county.
In Washington township there w-as no regularly laid out village at this
time. Its isolated situation seemed to preclude any idea of future greatness.
But there naturally sprang up a desire to have a township center, a place where
people could vote, where ammunition and groceries could be bought, and
where Christmas shooting-matches could be held. David Copple, Bala Johnson
and Adam Keller, who owned land in the vicinity of New Washington, w'ere
the first persons who made a successful attempt to found a village. New
Washington is admirably situated. It was laid out in 1815 by the three
persons above-mentioned. There were one hundred and' twenty-eight lots.
each ninety by one hundred and fifty feet. Eight lots w-ere given for public
purposes, and the proceeds of their sale turned into a fund for chtuxhes,
schools and the grading of streets. They were located on the first square
northeast of the center of the town — for it was a town of size which they
had planned. In i8ig Johnson made an addition on the w'est side of nine
lots of the same size as those sunxyed at first. Mr. Todd made an addition
of thirty-three inlots and twelve outlots, in 1879, on the south side, the former
ninety by one hundred feet.
Adam Keller, who came from Wales, with his wife and a part of his
family, was one of the first citizens of New A\'ashington. He afterwards
moved to Shelby count}', Indiana, where he died.
Bala Johnson came from Kentucky, farmed for a living, and. after a
life of much fruitfulness, died near his ideal village.
David Copple was a farmer. He came from one of the Carolinas. Ab-
solom Frazier. another early citizen, a wheelwright and edge-tool-maker, was
here before 1820. He erected a steam grist mill eighty odd years ago in the
village, to which he afterwards attached a saw-mill. He was a man of con-
siderable ability, and aided much in the impro^•ements of New ^^'ashington.
In a few years after the village had been laid out it became a thriving
place. This resulted mainly from its location on the great thoroughfares
which led to Madison and Lexington, over which hundreds of emigrants
passed yearly.
In 1817. two years after New Washington was laid out, the town of
New Providence was laid out in Wood township by Stephen, John and Asa
Borden. In the center of the village is a public square, which lies at right
angles with the ?^Iuddy fork of Silver creek. It is situated on the Monon
Railroad about eighteen miles from New Albanv. In 1816 Bethlehem town-
yO BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.j IXU.
ship was organized. It lays wholly outside the famous Clark grant in the
extreme northeastern part of the county. Like Washington township it de-
rived its name from a village which had b.een laid out within it before there
was a separate organization and township lines were fixed definitely. That
village was Bethlehem, platted in 1812, and situated on the Ohio river. The
township is bounded on the north by Jefiferson county ; on the east by tlie
Ohio ; on the south by the Ohio river, Owen and Washington townships.
On February loth, 1817, Jeffersonville township was organized. At that
time it included much more territory than it does at present. The first
election was ordered for the second Monday of March of that year, at the
house of Charles Fuller on Front street. James Lemon was appointed in-
spector of the election, and three Justices of the Peace were elected. On
Mav 1 2th of the same year the township was reduced in size by the formation
of a new township as follows :
Ordered; That all that part of said township I Jeffersonville) west of
Silver creek, lying and being between the said creek and Greenville township,
do constitute and form one new township, and that the same be called and
known as New Albany township.
The organization of new townships and the lading out of towns during
this decade would argue prosperity and growth, but not so with the old town
of Clarksville. John Palmer, in his Journal of Travels in the United States,
recording his journeyings of 1817, said:
Clarksville lies at the lower end of the Falls, and, although commenced
as earlv as 1783, does not contain above forty houses, most of them old and
decayed. It has a safe, capacious harbor for boats.
In Doctor :\Ic]\Iurtrie's Sketches of Louisville, published in 1819. the fol-
lowing not over-flattering notice is given of Clarksville :
"Although this was one of the earliest settled places in the state of Indiana
being established in 1783 by the Legislature of Virginia, as part of the Il-
linois grant, yet it is at the present moment far behind them all in every pos-
sible respect. A few log houses of one story comprise the list of its dwellings,
and from their number and appearance I should suppose that they do not con-
tain altogether one hundred inhabitants. It is, however, pleasantly situated at
the foot of the Indiana Chute, and immediately opposite Shippingport. It is
said to be very unhealthy, which is more than probable, from the number of
marshes that are in the vicinity."
This condition, however, did not prevail elsewhere in the county. Mc-
Murtrie seemed to be soured on the territory across from Louisville, par-
ticularly on the canal project as revived again in 18 18.
A Mr. Palmer, who was in Jefifersonville in 1817, said: "Jefliersonville
stands on the banks of the Ohio, nearly opposite Louisville and a little above
the Falls. It contains about one hundred and thirtv houses of brick, frame
EAIRU ri HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. Jl
and hewn logs. The bank of the river is high, which affords a fine view of
Louisville, the Falls and the opposite hills. Just below the town is a fine eddy
for boats. A post-office and a land-office for the sale of United States lands,
are established and it promises to become a place of wealth, elegance and ex-
tensive business. The most eligible boat channel is on the Indiana side of the
Ohio."
The year 1814 is noteworthy as the date of the commencement of the
tunnel on Fourteen ]\Iile creek for the tunnel mill. John \\'ork owned
a mill on the creek, but he conceixed the idea that instead of repairing the
old one he would build a new mill. A tunnel was to be made through a spur
of a hill, around which the creek ran, to act as a mill race, and therefore al-
ways gave a good supply of water. Xature had fitted Work peculiarly for the
work of his life. His natural mathematical and mechanical talents were
great, and to these natural accomplishments he added an indomitable will and
a tireless mind.
Fourteen ilile makes a long curve in the form of a pear, leaving a body
of land resembling a peninsula, which included, perhaps, twenty acres. The
distance through at the narrowest point was a little over three hundred feet.
But the obstacles were of mammoth proportions. The hill, for such it was.
rose to one hundred feet from the bed of the creek. It was made up of
solid rock. After mature deliberation and a few surveys, he began the work.
From the old mill-site he began tuimeling, and also at the same time on the
opposite side, or where the new mill was to stand. His implements were
rude : his experience in blasting and making powder limited. The work began
in 1 8 14 and lasted three years. During this time three men were constantly
engaged. Six hundred and fifty pounds of powder were used, and the cost
of the work is estimated at three thousand, three hundred dollars. The race
was six feet deep and fi\-e wide, and was ninety-four feet below the summit.
The work which he performed in driving the tunnel, and the calculations
necessarv to its successful completion seem almost incredible. The two ends
of the tunnel met accurately when the work was finished. The ilay of com-
pletion was a gala day for the surrounding country. John Work invited all
his customers to partake of his hospitalities. A great dinner was provided.
A man who weighed over two hundred pounds rode through the tunnel on
horseback. At each end was a barrel of prime whiskey, with the head knocked
out. Speeches were made and a glorification had which to this day is
remembered with man)- aft'ectionate regards.
Henceforward this was called the Tunnel mill. .\t the end of the race
an overshot wheel was put up. The two Ijuhrs ran by a never-failing water
supply, with a fall of twenty-four feet. The mill is frame, and is fifty by
thirty-five feet. The wheel is twenty feet in diameter, though twenty-six feet
could be used, if necessary. There were originally two wheels. John Rose
72 EAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IXD.
acted here as second engineer, and ^A'ood and Proctor as tool-sharpeners
and gunsmiths.
The first bank in Clark count}- was started in JetTersonville in 1817 by
Beach and Bigelow. The currency which it issued was a great convenience
to people of the town and surrounding country at that time. This institution
continued in business until after the failure of the canal project.
An important event in the second decade of Clark county's history was
the project inaugurated in 1818 to build a canal around the Falls of the Ohio
on the Indiana side of the river. The Jeffersonville Ohio Canal Company
was incorporated in January, 1818, with a capital stock of one million dollars,
and the articles of incorporation permitted the officials to raise one hundred
thousand dollars by a lottery. The charter was to nui to 1899, but the canal
was to be completed and in use by 1824. The maps of Jeffersonville at this
time have the line of the canal marked plainly upon them. By May, 18 IQ,
sun'eys had been made of the line of the proposed work and some contracts
had been let for the excavation. Work was commenced and a ditch dug the
entire length. The upper end of the canal was at the south end of Meigs
avenue (Canal street then) and ran northwestwardly across Market street at
the intersection of Walnut street. The remains of the old ox pond, a great
skating place for the boys before the levee was built in the eighties, was one of
the scars left by the canal seventy-odd years before.
The route cut through the block under the present location of St. Paul's
church, and left it at the mouth of the alley on Locust street, between Market
street and Chestnut street. It ran from here to the intersection of Chestnut
street and Wall street, and thence to Spring street. It crossed Spring street
at No. 437 and 438, and ran thence to Court avenue, where it struck the street
about one hundred feet east of Pearl street. From here the route was across
Court avenue to the intersection of Kentucky avenue and sixth street : thence
to Michigan avenue and Seventh street : thence to Ohio avenue and alx)ut
one hundred and fifty feet south of Eighth street ; thence to Broadway, about
one hundred feet north of Eighth street ; thence to Ninth street about half
way between Broadway and Illinois avenue ; thence to Missouri avenue about
one hundred feet south of Tenth street : thence diagonally through out lots
21 and 22 of Clarksville, to Cane Run creek, striking the Ohio river at the
upper end of General's Point. It was to empty into the whirlpool through
the ravine about one mile below the Pennsylvania bridge. At a point about
where the junction is located a lock was to be constructed and another set
of locks was to be located at the lower end of the canal wdiere it emptied into
the river. It was to be two and one-half miles long, one hundred feet wide
at the top and fifty feet wide at the bottom. It was to have an average depth
of forty-five feet and a fall of twenty-three feet. The upper one-fourth of
the excavation was to be made in earth, but in the lower three-fourths ten or
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 73
twelve feet of solid rock would have had to have been Ijlasted out. entailing
an enormous expenditure of time and money. The great fall through two
and one-half miles of the canal was to furnish unlimited power to drive ma-
chinery for shops and factories along the line. It was the idea of the projec-
tors that the ditch if started would soon wash itself out. and a rise in the
river was expected to demonstrate the far sightedness of the engineers. A
large log did travel almost tlie entire length of the ditch during high water,
but as it came up from the lower end where the water backed up in the "canal"
the scheme stood somewhat discredited. Unfortunately also, the water failed
to wash out the ditch to the required depth, but left a la)-er of mud in it
which had ne\-er been there before.
Finances ran low, the proper backing could not be found and more pro-
gressive people of Louisville and Philadelphia formed a compan\- to dig a
canal on the Kentucky side of the river. The Jeffersonville canal project was
fought with vigor and the scheme died a natural deatli. For many vears
afterward the route of this canal could be easih- traced but the marks have
all been obliterated at the present day. ^^'hile the idea of a canal was occupy-
ing the mind of Jefferson\-ille. Bethlehem thought of roads, and in 1818 the
road leading to ]\Iadison was established.
The old cemetery at Charlestown. where so many of the men of promi-
nence in our affairs sleep, was laid out in 1818. In the early part of the
centur}" it was used by the public generally and was the most noted of any in
that part of the county. Here Jonathan Jennings was buried, and here nearly
every early family of the county is represented.
In 1819 the first steamboat was built in Jeffersonville. Her name was
the "United States," and she was owned by Hart and others. In a succeeding
chapter, the boat building industn,' of Jeffersonville and Clark county will
be treated separately and fully.
In 1820 the first brick house was built in Charlestown which was some-
what pretentious for those days. On June 26, 1819, Clark county was honored
by a \"isit of the president. James Monroe, at Jeffersonville. James Flint, a
traveler here at that time, wrote: "On the 26th (June) the President arrived.
A tall pole with the striped flag was displayed on the bank of the river, a
salute was fired and a large body of citizens awaited his coming on shore. To
be introduced to the President was a wish almost universal, and he was sub-
jected to a laborious shaking of hands with the multitude. A public dinner
was given and this, too, was an object of ambition.
"Grocers left their goods and mechanics their work-shops to be present at
the gratifying repast. The first magistrate appears to be about sixty years
of age. His deportment is dignified, and at the same time aft'able. His
countenance is placid and cheerful. His chariot is not of iron, nor is he at-
tended by horse-guards or drawn swords. His protection is the affection
of a free and a represented people."
74 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
In io20 Jefifersonville was remarked in Gilleland's Geography of the
States and Territories west and south of the Alleghany mountains, appended
to the Ohio and Mississippi Pilot, published at Pittsburg, as "the largest town
in the State and irom the advantages of its situation, will prcAably co'.ilinue
to be so."
An incident A\hich occurred in Charlestown about iSjo. recalls a case
of Indian brutality. Alathias Hester, one of the pioneers of Clark county,
while in Kentucky in 1793. was employed in teaming between Louisville and
Shelbvville. with a man named Leathennan. On one trip when they had
passed "Benney Hughes' '" Station on the way to Shelbyville. they were hred
upon by a part)' of Indians. Leatherman managed to escape, but Hester was
shot with a rifle ball from a distance of four paces, the ball striking him
above the left eye, breaking his skull. He fell from his horse, but started to
escape by running. He was prostrated three times in running one hundred
and seventy yards by the pain and being blinded by the blood, his last fall
happening when his pursuers were so close behind him that he decided to
feign death and submit to their torture. The first Indian struck him a glancing
stroke on the head with his tomahawk and the second saluted him likewise.
They scalped him and during the performance of this horrible act repeatedly
speared him in the back as he lay upon the ground. After their butchery they
took the horses and rode away. Hester, wonderful to say, recovered, and
in the fall of 1799 he removed to the Illinois grant and took up his residence
beyond Spring\-ille. at what is now Charlestown.
The Indians were accustomed to stop at his house and ask for lodging,
when returning north from trading at the French store at "Tullytown". On
one night two Indians applied for and received quarters for the night, and
as they had a jug of whiskey, it was not long before Hester was obliged to
send his little son to a neighbor's house for help, meanwhile secreting one of
their large butcher knives in a crack in the wall. After the arrival of the
neighbor, who had asked to smoke with the tomahawk of one of the Indians,
the savage became suspicious and when he missed his knife immediately
wrenched the tomahawk from the neighbor's hand and assaulted Hester with
it. The Indians were finally prevailed upon to desist by kind expressions and
signs and peace prevailed in the Hester household. Such incidents as these
did not create a great love for the Indians in the breast of the elder Hester.
About 1820 a sale or gathering of some sort was held near Charlestown,
and Hester, with most of the inhabitants of the town was in attendance.
Some Indians were as usual in attendance ami one old buck approached
Hester, and looking at the scalp wound on the top of his head solemnly re-
marked, "^le thought me kill you." It was the wretch who had scalped him
years before in Kentucky, and it is said that the victim of that operation be-
came so violent towards the savage that it required the united persuasion of
all of his friends to prevent his shooting him on the spot.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 75
One of the most noted institutions in Clark CDUnty at this time was
"The Jeffersonviile Springs". This resort was located beyond Eleventh street
and to the north of Spring street, including about thirteen acres in the
grounds. In 1819 Doctor McMurtrie, of Louisville, in his history of that city,
speaks as follows of these wonderful springs :
"About a mile from this town are several valuable springs, mineralized
by sulphur and iron, where a large and commodious building has lately been
erected by the proprietor, for the reception of those who seek relief either from
physical indisposition, their own thoughts, or the disagreeable atmosphere of
cities during the summer season. In a word, he is pi'eparing it for a fashion-
able watering place, to which there is nothing objectionable but its proximity
to Louisville ; its being so near requires neither equipage nor the expense of a
journey to arrive there, things absolutly required to render every place of the
kind perfectly a la mode. It is, however, one of the most powerful natural
chalybeate waters I have ever seen or tasted, and will no doubt prove very
serviceable in many complaints, particularly in that debility attended with
profuse cold sweats, which are constantly experienced by the convalescent
victim of a biliotts fever, so common to the inhabitants of this neighborhood."
The land where this resort was located was owned by a Swiss, named
John Fischli. He discovered the wonderful properties of the water in the
springs and conceived the idea of making it a health and pleasure resort. He
improved and cultivated the ground, laid out roads and walks, made a puzzle
garden, etc.
Fountains were arranged, bath-houses were erected, bowling alleys were
established and all the attractions possible were made to catch the public.
Cottages were built at various places in the grounds, where visitors and their
families could spend the season and enjoy the brilliancy and attractiveness
of the society which repaired to this mecca from all over the South. In the
summer season it was the gayest place in this part of the wurld. The man-
ager of the "Springs" in 1820 was one Gutsel and his reputation as an en-
tertainer was wide spread. He had provided all sorts of amusement devices,
and the gambling here became in after years very heavy. There were rooms
for faro, poker and every other conceivable sort of game except bridge whist.
All of these games were public and visitors were welcome to view or partici-
pate as they chose. The great men of the South in those days and until
1850 were wont to repair here for rest and pleasure. R. AI. Johnson, Yke
President under Van Buren : Henry Clay, Thomas Marshall, Humjihrey
Marshall, Ben Hardin, General Jackson and many other celebrities of the
day besides the lesser lights, added to the gaity of the resort.
In 1838 the owners built a big hotel at the foot of Broadway, near the
river bank, and it was the finest hotel in Indiana or Kentucky when com-
pleted. A good wharf was built and Broadway was graded out to the Springs.
76 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
Carriages were always waiting to transport the seeker for healtli or pleasure
to his goal, and many a dollar did the lucky owner of a rig gather in during
a season. The end of the second decade of Clark county history found a
healthy growth and substantial condition of affairs.
The Indian question had been settled for all time. The outlaying parts
of the county were being taken up and cultivated. The territory had become
a sovereign state. The population in 1820 was eight thousand, seven hundred
and nine.
CHAPTER VI.
THE THIRD DECADE— 1820 to 1830.
The period of 1820 to 1830 was the first peaceful epoch in the history of
the comity. The improvement of farms, the building of mills and the estab-
lishment of new settlements in the remoter parts of the county, all bespoke
a welcome period of freedom from Indian or other conflicts, and the people
began to till their farms, to plant new orchards, to erect school-houses and
churches, to build hamlets, and to engage, with some degree of ardor in the
various peaceful pursuits of civilized life. A sense of security pei"\'aded the
minds of the people. The hostile Indian tribes, throughout the state ha\'ing
been overpowered, humbled and impoverished, no longer excited the fears of
the settlers who dwelt in safety and security in their plain log cabin homes,
and cultivated their small fields without the protection of armed sentinels.
The numerous temporary blockhouses and stockades, which were no longer
required as places of refuge for the pioneers, were either converted into
dwelling houses, or suffered to fall into ruin, and the people turned their at-
tention to the substantial development of their resources.
In 1820 Jacob Giltner erected a saw-mill near Otto, and it was con-
tinued by him and his sons until 1848. It later on passed into other hands, but
under his management was a valuable factor in the development of the sur-
rounding country. The streams of Bethlehem township are small and have
either rapid or tortuous currents and there were very few- favorable mill sites.
Peter Mikesell's horse mill, which stood near the old Antioch church, was
erected in 1828, and for many years ground most of the grain of the county.
It continued to run until about 1844.
The mills of Owen township w-ere generally small afifairs, on account
of the scattered settlements. When Leonard Troutman erected the first water
mill in the township, on Bull creek, there was not enough custom work to keep
him grinding all the time. From 1820, the year of its erection, until 1825. it
ground most of the grains for the farmers in this region. After that date
Jacob Bear put up a horse mill in the "Possum Trot" district. Here he carried
on his trade for ten or more years. Previous to the abandonment of the horse-
mill Mr. Bear had erected an overshot grist-mill on its mouth, one mile above
Bull creek. This was about 1826 or 1827. He engaged in milling on this
site for a number of years. As time went by and the Tunnel mill rose to be
considered the best on the northern side of the county, mills in Owen town-
78 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
ship were left to struggle with a small income. Trade was uncertain. Busi-
ness was unprofitable, and this branch of industry soon went into non-exis-
tence. It was useless to compete with John \\^ork, the founder of the famous
Tunnel mill.
In Carr township Lewman Griswold had an oversliot wheel on Muddy
F"Grk, two and one-half miles below Bridgeport, as early as 1830. The
Hughes-Palmer mill on the river bank in Clarksville was built in 1827, and
remained in sennce until it was washed away by the great flood of 1832. In
1908 the mill-stones lay where they fell seventy-six years before as good as
when they \\-ere in use.
Previous to the year 1820, George Smith and Nathaniel Bolton pub-
lished the first newspaper in Clark county, at Jeffersonville. Its name is lost
and a copy is not known to exist. The printing office for the paper was
located on Front street, in the residence of the editors. In 1821 they removed
to Indianapolis, where they established the first newspaper in that city.
In the fall of 182 1 the first state prison was established in Jefifersonville
at the corner of Ohio avenue and Market street. Capt. Seymour Westover
was the first lessee, the prison at that time being leased by the state. The
prison was then a primitive aft'air. built of logs at a cost of about three
thousand dollars, the greater part of which had been subscribed Ijy Jefiferson-
ville people. Previous to the opening of the prison, prisoners had been pun-
ished at the whipping-post. The law was so changed that all persons who
committed a crime for which they should receive not to exceed thirty-nine
lashes on the bare back, should be sent to prison for a term not to exceed
three years. \\n'iere formerly the puni.shment was one hundred stripes, a term
not to exceed seven years was imposed. Captain Westover was a blacksmith
and had a shop on West Market street. Upon his release of the lease, he went
to Texas, in 1826, and was reported to have been killed with Crockett at the
Alamo. The old prison had fifteen cells built in a row. They were made of
logs ten inches square, dovetailed at the ends. The doors were four inches
thick and covered with strap iron, and throughout the building there was
little or no attention paid to sanitation or health. This institution, now
called the Indiana State Reformatory, will be treated in a separate chapter
later on.
In 1823 an industr}^ was started at New Providence, which has been a
valuable asset to the town ever since. At that time the tanning for the com-
munity was done by Samuel Packwood, Sr., and his pit was a large poplar
log trough. A regular tannery was established by John Borden, Sr., with
Butler Dunbar as principal workman. It passed into the hands of James Mc-
Kinley later on and has remained in this family ever since. That the good
people of New Providence bad not lost sight of the necessity of spiritual train-
ing for their children in their endeavor to develop their settlement is attested
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. yg
by the opening of the first Sunday school in 1824. It was tauglit by Mrs.
Sabra \Miite and Miss Laura W. Bellows. These and other minor events
serve to illustrate the steady growth of the outlying districts of Clark countv.
The chief event of the decade, howe\-er, was the visit of Lafayette May 11.
1825.
At various times Clark count}- has been honored by \-isits of civil and
military heroes, but never has a more notable gathering of this kind taken
place, and never a more spontaneous outpouring of the peo])le to welcome and
honor a patriot, than that of May 11. 1825. when Major General Marie Jean
Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier, Marquis De Lafayette — soldier, statesman
and patriot in the cause of liberty, the friend and comrade of Washington,
visited this county, while making a tour of the United States at the invitation
of a grateful nation.
His official visit to Indiana soil was at Jefi'ersonville, and he was received
with the same demonstrations of popular enthusiasm which made his progress
through the twenty-four states of the Union resemble a continuous triumphal
procession.
His tour was under the supervision of the Federal Government, and
preparations had been perfected for his reception by the Indiana State author-
ities long before he arrived at Louisville. The Legislature had taken up the
matter early in January, 1825. and the resolutions adopted at that time ex-
press their sentiments in the following language :
"The committee to whom was referred a joint resolution of the General
Assembly, directing them to take into consideration the propriety of the Gen-
eral Assembly's expressing their sentiments in reference to Major General La-
fayette, respectfully report the following preamble and resolutions:
"The Senate and the House of Representaties of the State of Indiana,
in General Assembly convened, would be deficient in respect to the feelings of
their constituents, and unmindful of their obligations to a distinguished bene-
factor did they fail to join in the pean of national gratitude and unanimous
welcome to Major General Lafayette on the occasion of his late arrival in
the L'nited States. It is scarcely necessary for them to say that they unani-
mously accord with the sentiments expressed towards their illustrious friend
by the chief magistrate of the L^nion, and cordially add their sanction to the
provision in his favor recently enacted bv Congress. The latter thev view
as the smallest return for his pre-eminent services and sacrifices, the American
people could make, or the guest of the nation receive. It is the dignity of a
spectacle unparalleled in the history of man, which they particularly feel and
admire. Ten millions of hearts spontaneouslv offering the homage of their
gratitude to a private individual, unsupported by rank, or power, for services
long past, of the purest and most exalted character: whilst they furnish con-
soling evidence that republics are not ungrateful, also carry with them the de-
8o BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
lightful conviction that the sons of America have not degenerated from their
fathers of the Revolution.
"In pausing to contemplate with appropriate feelings this sublime ex-
ample of popular gratitude, united with respect for character and principles,
the General Assembly learns with peculiar satisfaction that it is the intention
of General LaFayette to visit the western section of the United States. The
felicity denied by a mysterious providence to the father of his countrv has. it
is lioped, been reserved by his adopted son. What the immortal Washington
was permitted to see only through the dark vista of futurity, will be realized
in the fullness of vision, by his associate in arms and glor)-.
"The General Assembly hails with inexpressible pleasure the prospect of
this auspicious visit. They cannot, they are aware, receive their benefactor in
the costly abodes of magnificence and taste, nor vie with their sister states in
the embellishments of a hospitality more brilliant than it is theirs to ofYer; but
not more sincere.
"But they can, and do, in common with the whole American people,
welcome him to a home in their hearts. They feel persuaded that he will
take a deep interest in this part of our country, which though not the actual
theatre of his generous labors, has emphatically grown out of the glorious
results of his Revolutionary services. On the west of the Alleghany moun-
tains, our illustrious guest will behold extensive communities of freemen,
which within the period of his own recollection, have been substituted for
the trackless wilderness. Where, forty years ago, primeval barbarism held
undisputed sway over man and nature ; civilization, liberty and law wield the
mild scepter of equal rights ; it is here that our illustrious friend will find his
name, his services, and we trust his principles, flourishing in perennial ver-
dure. Here, too. may he enjoy the exulting prospect of seeing them, in the
language of a favorite son of the West, "transmitted with unabated vigor
down the tide of time, to the countless millions of posterity."
In accordance with the preceding sentiments, the General Assembly
adopted the following resolutions :
"Resolved, That this General Assembly, in common with their fellow citi-
zens of the state and Union, have the most heart-felt gratitude for the ser-
vices of Major General LaFayette, and most cordially approve of eveiy testi-
monial of kindness and affection he has received from the people and
Government of the United States.
"Resolved, That in the opinion of this General Assembly, it would afford
the highest gratification to the citizens of Indiana, to receive a visit from
their revered and beloved benefactor, the only sui-viving general of the
American revolution ; and that the Governor of this state be requested,
without delay, to transmit to General LaFayette this, with the preceding reso-
lution and preamble, accompanied by an invitation to visit this state, at the
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 8l
seat of Government, or such town on the Ohio river as tlie General may
designate.
"Rcsok'cd. That tlie Governor of the state, together with such ofKicers and
citizens as may find it convenient to attend at the point selected by General
LaFayette, do receive him with the honors due to the illustrious guest of the
state and nation, and that the Governor draw on the contingent fund, for the
payment of all e.xpenses incurred in executing these resolutions.
"Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit a copy of the fore-
going preamble and resolutions to the President of the United States, and to
each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress".
On the arrival of General LaFayette at Louisville, May loth. Colonel
Farnham, one of the aids to the acting Governor, in conjunction with
Messrs. Gwathmey, Samuel Merriwether, Beach and Burnett, waited upon
him with the congratulations of the state. To which the General most
afifectionately replied that a visit to Indiana, where he should have an opportu-
nity in person to express his sensibility to her Executive, representation and
citizens, for their very kind invitation and generous expression of regard, was
among the fondest wishes of his heart, and appointed the following day on
which to make his visit to the state, at Jefifersonville.
The country from New Providence to Bethlehem turned out to welcome
him. Never before had such a multitude thnmged the streets of the village of
Jefifersonville. The state Legislature and officers, together with those of
equal rank from neighboring states, assembled to honor the patriot.
At II o'clock, a. m., on Thursday, the nth, the above named committee
waited upon him on board the steamboat. General Pike, to which he was es-
corted by the Committee on Arrangements and Marshals of Louis\-ille and
Jefferson county. The General was greeted on the Indiana shore, by a salute
of thrice twaity-four guns, discharged from three pieces of artillery, stationed
on the river bank, at the base of three flag stafifs, each seventy feet in height,
bearing flags with appropriate mottoes.
He was received by Gen. Marston G. Clark, of Jefifersonville, and Gen.
John Carr, of Charlestown, marshals of the day, and escorted by a detach-
ment of three artillery companies, commanded by Captains Lemon, Melford
and Booth. Captain Parker's infantry company of Charlestown, and other
military organizations, to the pleasant mansion house of the late Governor
Posey, on the west corner of Fnint and Fort streets overlooking the river
and the city of Louisville beyond.
On his arrival at the entrance to the Governor's house, the General was
welcomed by his Excellency James B. Ray. to which the General returned
the following answer :
"While I shall ever keep the most gratified and grateful sense of the
manner in which I have been invited bv the representatives of Indiana, it is
6
82 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
now to me an exquisite satisfaction to be, in the name of the people, so af-
fectionately received by their chief magistrate, on the soil of this young state,
and in its rapid progress to witness one of the most striking efifects of self-
government and perfect freedom.
"Your general remarks on the blessings which I have had to enjoy, in this
continued series of popular welcomes, and delightful feelings : as they sympa-
thize with my own inexpressible emotions, so the flattering personal observa-
tions you have been pleased to add, claim my most lively acknowledgments,
never more, sir, than when you honor me with a mention of my name, as being
the filial disciple of Washington, and the fond admirer of Bolivar.
"Be pleased to accept the tribute of my thanks to you sir. to the branches
of the representations of Indiana, and my most devoted gratitude and good
wishes for the people of this state."
The General was then conducted to chambers provided with refresh-
ments, and presented to a numerous company of ladies assembled to welcome
him, and to several hundreds of citizens, including a few venerable relics of
the "times that tried men's souls."
The citizens at this reception, besides meeting the General, had the
pleasure of being presented to Col. George Washington De LaFayette, his
son, who accompanied his father as an aid.
One incident occurred during the reception that served to relieve the pro-
ceedings of any stiffness which might have appeared. Capt. John Parker,
of Charlestown, had brought his militia company down to Jeffersonville to
form part of the large military escort, and to gi\-e his men an opportunity to
see the illustrious visitor.
During the presentation he took several of his men up to be introduced.
One strapping young militiaman stepped forward to shake the General's
hand and politely raised his hat, when out fell several large crackers which
he had thoughtfully provided for a lunch during the exciting duties which
he might have been called up(in to perform. The General adroitly relieved
him of his embarrassment and mortification by congratulating him on being
a good soldier, in carrying his rations with him.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon the General was conducted to dinner under
a militai-y escort accompanied by a band of music. The table was hand-
somely prepared under an arbor, about two hundred and twenty feet in length,
well covered and ornamented throughcxit, with the verdure and foliage of
the forests, among which roses and other flowers were tastefully interwoven
by the ladies of Jeffersonville. This table was set in the woods just above the
Governor's house, about one hundred feet above Fort street, and in con-
structing the arbor or covering, as was usual in that day on such occasions,
the branches of the surrounding beech trees were used.
At the head of the table, a transparent painting was hung, on which was
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 83
inscribed: "Indiana welcomes LaFayette, the Champion of Liljerty in Both
Hemispheres!" over which was a flag, bearing the arms of the United States.
At the foot of the table was a similar painting, with the following inscription :
"Indiana in 76 a wilderness — in 1825, a civilized community! Thanks to La
Fayette and the soldiers of the Revolution !"
The company was honored by the presence of many distinguished gen-
tlemen from Kentucky, Tennessee and other states, among whom Governor
Carroll and suite; Hon. C. A. WicklifYe, Judges Barry and Bledsoe; Atty. Gen.
Sharp, Colonel Anderson, the Hon. John Rowan, with the committee of ar-
rangements of Louisville and Jefferson county. Major Wash, Mr. Neilson, etc.
After dinner, the following toasts were drank with entire unanimitv of
applause :
1. Our countr}- and our country's friends — One gun.
2. The memory of Washington.
3. The Continental Congress of die thirteen United Colonies and their
illustrious coadjutors.
4. The Congress of 1824 — They have expressed to our benefactor, the
unanimous sentiment of our hearts.
5. The President of the L^nited States — A vigorous and fruitful scion
from a Revolutionary stock.
6. Major General LaFayette, united with \\'ashington in our hearts —
We hail his affectionate visit w'ith a heart-cheering welcome — Three guns,
drank standing'.
The above was received with three times three heart-moving cheers. As
soon as the emotion subsided General LaFayette returned his thanks in the
most affectionate manner, to the state of Indiana and company present, for the
honor conferred upon him, and beg'ged leave to offer the following sentiment :
"Jeffersonville and Indiana — ]\Iay the rapid progress of this young state,
a wonder among wonders, more and more e\'ince the blessings of republican
freedom."
General LaFayette, on being invited to propose a toast, gave "The mem-
ory of General Greene".
At six o'clock General LaFayette left the table, and was re-escorted to
the General Pike, where the committee of arrangements from Kentucky, re-
sumed the honor of their special attendance in which they were joined by the
Governor of Indiana and suite, the Marshals and Indiana committee of ar-
rangements, who accompanied him to Louisville, and enjoyed the g'ratifica-
tion of being near his person until his departure on the next morning for
Frankfort.
Thus terminated a day that reflected luster on the annals of Indiana, and
should be a subject of grateful recollection, not only to that generation, but
to posterity.
84 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
The simple fact of this visit, and the incidents connected witli it, are now
unknown to most of the people of our locality, but if there be aught in the
life and deeds of the Marquis De LaFayette in offering his life, his fortune
and his sacred honor in the cause of principle in a foreign land, we should
keep green the memory of his visit to our hospitable state, as a perpetual
reminder of a high and patriotic character for emulation.
Histoi-y relates that but for one man, in all probability Jeffersonville
would have been the state capital after it was decided to ([uit Vincennes,
where the original territorial government was established May 7, 1800. It
was not, however, until July 29, 1805, that the first session of the General
Assembly of the territory was called to meet at Vincennes. This was when
Governor Harrison issued a proclamation to that effect. The first session of
the third General Assembly met at Vincennes on November 12. 1810, and
James Beggs, of Clark county, was made president of the body. Mr. Beggs
and his relatives had large landed interests in the vicinity of where Charles-
town now stands, and the removal of the county seat from Springville to
Jeffersonville in 1802 had left a sore spot in the breast of Mr. Beggs, even
after he became a member of the Legislature. Charles Beggs had laid out
Charlestown, which was named for him in 1808, and James Beggs conceived
the idea that with the county seat at Jeffersonville, the town would never
thrive. With these thoughts foremost in his mind, he never lost an oppor-
tunity to vote against anything' that would benefit Jeffersonville. The first
session of the fourth General Assembly decided to remove the capital from
Vincennes to some more centra! point, and it was agreed that the new loca-
tion should be either Corydon or Jeffersonville, at the Falls of the Ohio.
Cor>-don had been laid out by R. M. Heth in 1808, the same year as
Charlestown. There was a spirited contest over the location and when the
vote was taken it resulted in a tie. As presiding officer, Mr. Beggs had the
deciding vote and he lost no time in joining the Corydon forces. The second
session of the fourth General Assembly met at Corydon as a result of this
vote cast by Mr. Beggs, but it is safe to say that had Mr. Beggs stood by
his own county, Jeffersonville would have remained the state capital, after
becoming so and would, in all likelihood, have been a much larger place at
the present time than Louisville.
Its location and the country between Jeffersonville and Charlestown,
offers a magnificent site for a city. A splendid harbor, an excellent drainage
condition, an absence of swampy or low grounds and a generally level surface
would all have added to its attractiveness and possibly even now Charles-
town would have been a part of the city, the residential suburb. But let us
draw the veil. Jeffersonville had at the time a population of about six
hundred inhabitants. In 1825 the first tavern was established in Carr town-
ship. It was kept by John Slider and "Slider's Hotel" was a prominent
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 85
Stopping place for travelers, between JetTersonville and Vincennes. It was
located on the Vincennes road, in sight of Bennettsville.
The original tavern was built of logs. As business increased, ^Ir.
Slider made a frame addition to the log house, converting the only room
above into six sleeping compartments. The style of public houses in those
days was to have but one room in the upper story. Here all travelers were
put, and among the promiscuous sleepers there was always some notorious
rake, who delighted to disturb the tired and worn-out emigrant. Slider was
here fifteen or twenty years. During that time all the marketers, teamsters,
hog-drivers, manv of the public men and the public generallv. stepped with
"Old John Slider."
The settlement and advancement of that part of Clark county to the Udrth
led to the erection of a new township, some time previous to 1830.
The commissioners of Clark county in 1824 were John Owens, John M.
Lemmon and Robert Robertson. From the surname of the first of these men
the township derived its name. As nearly as can be ascertained Owen town-
ship was organized a year or two after Owens vacated his office, which makes
it about 1830. The minutes of the commissioners of the grant are obscure up
to 1816. The old-fashioned paper has lost nearly all its retaining power, and
dates and minutes of regular meetings are veiy difficult to decipher. Nothing
is inde.xed. Town plats are stowed away carelessly, and nearly all original
documents and legal papers are torn or disfigured. From these circumstances
the exact year the township was placed under a separate organization cannot
be positively fixed.
Monroe is a township lying in the northwestern corner of Clark county.
The first mention made in the records of this, the second largest township in
the county, which has over thirty-five thousand acres, is under date of Janu-
ary I, 1827, when Andrew McCombe and L Thomas were appointed fence-
viewers. Previously, and in fact for a number of years afterwards, the
boundaries were indefinite. The surface precluded strictly established lines.
It was known that the upper side of the township bordered on the line between
Scott and Clark counties, and that the south side was adjacent to Charlestown
township. Beyond this there seemed to be no fixed boundaries. The west
side was described as "extending to the county line." but even that line was
imaginaiy. On the dividing line between Wood and Monroe there was no
dispute. That question was settled in 1816, when the former township was
organized. The reason why boundary lines were so indefinitely located was
in the hilly surface, poor soil, few settlements, and general unimportance of
the township. On its first organization it went by the name of Collins tozim-
ship; and it was only in 1827 that its name was permanently settled. It was
probably named in honor of President Monroe, who had only vacated his office
a few years before; or, what is more likely, the township name was changed
86 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
about the year 1826, but no mention of it was made in the records until a year
after, when we find record of the two men above named as fence-viewers.
In New Providence the first post-office was estabhshed in 1826. Tilly H.
Brown was the first postmaster. He was a Presbyterian minister, and was
succeeded by Samuel Hallett, a member of one of the oldest families in the
county.
In 1827 the first Presbyterian church was erected in Charlestown. Here
also, in 1830, Doctor Baker founded a famous school. He was an Englishman
by birth and held his school in the old Masonic hall. This seminary consisted
of three large rooms, and had. sometimes during the fall terms, as many as
three hundred students.
The second school-house in ^^'ood township was established in New
Providence in 1827. In the last two years of this decade two flourishing little
villages of Clark county were laid out.
Herculaneum was surveyed for William L. Pettitt in 1830, by John
Beggs. It is situated on tract number fifty-seven of the Illinois grant, below
the mouth of Bull creek. The streets run at right angles with the river. There
are twenty-two lots, which number from the lower right hand corner.
Germany was laid out by Jacob Bear, Sr., in 1829. It has nineteen lots
and is crossed by two streets, Alain and Main Cross streets. Both these vil-
lages are now of little consequence. Bull creek with its high bluffs passes close
by, and almost makes one village out of two — if villag'es they can be called.
The main business of the station is to fern- people across the river, as they
come from New Market and Strieker's corner.
These villages took their names from the German people who early made
the narrow bottoms their home. Standing on the high banks of Bull creek
and looking down in the valley which follows it, the places can hardly be called
either neighborhoods or hamlets. They are just between the two, and will, ap-
parently, stay where they are for a number of years to come.
Among the notices of Jeff'ersonville for this period we find the following
in Flint's "Condensed Geography and History of the Western States" :
"Jeffersonville is situated just above the Falls of the Ohio. The town of
Louisville on the opposite shore, and the beautiful and rich countiw beyond,
together with the broad and rapid river, pouring whitened sheets and cascades
from shore to shore, the display of steamboats, added to the high banks, the
neat village, and the noble woods on the north bank, unite to render the scen-
ery of this village uncommonly rich and diversified. It is a considerable and
handsome village, with some houses that have a show of magnificence. It has
a land-office, a post-office, a printing-office, and some of the public buildings.
It was contemplated to canal the Falls on this side of the river, and a company
with a large capital was incorporated by the Legislature. In 1819 the work
was commenced, but has not been prosecuted with the success that was hoped.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 87
The completion of the canal on the opposite side will probably merge this proj-
ect, by rendering it useless. One of the principal chutes of the river in low-
water, is near this shore ; and experienced pilots, appointed by the state, are
always in readiness to conduct boats over the Falls. Clarksville is a small
village just below this place".
In 1829 there was not a church in the city: the ferry to Louisville was
nothing but a skiff, and there was not a house on Spring- street.
The population of Clark county in 1830 was 10,686.
CHAPTER VII.
THE FOURTH DECADE— 1830-1840.
From the accounts of the various phases of hfe in Clark county during
this decade, we learn that it was a period of prosperity. Townships and towns
were laid out and the reports of travelers are bright with prophecies. In
1833 both Charlestown and Jeffersonville received favorable notices in the
State Gazetteer, as follows :
"Charlestown. a post-town and seat of justice of Clark county, situated
on a high table-land between the waters of Fourteen-mile creek and those
of Silver creek, about two and a half miles from M'Donald's ferry, on the
Ohio river, from which there is a direct road ari'd well improved to the town,
thirteen miles from the Falls of the Ohio and one hundred and six miles south-
east of Indianapolis. It is surrounded by a body of excellent fanning- land,
in a high state of cultivation. Charlestown contains about eight hundred
inhabitants, seven mercantile stores, one tavern, six lawyers, four physicians,
three preachers of the gospel, and craftsmen of almost all descriptions. The
public buildings are a court-house, a jail, an office for the Clerk and Recorder,
and a market-house, all of brick : in addition to which the Episcopal Metho-
dists, the Reformed Methodists, the Baptists, and the Presbyterians have meet-
ing-houses, all of brick, and an extensive brick building has lately been
erected for the purpose of a county seminary. In the immediate vicinity of the
town a fiouring-mill and oil-mill have been recently erected, which are pro-
pelled by steam power. The situation is healthy, and supplied with several
springs of excellent water. There are in Charlestown ab(iut sixty-five brick
dwelling-houses, and about one hundred of wood. There are also carding-
machines, propelled by horse or ox-power.
"JefTferson\-ille. a town on the Ohio river, in Clark county. It is a beau-
tiful situation, on a high bank above the highest water-mark, and extends from
the head of the Falls up the river, so as to include a deep eddy, where boats
of the largest size can approach, at all stages of the water, within cable-
length of the shore. From this town there is a delightful \\e\\- of Louisville
and of the landing at the mouth of Beargrass. It also affords the most advan-
tageous landing for boats descending the river and intending to pass the
Falls through the Indiana chute. It is laid out on a large and liberal plan, and
must, from its local advantages, become a place of great commercial imjior-
tance. The state prison is located at this place; and there are in its immediate
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 89
vicinity two steam mills, a ship-yard, an iron foundry; and in tlie town tliere
are six mercantile stores, tiiree taverns, and a steam grist and saw mill, and
numerous mechanics of all trades. * * * Its present population amounts
to six hundred or seven hundred inhabitants, three of whom are physicans."
The smaller towns of Bethlehem, New Washington and Utica were men-
tioned also and given favorable notices, as follows :
"Bethlehem, a pleasant village on the bank of the Ohio river, in the county
of Clark, about fifteen miles northeast of Charlestown. It contains about three
hundred inhabitants, amongst whom are mechanics of various kintls.
''Utica. a pleasant, thri\-ing post-village in Clark cnunty. It is situated on
the bank of the Ohio ri\-er, about eight miles south of Charlestown. It contains
about two hundred inliabitants, three mercantile stores, and a wariety of
mechanics.
"^^'ashingt(lP. is a post-tmvn in Clark CDuntv, abr)Ut twelve miles nnrtlieast
from Charlestown. It has about one hundred and fiftv inhabitants, two tav-
erns, three mercantile stores, and several mechanics of various trades.'"
In 1 83 1 the old hand ferry at JetTersonville was discontinued and the first
steam ferryboat began to run. This l:)oat ran but a short while, its boiler ex-
]3loding in 1832, killing seven nien. The company soon replaced this boat by
another and better one, and continued the business. W'athan and Gilmore, who
were the proprietors of the ferry at this time, sold out to Sliallcross, Strader
& Thompson in 1838. The ferryboats at this time ran from the foot of
Spring street directly across the river to a place called Keiger's landing, the
island not ha\-ing attained its present size, offering no obstacle.
The township of Utica was established November 7. 1831. the line adjoin-
ing Jeft'ersonville being as follows: "Commencing on the Ohio river on the
line (li^•iding Xos. 5 and 6: thence on a straight direction to the line of No.
13. at the corners of Nos. 22 and 23: thence on the line dividing said Nos.
22 and 2Ty, and on the line between Nos. 33 and 36, 49 and 50, and 67 and 68
to Silver creek," etc.
The ^.'illage of Hibernia sprang up in the early thirties, David Hostetler
being one of the earliest settlers. The Charlestown and Bethlehem road crossed
the Boyer's landing and Otisco road at the corner of his property. The north-
east boundary of the grant passes through the village, and its principal street
is on this line.
Hostetler came here in 1828 and bought land of Daniel Kester from tract
number one hundred and five. Thomas Applegate and William Pangborn
were neighbors. W'illiam Pangborn was from New Jersey and emigrated to
Indiana after serving throughout the Revolutionary war. After a few years
others gathered here, and hence the place naturally took the form of a vil-
lage. Hostetler soon opened a store, and was the first to carry on this branch
of industry in the village. He was also the first postmaster, as the mails
90 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
were carried to Bethlehem from Charlestown. His store was used many
years as the voting-place for Owen township. John Roland, James Lee
Strieker, and Isaac Crunini were storekeepers during the early experience of
Hibernia.
Hamburg, the oldest village in Silver Creek township, is located on Grant
No. io8. It was laid (ait in 1837 by Aliram Littell and Thomas Cunningham,
and had thirty-one lots of various sizes. The original plat resembles a tri-
angle, and the ordinary size of the lots is sixty b)' one hundred and twenty
feet. "Lot number three, on School street and in the forks of the same, is do-
nated to the Christian congregation, or the Church of Jesus Christ, for a
meeting-house, and for that use forever, never to be transferred. Lot num-
ber four is donated for school purposes, and for that use forever, the same
given by Absalom Littell." The proprietors also donated land for a market-
house — a good idea, but never realized; they also gave land for school pur-
poses, "and for that use forever".
Mr. Littell. who was a Christian minister and who owned quite a
large tract of land in this vicinity, a man of considerable foresight and re-
markable energy, was the first to bring the idea of founding a town at this
point to a successful termination. A combination of influences decided the
matter. The old stage route between Jettersonville and Salem, established as
early as 1830, had for a stopping place John A. Smith's, two miles above the
present site of Hamburg. This line made three trips each way every week.
Four horses were used, and the business done was considerable.
These circumstances induced ^Ir. Littell to lay off the tiiwn. But pre-
vious to 1837 the post-office had been established, with William Wells as first
postmaster. His office was in a little log house on "Jeff street," as it was gen-
erally called by the people. Sometime after he kept the office in a frame
building on the southwest corner of the cross-roads. The year the town was
laid out David Young served as postmaster. His place of doing busi-
ness was in a small log house on Jeft' street. William Thompson came next,
keeping the office in Well's old place. Then came John W. Jenkins, in the
same building. Reuben Hart followed Jenkins in a frame house on the north-
west corner of the cross-roads.
Hamburg never attained much size or prominence, and its prospects to
become metropolitan are remote.
In 1837 all that part of Grant No. i not being in Jeft'ersonville, and
belonging to the Jeft'ersonville Association, was platted by a Mr. Barnum, of
Cincinnati. The association rejected all of that part of his map north from
Court avenue and east of Spring- street, and employed Edmund F. Lee to
replat it. It was replatted by Lee, lithographed by T. Campbell, of Louisville,
and printed by C. R. Milne, of the same city, and erroneously called Milne's
map. This plat consists of blocks, not lots, or squares numbered from one to
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND. 91
154. and also of Coinmercial Square at the south end of Broadway : of Central
Park, laying on both sides (jf Broadway, between Indiana avenue and Illinois
a\'enue. and bounded on the north and south by Xorth and South Fourth
streets. Rose Hill school occupied one part of Central Park, and Rader Park
the other part. The Milne map also has Washington Scpiare on each side of
Broadway, between North and South Eighth streets, and from alley to
alley ; also Franklin Square, just above the Court House lot ; also Jeffer-
son Square, bounded on the north by Vernon ( Sparks) avenue, nn the east
by Canal (Meigs) street, on the south l^y Eleventh street, and on the west by
\\'att street.
This public square is now the northwest quarter of the United States
quarter-master depot. Milne's map also calls for Market Square, which is
bounded by New Market (Court avenue) street, Wall street, and the alley east
of Kentucky avenue. It includes Park street, and Park, and the triangle where
the engine house and the police station are now located. That part of Market
Square lying east of Spring street is now divided up into Park street. Warder
Park. Flynn avenue, and the Plaza. No other city in the state has a "Plaza."
Shallcross Block, or Shipyard Block, lying east of Meigs avenue, to a point
sixty feet east of Mechanic street, and from the river to the alley north of Mar-
ket street is also a separate unnumbered part on Milne's map. The fact that the
land adjacent to Jeffersonville was platted, was no sign that there had been a
great influx of settlers. In 1840 there were only five hundred voters in the
city.
In 1839, Dr. Nathaniel Field, who then represented Clark county in the
Legislature, introduced a resolution authorizing the incorporation of Jefferson-
ville as a city, and an act in conformity to this resolution was passed. In April
of this year an election was held and Isaac Heiskell was elected the first Mayor.
The first Councilmen of the city were: First ward, L. B. Hall and James G.
Read : Second ward. John D. Shryer and Samuel Alerriw^eather ; Third ward,
A. \\'athen and J. B. McHolland ; Fourth ward, Nathaniel Field and James
Slider; Fifth ward, Daniel Trotter and C. W. Magill. John Mitchell was the
first Treasurer, and Thomas Wilson was the first Clerk. Jackson Hulse was
the first Marshal. The population of the city at this time was five hundred and
eighteen.
Two events in the year 1832 are worthy of note. The great flood came
that year, the greatest ever known up to that time. Havoc was wrou,ght along
the river by the w'ashing away of property. One account of the damage done
to this locality as related by a Louisville historian, is as follows:
"In 1832 a new calamity came upon the city\ This was an unparalleled
flood in the Ohio. It commenced on the loth of February and continued until
the 2 1 St of that month, having risen to the extraordinary height of fifty-one
feet above low-water mark. The destruction of property by this flood was im-
92 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
niense. Nearl}- all the frame buildings near the river were either floated off or
turned over and destroyed. An almost total cessation in business was the nec-
essary consequence: even farmers from the neigliborhood were unable to get
to the markets, the flood having so afTectetl the smaller streams as to render
them impassable, 'idie description of the sufferings by this flood is appalling.
This calamity, iiowever, great as it was. could have but a temporary effect on
the progress of the city, as will be seen hereafter."
The height of fifty-one feet given here does not tally with the official
record. The water reached its greatest height on February 19th — forty-five
and four-tenths feet. The Hughes-Palmer mill, in Clarksville, was swept
away by this flood.
Cholera was epidemic in 1S3-2. W'hWe jjeople were succumbing to the dis-
ease everywhere. Clark county lost very few, if any. They died by scores in
Louisville, but we were almost completely immune from it. At Salem there
were sixtv deaths in one night. In 1833 the disease was veiw bad, but there
was none in 1S34; in 1835, however, it was worse than ever before and there
were many deaths. Besides the great flood of 1832. the county was subjected
to a great drouth during the summer months. It remained the worst on record
until that of 1854. In 1834. James Howard built his first steamboat in
Teffersonville, the first of a vast fleet of water craft turned out from these yards
since that time. In 1832 the first foundry was started by Robert C. Green,
who came from Cincinnati. Charles C. Anderson, who had learned the foun-
drv business with Mr. Green, in Cincinnati, started a small machine shop,
which he operated successfully on a growing scale up to the time of his death.
In this year also a project for a bridge across the river was inaugurated and
James Guthrie. Samuel Gwathmey and Daniel McAllister, of Louisville, went
to Indianapolis to recei\-e the incorporation of a company by the Indiana
Legislature to aid in the building. One charter had already been granted by
the Kentucky Legislature, but another one seemed necessary to \n\>h th.e
scheme to completion. This project made apparent progress.
The Kentucky charter was deemed sufficient and contracts for the con-
struction of the bridge were let. The corner stone on the Kentucky side was
laid September 7. 1836, with great solemnity and ceremony near the foot of
Twelfth street, two squares above the present Pennsylvania bridge. On the
Jeffersonville side the abutments were commenced also, but financial difficulty
arose, the contractor failed to proceed with the work and the project finally
fell through and forty years elapsed before it was broached again.
The first fair in Clark county was held in 1836, in Charlestown. on
Denny's lots, southeast of the court-house. Thomas J. Henly, John Denny, and
John W. Long were instrumental in its success. Nothing was exhibited of
special attraction, except Dr. James Taggart's Durham bull, the first in the
county. Avery Long was their president, and Campbell Hay, treasurer.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND. 93'
July 26, 1834, ex-Governor Jonathan Jennings died at liis home on the
picturesque banks of Sinking Fork surrounded by his family and friends, and
beloved by all. His body was taken to Charlestown for interment and laid in
an unmarked grave. During the pioneer age schools were imperfectiv man-
aged and even down to later days this is true in some parts of the countv. In
Bethlehem township the school antedated the church.
Before the Antioch church had been thought of. a school was carried on
near where the church now stands. The house was sixteen by eig'hteen feet,
and had a door which swung to the outside — a very rare thing, even in those
backwoods days. Cyrus Crosby was the first teacher. After him came
Thomas J. Glover: Dr. Solomon Davis, Rev. Benjamin Davis, a local Metho-
dist preacher; and perhaps a few others. In 1832 Mr. Martin Stucker taught
in a new hewed-log house. Then came Charles Smith, of New York state;
Samuel C. Jones, of Kentucky, but at this time a citizen of the county, and
who had been here as one of the very earliest teachers. Joel M. Smith came
soon after Jones : he was a native of Xew York, but came with his father's
family when a boy and settled near Charlestown. Thomas S. Simington
taught in 1839 and 1840, and it was during his term that the old school-house
burned down. Very soon thereafter another building was ]3ut up, in which
George Matthews acted as teacher. After the new school law came into
force a new district was created, and another building erected in a different
place.
Although the town of Bethlehem was on the mail route from Jefiferson-
ville to Vevay, she had no postmaster. This route was begun about 1827,
and was continued until 1840. George Monroe carried the mail o\-er the
route in 1834-1838. William G. Armstrong was the first postmaster and he
was succeeded in 1835, by Asa Abbott.
Bennettsville. in Carr township, is the <inly place in that township which
claims to be a village, and its population is not so seething that you would
notice it. It was laid off in September, 1838, by H. O. Hedgecoxe, county
surveyor, for Baily ]\Iann. The first name given to the newborn village was
New Town. After several years the name was changed, Bennettsville being
thought preferable to the name of Xew Town. Benedict Nugent, who was
the first store-keeper in the village, probably had much to do indirectly with
the changing of the name. The evidence is that Mr. Mann removed to some
other locality, and that IMr. Nugent being the most prominent man in the
place, the citizens, for some reasons peculiar to a pioneer people, almost un-
awares gave it the name of Bennettsville, a prolongation of Mr. Nugent's
lan
The original plat does not give the width of the streets and avenues. In
finding the direction which \\'asliington street takes with reference to section
lines, subtract the variation five degrees and fifty minutes from field note
north thirty degrees and forty-five minutes west.
94 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Bennettsville is locatetl i.jh the railroad. It has few features which attract
attention.
Tlie village of Xew Market was laid out by Robert Henthorn in 1839.
The streets are si.xty feet wide, avenues thirty feet, alleys ten feet. It is
situated in the southern part of survey or tract numl)er one hundred and
ninety-six on the west bank of Fourteen-mile creek. In 1850 Gabriel Phillippi
made an addition of twenty-two lots on the southeast comer of the original
plat. Round about the \'illag"e the country is rolling. In the northern part
of the first plat the ground is broken and not well adapted for a thriving busi-
ness place. The eastern half of the village juts out on the high banks of
Fourteen-mile creek. Here the road leads up the liluffs as it follows up the
dividing line between the tracts.
For many years previous to 1839 New ]\Iarket was a rendezvous for
market wagons, which made it a stopping point on their way to the towns on
the Falls. People soon learned to bring their produce here — eggs, butter,
poultry, calves and dressed hog.s — and to receive in e.xchange groceries and
d\y goods. From this fact the village derived its name of New Market. The
first man who engaged in buying and selling country produce, and who lived
in New Market and sold all the articles common in country stores, was An-
derson Ross. After him came W^esley Bottorff. Mr. Garner. J. W. Haymaker.
Dr. Benson and Alexander Ruddell. Between 1840 and 1850 there were three
stores in the town at the same time. There was an old-fashioned saloon here
about 1845. which dealt out all kinds of drinks, from hard cider to Kentucky
"Bourbon." A prosperous blacksmith and cooper shop about the same time
gave the village an appearance of considerable business. In the place now
there is but one store.
The resort known as the Jeffersonville Springs was in the heyday of its
existence at this time. Its patronage came from all points of the South and
West. In 1838 the management built a large and handsome hotel at the foot
of Broadway and the street out to the resort was graded and became a highway
for the ecjuipage of fashion and wealth.
Jefifersonville had never been satisfied with the manner in which the
county seat had been taken away and removed to Charlestown. There had
been no controversy upon the county seat question in the election of the Rep-
resentatives to the Legislature, and they had acted wholly upon their own per-
sonal feelings and wishes in the matter. The people of Jeffersonville bided
their time to take back the county seat and get their revenge at the same time.
In 1838 the county seat removal question was raised again, and both sides to
the question prepared for a pitched battle. A Senator and two Representatives
of the Legislature were to be elected and the candidates were chosen on that
issue.
The anti-removal candidates put in nomination for Senator were Ben-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., INU. 95
jamin Ferguson, and for the Lower House Col. John S. Simonson and
Thomas J. Henl}-. Those in favor of removal to JeiTersonville put forward
William G. Armstrong for the Senate, and Dr. Nathaniel Field and Major
Henr_\' Hurst for Representati\'es. This was a noted contest in the political
history of Clark county as the nominees were all men of ability and of great
personal popularity. The canvass was hot and the contest, as it always is on
questions of county seat remo\-als, was bitter. The removalists, the JefYer-
sonville part}', elected their candidates, but the victory was barren of fruits ;
the Legislature refusing to the people of Clark county their wishes on that
subject, and Charlestown still retained her hold upon the county seat. But
the strength of the removal feeling had been tested and it showed that a
majority of the people were in favor of it. They were defeated but not
discouraged. After a lapse of forty years the fight was renewed.
The Hon. James G. Howard gi\-es a measure of the period as follows :
"At that time school-houses were not very plentiful. The only one that we
had in Jeiifersnn\-ille was a little old unused clerk's office. They had the court-
house here then, but the county seat was at Charlestown ; and the first school
I went to when I came here was to that little clerk's office. The people did
not have many opportunities for an education those days. Tliev were not
generally well educated ; but there was a class of men here at that early day —
quite a number of them, that with all the disadvantages that surrounded them
w'ould compare favorably with any I have ever met. So far as the morals of
the community at that time are concerned, I do not think the period between
1830 and 1850 has ever been surpassed. It is astonishing that the intelligence,
the judgment and stamina that constitute vigorous manhood shcjuld have
been consolidated in men of those days of hardship and few advantages : and
when I undertake to compare the present with the past, I think that the men
of those days would compare most favorably with those of our present time.
I believe that every man, so far as I can remember, was a church-going citizen.
There was a stability of character pervading the community at that time that
almost astonishes me when I think of it. And more especially was this true
of the farmers: nearly every fanner was a church-going man." The
population of Clark county in 1840 was fourteen thousand five hundred ninety-
five.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FIFTH DECADE— 1840 TO 1850.
On January 23. 1841, Jeffersonville expanded once more. The Jefferson-
ville Association, Dr. Nathaniel Field, agent, promoted the eastern division en-
largement. This division extended from the river with the line of Port Fulton
(which is the dividing line of C. and D. of tract No. 2, of the Illinois grant)
to Eighth street, thence with Eighth street to within six hundred and sixty-
five feet of Fulton street (which is the east line of Benson's addition) thence
with this line to the Ohio river, comprising blocks one to sixteen, including
Chestnut Grove cemetery.
A flouring mill, tannery and foundry were started in Jeffersonville at this
period. In 1847 Samuel H. Patterson and James Callahan erected a brick
flouring mill on Spring street. This was the first steam flouring mill in the
city and was run for two or three years when I\Ir. Patterson bought out the
interest of his partner and soon after sold the business to John F. Howard, of
Louisville. In 1841 James Lemaire started a tannery at the corner of Eleventh
street and Broadway. He carried on this business until 1848, when he sold
out to John A. Ingram and J. AI. Ross.
The Anderson foundi-y which was carried on in a small shop near the
ship yard, was moved, about 1844. to a location on Spring street. This firm,
consisting of Charles C. Anderson, James Keigwin, Hamilton Robinson and
Richard Goss, did business at this location for a number of years, but finally
in i860 removed to their present plant on Watt street, between Maple and
Court avenue. The necessity for a better wharf prompted the city council oi
Jeffersonville to have the present wharf between Spring and Pearl streets
graded down in 1843. Originally the ground stood some six or seven feet
higher than the pavement on Front street and extended out nearly two hun-
dred feet level. On this plat of ground was a row of large trees at the edge of
the bluff, while just to the rear of them was an old graveyard which had been
used by the garrison of Fort Steuben in 1790 for their burials. Haiwey
McCampbell had the contract to grade down the earth and the city council
had the bodies of the old soldiers there removed to the Mulberry street ceme-
terv. At different times during this decade Clark county was tlie host for
several of the national political leaders. July 5, 1842, Gen. William Henry
Harrison visited Jeffersonville and Charlestown. At the latter place he made
a speech describing the battle of Tippecanoe and refuting several charges
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., INU. 97
which had lieen made as tcj his mismanagement of the troops in this laattle.
While here he spoke in the most commendatory manner of a great many offi-
cers who had fought at Tippecanoe, but never mentioned Bigger or Beggs.
These olificers had performed vahant service, and during the whole campaign
had done their duty in a brave and honorable manner. The General's neglect of
recognition to these officers not only in his speeches but in his reports of the
campaign and the battle was noticed. It was and is a matter of regret that
these officers and the men who fought under them in this memorable action.
did not receive the public recognition which was their just due.
Richard IM. Johnson came, too. in the course of the fall, and delixered
his speech to attentive listeners. He was received by a committee, and from
here went to Salem, in W'ashington county. At the foot of the knobs he cut
hickory canes for the committee, which were preserved as relics of much value.
Thomas J. Henly delivered the reception speech in behalf of Clark county. In
1844 James K. Polk visited Jeffersonville. He had been elected President,
and had been brought across the river to Jeffersonville, to a reception given
in the old Methodist church on Wall street. President Polk was on his way
east and his escort wore scarlet coats. \\'hen the boat landed at the foot of
Spring street, there was a great crowd to receive him, a band was playing,
and cannon were booming. In the crowd was a raw-boned individual, named
IMaybe, who was an ardent Polk man. Some one made a slighting remark
about the scarlet coats and a fight ensued in which Maybe whipped about
twenty men. Such encounters as this were common in those days, all men
were plucky and were as willing to fight as to eat.
In 1844 also Ben Hardin, of Kentucky, was the speaker at a great Henry
Clay meeting held at the "Springs." About four thousand people were here
to hear him, and the "Springs'" which were then in the glory of their popu-
laritv, was crowded to the gates. In 1849 Gen. Zachary Taylor visited
Jeffersonville and was received in the church on Market street, between
Spring and Pearl. He was on his way to Washington to be inaugurated Pres-
ident. Millard Fillmore spoke in Jeffersonville in 1850 from the small porch
in front of the building on the southwest corner of Market and Spring-
streets.
In 1845 Charlestown and Clark county suffered the loss of one of its oldest
and most prominent citizens. Gen. John Carr. In the Southern Indianian,
a county paper published at Charlestown by William S. Ferrier, is the
following account :
"It becomes our painful duty in this week's paper to announce the death
of Gen. John Carr, who died on the 20th instant (January 20, 1845) after
a long and very painful illness. His death created a space which cannot soon
be filled. General Carr was a man of no ordinary character. He had long
occupied an elevated standing among his fellow men. He was born in Fayette
7
9^ BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of April, 1793, and hat! at the time of his
death nearly completed his fifty-second year. He emigrated from that state
with his father to the then territoiy of Indiana, in the spring- of 1806, having
been a citizen of this county ever since — a period of thirty-nine years. During
the summer of 181 1 he was engaged in several scouting parties on the frontier,
and in watching and guarding against the approach of the Indians, who were
then known to entertain hostile feelings toward the settlers. At this tune he
was but eighteen years of age. In the fall of the same year he joined tlie
Tippecanoe expedition, with Captain Bigger's company of riflemen, and
was engaged in that memorable and bloody conflict, which occurred on the
7th of November of that year. On the declaration of war in 1812 he was
appointed a lieutenant of a company of United States rangers, authorized by
an act of Congress and organized for the defense of the western frontiers.
During the years of 181 2 and 1813 he was activeh' engaged in se\'eral im-
portant and fatiguing campaigiis. which were attended with extreme hardship
and peril. The Mississinewa and Illinois or Peoria campaigns were particularly
distingtiished for their many pri\-ations, difficulties and hairbreadth escapes ;
in all of which he participated. During much of his time the command of
his company devolved upon him, in consequence of the absence of the captain.
Though then but a youth he was equal to any emergency.
After the war he filled successively several military offices. Aniimg these
were brigadier and major-general of the Militia of Indiana. The latter
office he held at the time of his death. General Carr was repeatedly honored
with the confidence of his fellow-citizens in the election to several civil offices
of trust and honor. He filled at various times the offices of Recorder, agent
for the town of Indianapolis, Clerk of Clark County Circuit Court, to which
he was re-elected, and Presidential Elector on the Jackson ticket in 1824. All
these duties he discharged with honor to his country and himself. In 183 1
he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first
Congress of the United States, and continued to serve in this body for six
consecutive years. In 1837 he retired, but was re-elected for the fourth time
in 1839, and sen'ed two years more, making in all eight years" service in that
body. His Congressional career w'as noted for industiw, efficiency and use-
fulness. He originated the sale of lands in forty-acre lots, thus bringing
within the reach of all the home that so many needed. He assisted in passing
the pension act, by which so many of the old Revolutionary soldiers received
pensions and afterward aided many of them in establishing their claims to
this hard-earned bounty of their Government. In private, as
well as in public life, he was distinguished for his nice sense of honor and the
uprightness of his conduct. Of him it may be said in truth that he was one
of God's noblest works, an honest man." Carr township was named for
General Carr.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 99
In 1843 there appeared in the heavens a great comet which ahnost rivaled
the splendor of the sun itself. It became visible in America on March 6, 1843.
As observed in this country the greatest length of the tail was about fifty de-
grees, and its size and brilliancy may be imagined when we learn that it was
visible at midday, near the sun. with the naked eye. It remained within vision
about a month and caused the greatest excitement, as its appearance was co-
incident w-ith the prophecv of \\'illiam Miller that the millenium would be in
1843.
\\'illiam Aliller was Ijnrn in Massachusetts in 1782 and held a captain's
commission in the \\'ar of 1812. He held peculiar views concerning the
second advent of the Saviour, and began to preach his doctrine in 1833. In
1840 the first general conference of the Second Advent believers was held in
Boston, and the work spread with rapidity from that time on. All the calcu-
lations of the sect were to the effect that in the year, 1843 '^^'^^ to be the great
da}' when the faithful were to be caught up in the air and enter into the
realms of celestial bliss forevermore. In Clark county this sect had many
followers. Mordecai and Christopher Cole in Charleston and Dr. Nathaniel
Field, of Jeffersonville. were the leaders in the Millerite following in these
localities. April 14. 1843. was the revealed date and as the great day ap-
proached, many of the believers in Clark county, as well as elsewhere, were
waiting in their white ascension robes to be caught up in the air, or were on
the house-tops or in the grave yards watching. Many disposed of their
worldly goods. For some days preceding this time, their secular business
w-as, for the most part, suspended, and those who looked for the advent, gave
themselves over to the work of preparation for that event, as they would
have done if they had been on a bed of sickness expecting death. Notwith-
standing the ridicule heaped upon them by the public, they continued to
maintain their societies even after their great disappointment, and the Second
Adventists still huve churches in the countv.
Sellersburg was laid out in 1846, by Closes W. Sellers and John Hill.
Sellersburg is very irregularly laid oft. None oi the forty-two lots have a
riglit angle. It resembles an isosceles triangle pressed together from its base.
One writer says, "Sellersburg resembles a linx twisted and squeezed together."
Sellersburg together with Cementville and Speeds is a great shippinif point for
cement, an industry which will l)e treated later on.
New Market became a post-office about 1845. Mails were formerly
carried through the eastern end of Oregon township on their way to Bethle-
hem and Madison, from Charlestown. Poke Run was the only office for many
years in the township. Dr. John Covert was postmaster here for fourteen
years. The way of carrying mails was on horseback with a pair of saddle-
bags: or in summer, a light \-eliicle was sometimes used, when a passenger
might be picked up along the route. After the Ohio & Mississippi liranch
lOO BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
was built, Poke Run ceased to be a post-office. New Alarket liad grown suffi-
ciently to gain the right of having an office within her limits. Accordingly
the old route was abandoned and a new one established, which ran from
Charlestown to New Washington via New Market. The first postmaster was
John W. Haymaker. After him came 'Sisney Conner, D. M. Turner, and
James A. Watson.
The first post-office in Union township was established at Sylvan Grove,
one-quarter of a mile south of Memphis, on the route which led from Charles-
town to Bedford, in Lawrence county, Indiana. The office was established
in 1847, with John Y. Wier as the first post-master, and who held the office
for many years. Some time in i860 this route was abolished and the office
taken to ^Memphis. The first postmaster in Memphis was J. F. ]\IcDeitz : then
came U. S. Reynolds, A. P. Jackson, Daniel Guernsey, and John D. Coombs.
Blue Lick was established about 1842 by the efforts of the Thompsons. Guern-
seys, McDietzes, Kelleys and Hawses, with Thomas McDietz, Sr., as the
postmaster.
But few of the smaller post-offices established in this decade remain.
The rural free delivery has wiped them out of existence, and has replaced
them with a service far superior to what was given before.
Lt Jeffersonville the state prison was changed from its old location to the
present in 1845, and the wall and buildings at the corner of Ohio avenue and
Market street were torn down, and the brick sold to various purchasers in Jef-
fersonville. The old house at the southwest corner of Market and Locust
streets was built from these old prison brick. The State Reformatory is in
Clarksville, not Jeft'ersonville. The first warden of the prison south in its
new location was William Lee. This institution from its log cells at Ohio
avenue and Market street to its new location, and its change in management
and principle, will be described in a separate chapter. In 1845 the historic
old Governor's mansion at Fort and Front streets burned down. It was here
that Governor Posey retired when he left Corydon, and it was here that
General LaFayette was received in 1825.
In 1847 the second great flood swept down the Ohio valley leaving waste
and destmction in its path. It reached its highest December i8th. and rose
to the height of forty and eight-tenths feet, only four and six-tenths feet below
the record of February 19. 1832.
The idea of building a canal around the Falls of the Ohio, which seems
to have had a periodical recurrence in Jeft'ersonville, took on a tangible form
again in 1848. On December 6th, of that year an act to incorporate the "In-
diana Canal Company"' was passed by the Legislature and the following were
named as incorporators : Athanasius Wathen, \\'illiam D. Beach, ^^'illiam G.
Armstrong, Samuel H. Patterson. John D. Shryer, Thomas J. Howard, Sam-
uel Merriwether. George F. Savitz, of Clark county; Shepparrl ^^'hitman.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. lOI
James Brook. Randal Crawfcird. Jolin Bnjwn. Somerville E. Leonard, Henry
H. Royse, John Austin, William A. Weir, of Floyd county : John Law. of
Knox county; William Carpenter, of Vanderburgh county: Richard W.
Thompson, of Vigo county: Abijah \\'. Pitcher and John W'oodburn, of
Jefiferson county: George H. Dunn, of Dearborn county: James Morrison,
of jMarion county : Jacob Burnet and Josiah Lawrence, of Cincinnati. Ohio :
Benjamin Loder, of New York City : Erastus Corning, of Albany. Xew
York, and Henry B. Stone, of Boston, Massachusetts. The capital stock was
five hundred thousand dollars, but the directors had power to increase this
amount by the sale of additional shares as they thought necessary. The tolls
which, were to be charged were as follows : For steamboats, sea vessels,
barges or keel boats, any sum not exceeding seventy cents per ton : for each
flat boat, not exceeding twenty dollars : for each raft of timber, plank or other
lumber, not exceeding twenty dollars, for each sixty feet in length and twenty
feet in width. The state of Lndiana fnot the United States) was given the
right to transport troops, munitions of war and provisions free of toll in
time of war.
On June i6, 1849, the directors met at JefTersonville and elected James
C. Hall as president : Amos Lovering, secretar}\ and William D. Beach,
treasurer. A\'illiam J. Ball was appointed chief engineer and he made a volu-
minous report dated January i, 1850. He enumerated several schemes, the
first of which is the opening of a navigable channel in the middle of the river :
second, the digging of a canal from the head of the middle chute to the foot
of the Kentucky chute : third, a canal near the Lidiana side to the head of big
eddy, thence with locks through Goose Island ; fourth a canal through Goose
and Rock Island, but with a dam across the river at the head of Goose Island
instead of the canal from that point up to the head of the Falls ; fifth, a new
canal on the Indiana side from Jeffersonville to just below the point of rocks,
to be fed from the upper pool of the Ohio : sixth, a new canal to be built on
the Indiana side from Jefifersonville to "Falling Run," canal to be fed from
the upper pool of the river; seventh, a new canal built on a high level, to be
fed by a navigable feeder from Columbus. Indiana, to Jeffersonville. eighty
miles in length. The plan adopted was a canal from one hundred feet to two
hundred feet wide, extending from above the drift of the Falls to the whirlpool,
at which point the locks were to be located. From this lower end the natural
channel was to be improved.
The length of this proposed canal was one and three-fourths miles, the
lockage twent}' and twelve one hundredths feet, and the total cost was to be
six hundred and eighty-eight thousand thirty-three dollars and sixty-five cents.
The project never got beyond the paper period, and the idea of transporting
boats around the F"alls was allowed to sink into innocuous desuetude until
another genius conceived the new idea of building a railroad from the head
to the foot of the rapids and hauling steamboats around on cars.
I02 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.j IND.
The Mexican war peiiod in Clark county like other counties throughout
the state was one of excitement, particularly so to this county because the
regiments all came to the southern part (jf the state to embark on their
journey. Fort Clark, called Camp Joe Holt in the \\'ar of the Rebellion,
was the scene of rendezvous of the Fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and
as they embarked on steamboat here the war was brought very near to home.
In the chapters of the military annals of Clark county, appear accounts of
these events.
Following the ^lexican war the gold fever occupied the minds of the
more adventurous and some few left to try their fortunes in the far West.
Cholera appeared again in 1849, but with far less mortality than in 1S35.
A not very bright description of the sanitary and health conditions of Jeffer-
sonville is given in Doctor Drake's treatise published in 1850.
"It stands about a mile above the Falls of the Ohio, on a terrace, the
south or river side of which is forty feet above low water, and about four
hundred and twenty feet above the sea. This terrace, like most others along
the Ohio, declines from near the river and is liable to inundation, so that in
high floods the town becomes inundated. Both above and below it there are
small streams entering the Ohio, which are the channels by which these over-
flows are effected. To the north and northeast, near the town, there are
ponds skirted with marsh, one of which has lately been drained. The surface,
like that of the plain on which Louisville stands, on the opposite side of the
river, is argillaceous, and retains the water which rains or flows upon it. It
will be obsen-ed that all the insalubrious surface lies to the summer leeward
of the town, but the flats and stagnant waters near the mouth of Beargrass
creek, on the opposite side of the Ohio, are directly to the windward of this
town, with only the river intervening. Jelfersonville is also to the leeward
of the Falls, and exposed therefore to any insalubrious gases which may be
liberated by the agitation of the waters. Two miles north of the town a
watershed, between the Ohio river and Silver creek, commences and runs to
Charlestown, thirteen miles north. At its commencement this terrace is sixty
feet above the level of the town, and its rise afterward is about ten feet per
mile. Doctor Stewart, to whom I am indebted for several of the facts in this
article, informs me that autumnal intermittents and remittents are decidedly
prevalent in Jeft'ersonville and its vicinity. The penitentiary in the state of
Indiana, stands in the western part of Jeffersonville (not so — in Clarksville).
Doctor Collom, its physician, informs me that the convicts are every year in-
vaded by autumnal fever, but in a degree rather less than the inhabitants of the
town." This condition, we are happy to say has been obliterated and Jefiferson-
ville together with the rest of Clark county has a good health record.
On April 23, 1839. John Fleming surveyed the west half of C of Grant
No. 2, of the Illinois grant, and the plat was certified to on May 17, 1848.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. IO3
This addition to Jeffersonville lay between Fulton street and the west line of
the eastern division, and from the Ohio river to Eighth street. It was called
Benson's addition and was divided into blocks numbered from one to twelve.
In Benson's addition Fleming gave names to all the alleys, as follows :
Wagoner, Cherry, Virgin, Cypress, Sassafras and Wood.
In lx3th Charlestown and Jefifersonville schools of no small merit were
established in the latter part of the decade. In Charlestown the Rev. H. H.
Cambern, in 1849, bought up the old Masonic hall, or rather the original
seminary, made additions and erected boarding houses, and opened a female
seminary for the first time in Charlestown. Rev. George J. Reed was the
first teacher. In this school all the higher branches were taught, the ladies
leaving, in many instances with a diploma. Cambern's seminary lasted for
fifteen or twenty years. The Rev. Mr. Reed was succeeded by John F. Lind-
ley, of Frederickstown, Ohio. He was succeeded by Zebulon B. Sturgiis
about 1859. Sturgus had previously been teaching in a frame building on
upper Thompson street in what was known as the Charlestown boys' school.
Here Sturgus made considerable reputation, his students coming from differ-
ent states along the Ohio river. But in course of time changes were made.
Untoward circumstances threw the old teacher out of his position. Students
gathered here from all sections, and the faithful old teacher had the pleasure
of seeing- in after years some of them quite distinguished lawyers, statesmen
and philanthropists. Henry Crawford, one of the prominent lawyers of
Chicago, and Senator Booth, of California, received much of their early edu-
cation from ■Mr. Sturgus. The old teacher was a strict disciplinarian. To-
bacco-chewers and swearers were not allowed among his students. It is re-
lated that when the first locomotive passed over the Ohio & Mississippi
Railroad, he whipped all the scholars for imitating the engine. Sturgus is no
more: the old schools are gone, and the present generation is reaping their
golden grain.
In Jeffersonville a 'Mr. Hibben established a seminary on the north side
of jMarket street, just below Pearl street about 1850. This school was a high
class institution and had quite a reputation, receiving scholars from a distance
and for that day .giving them an education above the average. In Professor
Wylie's history of Indiana University in Bloomington, appears the following:
"He (Hibben) completed his sophomore year at Jefferson College, Pennsyl-
vania, and was graduated at Transylvania University September i, 1848,
from which university he received the degree of A. M. He then began his
career as a teacher in Jeft'ersonville, Indiana." This school lasted until in the
fifties and was known as the Jeffersonville Seminary. In 1850 the population
of Clark county was fifteen thousand eight hundred twenty-eight.
CHAPTER IX.
SIXTH DECADE— 1S51-1860.
This pericd in Clark county was marked by no events of importance to
history. The quiet pursuits of peace gave employn;ent to the minds and
energies of the people, and the pohtical tension which was beginning to be
drawn everj^where throughout the country gave a prominence to national
affairs which dwarfed local issues.
Townships, towns and villages were laid oft, a fact which testifies to the
progress of the county which otherwise would not be evident. Broom Hill in
Carr township was begun in 185 1 by Thomas Littell, who lived in this im-
mediate neighborhood. Here he began the making of brooms, and from this
circumstance the village derived its name. But Littell was not the first
settler in this locality by any means, though he built the first house in the
village and opened the first store. Littell's house stood on the north side of
the railroad. Previous to Littell, about the year 1809, one Michael Bums,
of Connecticut, settled here and built a cabin on the site of Broom Hill, on
the south side of the railroad. Austin Rowe was a storekeeper after Littel.
Broom Hill has had many small manufactories. William Leighton. in
the former part of its history, put up a shingle macl.ine. He also erected a
grist-mill and afterwards attached to it a stave factory. At one time a
thriving portable saw-mill was run by the Bussey brothers. It lasted for a
few years only. After the Bussey brothers, W^illiam McKinley and ]\Iichael
Bums erected a saw-mill. The business done at this mill was considerable.
Blacksmith shops, shoemaker shops, and the various trades have been
carried on in the village, though never on a very extended scale. Broom Hill
is noted as once being the seat of extensive railroad supplies. During the first
few years of the railroad the village furnished more wood than any other
station on the road.
Bridgeport, much like Broom Hill, came into existence about the time
the railroad was built. The section hands created a demand for many of
the coarser wares, and hence, as a result, Samuel Pkimmer, of this section,
began to sell various things, such as shovels, picks, spades, drills and crow-
bars, to the men employed by the railroad. Mr. Plummer died before the road
was completed, and the store fell into the hands of his brother, Charles. Soon
after it was finished James Warman erected a warehouse on the north side
of the track. Here were stored various grains, the house serving as a kind of
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. IO5
"depot for supplies" for the people round about. Wesley W'arman was a
storekeeper here about this time.
The village of Henry\-ille is situated in the center of Alonroe township.
Many yeai-s before the place was laid out there was an old Indian trail running
through the village, much as the Pennsyh-ania railroad now runs. It is
located on Wolf run and Miller's fork of Silver creek, the former a tributary
stream of Silver creek, which derived its name from the great rendezvous it
furnished wolves forty years before Henryville was platted. The village lies
in a beautiful valley, with hills on the east side, and in sight of the famous
mounds. A little further east, on a high hill, is where the red man of forest
manufactured his darts, implements of war, and himting utensils. Formerly
the village was known by the name of Morristown, which name it retained
for three yems. It was laid out in 1850, and in 1853 was- named Henryville,
in honor of Col. Henry Ferguson. The Pennsvlvania Railrfiad passes
through the village, going almost due north, and leaves the place in a very
irregular shape.
Joseph Biggs was the first storekeeper in Henry\'ille. He kept his
stock in a little frame house on the west side of the railroad. A Mr. Over-
man came ne.xt, but stayed only for a short time. He kept in a little frame
house on the east side of the railroad. Henry Bussey and David Fish followed.
The post-ofiice was established immediately after the railroad was built.
The first postmaster was Mr. Overman, second, Harvey Bussey: third, Mr.
Lewis; fourth, John Bolan, who acted in this capacity two years.
Memphis is the only village regularly laid rmt in Union township. It
was platted by Thompson McDeitz in 1852. The lots are at right angles
with Main street. There ha\'e been several additions made, the most impor-
tant of which is J. F. Willey's. of very awkward shape, made so because of
the location of the land. Generally the town is shaped ungainly. The railroad
passes through the principal street, while the business houses are on either
side. Memphis is wholly in tract number two hundred and three, of the
Illinois grant. Neither of the founders of the village ever lived here perma-
nently. McDeitz was a resident of Blue Lick, and Colonel Willey of L-tica
township. Tract numbei^ two hundred and three was originally owned
by heirs in Virginia.
Previous to 1852 the citizens of what is now Oregon were included in
the township of Charlestown. People residing in the northeastern part of
the latter township found it inconvenient to attend elections at the county
seat, or even nearer home. The old, original place of voting was constant!}'
losing much of its regular business, and other towns and villages were gaining
what she lost. So the residents naturally desired to be struck off from the
old township, and to have a separate organization of their own. These and
many more influential people finally induced a petition to be circulated for
I06 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND.
signers, and to be presented to the honorable board of County Commissioners,
praying for a new township organization. The petition was written by Dr.
John Covert, a chstinguished resident of Xew Market, and mainly through
his efforts the plan succeeded. \Mthin the same year. 1852. the County Com-
missioners granted the request, and hence the present township of Oregon.
It was struck oft" the northeastern side of Charlestown, and is four tracts wide
from northeast to southwest and ten from northwest to southeast, making in
all forty five-hundred-acre tracts, if the}' were wholly in Clark county. But
the county line between Scott and Clark counties cuts off the northeastern
corner of the township, and throws three or four tracts into the county of
Scott. From this fact the tract which would naturally belong to Oregon ex-
tending further in a northeasterly direction than any of those in other town-
ships, the name was derived. The Territory of Oregon was then the most
distant body of land lying in the northwest which belonged to the United
States : since there seemed to be a striking coincidence between the two sec-
tions, it was mutually agreed that the new township should be named after
the new territory. ,
The site of Otisco was formerly owned by Thomas Cowling : but after
his death his son, Samuel, inherited the property. They were of English
extraction, and came here about 1830, when the upper part of the township
was a dense forest. Immediately after the railroad was built, which was in
1854, the village w-as laid out.
Carr township lies in the western half of the county. It was organized
in 1854. being struck off' almost entirely from the eastern side of W'ood. It
has an area of nearly twenty-seven scjuare miles, or over seventeen thousa^nd
acres, one third of Avhich is knobs. It is bounded on the north by ^^^ood,
Monroe, and Union townships ; on the east by Union and Silver Creek town-
ships: on the south by Floyd county: and cm the west by W'ood townshii).
The boundaries are very irregular on tlie north and east sides. They are set
forth in language something like the following :
Beginning on the line which divides Clark from Floyd county, and on
the line which divides sections nineteen and twenty, and from thence running
north until it strikes the southwest corner of section thirty-two : thence east
and thence north to where tracts numbers two hundred and fifty, two hun-
dred and thirty-four, and two hundred and thirtv-five corner: thence south,
with variations, until it strikes the Muddy fork of Silver creek ; thence witli
that stream, with its meanderings. to the south side of tract number one hun-
dred and sixty-six ; thence west, with variations, to the county line of Floyd,
near St. Joseph's Hill, and thence with the dividing line between Clark and
Floyd counties to the place of beginning.
This township is composed mostly of sections, though there are four or
five of the Grant tracts lying along the eastern side of the township.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND. I07
Petersburg, one of the little villages of Silver Creek township, was laid
out about the year 1854, by Lewis Bottorff. The survey was made by Danie!
H. McDaniels. Owing to some irregularity in the Recorder's office the plat
was never recorded. There were eighteen lots fifty by two hundred feet, and
the village was named in honor of Peter McKossky, a Russian who lived near
by on the Muddy fork.
Union township, covering an area of nearly thirteen thousand acres, oc-
cupies the central portion of the county, and according to the census of 1900
has a population of nine hundred and sixteen. It was organized in September,
1858. mainly through the efforts of Col. John Carr. It is the newest of all
the townships of the county, and takes its name from the fact that it was
made up from a union of parts of other townships. Monroe bounds it on the
north, except a narrow strip on the east side, where the township of Charles-
town forms also the eastern boundary ; the townships of Carr and Charles-
town bound it on the south ; Monroe and Carr form the western boundaiy.
The township as it now is was erected out of Monroe. Charlestown and Carr
townships. The extreme northern end of Silver Creek township and the
extreme southern corner of Union unite in the middle of Silver creek, near
the southwest corner of tract number one hundred and sixty-six ; also the
extreme portions of Carr and Charlestown townships — the only instance of
the kind in the county.
In the late forties the town of Jeft'ersonville became interested in the
construction of a rairoad. The Jefferson ville Railroad Company was in-
corporated by an act approved January 20. 1846. which empowered the com-
pany to build a road from Jeft'ersonville to Columbus, and also to use the
tracks of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad. The company organized
under the name of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad Company, on the 17th of
March, 1848, with James Keigwin. Samuel Merriwether, William G. Arm-
strong, A. Walker, Woods Maybury, Benjamin Irwin, J. B. Abbott. J. D.
Shryer, \\'. A. Richardson. W. D. Beech, and Samuel McCampbell as direc-
tors, and William G. Armstrong, president : Samuel McCampbell, secretaiy,
and J. G. Read, treasurer, as its officers. Th^ name of the corporation was
changed to the Jeffersonville Railroad Company in 1849. and in the fall of
1852 the road was completed.
The two roads were consolidated subsequent to 1862 as the Jeft'ersonville,
Madison & Indianapolis Railroad Company. This consolidation was a prac-
tical absorption of the older by the younger road, as the officers and directors
of the Jeffersonville Railroad Company were retained in office. This rail-
road now exists under the name of the Pennsylvania, having been absorbed
by that company in 1873.
In September. 1853. the Fort Wayne & Southern Railroad was first dis-
cussed in the Jeff'ersonville council. This discussion finally culminated in
I08 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
April. 1855, in the purchase of two hundred thousand dollars" worth of stock-
in the company. The route of this road after it entered the county about
where the Pennsylvania now crosses Silver creek was up Front street in
Clarksville and Jefifersonville to the foot of Pearl street, where the terminal
was to be located. The efforts of such men as A\'illiam G. Armstrong. James
Keigwin, Samuel Merriwether, J. D. Shryer, Woods Maybury and James G.
Read did much to advance the interests of Jeffersonville, although the heritage
of the Fort Wayne & Southern investment is nothing to create much pleasure
in the breasts of the present tax-payers of the city.
The peritxlical recurrence of the scheme to get steamboats over the Falls
appeared again in 1852. The movement began with the organization of a
companv which intended to take steamboats out of the water at Jeffersonville
and transport them by rail around the Falls, depositing them again upon the
bosom of the stream below the Falls. This company was chartered May 11,
1852, and was called the "Ohio Falls Marine Railroad Company." The
seal of the company depicts the ease with which this feat was to be performed.
The boat resting gracefully upon the cars "en train" is shown with smoke
pouring out of her chimneys, and from the steam issuing from her escape
pipes her engines are evidently still at work. Among the citizens of Jeffer-
sonville who subscribed money for the scheme were Sidney S. Lyon, L. D.
Clemmons, John P. Cox. B. F. Marsh. Joseph Lank, ^^'arren How, George
L. Swartz and David H. Lane. They each subscribed for forty shares. This
ship railroad was to be "wholly in Clark county," and was "to begin at a place
in the town of Jeft'ersonville a short distance from the Jeffersonville ferry
landing, as at present established, and to terminate at a place called Whirl-
pool, as estimated to be one and three-fourths miles below the Jeft'ersonville
landing, the length of said road being as near as m?y be, a mile and three-
fourths." Although sun-eys were made and plans drawn the road was ne\er
built and the project still hangs unplucked by the promoter.
The conditions of the transportation facilities on our railroads and ferries,
as w^ell as the attractions of Jeffersonville, are told by a traveler who arrived
in 1858. His account ends as follows:
"After no less than four accidents to our train on the Ohio & Mississippi
Railway, happily involving no other evil consecpiences than the smashing of
the company's engine and two or three cars, the sacrifice of many valuable
hours, and the loss of an amount of patience difficult to estimate, though once
possessed by all the passengers, myself included, we arrived at the miserable
village, though called a city, of Jeft'ersonville. in Indiana, nearly opposite to
Louisville, in Kentucky, on the River Ohio. The train was due at an early
hour in the afternoon, but did not reach Jeffersonville until half past nine in
the evening, long before which time the steam ferry-boat had ceased to ply,
and the captain of which refused to re-light the fires of his engines to carr>-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IXD. lOg
the passengers across. We saw the lights of the large city gleaming tempting-
ly across the stream, but. there being no means of conveyance, we were all
reluctantly compelled to betake ourselves to the best inn at Jeffersonville —
and bad, very bad, was the best. We had had nothing to eat or to drink all
day, in consequence of the accident to uur train having befallen us in an out-
of-the-way place and in the very heart of the wilderness; and such of us as
were not teetotalers looked forward to a comfortable supper and glass of
wine or toddy, after our fatigue and disappointments. But, on asking for
supper and wine at the hotel, we were told by mine host that we were in a
temperance state, and that nothing in the way of drink would be served except
milk, tea. coffee and lemonade. A thoughtful friend at Cincinnati had given
us on starting a bottle of Bourbon whiskey twenty years old ; and we told
mine host that if he would provide us with glasses, hot water, sugar and a
corkscrew, we should enjoy his meat, find our owri drink, and set Fate at
defiance."
Happily, we of later years are not compelled to be victims of such con-
ditions, and the fact that the traveler was tired, hungry and disappointed upon
his arrival, and possibly recovering from his above mentioned drink when he
drote this description, may account for the beautiful tribute which he has
paid Jeffersonville. The city, however, seemed to be considered important
enough to notice even earlier than this. In 1852 General Scott visited Jelter-
sonville to deliver a speech against Franklin Pierce. Pierce had served under
Scott in the Mexican war and had risen to the rank of brigadier-general.
The presence of Mexican war veterans in Clark county prompted the visit of
the old general but it availed him nothing, and Pierce was elected to the
Presidency.
In 1852 the public school system was inaugurated in Jeffersonville. The
new constitution made education compulsory and free in the state. Two new
school-houses were built at this time, both of which have disappeared. The
first was on Mulberr\- street about opposite the end of Chestnut street, and
was called the Alulberrj^ street school. The other stood on the northwest
corner of Maple and ^^'att streets and was called the "Blue" school-house.
They were two-stor\' brick structures and served admirably for the purposes
for which they were constructed, yet they stand in great contrast to the
newest addition to the schools of the city of Jeffersonville. The first school
trustee of Jeffersonville was Jonas G. Howard, still an active factor in the
politics and business life of the county. The establishment of the public
school system in Indiana provided good schools, but there still seemed to be
an opening for private institutions. In 1852 the Methodist church purchased
the Springs property, where formerly the beauty and society of the South
were wont to disport itself, and where gambling and conviviality were
the pastimes of gentlemen. The "Palaces of Sin" were torn down or con-
no BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
verted into school buildings, and quite a number of young ladies were enrolled
as students in the new "Seminary." It prospered but a short while. Soon
after the lapse of gaity at "The Springs," the hotel which stood at the foot
of Broadway, burned (1857).
The establishment of a branch of the Bank of the State of Indiana in
Jef¥ersonville in 1855 inaugurated the banking system in Clark county. It
remains today, under the name of the Citizens National Bank, the oldest
bank in the county.
In 1855 the question of lighting the city of Jeffersonville with gas was
discussed in the Council, and in 1859 a company was chartered for that pur-
pose. Mains were laid and within a year the streets were lighted and the
residences were piped for the safer and more desirable illuinination.
In Utica the first addition to the town was made in 1854 by James H.
Oliver. It was on the northwest corner of tlie town.
In Bethlehem a great fire in 1856 burned down one entire block, in-
cluding some of the oldest and largest houses in the town.
In Sellersburg the first post-office was established in 1852. In 1856. the
Clark County Fair which had been held regularly in the vicinity of Charles-
town, was held at Jefifersonville, but remained here but a few A'ears, when it
was taken back to Charlestown.
In the year 1853 the proceedings of the Common Council of the city
of Jeffersonville show that the town of Port Fulton was annexed to Jeffer-
sonville, but the action was premature as the annexation was never consuin-
mated. The solons of Jeffersonville were e\'identh- wide awake at this
period, for in January, 1855, the Council took up the question of the removal
of the county seat from Charlestown. In February of this year Judge Read
reported to the Council that he had been to Indianapolis to push the matter,
and in January. 1856, a committee of three was appointed to advance the
idea — four hundred dollars being appropriated for their expenses. As the
countv seat remained at Charlestown for twenty years after this attempt, it is
evident that the project was salted away for future use.
In 1854 Clark county was visited by a great drouth, lasting from July
to October. The crops were ruined, springs went dry, and the river reached
an unprecedented low stage. The temperature during this period hovered
about one hundred degrees for one hundred days. The following year the
river reached an exceedingh' low stage, and as there was no dam on the Falls
the upper harbor extending past Madison suffered greatly. There was an
earlv winter that year and during the latter part of November the river froze
over, and on account of the shallow places froze to the bottom, .\bout De-
cember 20th there was a period of mild weather and the owners of steam-
boats, supposing that navigation could be resumed, started out with their
crafts. There was a sudden cold snap and between Fourteen Mile creek and
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. Ill
Twelve Mile Island five large steamers loaded with freight and passengers
were caught in the ice and held fast.
The only new industry started in tlie city of Jeffersonville during this
decade was a woolen mill. This mill was a large two-story brick building near
the river bank just below Mechanic street. It was built by Samuel H. Pat-
terson. This mill he placed in the hands of J. ^^ . L. Mattock, who had
formerly managed a mill of like kind in Danville. Indiana. In 1863 the mill
was sold to Moses G. Anderson, who ran it some two years. In 1865 it was
bought by J. L. Bradley, Dillard Ricketts and S. H. Patterson, who conducted
it under the firm name of Bradley & Company. During the following j-ear and
a half the firm lost considerable money, and closed up the mill, selling the
machinery to various persons. This building stood vacant for many years
and was torn down in the eighties.
In i860 occurred the trouble between the citizens of Jefifersonville and
the convicts of the Prison South. The warden of the prison had contracted
to furnish brick for the Louisville water works, then building, and the con-
victs were marched through the city streets to the brick works above the city.
The fact that these men were taken through the streets chained together, and
that they competed with free labor aroused the people to the injustice of the
practice and a mob was formed to compel its discontinuance. The convicts
were driven back to the prison, and since that time have never performed
any labor outside the walls.
Politically the people of Clark county were comparatively quiet during
the early fifties, but the election of 1854 stirred up feeling which engendered
much bitterness. The \A'higs and the Democrats had fought their political
battles before this, and had then forgotten their dififerences, but this cam-
paign produced a new feeling. ^Members of both the Whig- and Democratic
parties formed the People's party and in their meeting at Charlestown they
promulgated their beliefs, among which was "temperance." Within this
part}- was organized a secret organization, which went by the name of "Know
Nothing." It was created for the purposes of waging a political war against
the Roman Catholics and foreigners. At the time of the election riots oc-
curred in the city of Jeffersonville when these citizens were assaulted to pre-
vent their voting. No serious injuries resulted and the feeling in Clark
countv subsided. However, the movement which wr^s nation-wide, appeared
in Louisville the next year, 1855, and the memorable "Bloodv Monday"
resulted
While the political atmosphere of the county became agitated in '54-
and during the last year or two of the decade, the social and commercial con-
ditions presented a calm and unruffled surface. The people both in the
country and in towns were a quiet, contented and industrious class. In the
rural districts the fanners were far more contented and possibly had more
112 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
reason to be so than at later periods. Previous to 1850, tlie county was
covered with a tiiick forest, and tlie land was owned by settlers who. besides
farming- a small part of their forty or fifty acre tract, made considerable profit
out of the manufacture of staves, hoops and barrels. There were few, if
any, large farms at this time, and the division of the land into small parcels,
each with its cabin or more ostentatious residence upon it, made a neighbor-
hood of eveiy farm, and no one was isolated or without near neighbors. The
cooperage plants and the shipping of the output as well as the hoop-poles gave
occupation to a very large population outside of the cities and towns. It is a
matter of fact as well as astonishment to know that the rural population of
Clark county at that time was greater than at the present day. The timber
disappearing, the population followed, either moving to the city of Jefifer-
sonville or the various towns situated northwardly. The small farms became
a part of larger ones, and where twenty or thirty families had lived and
flourished, the present day presents extensive tracts of pasture, or cultivated
fields of an extent unknown in those cla3^s.
The larger rural population made the country far more attractive than it
is in some localities at present, and the simpler habits and customs of the
people made for contentment, and the desire for wealth which has spoiled
the simple happiness of many of the present day farmers had not become
as marked then as later on.
The farmers raised their crops and marketed them : were independent
and happy. The spring, summer and fall gave occupation to all and the
winter evenings wei^e more given to reading and study than at the present
day. As a rule they were a religious. God-fearing people. The farmer who
did not attend church was the exception. Political, religious and general in-
formation was the rule, and although papers and magazines were far less
plentiful than at present, these mediums were perused with interest and the
topics of the day were studied and understood. The Christian Advocate,
The Louisville Journal, edited by George D. Prentice, and the Louisville
Democrat, edited by Harney, together with the Cincinnati Enquirer, were the
journals subscribed for. The country churches were the centers of neighbor-
hood activities, and the visit of a preacher always resulted in an all-day gather-
ing. It has been said that almost every neighborhood had men so familiar
with the Bible that if the bonk had been destroyed they might have repro-
duced it from memor}-. A social and friendly spirit seemed to per\-ade each
countryside, and the simple religion of the pioneers remained to brighten and
lighten the lives of those who chose to live in the free air and cheerful light of
heaven. Xearly every family had prayers in the evening and a chapter read
from a well-thumbed Bible became a part of the devotions. The Bible was the
one book which was familiar to almost every country man. To this familiarity
with the Book may be attributed the high tone which marked the character
of the men of the day.
BAIRn S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. II3
Previous to 1850 it was impossible to procure and keep harvest hands
unless whiskey was sen-ed in the field, but this habit disappeared and with
it the incident features which had helped to lower the standard of morality.
Industry, prosperity and success marked the lives of the men who tilled the
soil. The religious phase of their lives had none of the deadening influences
which marked Puritan England in the sixteenth century, nor did as violent
a reaction follow. The countrj- dances and social gatherings were not
affected by Puritanical views of such things. The intercourse between the
people of Jeffersonville and Charlestown was most cordial. The road leading
to Jefifersonville from the county seat was a ven,- busy highway, and although
there was neither railroad, electric line, or telephone, the incidents and events
in one locality were subjects of interest elsewhere almost as c|uickly as at
present. A 'bus running between Charlestown and Jeffersonville over the
old Charlestown road brought the city and town in close touch.
The exciting questions which arose during the last year of the decade
concerned the issues in national affairs, and but few months of the new
decade had passed until the storm of war broke upon the nation, and Clark
county, like the remainder of the loyal state of Indiana, entered with heart
and soul in the duty of upholding the government founded by their fore-
fathers in 1776. In the year i860 the population of Clark county was twenty
thousand five hundred and two.
8
CHAPTER X.
THE SEVENTH DECADE 1861-187O.
The seventh decade of the histoiy of Clark county was the most momen-
tous of all. The War of the Rebellion had deluged the land with blood for
more than half of this period, and although Clark county never became the
scene of actual combat, yet no city in the Union, large or small, had more of
the outward and visible signs of war than did Jeffersonville. Beyond the river
la}' the Southland, whose legions surged to and from the border, while from
the North came untold blue-clad thousands to preserve the Union established
by our fathers. Jeffersonville being one of the principle gateways to the South,
became the scene of martial display and military activities, which made every
other business here sink into insignificance. Troops of all arms of the service,
either arriving, camping here, leaving, or in hospitals, gave an importance to
the city, the adjacent country, and the lines of transportation leading out of
it that has never been known either before or since. The county itself presented
a scene of activity in bearing its burden of the weight of war, and the raising
of troops together with the man}^ other activities' co-ordinate with it kept the
people alive to the condition of affairs both national and local. The farmer,
the mechanic, the professional man and the tradesman, those who found it im-
possible to volunteer, still followed their vocations, but War was the dom-
inating question, JFar was the principal theme, and fPflr was the chief basis
of business. In other chapters of this volume will be found recorded the
events of interest connected with Clark county, and the War of the Rebellion,
under the title of "Military Annals." Of disloyal organizations there were for-
tunately feAV within the borders of Clark county, but these few let no oppor-
tunity slip to advance the rebel cause or to gain friends for the Southern Con-
federacy, Their meetings were secret, as were their activities, but they made
themselves felt at times and their machinations added spice to the times, if not
to the honor of a loyal county.
In the early sixties the city of Jefifersonville established her first gas plant
and the streets were lighted. The Patterson wharf was built and a new fern-
company was started. This company, however, consolidated soon afterward
with the older company.
The Car Works was established in 1864. The First National Bank was
established in 1865. The Charlestown and Utica pike was opene<l in 1866.
The first steam mill in Wood township was built in 1868.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 115
In 1864 one hundred and fift)' thousand dollars were appropriated by
Congress to build the United States Quartermaster Depot at Jeffersonville.
There being no provision for the purchase of the ground, the citizens of the
city took the matter up and a committee headed by S. B. Diffenderfer,
finally found means to get the location. This was under the administration
of Levi Sparks as Mayor of the city, and the city after paying eleven thousand
dollars for the ground donated it to the United States for the purpose of erect-
ing a peiTnanent depot. The buildings were begun soon after and the perma-
nent location of the quartermaster depot was assured for Jeffersonville.
Up to the year i860 there had never been a legal hanging in Clark county,
but this year the Sheriff executed a man sentenced by the Clark Circuit Court.
There has only been one other legal hanging since.
In 1865 Congress, by act, authorized the Louisville, Nashville & Jeffer-
sonville Railroad Companies, who were stockholders in the Louisville Bridge
Company to construct a railway- bridge across the Ohio at the head of the
Falls. The erection of the superstructure was begun in May. 1868, and on
Febmary i, 1870, the spans were connected. The first train passed over on
February 12, 1870. This bridge cost two million three thousand six hundred
ninety-six dollars and twenty-seven cents. In the various accidents during- the
construction of this work there were fifty-six men killed and eighty wounded.
The winter of 1866-1867 was a veiy severe one. The cold was intense,
and the river so low that it froze up early in the winter. The coal supply gave
out, and the people suffered for want of fuel. What little there was on hand
went to 60 cents per bushel. Previous to this period there were two ferry
lines, one of which had a landing at the foot of Clay street, Louisville, and
after fighting for some months they consolidated, but part of the agreement
was that a boat should continue to land at Clay street. The fuel famine became
so serious that Phil Tompert, who was then Mayor of Louisville, was appealed
to by the people to ask the boats to stop running, a channel having been cut
between Louisville and Jeffersonville, so that the coal they were consuming
could be distributed among the suff'erers. There was practically no trouble in
getting the boat landing at Clay street to stop, as it was not paying, and from
that day to this it has never made a trip. There was threatened litigation.
but this never amounted to anything, and the present ferry company gained
its monopoly of the business thrtiugh the demand for coal stopping the other
boat.
In 1870 the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, the main line of which runs
between Cincinnati and St. Louis, built what is noAV the Watson connection.
At that time some good coaches were used on the Watson line, but they have
become slightly worn since then. This road now operates under the title. Bal-
timore & Ohio Southwestern.
In the vear 1870 the mill known as the Gathright Mill was built just
Il6 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
below the Pennsylvania bridge. This mill was operated by a turbine water-
wheel, except during high water, and was successfully operated for many years.
It burned about 1906.
The end of this decade finds Clark county back to a normal condition after
the war. The population of the county in 1870 was twenty-four thousand
seven hundred seventy.
CHAPTER XI.
THE EIGHTH DECADE 187I-1880.
An epoch of commercial, political and religious activities was that of the
seventies. The temperance question, the county seat removal, the glass works
and car works questions, the panics and strikes, and a general condition of
material improvement marked this decade as war had marked the preceding
one. The various departments and offices of the United States quartemiaster
were still scattered over the city of Jeffersonville, but work was soon com-
menced upon the new buildings which were to contain all of the offices and
storehouses under one roof. In 1870 was launched the steamer, James How-
ard, at the Howard ship yards in Jeffersonville. She was the largest inland
river steamer ever built on western waters.
The village of Marysville, containing- about one hundred inhabitants, was
laid out by W. W. Tevis. civil engineer, in 1871, for Patrick H. Jewett. It
is located on the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad, between Otisco
and Nabbs. It is on both sides of the railroad and has forty lots. The village
is located on the south side of tract number two hundred forty-eight, about
midway from the north and south line. Marysville was named after Miss
Maiy Kimberlain, the wife of A. Q. Abbott, of Oregon township. During
the years which have elapsed since the village was regularly platted, very little
has been done in the way of improvement.
On January 31, 1871, the city of Jeffersonville ceded all jurisdiction over
the four blocks purchased by the United States Government for a quarter-
master's depot, to the United States Government. At meetings held in several
places in the county immediately following the Chicago fire, substantial do-
nations were made for the benefit of the sufferers.
On the 6th of July, 1871, the city council passed an ordinance providing
for a steam fire department, to consist of one engineer, two drivers, and four
hosemen for each engine and hose-cart. In September of the same year a com-
mittee was appointed to buy the necessary engine, hose-cart, hose, etc. An
Amoskeag engine was bought at a cost of four thousand five hundred dollars ;
hose cart, five hundred fifty dollars ; one thousand feet of hose and three
horses, six hundred dollars, and harness, eighty-four dollars and twenty-five
cents, making a total cost of seven thousand two hundred twenty-four dollars
and twenty-five cents. Previous to this the department consisted of a hand
engine and fires were often the occasion of a fight or a frolic.
Il8 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
On September 22, 1872, Horace Greeley, nominee of the Democrats and
Libera! Republicans for the Presidency, visited Jefifersonville and spoke to an
immense crowd on Spring street. His speech was delivered from the small
iron balcony in front of the second floor of the old hotel at Spring and ]\Iarket
streets. In this year also occurred a great disaster to the city of Jefifersonville
in the burning of the shops of the Ohio Falls Car and Locomotive Company.
The company had just made extensive improvements, but everything was
swept out of existence. Fortunately a heavy insurance was carried and the
building of the present magnificent system of fire-proof and isolated structures
was begun. The improvements were still incomplete when the panic of 1873
came and the long period of financial depression which followed completely
paralyzed the car building business.
In December, 1872, the office of the County Treasurer at Charlestown
was robbed, and although the amount of actual county funds stolen finally
turned out to be small, the robbery caused great excitement. A gang of toughs
had terrorized Charlestown for several years, and the robbery was of their
doing. They were captured, how'ever, soon afterward.
In both Charlestown and Jeffersonville fairs were held this year to raise
fimds to be used for the relief of the poor who were sufifering as a result of
the panic. Mosart Hall was the scene of the fair in Jefifersonville. This
building, at the southwest comer of Spring and Court streets, sensed for many
years for gatherings of this kind, and held the unique position of being the
only available hall of its size in the city, during a period when such fairs and
social gatherings were far more frequent than at the present day.
During the winter of 1872 smallpox was epidemic throughout the county,
and reached such a stage that the council of Jeffersonville ordered that red
flags be displayed before each house containing a case. The papers of the time
tell of Sam Hedge being ill with the disease, and of how he had decorated
the whole front of his house with myriads of red flags to warn away eveiybody.
Building a new school-house at Utica was a wanm subject in 1873, in
that township. However, after extended debate and much feeling, but no
casualties the building was ordered built.
In this year on October 8th all the female convicts at the prison were sent
to Indianapolis. Previous to this the Prison South received female as well as
male prisoners as no special provision had been made by the state up to that
time for their separate incarceration. Previous to this, in Februaiy, 1873, the
citizens of Jeffersonville had held a meeting and adopted a most inexplicable
resolution. They worked and used even,' influence to get the prison removed
from Jeffersonville to iXIichigan City, but fortunately failed.
A new company was incorporated this year to constract a bridge across
the river from the foot of Clay street in Louisville. Among the incorporators
were Barrett, Dennis Long, W. Ray, Doctor Green, T. Bradley and others.
The following subscribed stock:
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 1 19
Chesapeake & Ohio $200,000.00
Ohio & Alississippi 200,000.00
City of Jeffersonville 100,000,00
City of Louisville 100,000.00
The fact that Jeffersonville siibscrihed as much as Louisville shows either
a financial healthfulness or a desire to be so that was commendable. That she
was abreast of Louisville in some ways was evidenced by the existence of three
banks, all in a flourishing state of prosperity. The Citizens' National Bank,
the First National Bank and i\Ir. Barnaby's Faro bank.
In 1873 the village of Bethlehem made application for incorporation. It
had been laid out in 1812, and since that time had seen varying changes of
fortune.
In 1873 began the agitation against the liquor traffic. The movement
began as did the one in 1907 and 1908, and gathered momentum as it ad-
vanced. In the year 1874 the actual warfare against the saloon and the whis-
key business in general was begun by the women of Jeffersonville.
Dr. Sallie C. Jackson was president of the woman's society which was
battling against the rum demon. ]\Irs. \\'inesburg, of the Presbyterian church,
was elected vice-president, and Mrs. ]\Iartha Cook, treasurer. These women,
numbering sometimes a hundred, would meet at the Methodist church, and
after prayers, would march out in column of twos to the various saloons in
the city.
Their first meetings were held in the saloons of Alonzo Fonts and the
Falls City hotel, where they were treated with great discourtesy. At the
saloon in the Strauss Hotel, on the corner of Front and Spring streets, meetings
were held, but whatever results may have come at that time have wholly dis-
appeared as this place still dispenses old Tambo over the bar in satisfactory
quantities.
At John Sittle's emporium the ladies were attacked by the proprietor's
wife with tubs of water. Although drenched to the skin, they stood their
ground and one i_^f the party of crusaders, glorying in her condition, cried out
in her ecstacy, "Bless God, I am a Baptist!"
These eff'orts culminated in the formation of the ^^'omap.'s Christian Tem-
perance L'nion in Jeft'ersonville, and the reputation of the crusaders of this
city went abroad in the land. A paper of the day has this item concerning the
effects of their efforts:
"The ladies of the Temperance L'r.ion of this city have been now about
four weeks engaged in active work against the liquor traftic. All the druggists
but one in the city have signed the pledge to sell liquor only upon the prescrip-
tion of a regular physician. All the physicians but two have signed pledges
to use iquor in their practice only in cases of emergency. Pledges not to sign
120 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
applications for a renewal of license have been widely circulated among the
voters and have met with such favor that it is believed that a renewal of license
could not now be obtained in any ward in the city. There has been such an
awakening on the subject of temperance as was scarcely if ever known Ijefore.
The traffic has been reduced at least sixty per cent."
During the time of the crusaders the women held one hundred fifty-two
street prayer meetings, besides visiting saloons, offering pledges and praying
and talking to saloon-keepers.
In 1874 another fine school-house, the Rose Hill school in Jeffersonville,
was finished. The question concerning the removal of the county seat from
Charlestown to Jeffersonville resulted in one of the bitterest political fights
ever known in Clark county. The fight which was made in 1838 and won by
the removalists. the Jeffersonville party, resulted in nothing as the Legislature
refused the people of the county their wishes on that subject.
During the sixty-six years, while Charlestown had been the county seat,
Jeft'ersonville had passed her in population, and had acquired an envy of her
only great possession. After a lapse of forty years from the first attempt
the fight was renewed.
Jeffersonville township, including the city of Jeffersonville. now had near-
Iv one-half of the whole population of the county, and it seemed just that the
majority should rule. As early as March. 1874. the papers of the time con-
tain accounts of meetings held to discuss this subject. At this time one meet-
ing was held at Charlestown, and a united effort was decided on to prevent the
removal. Discussion became bitter, letters, circulars and newspaper articles
appeared. About Januar}- i. 1876, the City Council of Jeffersonville, headed
by its then recently elected Mayor, the Hon. Luther F. Warder, decided
to inaugurate a determined effort to regain the long lost county seat. The
ground was donated for the site of the court-house and thirty thousand dol-
lars was voted, raised and deposited with the County Treasurer as a donation
to the county to build a court-house in case removal was made. The people
of Charlestown met the movement at the beginning and foug'ht it with vigor
and determination. The people in the upper end of the county joined them.
The contest ran into bitter personal animosities and hostility between the two
sections of the county. Animosities were engendered that perhaps will never
he healed, and the newspapers of the time present some rich and racy reading.
Political affinities were destroyed and the removal question dominated every
other and all other questions of public interest. The Board of County Com-
missioners met at Charlestown court-house on the first Monday in March. 1876,
and the petitions for removal, containing a clear majority of all the voters in
the county were presented, but every eft'ort Avas made to defeat them. It was
charged that a large portion of the signatures were fictitious, but the anti-
removalists were met at every point. The case was pressed through the Com-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 121
missioners' court and then appealed to the Circuit Court. A change of venue
was tal<en to Floyd county and a special judge was agreed upon. Judge Per-
kins, of Indianapolis, was sent to tr\' the case. At length the anti-removalists
had reached the end of their resources and were compelled to submit to the
inevitable. On September 23. 1878, the order was made to remove the county
records to Jeffersonville. and during the month of October they were brought
to the new county seat and placed in the new and commodious court-house,
which had been built to receive them. After a lapse of sixty-seven vears. Jef-
fersonville again became the county seat of Clark county, and it is hardly
probable that the removal cjuestion will ever arise again.
The affairs at the Prison. South, occupied a great deal of attention in
1874, on account of the frec^uent escapes of a genius namer Rodifer. who was
serving- time there. An investigation of conditions at the prison was made
soon after, and the report of the investigating committee was to relieve Shuler,
the warden, for gross mismanagement.
In 1875 a great revival of religion swept over the county.
In May, 1875, the first notices of the new glass works began to appear in
the papers, and it was stated, "Work will be started if twenty thousand dollars
worth of stock can be subscribed. On November i, 1876, work was started
on the plant. The company was chartered under the name of the Ford Plate
Glass Company, with a capital stock of one hundred twenty-five thousand dol-
lars. The city donated five hundred feet of ground on ^Market street, east,
extending to the river front, to secure the location of this industrv in Jeffer-
sonville. John F. Read was chosen president of the company. In February,
1880, the name was changed to the Jeft'ersonville Plate Glass Companv, the
incorporators Iseing at this time. John F. Read, S. Goldbach, Felix Lewis, Ed-
ward Howard, James Burke, Edward Ford, ^^'arren Horr, Joshua Cook,
Frederick Herron, Abraham Frye, Jonas G. Howard. S. Goldbach was elected
president. H. T. Sage, secretary and treasurer and E. L. Ford, superintendent.
After the reorganization nf the company one hundred feet front was added.
Two hundred men were employed and the business was confined to the man-
ufacture of plate glass. This industry was a valuable addition to the city of
Jeffersonville, and as it was one of the first glass works in the United States,
its output was easily disposed of. An article of that time described the plant
as follows :
"So great is the demand for plate glass that the works in Jeffersonville
are driven to their fullest capacity, and find it difficult to fill their orders.
They have two large furnaces, each with a capacity for eight crucibles holding
fifteen hundred pounds of melted glass. One furnace is opened in the morn-
ing, the other in the afternoon, and sixteen large plates are rolled each day.
As soon as possible after pouring, the plates are removed from the iron bed
on which thev are made and transferred to the annealing ovens, where thev
122 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
are allowed to graduall}' cool. They then pass through the various stages of
grinding, polishing and cleaning, and are ready to be packed. The entire
process requires the greatest care and accuracy, owing tn tlie brittle character
of the article, and breakages are not infrequent.
"The talile on which the molten mass is poured is eleven by twenty-two feet
and glass can be made of nearly this size, the largest being one hundred ten
by two hundred thirty inches. The time required to melt the metal in the
crucibles, and allow it to cool sufficiently to pour, is twenty-four hours."'
In the year 1881 the sales of the company amounted tn two hundred fifty
thousand dollars. The finished plate glass was worth at that time about one
hundred dollars and sixty cents per square foot.
The year 1876 being an election year as well as the centennial year, the
usual enthusiastic demonstrations during th.e compaigni took place, and the
torch-light processions of this and the succeeding campaigns of 1880 and 1884
were evidence of the great interest which the masses took in the issues of the
day.
On April 24, 1876, the great steamer, the Robert E. Lee, was launched at
Howard's ship yard. It was an occasion which drew great crowds, not only
because of the name of the boat, but on account of her size. The shipyards at
this time were in the most prosperous period of their existence, but the
founder and head of this industry, Capt. James Howard, was drowned on
October 14th by his buggy backing oft" of the feriy boat.
An amusing incident occurred during the early part of 1876. A baby
was found on a doorstep in Jeft'ersonville with a note attached, giving the in-
formation that its father was a councilman. Col. James Keigwin, always a
great joker, discussed the matter at a council meeting, and together with Capt.
William Northcutt and William S. Goldbach, other members, furnished
amusement to the people of the city for some time.
In Jeft'ersonville the Orphans' Home was founded this year, and the work
of raising a building fund was begun. This 3^ear also the town of ^\'atson
was laid out. J. B. Speed was the moving spirit in the new village. In 1871
the cement mill had been erected in this vicinity and it was this fact which
brought the village into existence. In 1872 the post-office here was established.
Following the election of Mr. Hayes to the Presidency, after the hot cam-
paign of the fall, came the violent dissatisfaction of those who voted the other
way, and Clark county added her mite to the cause by holding meetings at
several points to protest. At New Washington the Democrats and Repub-
licans clashed and engaged in a rough and tumble fight, but no casualties
resulted.
The panic and strikes in 1877 affected the industries of Clark county
materiallv. The threats of members of the mob in Louisville, that they intend-
ed coming to Jeffersonville to seize the stores and amis at the quartermaster's
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND
123
depot, was tlie occasion of much concern, and the Jetifersonville Rifles, the local
militia company, was held under arms for quite a while. Cannon from the
Government building were kept in readiness, but the mob never came.
In 1877 the question of water works for Jeffersonville was agitated, and
in the latter part of the year a company was organized, called the Jeffersonville
Water Works Company. Dennis Long, of Louisville, was president ; John
C. Howard, John Read, D. S. Barmore and other were interested, but the
company failed to make good.
The visit of President Hayes to Jeft'ersonville and his enthusiastic recep-
tion, September 17, 1877, was evidence that the people of Clark county had
forgotten the animosities created by the campaign and in the election squabble.
On September 23, 1878, the final order was given for the removal of the
records from Charlestown to the new court-house at Jeffersonville.
The town of New \\'ashington was increased in size in 1879 by the ad-
dition of thirty-three in-lots. and twelve out-lots. On Thursday, September
18, 1879. the ]\Iost \\'orshipful Grand blaster of the Masons of Indiana,
Calvin W. Prather, of Jeffersonville, laid the cornerstone of the Jeffersonville
Orphans' Home with great ceremony.
As a whole the decade of 1870-1880 was one in which Clark county
showed material advancement in many ways. Her industrial, her social and
her religious life had each their revivals, and the year 1880 opened with a
people happy, prosperous and ambitious. The population of the city of Jeffer-
sonville in 1880 was ten thousand six hundred sixty-six; that of Clark county
was twenty-eight thousand six htmdred ten.
CHAPTER XTI.
THE NINTH DECADE. 1881-189O.
Outside of the commercial activity, whicli marked tliis decade and tlic
floods which threatened to ruin the city, nothing of great importance occurred.
In 1 88 1 the block bounded by Court avenue, and between Spring street and
Wall street was divided by a thirty-foot street known as Park street. The
part laying between Park street and Court avenue was laid out as a park and
improved with walks, trees and shrubs and christened "Warder Park," in
honor of the mayor, the Hon. Luther F. Warder.
In 188 1 Sweeney's foundry was moved to its present location. It was
originally established in 1869 by Michael A. Sweeney and Chris. Baker, who
opened a small shop on Pearl street, near Court avenue. Mr. Baker retired
from the firm in 1870, Mr. Sweeney continuing the business alone. In 1872
he moved to Court avenue, and in March, 1876, admitted James Sweeney as
a partner. The business was continued here until March, 188 1, when the
firm purchased nine acres of ground from Guthrie, Marlin & Company, of
Louisville, and as soon as buildings could be erected, moved their works to
the place they now occupy. They have a river frontage of nine hundred
sixty-five feet, and since their purchase of this property have made extensive
improvements. For a number of years they have engaged in boat-building,
and have launched cjuite a number of handsome steamers in late years. The
principal work of this firm, however, is engine building, although all kinds
of machinery is constructed. This firm still remains one of the important
industries in Clark county. The most important incident, or rather series of
incidents, which collectively made one great calamity in the eighties, were the
floods of 1883 and 1884.'
In the year 1883 the river reached such a stage that a large part of Jef-
fersonville was flooded and great damage done, but in 1884, when on Feb-
ruary 15th, the river reached the unprecedented stage of 46.7 feet, the
city of Jeflfersonville suft^ered a blow to her hopes — her industries and her
business which took years to repair. The water on this date covered Port
Fulton up to the Utica pike, as far down at Jefterson street, out to High
street, down to Division street, out to Chestnut street, down Chestnut street,
out Penn street, down Court avenue, out Fulton street, thence to Ninth
street and Walnut, thence east to Walnut and Watt streets, thence to Tenth
street and Locust, thence to Eleventh and Wall, to Thirteenth and Walnut,
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. I25
to Locust and Fourteenth, thence southwardly to Sparks avenue, east to
Spring street, thence to Spring and Broadway, thence west to the city hue,
between Eleventh and Sparks avenue. The water reached the point where
Eighth street crosses the west line of Jeffersonville, thence to Missouri
avenue and Seventh street, thence to Seventh and Broadway, thence to Sixth
and Indiana avenue, thence to Court avenue, east of Indiana avenue, tlience
to Fourth street, east of Indiana a\'enue, thence to Ohio avenue and Fourth
street, thence to Third and Ohio avenue, thence to Market and Fort street,
thence with Fort street to the alley, between Market and Front streets, thence
to Clark street, tlience to Mulberry and Market streets, and Ihence to the
river front.
The city of Jeffersonville contained two hundred fourteen blocks, of
which ninety-three were wholly submerged, forty-three partly submerged, and
seventy-eight were dry. Some of the measurements taken at that time by
Victor W. Lyon, C. E., show the following depths of water Februarv 15,
1884:
Spring and Front streets 3.14 feet
Pearl and Market streets 1.42 feet
Pearl and Chestnut streets 4.51 feet
Pearl and Maple streets 6.82 feet
Pearl and Court avenue 8.12 feet
Michigan avenue and Court avenue 8.86 feet
Fifth street and Ohio avenue 9.05 feet
Sixth street and Ohio avenue 2.95 feet
Seventh street and Ohio avenue 9.19 feet
Eighth street and Ohio avenue 9.31 feet
Eighth street and Michigan avenue 11.42 feet
Ninth street and Spring street 8. 1 1 feet
Eleventh street and Spring street 7.89 feet
Front street and Locust street 5.18 feet
Market street and Locust street 6.21 feet
Chestnut street and Locust street 6.30 feet
Walnut street and Maple street 6.58 feet
Walnut street and Court street 4.98 feet
Walnut street and Seventh street 6.66 feet
Walnut street and Eighth street 8.54 feet
Walnut street and Market street 10.00 feet
Locust street and Ninth street 11.88 feet
Ekin avenue and Indiana avenue i3-70 feet
Ekin avenue and Illinois avenue 12.31 feet
Eleventh street and Illinois avenue 16.18 feet
Missouri avenue and Tenth street I4-I5 feet
126 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. ,
Missouri avenue and Eleventh street 13-74 feet
Missouri avenue and west line of city 16.53 f^^t
Indiana avenue and Ninth street 11.98 feet
Maple street and Watt street 5.07 feet
Wall street and Ninth street i3-6i feet
Market street and Division street 7.00 feet
Chestnut street and Graham street 1.50 feet
This flood caused great suffering in Jefifersonville and along the whole
length of the river, but relief in abundance was received from all over the
country. Soon afterward the levee was built under Government supervision
and with a Government appropriation. Jeffersonville stands now well pro-
tected against the recurrence of such a disaster and during the great flood of
1907, the highest since 1884, Jeffersonville ^\■as the dryest town or city along
the whole Ohio valle}'.
In the eighties also the oil and gas fever struck Clark county and a
company was formed in Jeffersonville to open wells. J. V. Reed was presi-
dent. Willis Goodwin, secretary and J. H. McCampbell, treasurer. Stock was
greedily bought and six or seven wells were sunk near Jeffersonville. The
one in Ferguson's woods struck a good flow of gas and the stockholders, in
their elation, held a celebration at the well and the whole city turned out.
The gas was lighted and night was turned into day. The stockholders refused
to sell their holdings to less fortunate friends, but their dream was short lived,
as the gas soon gave out. Luther F. Warder formed another company to
sink wells but they met with no better success.
The political campaigns of '84 and "88 were the most enthusiastic since
the Civil war. Cleveland and Hendricks marching clubs vied with the Blain
and Logan clubs and the county presented about an equal number of marchers
in the many torch-light processions which marked the campaign in this
locality. The campaign of 1888, between Cleveland and Harrison, was
equally as strenuous and the Clark county citizens maintained their reputation
for keeping things warm until the night of the election.
In 1884 one of the most philanthropic acts in the history of the county
was performed by Prof. William W. Borden, of Borden, in erecting and
starting the Borden Institute, a school which he maintained for a number
of vears, and which has furnished good educations to hundreds of young men
and women of Wood township.
In Jeffersonville the water works system was completed in 1S88 and ac-
cepted. The population of Clark county in 1890 was thirty thousand two hun-
dred fiftv-nine.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE TENTH DECADE 189I-I9OO.
On March 27, 1890, the city of JeffersonviUe and the southern part of
the county was visited by the most destructive cyclone in the history of the
city. About seven o'clock p. m. it broke with all its fury, demolishing build-
ings and sweeping away property, but fortunately killing no one. In Louis-
ville, however, scores of people were killed and the destruction of property
was tremendous. In JeffersonviUe many buildings w^ere unroofed, many
were partly clown, and many were so badly damaged that they had to be
pulled down. About two hundred houses were ruined in the city alone, and
at the time the damage was estimated at five hundred thousand dollars. The
force of the w-ind was terrific, large timbers being blown across the river from
wrecked buildings in Louisville, A skift' in the river was blown out of the
water and into a house on Front street.
In 1891 the Car Works and other industries of Clark county were en-
joying a period of great prosperity. At that time the Car A\'orks was em-
ploying two thousand men, and this year turned out five thousand and eight
cars, valued at two million nine hundred thousand dollars, or one car for
every thirt-five minutes. The sixty-three acres of the plant, with its five
miles of track, was one of the busiest places around the Falls, the saw mill
alone turning out ten million feet of lumber per year.
The Big- Four bridge, which had been in course of conftruction for sev-
eral years, had reached that stage where the spans were being placed on the
piers. In December, 1892, during a heavy gale, the large center span fell
and shortly afterward the span on the Kentucky side followed. The collapse
of the center span carried a score of men to death, but the fall of the second
span resulted in no casualties. Three vears previously several lives were lost
by accidents in the caissons, but the Phoenix Bridge Company repaired the
damage and the bridge was finished and opened for traffic in September,
1895.^ ^ •
In the fall of 1895 the twenty-ninth annual reunion of the Grand Army
of the Republic was held at Louisville, and Jeft'ersonville prepared to help
entertain the old soldiers. Enough lunch stands and sleeping quarters were
prepared to care for five thousand visitors, but the sandwiches went uneaten,
the coffee undrunk and the cots undisturbed by sleepers. Half the population
expected to make money during the festivities and half the population were
128 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
disappointed. The owner of one impromptue lunch stand had ordered five
hundred pies per day and he disposed of one pie. One genius erected five
thousands seats on the river bank to seat the crow^ds during the display of
fire works one night and he had one customer. The reunion was not a season
of happiness so far as Jeffersonville was concerned.
In this decade another addition was made to Jeffersonville, called In-
gram's addition. It consisted of blocks one to four and lays in Grant No. 8.
From 1890 to 1900 the transportation of Jeffersonville citizens was on
a celebrated system of mule cars. This line of cars, which ran the whole
length to Market street, was the butt of all jokers, but it was a great conve-
nience to many and paved the way for the present system of electric cars,
which has added so materially to the attractiveness of the city.
In 1893, a bill, presented to the Legislature by Willis Barnes, of
Charlestown, was passed appropriating five hundred dollars for a monument
to Gov. Jonathan Jennings. Jennings' remains had laid in the old cemetery
south of Charlestown since June 27, 1834, but they were moved to the new
cemeter}' in 1894, and the monument erected to mark his final resting place.
In September, 1891, a great fair was held in Charlestown. The exhibits
being of great interest, were viewed by thousands of visitors.
From 1892 to 1893 Clark county had the first company of the National
Guard since 1877. The officers of this company were: Captain, L. C. Baird;
first lieutenants, C. H. Kelly, W. W. Crooker and H. H. Thacker; second
lieutenants, W. W. Crooker and H. E. Barrett. The company was called into
active service during the strike and riots of 1893 and upon their return from
Sullivan county were received by a great crowd of friends.
In 1898 the Spanish war found Clark county without a company for the
first call, but this was caused by the call being filled by militia regiments.
The second call was responded to by a splendid company recruited from
nearly all parts of the county. Their service in the One Hundred Sixty-first
Indiana Volunteer Infantry will be found in the chapters on the military his-
tory of Clark county. Their return from foreign service May 3, 1899, was
the occasion of a great demonstration.
In October, 1899, was held a carnival of flowers on the occasion of the
meeting of the Southern Indiana Press Association in Jeffersonville. The
display of beautifully decorated carriages was a delight to the many visitors
here at that time.
On September 4, 1899, a great labor day celebration was held in Jef-
fersonville.
In October, 1899, the corner stone of the school-house in Howard Park
was laid with appropriate ceremonies.
On December 10, 1899, Father Andran, the beloved priest of St. Augus-
tine's Roman Catholic church, died. His death removed the friend and coun-
■R5!^.
■ I'-f mjii
CLARK COL'XTY CUL'RT HOLSE.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 129
seller of many and a wonderfnily snccessfnl worker from the Christian church.
In this decade Jeffersonville and Clark county enjoyed all the advantages
which belonged to other places similarly situated with the exception of street
car and interurban service, but the next decade produced a service second to
none.
In 1896 Jeffersonville spent nearly ten thousand dollars on street im-
provement.
In 1897 the city was one of the best lighted cities in the country, having
sixty arc lights on the streets.
The population of Clark county in 1900 was thirty-one thousand eight
hundred and thirty-five.
9
CHAPTER XIV.
THE ELEVENTH DECADE I9OI-I9IO.
This last decade of Clark county history is the centennial decade, not
only of the county, but of Jeffersonville and of Charlestown.
On February 3, 1801, William Henry Harrison, the first Territorial
Governor, created Clark county by gubernatorial proclamation. The centen-
nial of this date was marked by no celebration, but the celebration of the cen-
tennial of the founding of Jeffersonville, June 23. 1902. was an event of
county wide interest. A great parade of societies, exhibits, b.nnds and citizens
was a feature of the day, followed by exercises at the court-house, where Col.
James Keig\vin, Hon. Jonas G. Howard, and Hon. Frank Burke delivered
speeches.
To the ladies of the Daughters of the American Revolution belong all
the credit for this centennial. The parade in the morning was divided into
divisions and were commanded by Jeffersonville soldiers. Col. John Ingram,
a veteran of the Mexican war, commanded one division. Col. James Keigwin.
Capt. John Hoffman. Col. Isaac Brinkworth, and Capt. C. \\\ Coward, vet-
erans of the War of the Rebellion, commanded other divisions; while Maj. D.
C. Peyton, Capt. L. C. Baird, and Capt. James W. Fortune, of the Spanish
war, commanded others. In the evening a concert by a military band was
given on Front street, and this was followed by a display of fire works from
a barge anchored in the river.
On September 19, 1903, the corner stone of the new Jeffersonville Car-
negie Library was laid by the most worshipful grand lodge of Free and Ac-
cepted Masons of Indiana, with imposing ceremonies. Fifteen thousand dol-
lars had been provided by Mr. Carnegie for the building of this structure, and
one thousand five hundred dollars per year had been pledged for its support.
At the ceremonies. Grand Master William E. English, of Indianapolis, pre-
sided, and Brother E. L. Powell, of Louisville, made the principal address.
The following is a list of articles deposited in the comer stone :
City directory of 1903.
One copy of Daily Courier Journal, dated September 19, 1903.
One copy of Daily Herald, September 19. 1903.
' One copy of Daily Evening Star, September 19, 1903.
One copy of Daih" Evening News, September 19, 1903.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
131
One copy of Weekly Clark County Republican, September 19, 1903.
Copy of Masonic directory, 1902.
Roster of officers and members of Clark Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, September 19. 1903.
Roster of officers and meml)ers of Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, Lidianapolis, 1903.
Roster of officers and members of the Forty-ninth Indiana Volunteer In-
fantry in war of 1861-5, furnished by (and in his own writing) Col. James
Keigwin, its commanding officer.
Roster of officers and members of Company E, One Hundred SixtA^-first
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in war of 1898-99, by Capt. Lewis C. Baird.
List of city officers for 1903.
List of county officers for 1903.
List of township officers for 1903.
Roster of post-office officials, carriers, etc., 1903.
List of officers of new library (Carnegie's), 1903, and copy of resolu-
tions on death of Miss Hannah Znlauf. one of the original founders.
List of officers of Walnut Ridge cemetery.
List of officers of First Presbyterian church, 1903, with history of the
organization of the church and photograph of the Rev. John S. Howk, pastor.
List of officers of Wall Street Methodist Episcopal church, 1903, and
photograph of Rev. Charles E. Asbur}', pastor.
List of officers and rector of St. Paul's Episcopal church, 1903.
List of officers and members of the Methodist Episcopal church. South
(Morton Chapel), and its history from the organization, by Rev. J. B. Butler,
pastor.
List of officers of First Christian church.
List of officers of First Baptist church.
List of officers of Ad\'ent Christian church.
List of members of Bar of Clark county.
Invitation to exercises of dedication.
Program of exercises of dedication.
Almanac of 1903.
Proclamation of Mayor for half-holiday.
Municipal reports of city. 1898, Alfred H. Bamber.
The Delineator, a magazine of fashion, 1903.
Buttericks's fashion patterns, October, 1903.
Roster of teachers of city schools, 1903, and photograph of Alexander
C. Goodwin, superintendent.
Nickel of coinage of 1903. by Thomas B. Bohon.
Confederate bill of denomination of ten dollars, dated February 17, 1864.
History of Jeffersonville township public library, by Mis« Eva Luke.
13- BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
Copy of contract and specifications for new library building, by Clark
and Loomis. architects.
Photograph of Arthur Loomis, architect.
Photograph of Mrs. Carrie Loomis.
Roster of A. A. S. R. for 1902, Valley of Indianapolis, by Thomas W.
Perrj'.
Roster of Murat Temple, 1902, A. A. R. Shrine, bv T. W. Perry.
Photograph of Hon. James K. Marsh, Judge of the Circuit Court.
Photograph of Thomas W. Perry, secretary of school board.
Photograph of W. A. Davis, president of school board.
Photograph of Simeon S. Johnson, past grand master Masons of Lidiana.
Card of Timmonds and Stancell, makers of deposit box.
Li December, 1903, St. Augustine's Roman Catholic church was burned
with a loss of about thirty-five thousand dollars. The congregation imme-
diately took steps to rebuild and on Sunday, October 2, 1905, it was dedicated
by Bishop Francis Silas Chatard.
In February, 1904, occurred the death of a distinguished educator of
Indiana, Prof. A. C. Goodwin, the superintendent of the JefTersonville public
schools.
On May i, 1904, the last mule car was seen in Jeffersonville ; the line
was discontinued for a short time, and a new electric equipment was installed.
This line extended up Market street to Jackson street. Port Fulton, and down
Market street to Ohio avenue. There was also a line on Spring street from
Front to Court avenue, up Court avenue, to Meigs avenue, and out Meigs to
the government depot.
On July 12, 1904, the City Council of Jeffersonvlile granted a franchise
to build an approach to the Big Four bridge from Court avenue, and on Sep-
tember 13, 1905, the first car was taken over the bridge.
In August, 1904, the re-dedication of the old Bethel meeting house, three
miles south of Charlestown, took place in the presence of a large concourse of
Methodists. Bishop Walden, of Cincinnati, presided.
In May, 1903, the state of Indiana acquired two thousand acres of land
near Henryville and established a state forestry' reservation. This tract of
land was acquired to show that seven hundred thousand teres of so-called
worthless knob land in Southern Indiana could be made of value. Here also
were to be raised seedling trees to distribute all over Indiana to make the state
again an extensive and commercial hardwood producer, and thereby retain
many of the wood working concerns which would have to eventually leave the
state unless a new supply of timber could be grown. It was also established
to teach forestry. On the summit of the knob in this tract six hundred feet
above the plains of northern Clark county and one thousand twenty-six feet
above sea level one can look down on the most promising farm lands of the
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. I33
state. This undertaking on the part of the state promises to be of great
value and has already borne fruits.
On August 25, 1904, Jeffersonville lost one of her oldest and best known
citizens in the death of Col. James Keigwin. late of the Forty-ninth Indiana
Volunteer Infantry. Always proud of Jeffersonville and Clark county he
belonged to that class of men who made a community better by living in it.
He was a gallant soldier and in his day was widely known and connected with
most of the enterprises of the city.
In August, 1904, the Jeffersonville and New Albany Chautauqua Assem-
bly was held at Glenwood Park. As the president and seven out of eleven
directors were Jeftersonville men it may fairly be called a Jeffersonville enter-
prise. This meeting was held at Glenwood Park on the bank of Silver creek
and a program of entertainment for eleven days was offered. This Chautau-
qua has been held every year since and it affords clean, wholesome and intelli-
gent entertainment at a very reasonable cost.
In September, 1904, the new Spring Hill school was opened in Jeffer-
sonville. This school is a modern, handsome, commodious and convenient
building, and marks an epoch in school building in Clark county. The stand-
ard of excellence set here is to be surpassed by the erection of a new high
school at a near date. Two of the old original schools of Jeffersonville were
torn down about this time. The old Mulberry street school, at the lower end
of Chestnut street, was torn down in the fall of 1904, and the old Blue school
on Watt and Maple, was demolished later.
September 12, 1905, the first electric car was run over the Big Four
bridge, thus opening the whole of Southern Indiana to Louisville. The trip
across the bridge was the occasion of a great demonstration by the officials of
the three cities.
In December, 1906, Judge C. P. Ferguson's death removed from the bar
of Clark county a distinguished jurist. A friend and companion of many of
the early leaders both in law and politics, and a student of men and measures,
he rose to the front of the profession in Clark county.
In 1906 Charlestown celebrated her centennial with appropriate cere-
monies. This old county seat town, and one of the most attractive towns in
Southern Indiana retains the quiet refinement and characteristic sedateness
which befits its age. A more picturesque place than Charlestown does not exist,
and with the historic memories of her past and the many points of interest in
her near vicinity there is no reason why the little town on Falling Run could
not be made a summer resort of great popularity. Fern Grove, on the river
at the mouth of Fourteen Mile creek, is but two miles away and here a con-
tinual stream of excursionists are found all through the summer. Other attrac-
tions near Charlestown are :
Buffalo Lick, lithia springs half mile.
134 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
White sulphur wells, one mile.
Tunnel ]\Iill, over a century old, old-style water mill, still running, two
miles.
Stockwell cave, two miles.
Delaware Indian cave, adjoins town.
Halcyon Hill, overlooking town.
Cave of the Silver Find, three miles.
Remains of Mound Builders" Fort, near Ohio river, two miles.
Fourteen Mile creek, fine fishing, one mile.
Alonument and tomb of Jonathan Jennings, first Governor of Indiana.
Quaint architecture dating from 1806 to the War of 1812.
On July 3T, 1905, the old Utica "bus" made its last trip from Jefferson-
ville to Utica, and on August ist the first rural free delivery of the mail in
Clark county was inaugurated on the route formerly covered by the "bus."
In the year 1907 the city of Jefifersonville made three improvements,
the Seventh street sewer, Maple street sewer and Spring street improvement.
W. O. Sweeney was the contractor in each case. The following shows the
interesting figures connected with each, the total cost of all improvements
amounting to forty thousand two hundred and sixty-six dollars and eighty-one
cents :
Seventh street sewer: Material, vitrified tile; length, one thousand seven
hundred and ninety feet ; cost, two thousand seven hundred and fifty-six dol-
lars and forty cents; contract approved November 5, 1907; final assessment
approved February i, 1908; covers sixty-nine property descriptions, effects
forty-four property owners ; city share, two dollars and twenty-seven cents.
Maple street sewer: Material, vitrified tile; length, two thousand fifty-
five feet ; cost, two thousand one hundred and forty-four dollars and fifteen
cents; contract approved August 29, 1907; final assessment approved January
10, 1908; covers one hundred two property descriptions, affects sixty-five
property owners; city share, one hundred sixteen dollars and fifty-six cents.
Spring street, from Court to Fourteenth: Material, vitrified brick;
length, six thousand four hundred thirty-seven and twenty-six hundredths feet;
total cost, thirty-two thousand three hundred sixty-six dollirs and twenty-six
cents; cost per lineal foot, two dollars seventy-eight cents; contract approved
April 29, 1907 : final assessment January 15, 1908 ; cover two hundred seventy-
five property descriptions, affects one hundred eighteen property owners.
Apjjrtipriations of twehe thousand dollars for purchasing the turnpike
running from Jefifersonville to Charlestown, and fourteen thousand two hun-
dred fifty for Inlying the toll road between Jeffersonville and Utica and to a
point a few miles beyond there, where it intersects the first named highway
for an outlet to Charlestown, was matle by ihc County Council of Clark cciunty
in April, 1907.
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
135
The appropriation is practically a loan, and eventually Jeffersonville,
Utica and Charlestown townships will pay it back.
On February 10, igo8, a limited car service was established between
Louisville and Seymour, Indiana. These cars ran every two hours, and the
running time between Jeffersonville and Seymour was one hour and thirty-
nine minutes.
In November, 1907. the famous Chalyljeate Springs, which once made
famous the "Springs'" in Jeft'ersonville in the forties and fifties, were destroyed
by the Big Four Railroad in making improvements.
July 18, 1907, the corner stone of the new county poor asylum was laid
by the grand master of Masons of Indiana, Calvin W. Prather, acting grand
master presiding. This ceremon}- was under the auspices of Blazing Star
Lodge, No. 226, Free and Accepted Masons. The building when completed
cost twenty-tive thousand dollars, and is one of the finest in the state of
Indiana.
August 25, 1907, the first car from Scottsburg, on the Indianapolis &
Louisville Traction Company lines, arrived in Jeffersonville.
One of the important dates of late years was that of 1907. The river
had reached a high but not dangerous stage. The residents of the lower end
of Jeft'ersonville had been alarmed at reports of the weakness of the Pennsyl-
vania fill at the junction, and at the ringing of the fire bell, when a break
seemed imminent, pandemonium broke loose. Wagons, carts, buggies, wheel-
barrows and ever)- other available vehicle was pressed into ser\'ice to haul house-
hold and other goods to high ground. It was the record breaking evacuation,
notwithstanding the fact that the water would have reached few of the houses
should the fill have broken. When the river had subsided the town of Clarks-
ville, together with the Pennsylvania Railroad, reinforced the dike and Jeffer-
sonville is today the safest and dryest river town from Pittsburg to Cairo.
In the centennial decade Charlestown began the improvement of her
streets with granitoid sidewalks, and besides adding to the beauty, attractive-
ness and convenience of the town, it has added to the value of real estate.
The spirit of municipal progress which gave Charlestown improved streets,
a fine creamery, an electric lighting plant, good telephones, cement and wall
plaster factory, and electric cars, will manifest in other lines, and the coming
generation may expect to see the most Ijeautiful residential suburb around
the Three Falls cities. Her old attraction will always remain, and to the
lovers of rural beauty and historical association she will always remain one
of the choicest spots on Indiana soil.
Borden in like manner is growing in prominence on account of its in-
dustries and improvements, but particularly from its strawberry shipments.
This town has become one of the principal berry shipping points in the West,
no less than twenty thousand gallons being shipped to Chicago annually.
136 BAIRd's history of CLARK CO., IND.
The shipment of fruits and berries to other cities is growing and this trade
will soon be one of far-reaching importance to this section of the state.
Improvement seems to be the order of the day throughout Clark county,
and Jeffersonville has within the last year taken great strides towards
rejuvenating herself and advertising her advantages in every quarter. With
the resumption of business at the car works and the returning confidence of
the people in the stability of business in other lines Clark county and her
various towns have indeed a bright future before them.
CHAPTER XV.
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
1 786- 1 844.
The earliest history of Clark county is military. The settlement at Clarks-
ville had as its nucleus a stockade called Fort Clark, and within easy distance
of its protecting walls were clustered the cabins of the settlers. However, the
growing hostility of the Northwestern Indian tribes, collectively known as
the \\'abash Indians, and the grave political situation which had arisen
among the people south of the Ohio river, because of the failure of the Union
to protect the frontiers, and open the Mississippi river to commerce led the
Go\-ernment to establish and garrison the fort just above the rapids of the Ohio.
The Indian situation was about as bad as it could be, and reports of murder
and robbery were almost daily. The trapper or hunter who \entured back
into the dense forests and canebrakes was compelled to match the cunning of
the savage or pay the penalty with his life. The settler could at no time feel
safe from the murderous attacks of a foe whom our English cousins had armed
and incited to deeds of the most revolting crueltv.
Gov. Patrick Henry, of Virginia, was well informed as to conditions, and
on "Slay 16, 1786, presented the subject so strongly to Congress that action was
soon taken, and on June 30, 1786, the Executive of Virginia was notified that
the United States had ordered their commandant on the Ohio to detach two
companies to the rapids of the Ohio, with request that the militia of that dis-
trict be required to co-operate with them in defense of the frontier. In-
structions were sent to Colonel Harmar as to the disposition of his forces,
under date of June 27, 1786. These were received by him at Fort Pitt, July
13. 1786, by the hand of Major North. Colonel Harmar replied in part as
follows : "That in obedience to instructions, he should detach two companies
to the rapids of the Ohio, to protect the inhabitants from the incursions of
the Indians." He thereupon proposed to detach Finney's and Ziegler's com-
panies from Fort Finney, at the mouth of the ]\Iiami, to the rapids, and close
the post at the Miami, there being no trouble below the Muskingum.
Fort Finney had been built in the fall of 1785, but the ground near the
mouth of the Miami was very low and the trouble occasioned by floods was
so great that it was never used again.
Colonel Harmar again reports to Secretary Knox, under date of August
138 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
4, 1786, in which he states that, "Agreeable to order of Congress, he had de-
tached two companies to the rapids of the Ohio." This seems to fix con-
ckisively the birth of the new fort, the ist of August. 1786.
The site chosen for the new work was on the north bank of the river, and
near the head of the rapids, in what is now the lower end of Jeffersonville.
It was named in honor of Major Walter Finney, as was the work closed at
the mouth of the Miami. Fort Steuben was a small work about thirty miles
below Fort Mcintosh on the Ohio. This was abandoned in June. 1787, and
soon after Fort Finney at Jeffersonville was re-named Fort Steui)en, in
honor of that Revolutionary hero of Prussian birth.
The location selected by Major Finney was at the lower end of what
later on became the original town of Jefiferson\-ille, on a piiint abuut forty feet
below what is now the foot of Fort street, and on a level piece of land lying
between Front street and the river. It commanded a view up the river for
some distance, as well as a view of the Falls, and it was here that the first or-
ganized body of white men made their habitation in Jeffersonville. Beyond
the fact that it was in the year 1786, neither the war department nor other
sources can give us any information. The first commander was Major Walter
Finney, 1786 to 1787, and his company with that of Captain Zeigler the first
garrison. Following Major Finney came Major Wyllys, who was afterward
killed in action with the Indians on the Miami river October 22, 1790.
It became an important garrison and remained under the command of
Capt. John Armstrong, U. S. A., until 1790, he having been ordered here
from Fort Pitt (now Pittsburg). In shape the fort appears to have been a
square afifair of both wood and earthwork. A deep trench was cut from the
south side of the work to the river, and this was covered with logs and earth,
making a tunnel through which water could be brought and by which escape
could be made, if necessary. During the few years of Fort Steuben's exist-
ence as a garrisoned fort the little village around it was the scene of more
than one military display. Up to 1786 the head and center of military action
seems to have been mostly on the Kentucky side of the river, but it shifted
to Fort Steuben when that garrison was established and remained here until
1791.
In the year 1787 Colonel Harmar was at Fort Steuben, accompanied by
Lieutenants Beatty and Pratt, and about June ist, of this same year. Captain
Strong and his company from Fort Harmar arrived to reinforce the garrison.
The presence of Colonel Harmar can be accounted for by the fact that he was
the commanding officer of the First U. S. Regiment, of which organization
the garrison of Fort Steuben was a part. On June loth Lieutenant Denny,
Captain Smith and his company. Ensign Sedam with part of Captain Mercer's
company. Lieutenant Peters and Doctor Elliott arrived, and on July 2d,
Strong's, Mercer's and Smith's companies crossed the Ohio to the Virginia
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. I39
side and niarclied down to encamp below the Falls. The next day Captains
Finney and Zeigler, with their companies, left the fort and joined the others
in camp. These troops, together with Captain Ferguson's battery of artillery
from Fort Alclntosh, formed the body of a peaceful expedition from Fort
Steuben to Post Vincennes, under command of Colonel Harmar and Major
Hamtramck, and it was upon their return to Fort Steuben on October 28, 1787,
that Harmar received his commission as a brigadier-general. Soon after this
all of these, with the exception of Major Wylly's with Finney's and Mercer's
companies, who remained to garrison the fort, left for Fort Harmar.
The depredations of the Indians became so bold north of the Ohio that
settlement was hazardous in the extreme, and to give better protection to that
tract known as Clark's grant and its vicinity. General Harmar sent reinforce-
ments back to the garrison of Fort Steuben in 1788.
On August 26, 1789, about two hundred mounted troops, under Col. John
Hardin, left the Falls to attack the Indian towns on the Wabash, and returned
on September 28th, of the same year, without the loss of a man.
A day of martial display, no doubt, was that of January 8,. 1790. when
Gov. Arthur St. Clair and Winthrop Sargeant, secretary of the territory, ar-
rived on their way to the Illinois country. This official party seems to have
made Fort Steuben their headquarters, for the Governor's letters to Major
Hamtramck, the commanding officer of Post Vincennes, are dated from here.
The Governor and his party remained at Fort Steuben until January 27, 1790,
and while here made the following appointments :
"William Clark, of Clarksville, Justice of the Peace and Captain of the
Militia, in the Town and Vicinity."
"John Owens, Lieutenant of ^Militia."
It was in this same year that the Governor, being vested with power by
President Washington, called for one thousand militia from Virginia and five
hundred from Pennsylvania. Kentucky (which was still a part of Virginia)
sent one hundred and twenty-fi\e men from Lincoln county and fifty men from
Jefferson county to Fort Steuben. These troops assembled here on September
I2th. and soon after left for Vincennes for action against the red men.
On June 14, 1791, Brig. -Gen. Charles Scott arrived at Fort Steuben at
the head of eight hundred mounted and armed men, having finished a suc-
cessful expedition against the Wabash tribes. He deli\-ered to Captain Ash-
ton, of the First U. S. Infantry commanding the fort, forty-one prisoners of
war. This was the largest body of mounted troops in this vicinity during this
period, and even at the present day it would be no inconsequential force.
Their approach to Fort Steuben was either by way of that trail that led
westwardly from the fort past the whirlpool to the Vincennes trail, or by the
upper trail, leading back through the virgin forest a short distance above the
fort, and afterward named Spring street. Their triumphal return from a sue-
140 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
cessful campaign against a savage foe so feared by all, with forty-one braves as
prisoners of war, was no doubt an improsing entry, and brought a feeling of
satisfaction and safety to the minds of those who lived in almost daily dread
of capture, murder or torture. On August 21st of this same year Brig.-Gen.
James Wilkinson arrived at Fort Steuben with five hundred and twenty-five
men, having made an expedition similar to that of General Scott, and equally
as successful. These troops, although small in number, and armed with old
flint-lock muskets, were a formidalile body for those days, and their march to
the old fort must have been a great event in the little hamlet so unused to
scenes such as these.
In May, 1791, the garrison was reduced to sixty-one men. The seat of
trouble having moved northward and other forts having been established
closer to the northern boundary, the old fort was soon after discontinued as
a garrisoned post. The last mention of a garrison is that Captain Ashton, of
the First U. S. Infantry, was in command, and then we find that on July 15,
1791, "the whole of the First U. S. Regiment" arrived at Fort Washington
to participate in an expedition which established several forts to the north-
ward. This evidently was the last garrison of regular troops, for the fort is
never mentioned as such again, although the month after this (August 21st)
was the date of the arrival of Wilkinson's expedition.
Travelers have mentioned the fort after this date as being still in ex-
istence, i. e., Francis Baily, an English traveler in Louisville in 1797. writes:
"The Ohio here is nearly a mile wide and is bounded by an open champaign
country, where there is a fort kept up for the protection of the infant colony
and called Fort Steuben." But its garrison was no doubt part of the militia
of the territory, as this organization was a ver^' effective body at that time.
The commanding officers of Fort Steuben were Major Walter Finney, who
constructed it, but who remained only a year: I\Iaj. David Wyllys, Capt.
John Armstrong, and then for a short while Capt. Joseph Ashton.
Capt. John Armstrong, although an officer in the regular establishment,
returned to Clark county and settled here after a long and honorable career
in both the military and civil service of his country. He is buried on a
farm opposite the Grassy Flats, in Clark county, and a monument marks his
last resting place, inscribed as follows :
"Sacred to the memory of Col. John Armstrong, who was born April 20,
1755, and died February 4, 1816. He entered the Army of the United States
at the commencement of the Revolutionary war and served liis country seven-
teen years as a soldier and an officer. During his services in the army he was
in thirty-seven skirmishes and four general actions, among which were the
battles of Trenton, Stony Point, Monmouth, and the Siege of Yorktown.
"The deceased came to the western coimtry with the first troops sent
thither and was in Harmar's and St. Clair's campaign, and commanded
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. I4I
the garrison (Fort Steuben) at the Falls of the Ohio for several years, making
frequent excursions against the Indians. At an early day he selected for a
farm the tract of land where his remains are interred, and formed a settlement
on it of several families in the year 1796."
The family still remains in JelTersonville. one of the oldest pioneer fam-
ilies, and his great-grandson. Capt. Frank Spear Armstrong, a native and a
citizen of Clark county, and a graduate of West Point, is at present an officer
in the regular army on his second long period of foreign service in the Philip-
pines with his regiment, the Ninth Cavalry.
The soldiers of the garrison of Fort Steuben who died while stationed
there were given burial in a little plot of level ground that extended out in
front of the present ferry office. They lay here undisturbed by the march of
civilizaton for many years. In 1843. when Haiwey ]\IcCampbell was en-
gaged in grading down the bank to make a wharf which would meet the re-
quirements of a growing town, and which would afford access to the river, it
became necessary to dig away the whole of this sacred spot. In accordance
with the dictates of decency and respect. Dr. Samuel Merriwether, a member
of the City Council, ofifered a resolution on October 12, 1843, to remove the
bodies to the old ]\Iulberry street cemetery, and the work was ordered done.
The grave is now marked by an oak tree planted by the ladies of the Daugh-
ters of the American Revolution.
Old Fort Steuben, with its earthworks and its tunnel, its garrison and
its equipment, its quarters and its supplies, disappeared many years ago,
and not the slightest trace of its location remains, nor can a single relic of its
existence be found. The scene of the usual routine of a garrisoned fort, it
more than once furnished the characters for stirring acts, and was often the
center of excitement when expeditions were leaving, or of great demonstra-
tions upon their triumphal return. Even the plot of ground upon which it was
erected has been swept away by the turbulent floods of the river, and only an
occasional account serves to remind us that at Front and Fort streets veterans
of the Revolution guarded the lives and property of the dwellers in the little
village around them, or boldly forced their way northward through the forests
to drive back the savages and claim the territory for their own race and flag.
From the abandonment of Fort Steuben by the United States troops,
in 1 79 1, until the battle of Tippecanoe, the record of the militia in and around
Jeffersonville is meagre, the appointment of officers being about the only
beacons by which we know of the existence of such a body. The old militia
law of July 25, 1788, was the authority by which all the military organiza-
tions in the state were governed. This law required all citizens between the
ages of sixteen and fifty to be enrolled in the militia. They were divided
into two classes, the senior and junior. The senior class was composed of
all who had held commissions in the U. S. army or were graduates of mil-
142 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
itary schools. The law required every man to provide himself with "musket
and bayonet or rifle, cartridge box and pouch or powder horn, and bullet
pouch, with forty rounds of cartridges, or one pound of powder and four
pounds of lead, priming wire and brush, and six flints." The companies
usually consisted of sixty-four men rank and file, one captain, one lieutenant,
one ensign, four sergeants, four corporals, one drummer and one fifer. Eight
companies formed one battalion and two battalions one regiment.
Clark county was the fifth county to organize her militia under the new
law of December, 1800. Governor Harrison turned his attention to militarv af-
fairs February 6, 1801, by the appointment of his staff, and the first aid-de-
camp commissioned was Henry Hurst. On September 20. 1803, the militia of
the county was organized and IMarston G. Clark was commissioned lieutenant-
colonel commanding. Joseph Bartholomew was appointed major and five
companies were organized with the following officers First company, captain,
John Owens : lieutenant, William Plaskett ; ensign, David Owens. Second
company, captain, George W^ood; lieutenant, Isaac Shelby; ensign, Barzillai
Baker. Third company, captain, \\'illiam Goodwin: lieutenant. Robert Burge;
ensign, William Stacy. Fourth company, captain. William Smith; lieutenant,
\^'illiam Prather; ensign, John Morris. Fifth company, captain, Davis Floyd;
lieutenant, John Jackson ; ensign, Rezin Redman.
On September 22, 1804, John Berry and Matthew Rider were com-
missioned lieutenants, and Josiah Ekin an ensign in the First Regiment of
Clark county. On May 25, 1805. James Bland was appointed captain and
Thomas Bland, ensign, to succeed John Owens and David Owens, resigned.
In this same year a new company was organized with William Herrod as
captain, George Newland as lieutenant, and Joel. Cortlly, as ensign. In De-
cember, 1805, Lieut. Col. Marston G. Clark removed from the county, and
Maj. Joseph Bartholomew succeeded him.
On January 10, 1806, Lieut. William Prather was promoted to the cap-
taincy made vacant by the death of William Smith, and John \\'ork, Jr., was
appointed a lieutenant vice Rider, resigned. On this same day Davis Floyd
was promoted major.
On August 16, 1806. the first troop of horse in Clark county, and the
second in the state, was organized in Jeft'ersonville with Charles Beggs as
captain. Aamn Prather. first lieutenant: James Lemon, second lieutenant, and
Peter Bloom, cornet.
On this same dav John Owens was made major of the second Ijattalion.
On November i8tli. Ensign Rezin Redman was commissioned captain, vice
Goodwin, resigned, and Robert Robertson was promoted captain, vice \\'ood.
resigned, and Josiah Aiken was promoted captain, vice, Owens, promoted.
John Anderson was appointed captain; John McCoy was appointed lieutenant:
Eli Robertson was appointed lieutenant : Jacob Fonts was appointed lieutenant.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. I43
Absalom Hart was appointed ensign : Thomas Chappel! was appointed ensign ;
Joseph Bowman was appointed ensign, and David Fonts was appointed en-
sign, all on November i8, 1806.
On April 18, 1807. John Johnson and Enoch Boon w-ere commissioned
captains ; John Smith and Paul French, lieutenants, and James Hickman and
Robert Denbow, ensigns. On July 8, John Shields was appointed captain :
^^'illiam Smith, lieutenant, and Fielding Qromwell. ensign. On August 22,
Gresham Lee was made captain ; Joseph Howard lieutenant, and John Griffin
ensign. On November 3, 1807. several promotions were made on account of
resignations, and a new company was 'mustered into the service with ^^'illiam
Herrod as captain. George Newland as lieutenant and Joel Combs, as ensign.
On March 25. 1808. the names of Lieutenants George Roberts and James
Hickman appears in the promotions, and William Pennington and John
Hickman in the appointments. On July 6. 1808. the commission of Maj. Davis
Floyd was revoked. No cause can be found for this action in the records
but as he had been associated with Aaron Burr in his treasonable acts, this
was undoubtedly the real cause. Burr"s forces lay at Jeft'ersonville during
the winter of 1807 and 1808. and his secret scheming, carried on while seem-
ingly working in the interests of a canal around the Falls of the Ohid on the
Lidiana side, was a matter of very great concern to the territorial authorities.
Charles L. Byrns was appointed captain, vice Johnston, resigned, and Robert
Denbo and Elijah Hurst were appointed lieutenants. John Parkinson and
Robert Rusk were appointed ensigns.
On October 22. 1808. Capt. ^^'illiam Prather received his majority, vice
Davis Floyd, relieved, and Samuel Latton was appointed cornet in the Jeffer-
sonville troop of horse. On March 7, 1809, Major Owens and INIajor Bar-
tholomew recommended the following commissions : Robert Evans to be cap-
tain ; Jacob Fonts to be captain ; John Norris to be captain : John Thompson
to be captain : Peter Covert to be lieutenant : \\'illiam Kelly to be lieutenant :
John Crockett to be ensign ; John McNaught to be ensign ; John McClintock,
Jr., to be ensign. On November 29, 1809, Rezin Redman received his ma-
jority, and Samuel Smock was appointed captain ; John Blenard, lieutenant :
Squire Hall, lieutenant and Andrew Gelvick lieutenant. On October 10. 1810,
a new Clark county company was organized with James RIcFarland as
captain. Booth Thomas, lieutenant, and James Gaddass, ensign.
The various companies were called together on certain days, called
"muster days." for drill and instruction, but these days became times of such
drinking and carousing that on December 10, 181 o, the Legislature passed a'
law which forbade officers treating their men with "ardent spirits" and pro-
hibited the sale of such within two miles of the muster place, except in
licensed inns.
On April 5, 181 1. the following appointments were made: William
144 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Patrick, captain ; John McCoy, captain ; William Montgomery, captain ; James
Bigger, captain ; John Jenkins, lieutenant ; John Herrod, lieutenant ; Henry
Socles, lieutenant; John Chuns, lieutenant; Thomas Jacobs, ensign; Joseph
Carr, ensign ; Joseph Bowers, ensign ; Joseph Stillwell, ensign. Walter Taylor
was commissioned captain ; George Twilley, lieutenant, and Joseph Stroud,
ensign. The last mention of county regiments was made when Robert Rob-
ertson was commissioned as colonel of the Clark county regiment April 13,
1812.
The year 181 1 was made memorable to the people of Clark county, by
the battle of Tippecanoe, Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, had formed
a confederacy of Indian tribes, and their strength and depredations had be-
come such that an aggressive policy was decided on by Governor Harrison.
A considerable number of troops were assembled and a march on the Prophet's
town was decided on while Tecumseh was in the South. The part that Clark
countv took in this memorable campaign is one that reflects the highest credit
on the soldiers who went from here. The following is a list of officers from
Clark county, who served through the expedition :
Major Henry Hurst, A. D. C.
Brigade Inspector Marston G. Clark.
Lieut. Col. Joseph Bartholomew (wounded).
Major Rezin Redman.
Surgeon's ]Mate Andrew P. Hay.
Adjutant Davis Floyd.
Capt. John Xorris (wounded).
/Capt. James Bigger.
Capt. Charles Beggs.
Lieut. John Herrod.
Lieut. John T. Chunn.
Lieut. John Thompson.
Ensign Joseph Carr.
Ensign Joseph Stillwell.
Cornet Mordecai Sweeney.
The expedition consisted of about eleven hundred men and officers, or-
ganized as follows: Nine companies of U. S. Infantry (Fourth Regiment);
Six companies of Indiana militia ; three companies of Indiana mounted rifle-
men ; two companies of Indiana dragoons ; one company of Indiana riflemen ;
two companies of Kentucky mounted riflemen ; one company of scouts; a total
of twenty-four companies, of which Indiana had thirteen companies of
militia. Of this force two hundred and seventy men were mounted. Col.
John P. Boyd brought his regiment, the Fourth L". S. Infantry, from Pitts-
burg to the Falls and marched from there to Vincennes. Captain Geiger's
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. I45
company from Jefferson county, Kentucky, passed through Jeffersonville
Septemher iith on their way to X'incennes. Clark county furnished three
fuU companies, besides the officers on staff duty. Captain Norris's company
of infantry was a drafted company. It was raised Ijetween Charlestown,
Jeffersonville and Utica, and was sworn in at Springville. Captain Bigger's
company was raised in Charlestown and vicinity and was sworn in at Charles-
town. Captain Beggs's company was mounted. They were raised in Jeffer-
sonville and vicinity and were sworn in at Jeffersonville. That these com-
panies were in the thick of action their casualties show. Norris's company
had three killed and one wounded ; Bigger's company had two killed and
three wounded and Beggs's company had one killed.
Shawnee Indians were chief among the tribes in the confederacy, both
Tecumseh and Elkswatawa (The Prophet) being Shawnees. There were
besides the Shawnees at the battle, Wyandottes, Kickapoos, Ottawas, Chip-
pewas, Pottawatomies, Sacs and Miamis. This campaign had the effect of
increasing the interest in the militia, and aroused the people to a keener sense
of their danger from the Indians. The part played by Clark countv officers
was not small.
Alarston G. Clark was one of the first settlers in Jeffersonville. He was
a Virginian by birth, and a cousin of Gen. George Rogers Clark. He held
many offices in Clark county and was brigade inspector on the staff of General
Harrison at the battle of Tippecanoe. As a soldier, he was said to have been
insensible to fear, often leading men in the pursuit of Indians who had
committed depredations. He served as Indian agent under President Jackson
and was appointed messenger to carry the electoral vote of Indiana to
Washington in 1840. He is buried at Salem, Indiana. He was one of two
officers who were sent forward by General Harrison to select the camping
ground the night before the battle. The general said of him in his report to
the Secretary of War eleven days after the battle : "Brigade Major Clark
was very sen-iceably employed."
]\Iaj. \\'illiam Henry Hurst was an aid-de-camp on the staff of
General Harrison and Dr. Samuel JNIerriwether was acting as surgeon, al-
though not appearing on the official rolls as such at Washington. General
Harrison, in a letter, said: "My two aids-de-camp. Majors Hurst and Taylor
afforded me essential aid as well in the action as throughout the campaign."
The admiration of the general for these two aids-de-camp caused him to have
them act as his personal escort when he rode through the streets of Washing-
ton to the capitol to be inaugurated President of the United States. Hurst
and JNIerriwether resided in Jeffersonville for many years afterward, examples
of honor, integrity and civic virtue which we of later years could emulate with
benefit to ourselves and the city.
Governor Harrison in his report of the battle, says : "Col. Joseph Bar-
10
146 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
tholomew, a very valuable officer, commanded, under Colonel Boyd, the
militia infantry. He was wounded early in the action and his service lost to
me." He was one of the foremost citizens of the county for many years and
received many marks of honor and esteem at the hands of the citizens of the
county. Harrison said of one of Clark county company, "Xorris's companv also
behaved well."
Davis Floyd, the adjutant, has the proud distinction of being the best
advertised man in his day and locality. Nothing seemed to dishearten him
for he always bobs up serenely after any difficulty, and usually takes the most
prominent position in whatever is going on. A prominent militiaman, he was
an important officer at Tippecanoe. He represented Clark county in the
Legislature in 1805. He kept a tavern and operated a ferry in Clarks grant.
He was appointed Recorder of Clark county in 1801 and Sheriff in 1802 by
General Harrison. He became involved in Aaron Burr's conspiracy and was
sentenced to three hours in jail. He served as secretary of the Springville
Anti-Slavery convention. In the Legislature he was elected Clerk of the
House, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1816.
General Harrison was severely criticised by many of his political enemies
after the battle of Tippecanoe, who claimed that it was an unnecessary cam-
paign, and that even when he had reached the vicinity of the Lidian town he
allowed the enemy to select his camping ground. The general visited Jeffer-
sonville and Charlestown in 1835 and at the latter place, in answer to a re-
quest for a speech on "Tippecanoe," said: "When I left Vincennes for the
Indian countr\' on the Tippecanoe, it was under positive instructions from the
War Department not to attack them if they showed a willingness to comply
with the demands of the General Government. As to the Indians selecting
my encampment, there is not a particle of truth in that statement. Gen.
Marston G. Clark and Col. Davis Floyd were detailed to select the ground."
In those days a keen eye for the peculiarities of the red brother was quite
necessary, and precautionary measures were still kept up in the outlying dis-
tricts. The militia garrison, which from meagre accounts, seems to have
been kept in old Fort Steuben for several years after its abandonment by the
U. S. troops, was not the only defense available. As late as 1807 a letter by
Waller Taylor (afterwards A. D. C. on General Harrison's staff) written to
Governor Harrison, January 12th, in speaking about Burr's mysterious doings
in Jeffersonville and the excitement occasioned by his presence, says: "There
are stationed at this place about two hundred militia, who examine all boats
that descend the river."
On the bank of the Ohio, at Whirlpool Point, was a stockade which was
used as an outpost for Fort Steuben. Another outpost of Fort Steuben was
about where the "junction" is situated. It was a place for the soldiers to meet
on their rounds, and here the settlers used to come for safetv when fear of the
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND. I47
Indians drove them from their cabins and clearings. This point was called
the "Corner Post" for many years after. The last settler murdered by the
Indians in the first decade of the centun- was a trapper named Springer. He
had traps set on Springer's Gut (now in New Albany) and was surprised and
slain by Wyandottes and Pawpaws, while running them.
The Indian phase of the War of 1812, which was no small thing to the
western settlers, was of more moment to them than a consideration of danger
from purely British sources. To l)e sure, the atrocities of the savages, to a
great extent, were instigated by the British to the north, but from British
troops themselves, no real danger was ever anticipated. The Pigeon Roost
massacre, September 3, 1812, was the last trouble ever experienced in this
vicinity, but it had the effect of awakening the settlers to the danger of unpre-
paredness and resulted in the establishment of a line of some fifteen or twenty
stockades, beginning at the one called the "Corner Post" and extending by
Charlestown back to the Ohio at the east of the town.
The Pigeon Roost massacre was not an Indian raid as has been so often
stated. The Indians passed through the little hamlet which was the nucleus
of Vienna and never harmed a soul, while there. There had been bad blood
between the Collins family and the Indians for some time. The Collins boys
had stolen a fawn from the Indians and refused to give it up, and from this
cause and possibl}' some other, the whole trouble originated. Those other
than Collinses were killed only because they lived in that neighborhood.
Neither before nor after the massacre were other white people harmed, show-
ing conclusiveh' that it was only a local fight and giving no cause for alarm
to other settlers.
The Indians, who were Delawares and Shawnees, are said to have crossed
White river at Sparksville. They crossed three or four at a time and after
all had crossed formed together and directed their way to the spot now hal-
lowed in the memory of the early victims. During the afternoon of the same
day they reached their destination, and Jeremiah Payne, who lived near
Vienna, was warned of danger when his cows came bellowing home with ar-
rows stuck in their sides. Taking his wife and only son to the fort at
Vienna, the father started on foot to warn his brother, Elias, but when he
arrived at the cabin he found the dead and mutilated bodies of the wife and
seven children. Elias and his brother-in-law, Isaac Coffman, were in the
woods at the time hunting bee trees. They were surprised by ten or twelve
Indians and Coffman was instantly killed and scalped. Payne was pursued
over two miles before he was overtaken and mortally wounded. Mrs. Richard
Collins and her seven children soon fell victims to the redskins' thirst for
blood, and Mrs. Henr}' Collins, although pregnant, was murdered and scalped
and the child taken from the womb and scalped, and then laid across her
breast. The incentive to such a diabolical deed was the five dollar British
148 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
reward offered for each scalp. The fiends later massacred the mother, wife
and only child of John Morris, and the escape of other settlers was almost
miraculous.
A part of Clark county militia under Alaj. John McCoy and Captain
Devault pursued the Indians and killed one. In June, 1813 some Clark county
militia, under Col. Joseph Bartholomew, went on an expedition to punish In-
dians who were hostile, and returned without any casualties.
At the close of the War of 18 12 the militia of Clark county, as in the
rest of the state, was in excellent condition. The Second Regiment was
originally the Clark county Regiment, and as such it was under the com-
mand of Col, Robert Robertson. It was one of the most complete regiments
in the service and included many special organizations, one of which was the
only artillery company mentioned in the territorial records.
Colonel Robertson resigned in 181 1 and Maj. Joseph Bartholomew was
commissioned to succeed him October 21st, of that year. Colonel Barthol-
omew sei~ved until March 30, 1814, when Joel Combs was commissioned
colonel. Rezin Redman was lieutenant-colnnel, and was commissioned as
such June 10, 1813,
In 1814, the Ninth Regiment, which was composed of companies in
Clark county, was commanded by Col. John Depau, with headquarters in
Jeffersonville, and the records report it as being one of the best organized in
the state.
With the passing of the Indian the subjects considered by the Legislature
concerning the militia seem to have materially changed. In 181 5, an act was
passed restricting the militia age to eighteen to forty-five and specified the
uniform for the officers, Alajor and Brigadier Generals should "wear a
French militaiy hat, blue cloth coat turned up with buff or scarlet, with gold
epaulettes, white small clothes, also boots and spurs." Cluster days were
Saturdays in April and September. The interest and energy which had for-
merly been directed against the Indians was now turned to clothes, and the
citizen soldiery was neglected and allowed to become a dormant and practically
useless body.
For about two years after the battle of Tippecanoe, the territorial Gov-
ernment maintained several companies of rangers to protect the people of the
state from the depredations of marauding bands of Indians. One of these
companies was composed of Clark county men, and was commanded by Capt,
James Bigger, of Tippecanoe sen-ice, and he had as first lieutenant,
John Carr, and as second lieutenant, James Curry,
In the month of June, 1813, an expedition composed of about one hun-
dred and thirty-seven mounted men under the command of Col. Joseph
Bartholomew, moved from Valonio toward the Delaware towns on the west
fork of the White river, with the intention of surprising and punishing some
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. I49
hostile Indians, who were supposed to be hirking about those viUages. All
or a larger part of Captain Bigger"s company was in this expedition, and
thev destroyed a great deal of corn found in the half-burned and deserted
villaees alona: the ri\er. Colonel Bartholomew said of this : "We conceived
it was more necessary to do this as the corn would, if not destro3'ed, enable
considerable bodies of the enemy to fall upon and harass our frontier."
On July I, 1813, Col. William Russell of the Seventh United States
Regiment, at the head of a force amounting to five hundred and seventy-three
men, set out on an expedition against the Indian villages, which were sit-
uated at and about the mouth of the Mississinewa river. As Colonel Bar-
tholomew and several companies of rangers were in this force, evidently
Bigger's company was among them. They found no Indians and the rangers
returned home. The service of these companies of rangers was most valuable
and should be given the same prominence in history that the Tippecanoe
campaign received, for their service was equally as hazardous and equally
as valuable to the settlers who lived in the remoter parts of the territory.
We hear little of the militia of Clark county from this time on. That
the organization of state troops was kept up there can be no doubt, but
their duties were nil, and the only milestone we have to guide us through
this period are the mention of events where the militia turned out to do escort
duty to some prominent visitor or for some gala occasion. In May, 1825, sev-
eral companies of militia were under arms, and acted as the escort to General
LaFayette when his official visit to Indiana was paid at Jefifersonville. Cap-
tain Parker's company from Charlestown was one of these, and the cracker
story of one of his men has been passed down as classical. From the fact
that cannon were used in saluting our illustrious visitor, we might infer that
Clark county possessed artillery, but of this we are not certain.
By the treaty of 1804, the Sacs and Foxes had sold all of their land in
Ilhnois to the United States. The provisions of this treaty were confirmed
by Keokuk, their head chief, in subsequent treaties in 1822 and 1830: but
Black Hawk refused to consider these treaties valid. The British agents as-
sured him that the Indians still owned the land and this, together with the
fact that he had become the leader of the wildest braves in the tribe, led to
events which culminated in what is known as the Black Hawk war in 1832.
This Indian war was fierce and sanguinary, but affected either Clark county
or Indiana but little. However, there was a company of United States
mounted rangers raised around Charlestown by Capt. Lemuel Ford, and
they served until after the middle of 1833. This company was commanded by
Capt. Lemuel Ford : first lieutenant, Meedy Shields, and second lieutenant,
John Gibson. When this body of men left Charlestown July i, 1832. it num-
bered one Iiundred and fifteen men. They assembled in the court-house yard
and started on their campaign with the plaudits of an admiring crowd of
150 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
citizens, many of whom remembered the earher cruelties of the savages in
Clark county. They camped near Memphis, the first night out, and then
started north, marching to within twenty-five miles of Fort Dearborn (now
Chicago) where a halt of three weeks was made on account of the prevalence
of Asiatic cholera at the fort, where General Scott with the Regulars was
waiting for the arrival of the rangers. The route taken by the rangers was
changed to lead to Dixon's ferry on Rock river, Illinois. The company was
inspected and mustered in by Captain Anderson, U. S. A., later of Fort
Sumpter fame. The march was then taken down the river to within one and
one-half miles of the mouth, and three miles below Rock Island or "Old
Fort Armstrong," where they crossed to the north side of Rock river and
marched up to the island. There the rangers met their commanding officer,
Colonel Dodge, and General Winfield Scott, commanding the expedition. The
cholera was very bad then at Fort Armstrong and the company lost three
men : Peter Hall, Doctor Johnson and Shelby.
It was at this point that General Scott in his round of inspection of
camp and hospital, berated the medical stafif roundly and threatened to hang
some of the M. D.'s for neglect of duty toward the stricken. He went into
the tents and examined patients with his own hands, and elevated the abode
of his Satanic majesty, as only the old general could.
The command crossed into Iowa Territory and then back into Illinois,
following the Mississippi river to Quincy, and thence to Jefferson
City, Missouri, then a town of about five hundred. From here they
marched to Booneville, forty miles above, and from there to Fort Gib-
son, Indian Territory, one mile above the mouth of Grand river. They
went into winter quarters for the winter of '32-'33, one mile below the mouth
of Grand river on the Arkansas river in log cabins. On May 6, 1833, they
received marching orders, and the command consisting of Captain Ford's
company from Indiana, Captain's Beem's company from Arkansas and Captain
Boone's company from Missouri, all under the command of Colonel Manny,
U. S. A., with about three hundred regulars, took a southwesterly course
to Red river. It was on this march that the great buffalo hunting was done.
The Captain Boone here mentioned was the son of Daniel Boone, of pioneer
Kentucky fame.
These troops returned to Fort Gibson July i, 1833, where the rangers
were mustered out, disbanded and started for home and arrived at Charles-
town just when the cholera was at its worst. The officers and a partial list
of the members of this Clark County company were as follows :
Captain Lemuel Ford.
First Lieutenant Meedy Shields.
Second Lieutenant John Gibson.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. I51
Sergeant John C. Huckleberry.
Sergeant Campbell Hay.
Private W. AI. Garner.
Private James Drunimond.
Private Eden Combs.
Private David H. Wheeler.
Private Henderson Davis.
Private John Hanlin.
Private Charles Mathes.
Private William J. Owens.
Private William B. Shelley.
Private Joseph Davis.
Private John M. Pound.
Private George Reynolds.
Private Benjamin Chrissman.
Private George Christopher.
Private \A'esley G. Hammond.
Private Eph Washburn.
Private Hugh Hartley.
Private Peter Hall.
Private Alford Huckleberry.
Private John Chrissman.
They saw little or no active service so far as extended fighting was con-
cerned, but their long marches and their hardships entitle them to a high
place in the early military annals of Clark county. They served until Black
Hawk had been captured. The service which they gave was the last ever
given by a Clark county organization in Indiana warfare. Black Hawk
stands in history as the "Last native defender of the soil of the Northwest."
The ominous clouds of war hanging like a pall over the land were not
necessary to influence the manhood of Clark county to enlist. The officers
who had served during the Black Hawk war knew the temper of our Hoosiers,
and that they made soldiers second to none. Capt. Lemuel Ford, in 1836,
came to Charlestown to recruit men for the United States Dragoons. Li the
issue of "The Lidianian," of Charlestown, dated Friday, October 28, 1836.
appears the following: "Wanted for the First Regiment of L'nited States
Dragoons, able bodied citizens between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five
years, being not less than five feet, six inches high, of good moral character,
and of respectable standing among their fellow citizens. None need apply to
enter the service but those who are determined to serve the period of their
enlistment, which is only three years, honestly and faithfully.
"Lemuel Ford."
It is needless to say that his rendezvous at Charlestown was a popular
place, and that he received many recruits.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE ^HLITARV HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY— 1844- 1860.
The first uniformed inilitary company of which we have any record, after
the twenty-five years of dormancy, from 1819 to 1844, was in Jeffersonville
in 1844. It was called the Jeffersonville Blues, and its captain was a man
named Charles Hensley. He was one of several brothers, and he had the
reputation of being the most popular man in town. This company had for a
drill master a refugee from Poland, who lived and died on a farm just this side
of Sellersburg. His name and title was Col. J. J. Lehmonoski, and while drill-
ing the men he wore the uniform of a high officer in the Polish army. His
historj' is most interesting. Lehmonoski was a colonel of the Polish Lancers,
the bodyguard of the great Napoleon, and had participated in two hundred
and three battles. He carried fourteen wounds on his person as a result of
his sen-ice. He was at tlie sieze of Toulon, at the victor}' of Austerlitz, he
fought on the plains of Egypt, and witnessed the ocean of flame which rolled
over Moscow. The disaster of Waterloo drew him to the L'nited States in
18 16, and for a while he traveled as an evangelist with the approval and sanc-
tion of Lyman Beecher and others. He finally settled in Clark county and
died here. Under his instruction the company became very proficient and
turned out two or three times each week to parade or drill, and everybody in
town was very proud of "our company."
Col. James Keig^vin in his memoirs says of this company :
"They were invited to attend an encampment of the Kentucky militia at
the old Oakland race course in Louisville, and Colonel Lehmonoski took great
delight in preparing them for the contest for some of the prizes to be contested
for at the encampment, and of course every citizen of our town was anxious
that 'our company' should bring home a trophy of their soldierly qualities and
good behavior while in camp. But you can imagine our disappointment on
their return home. Some of the officers and men were addicted to the too free
indulgence of 'John Barleycorn,' and the report came daily from those of their
admirers who visited them that a majority of the company spent a greater
part of their time in the guard house charged with the too free use of 'ardent,'
and with disorderly conduct.
"One incident I will relate that occurred after they crossed the river. In
those days of slavery the negroes had learned from their masters that every-
body who lived in that little town across the ri\-er was nothing but 'poor white
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. I53
trash" and that it was a dangerous place for a black face to be seen in, and
that if a negro valued his life he had better keep away from it. The owners
of slaves, for protection to that old-time property, instilled into the young
darkies' minds that we were not only poor white trash, but that we would
steal them and sell them to cotton planters down South, and the young darkies
believed that as firmly as ever a white child believed in old Santa Claus. The
company was handsomely uniformed, well drilled and armed with old flint-
lock muskets. Their head dress was a tall leather hat or cap. surmounted by
a handsome pompon that looked very much like a paint brush. When the
company was passing out the streets of Louisville with the drum corps beating
that favorite tune, 'The Girl I Left Behind ]Me," every one of the company
feeling that all eyes were centered on him, and that he carried the honor and
reputation of old Jeff in his knapsack, determined to win laurels and fame for
our little city. They were feeling elated at seeing so many people, both black
and white, lining the streets to hear the music and look at a company of Hoosier
soldiers. You can imagine our mortification when we heard a cry from the
little darkies on the sidewalks : 'Look at dem poah white trash from Jeffer-
so\-ille with paint brushes in dar hats." It is needless to relate that no prizes
were carried home at the completion of the tour of duty.""
It is a matter of regret that complete rosters of these old militia companies
of our early history have been lost, for to them belongs the credit of keeping
alive, to a great extent, that spirit which found such eloquent expression here
during the War of the Rebellion. The feeling among some misguided and un-
American citizens of our present day of belittling our state troops by denuncia-
tion as well as a refusal to serve, is not the spirit which prompted such service
in those days or in the times that tried men"s hearts during the sixties.
These old militia companies filled a place, no doubt, and although some
of them may not ha\e performed any actual service for the state, it lessens
their value none.
The general condition of the militia of Indiana, including that of Clark
county, during the period just preceding the ^Mexican war, is described by
Adjutant General Reynolds, Xovember 29, 1845. He was greatly discouraged
and wrote as follows : "It is true, however, that while our system has under-
gone a partial paralysis, the martial spirit is not extinct, but exhibits itself in
the form of a number of energetic companies of independent militia, as well
as a few regiments of district militia which have survived the general disor-
ganization. It would seem also, if not cjuite impossible to revive military
discipline, unless some exigency should demand an acti\-e service. War. with
its thrilling incidents, could alone, we l^elieve. fully accomplish it : and no state
in the L'nion would more fearlessly and promptly respond to even its first
notes of preparation than Indiana.
Six months after the unexpected happened. War was declared May 13.
154 BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
1846, and Indiana was called upon for three regiments of infantry. On May
22d Governor Whitcomb issued his call for the thirty companies required.
and by June loth, or in eighteen days, the entire quota had been reported, and
twenty-two additional companies were clamoring for admission.
The beginning of the Mexican war found the spirit of Mars strongly
manifesting itself throughout the county, but to Charlestown, the county seat,
belongs the honor of furnishing the only organizations. Individual enlist-
ments in Kentucky and Indiana regiments were made from various parts of
the county, and in Jefifersonville there was quite an enthusiastic movement
started to raise a company of volunteer infantry for one of the regiments then
forming, but it began and ended in talk. Col. James Keigwin has an account
of one of their public meetings in the old market house on Market street, be-
tween Spring street and Pearl street, as follows :
"At this time they were trying to recruit the company, and, by the way,
I attended all the meetings, as I was big enough to be a Sl^ldier myself. At
that time there was but one saloon in the town, kept by one of the best bachel-
ors that ever lived. Charles Cunningham was his name, and his saloon was on
Front street, four doors below Spring street. It was in front of this saloon
where the drums beat the assembly. All those who were the leaders were
fond of their toddies, and whisky at that time being only worth six dollars a
barrel, Charley, the saloon keeper, as he was called, being a patriotic lover of
his country and anxious to have his own town represented in the war, said that
he would give all who volunteered all they wanted to drink free of charge, so
you can understand that by the time all the patriotic residents and barefooted
boys had assembled in front of the saloon that the promoters of the company
would be pretty full and would feel as if they could lick a regiment of 'greasers'
by themselves.
"The organizers of the company were Amos Lovering, afterward one of
the judges of one of our courts; William Buchanan and Richard Peacely,
studying law with Judge Lovering, and John F. Read, who had just grad-
uated from Hanover College. After the party had sampled Charley's whisky
to their satisfaction, we were ordered to fall in and march to the market house,
where we would have speeches from Read and others. Well, we fell in and
marched to the market house, and Read was boosted up on the butcher's block
by Peacely and Buchanan, who held to John's legs to steady him. He was
making a very patriotic and convincing speech as to our duties to the best
government in the world, and how we would lick old Santa Anna and his
Mexican horde off of Texas soil, and then he pictured to us the humiliation we
would' feel if Jeffersonville failed to have a company in the war. John's father,
the old judge, heard the racket in the market house, and as he came near and
saw his hopeful in the condition he was. you can imagine his surprise. Just
then Peacely and Buchanan discovered the judge's presence and began to pull
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.j IND. I55
John's legs and tell him to close, when John blurted out in one of his sopho-
moric flights he had brought home from college : 'Yes, my fellow citizens,
the government will furnish 3'ou all with plenty of the very best kind of
clothes.' The meeting was a failure and it is unnecessary to add that our old
town failed to be honored witJT a military company in the war with Mexico."
In Charlestown men responded to the call with alacrity, and the trouble
was with the excess rather than the insufficiency of material. The first and
second regiments had no Clark county companies in them, but the third regi-
ment had a company from Charlestown and vicinity. This company was
raised by Thomas W. Gibson, of that town, and he took as his lieutenants
First Lieutenant Harrison Daily, and Second Lieutenant Daniel L. Fonts. The
raising of this company was accompanied with the greatest enthusiasm, and the
drum corps and martial music added tn the excitement of the town. This com-
pany was to enlist for one year, and the prospect of service in Mexico, and the
sights and adventures of such a campaign was more than the young men of
the county seat could stand. The men were rapidly enlisted, and when they
were not drilling in the court-house yard, they were skirmishing in the bot-
toms of Pleasant run. They were quartered in the house now known as the
Badger house on Main street, near Spring street, and in their "barracks" as
the house was called, they remained about a month. The day of departure of
this company for the rendezvous at Camp Whitcomb, on the river just below
the mouth of Silver creek, was one of intense excitement. Mothers and
fathers, sisters and brothers, sweethearts and wives, assembled to wish the
departing company well. They left Charlestown in wagons, and upon arrival
at camp, began an active preparation for the campaign before them. They
were mustered into the United States service ninety-four strong, on June 22,
1846, by Col. S. Churchill.
Captain Gibson's company served throughout their term of enlistment
with an honorable record. The regiment was engaged in the battle of Buena
Vista, and other actions, and upon their return home, found themselves cov-
ered with glory. The return of Gibson and his company to Charlestown was
the occasion for a great demonstration. A great reception and barbecue was
given them in Hammond's woods, and at the present day the trenches still
remain where the beef was roasted whole. The citizens were proud of their
soldiers, as well they might be.
On April 24, 1847, Governor \\'hitcomb called for one additional regi-
ment to fill the quota required by the President's proclamation of April 19th.
His proclamation ends as follows: "And in conformity with the suggestion
of the Secretary of War, that a place of rendezvous be appointed on the Ohio
river for the several companies as fast as they shall be organized, the ground
near or adjacent to 'Old Fort Clark', near Jefifersonville, on the south is hereby
designated for that purpose". May 30th the regiment was filled, and from
156 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
that time on they were drilled and "licked" into shape for the service ahead
of them.
The companies which were to form this new regiment arrived during the
latter part of May and the first part of June, 1847. They reached Jefferson-
ville in the following order, and upon their arrival encamped just above the
whirlpool on the bank of the Ohio, at a point later known as Camp Joe Holt,
and not at Fort Steuben, as some authorities state :
Company A, Marion. Captain Dodd. arrived May 31, 1847.
Company B, Gosport, Captain Alexander, arrived June 8, 1847.
Company C, Lawrenceburg, Captain Payne, arrived May 28. 1847.
Company D, Indianapolis, Captain Landers, arrived May 28, 1847.
Company E, Rockport, Captain Graham, arrived June 8, 1847.
Company F, Columbus, Captain Fitzgibbon. arrived June 12, 1847.
Company G, Bloomington, Captain Lunderman, arrived June 10, 1847.
Company H, Terre Haute. Captain Cochran, arrived June 12, 1847.
Company I, Plymouth, Captain Fravell. arrived June 14, 1847.
Company K. Lawrenceburg, Captain Dumont, arrived June 7, 1847.
These companies, so the muster rolls state, were "called into the service
of the United States'" as they arrived. The regiments embarked on steam-
boats at the wharf, between Spring and Pearl streets, June 28th, and nearly
everybody in Clark county was in town that day to witness the departure and
wish them a safe return.
Three steamboats lay at the wharf and the martial spirit was in the very
air. The steamer "Saladin" carried companies A, B, C and D, under com-
mand of Col. Willis A. Gorman. The steamer "Franklin" carried companies
E, I and G, under Lieutenant Colonel Dumont, and the steamer "General
Hamer" carried companies H, F and K, under Major McCoy.
On the day preceding the embarkation the regiment proceeded from their
camp near the Big Eddy to Jeffersonville. and was drawn up in solid column
for the purpose of receiving from the ladies of the city a splendid stand of
regimental colors. This gift from the fair and patriotic ladies of Jeffersonville
was received into hands strong to protect it in every emergency, and by hearts
w'arm and ardent to appreciate its value. The adjutant general of Indiana
supported the flag, and Capt. Edw-ard Lander, in behalf of the ladies, delivered
an eloquent address, which on behalf of the regiment, was responded to by the
colonel, \\'illis A. Gorman. One newspaper account ends thus : "A fine band
attached to the regiment then struck up 'The Star Spangled Banner' as the
troops whirled into open column under the sountl of instrumental harmony that
breathed heroic ardor to adventurous deeds", and the regiment proceeded to its
camp at Fort Clark.
While the Fourth Regiment remained at Jeffersonville, Company D,
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 1 57
Captain Landers, was the recipient of a splendid flag presented by the ladies of
Indianapolis. The presentation took place in front of the old Bowman house,
and was the occasion of quite a demonstration of patriotism.
On August 31, 1847, Governor ^M^itcomb issued his proclamation author-
izing the raising of the Fifth Regiment. It was to be composed mostly of
men who had seen service in Mexico in earlier regiments. This regiment ren-
dezvoused at JMadison, and Clark county was represented by a fine company
of men under the command of Capt. George Greene. His lieutenants were
Philip J. Roe, first lieutenant ; James ^I. Ross, second lieutenant, and Henry
Hensley, additional second lieutenant. Captain Greene at various times was a
resident of both Jeffersonville and Charlestown, antl his company, called the
"Rough and Ready Guards", was recruited from in and around b(ith places.
The Fifth Regiment embarked on steamboats at Camp Reynolds, Madi-
son, on November i, 1847, ''"'I arrived at JeiTersonville the same day. The
steamers "\\'ave", "Xe Plus Ultra", and "PhcEuix", carried them to Xew
Orleans, arriving there on the 6th. Their sen-ice after arriving at Vera Cruz
was equal to that of the other regiments, and upon their return home the
Clark county soldiers were received with great demonstrations and were the
heroes of the day.
Capt. Lemuel Ford, of Charlestown, recruited a company of United States
Dragoons for the regular service from in and around that town, and with
this troop performed valiant service in Mexico. He was brevetted major
October 19, 1847, for gallant and meritorious conduct in the affair at Atlixco,
and the ser\qce both he and his company of Clark county men gave was of the
highest class.
Capt. John S. Simonson, of Charlestown, who was in the regular army,
raised a company of mounted dragoons in and around Charlestown for ser-
vice in Mexico, and besides the many creditable reports from him and his
company while in the land of the "Greasers," he was l)revetted major Sep-
tember 13, 1847. f'^r gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Chapul-
tepec.
In Captain Gibson's Company I. of the Third Regiment, was a sergeant
named Jefferson C. Davis. He got his commission of second lieutenant after
meritorious service — remained in the regular army after the war with IMexico
— was in Fort Sumpter with Major Anderson when the war of the Rebellion
opened with this "strange contest between seventy men and seven thousand".
He rose to be brigadier general of volunteers and during this war was brevet-
ted major, lieutenant-colonel, colonel, brigadier general and major general,
for gallant and meritorious services.
Besides the men credited to Clark county, there were others who enlisted
elsewhere.
There were four Jeffersonville men, so far as we can find, wdio joined the
158 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Louisville Legion, and they served faithfully with their command during the
war. These four Jeffersonville men were Benjamin P. Fuller, Simeon P. Bell,
James A. Thompson and Francis M. Scliell. They were all privates in Com-
pany A, First Regiment of Kentucky Foot Volunteers, known as the Louis-
ville Legion. They were mustered in May 17, 1846, at the old race track on
the Seventh street road, in Louisville, and were all mustered out at the New
Orleans barracks May 17, 1847, with the exception of Francis M. Schell, who
was discharged for disability at Camargo, Me.xico, August 27, 1846.
The interest in things Mexican seems to have pervaded the whole county,
for a great demonstration was projected when it was learned that President-
elect Gen. Zachary Taylor was to pass through Louisville on his way to Wash-
ington. On Monday, February 5, 1849, the mayor of Jeffersonville, William
F. Cullom, offered the following resolution, and it was unanimously adopted :
"Resolved, By the Mayor and Common Council of the city of Jefferson-
ville, that in consideration of the service rendered to his country by Gen.
Zachary Ta3'lor, President-elect of the United States, and in consideration of
the exalted station to which he has been called to occupy by his fellow citizens,
that he be invited to visit our city on his way to ^^'ashington, and partake of
our hospitality".
The general saw fit to accept our invitation and visited Jeft'ersonville in
February, 1849, and was received with a great demonstration of enthusiasm.
The reception ceremonies were held in the small Presbyterian church on Mar-
ket street, between Spring and Pearl streets, where he delivered a speech. This
building still remains one of the old landmarks of the city, being occupied now
by the German Reformed congregation as a place of worship.
After the regiments returned home from Mexico we would suppose that
the ardor of some of the young soldiers would have prompted them to place
Clark county in a better position than she was at the beginning of the war,
but they seemed to have had all the military they desired in their campaign
against the land of the Montezumas. There was, however, a company of
young lads in Jeffersonville in the year 1853 or '54, with James Schell as cap-
tain, and they were uniformed and equipped. Their chief duty, so far as
hearsay tells us (and that is our only authority) was to drill very often for
the edification of their friends. Joseph Reign was color bearer, but of the
other members we can find nothing.
From this time on until the period of the War of the Rebellion we find
Clark county like the rest of the state, without much enthusiasm concerning
things military.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE .MILITARY HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY DURIXG THE
WAR OF THE REBELLIOX.
No part of the history of Clark county was so thoroughly saturated with
military life as the period of the War of the Rebellion. The record of her
•enlistments, and the ser\'ice of. her soldiers leave no doubts of her loyalty,
but of honest Southern sympathizers there were enough to add a spice to even
those strenuous times. The towns, villages and farms contributed their share
of loyal men to the armies in the field, but the city of Jeffersonville, from her
situation, was the center of activities. From the rugged hills of LTtica, along
the border lands of the Ohio, to the peaceful village of Bethlehem, men needed
but to gaze at the "dark and bloody ground" beyond the silent waters to re-
ceive the inspiration to do and die for their coimtry, as did their forbears of
'1876. when Paul Revere aroused them to heroic deeds at Concord and Le.K-
ington. From the heights and valleys of the knobs of Borden, from the
undulating farms and country sides, from the old pioneer town of Charlestown
and the country to the north, from the banks of Silver creek and Pleasant
run, from Clarksville to New Washington, the trumpet call for volunteers was
answered by fathers, sons and brothers. \A'ith the hosts of the nation's
chivalry in the South the question of equipment and subsistence was no small
task for those still left at home, and thus sprang up a labor of a magnitude
undreamed of, when the struggle began. Jeffersonville being at one of the
principal gateways of the South, she became the scene of an ever changing
panorama of troops of all arms of the service either passing through the city,
camping here awaiting orders, or returning north decimated and mangled after
their blood}^ campaigns, bound for the great hospitals or their homes beyond.
During this period nearly every man and boy in the city was connected at one
'time or another with the army in some capacity, and the vast storehouses,
shops, factories, offices, hospitals and barracks were to be found scattered over
all parts of Jeffersonville and its vicinity.
The tramp of marching men and horses and the heavy rumble of artillery
were not the only outward and "visible signs" of the great struggle then in
progress. Jeffersonville was the base from which all troops and supplies for the
L'nion army were transported to points south of Louisville. Infantry, cavalry
and artillery, ordnance, quartermaster, commissar}- and medical stores had to
be transported across the river from the J., M. & I. depot at Court avenue and
l60 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Wall street to tlie Louisville and Xashville Railroad depot in Louisville by the
ferry, and this, together with the various army institutions which were main-
tained in Jeffersonville during almost five years, gave the little city the busiest
period of her history. Camp Joe Holt, the camping place of many regiments
on their way south, was situated just above the Big Eddy, on the river bank.
This historic camping ground extended back from Front street to Todd street,
and north past Montgomery street almost to the present location of the P. C.
C. & St. L. tracks and Cane Run creek. It derived its name from
Gen. Joseph Holt, Secretary of War under Buchanan, and later judge advo-
cate general. Being a native of Kentucky, he was sent to that state to influence
■her people towards loyalty, but his mission failed and the state declared for neu-
trality. Lovell H. Rosseau, a pr(iniinent lawyer of Louisville, believing that
man\- Kentuckians were prevented from enlisting by this neutrality, accepted a
colonel's commission from President Lincoln and began to organize his regi-
ment across the river on Lidiana soil, and in honor of the eloquent Kentuckian
named his camp "Joe Holt".
One of Rousseau's captains was Edward J. Mitchell, of Louisville, who
later became a citizen of Clark county. He commanded Company F, of the
Second Kentucky Cavalry, and recruited several men for his company whose
homes were in Clark county. James M. Patterson, his brother-in-law, went
out with him as his first lieutenant. Companies A and C, of the Sixth Ken-
tucky Infantry, were the only companies mustered into the L'nited States
service at camp Joe Holt, although there were other companies forming there
at that time. Battery A, of the First Kentucky Light Artillery, was organized
there at that time, all of these organizations constituting the force under the
command of General Rousseau. Captain Mitchell's company was the only
one, so far as we know, that drew men from Clark county, and we should
congratulate ourselves on this fact, because from the records of the Kentucky
adjutant general's office we would infer that Battery A was not as gallant a
body as the "Twelve Hundred" or "The Old Guard". There were one hun-
dred and twenty desertions from it. Rousseau's force crossed the river on the
night of September 15, 1861, being the first troops to move south.
After the camp ceased to be used as rendezvous, a hospital was estab-
lished and maintained until early in 1864, when the new JefYerson General
Hospital was put in commission. The camp, however, was used almost con-
tinually until near the close of the war by regiments arriving or leaving at
various times. The hospitals there consisted of a number of frame buildings
for wards, offices and a chapel, the latter being purchased by St. Paul's
parish of the Episcopal church, and moved to a lot on the lower side of Mul-
berry' street between Chestnut and Alaple. where it stood for many years,
being used by the congregation as a place of worship until 1892. This build-
ing at Camp Joe Holt was situated on the west side of what is now Front
street, and lav at the extreme west end of Montgomerv street.
THE JEFFERSOX GE:
HOSPITAL IX 18O4.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.. INU. l6l
One of the largest and most important government institutions in the
city was the Jefferson General Hospital. Adjoining the village of Port
Fulton to the east lay a beautiful farm reaching to the water's edge, the prop-
erty of the Hon. Jesse D. Bright, at that time United States Senator fixim
Indiana. Gently rolling to the southward and separated from the river bottom
by a bluff of some fifteen feet, with a sufficient depth of water and a good land-
ing the year around, a mile and a half from the Louisville ferry and about as
far from the old J., M. & I. depot, it afforded an ideal location for the estab-
lishment of a hospital. Senator Bright had forsaken his congressional duties
and had cast his fortunes with the Southern Confederacy. The Federal gov-
ernment had seized the land and here they erected a plant which was one *of
the finest in the United States for the care of their wounded and sick from the
camps and battlefields in the South. It was the third largest hospital in the
country, and was built on the plan of the Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia.
From a great circular corridor, exactly one-half of a mile in circumference and
eight hundred and forty feet across, under roof and enclosed by sliding glazed
sash, there radiated outwardly like spokes from a hub, twenty-seven spacious
buildings, each one hundred and seventy-five feet long and twenty feet wide.
l"wenty-four of these were wards, each containing fifty-three beds for patients
and one for the ward master. The walls were high, the roof ribbed, without
ceiling, the comb being open for ventilation. The windows, of which there
was one between every two beds, extended from a foot above the floor to the
eaves, so that there was a complete absence of hospital odor summer and
winter, day and night, and every bed had a sunbath every day the sun shone.
One of the remaining "spoke" buildings was equipped as a carpenter and
repair shop for such emergencies as chanced to arise. The other two "spoke"
buildings were of two stories each and were used for storage and supplies,
with quarters over one of them for the women nurses. As an equator to the
circle from north to south was a covered passage way, but not enclosed.
Each of the wards had its mess room and buttery in front and opening
out on the circular corridor, while at the outer end of each building, in a
small ell, was located a ward master's room, bath and toilet.
Just between the extreme outer ends of each two wards was an open coal
bin, from which supplies were drawn during the winter to heat the buildings.
Each ward was supplied with four large cast iron stoves, and they were suffi-
cient to inake the rooms comfortable. The large building located inside the
circle was the much used little chapel and reading rooms, one hun-
dred and fifty feet long by forty feet wide, and the small addition joining it
on the north was the chaplain's office. The operating room lay just beyond,
while farther in the distance was located the headquarters, a building two hun-
dred and ten feet north and south, and thirty feet wide. The full and light
diet kitchens, engine room, and machine shop in a building one hundred and
II
l62 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IXD.
eighty feet long by thirty feet wide; the mess rooms and nurses sleeping
apartments in another building one hundred and seventy-five feet by thirty
feet, and the commissary department in a building one hundred and seventy-
five feet long by fifty feet wide, were situated at the extreme western side of
the circle near the baggage room and guard house. On each side of the circle
were located two large hot water tanks, while just above, and to the east of
the grounds, was located the pumping station, which furnished an ample sup-
ply of water from a well sunk to a great depth. It may be a matter of interest
to know that one of these tanks is still in use at the circular saw-mill at How-
ard's shipyard ( 1909).
In the circle were also located the post-office, drug and instrument house
and the dead house. In the distance and to the left was the river with Louis-
ville beyond, while to the right and the distance among the trees could be seen
the stables, and back of that Price's ditch, a great skating pond for Port Fulton
boys up to a few years ago.
The drainage system was most complete, rarely requiring the plumber's
attention.
Barracks for soldiers guarding the hospital and doing necessary police
duty were situated near by, and the great laundry was located on the river
bank, about a quarter of a mile above the present pumping station of the Jef-
fersonville water works.
The hospital was opened for the reception of patients on Feljruary 21,
1864, and was closed in December. 1866. Long before the war closed the
capacity of the institution was found to be unequal to the demand and several
tent divisions were in constant use. i\t one time, after Hood's defeat before
Nashville, in the dead of winter, with snow of unusual depth, it became neces-
sary to close the sash of the circular corridor and transform it into an im-
mense ward. At that time the hospital had five thousand two hundred
(5,200) beds, and they were all occupied. Besides the large number of sol-
diers and male nurses employed there was a corps of women nurses under the
supervision of IMrs. Arbuckle, as chief nurse. The chief surgeon during the
life-time of the hospital was Dr. Middleton Goldsmith, who in civil life had
been a surgeon of large experience and great success. The position of execu-
tive officer, second in command, was at different times filled l^y Dr. W. T.
Okie, LTnited States Army: Dr. J. C. Happersett, Dr. A. B. Prescott
"and Dr. F. A. Seymour. There were Iiut two chaplains, who, with equal
rank remained throughout — Chaplain Chauncey W. Fitch, an Episcopal
clergyman and the father of Col. Edw. ^\^ Fitch ; and Chaplain L. G. Olm-
stead, a Presbyterian. They were men of great heart as well as brain, and
Chaplain Olmstead being a great lover of flowers was responsible for adding
materially to the beauty and attractiveness of the grounds by planting many
trees and flower beds to cheer the homesick sufiferers.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 1 63
During the existence of the hospital sixteen thousand, one hundred and
twenty patients were cared for, and in providing wholesome rations for so
vast a family great care and economy were necessary. It is doubtful if ever a
meal was late. During this time there were served two million six hundred
jand sixty-four thousand three hundred and thirty-six meals, or what was
equivalent to that many meals for one person. The economical disposal of the
waste resulted in the saving of seventy-one thousand dollars, which in turn
was applied to the purchase of provisions and medicines, some of which were
not obtainable on the government supply list.
After the hospital was discontinued in 1866, the ground and buildings
were turned over to the state of Indiana for the purpose of converting them into
a soldiers' home, but after two months' possession the proposed home was
moved to Knightstown, Ind.. and the property was reconveyed to the United
States. From this time on until 1874 the buildings were used as store houses
for clothing, blankets, etc., and hundreds of thousands of these articles were
kept here for use. The small brick house just above the stand pipe in Port
Fulton, is the only remaining building which was connected with the hospital
during the war. It was used by Doctor Goldsmith as his private quarters, and
is now known as the old Zulauf house.
There were several camps of soldiers during the war in and around Jef-
fersonville besides Joe Holt and the hospital camp, but they had no permanent
existence. The following institutions were housed in the city, and were a part
of its life and business during the progress of hostilities.
During the early part of the war a bakery or hard tack factory was
established in what is now Warder Park. The three buildings which composed
this plant faced Spring street, ran back to Wall street, and filled the present
area of the park. Here much of the hard tack for the army was made until
near the close of the war and its necessity ceased.
On Wall street, between Eighth and Ninth, were four large warehouses
of the usual size (about fifty feet by two hundred feet) for ordnance and
magazine purposes. Other buildings of the same size, ten in number, were
situated between Market street and the river and just above Mechanic street,
and were used for storing commissary stores. There were two government
fire engine houses for the protection of these buildings. One called the "Ever
Ready No. i" was on the northeast corner of Wall and Eighth streets for the
magazines just beyond, and one called "No. 2" was on the northwest corner
of Market and Penn streets for the warehouses on the opposite side of the
street. A third company of eigh men, making twenty-four in the whole
government department, with Billy Patterson as chief, constituted a hook and
ladder company, and was stationed at the Jefiferson General Hospital above
Port Fulton.
The present site of the court-house lot was a wagon yard and sort of
164 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
wag-on hospital, tliere being a large frame building in the southeast corner
Avhich was used for the manufacture of harness and wagons, with a black-
smith shop attached. The government stables were situated on the upper side
of Meigs avenue, between Seventh and Eighth. Farther down Court avenue,
on the northwest corner of Walnut street, stood the feed and grain ware-
houses. On the west side of Spring street, the second door south of Chestnut
street, the building, including the upper floors, was used as a hospital for con-
valescents. All of the quartermaster store houses and offices were finally
consolidated anil now constitute the United States Quarter IVlaster depot.
During the year 1864 the passage of troops and munitions of war became so
heavy (all having to be transported across the river by the ferry boat) the
engineers constructed a pontoon bridge, the Jeffersonville end striking the bank
at the foot of Fort street. This bridge was kept here for about fifteen months,
and over it were transported thousands of troops of all arms of the service.
On the northeast corner of Wall and Front streets the quartermaster's
offices were located, and the three-story brick building on the west side of
Spring street, near Front street, was used for hospital purposes. For many
months early in the war a company of infantry was kept in barracks built on
the lot at the comer of Wall and Maple streets, now owned by the German
Roman church.
In 1863-64 it became necessary to resort to the draft system in order to
hll out the quotas of many parts of the state. Before this time the state had
furnished troops as required by the simple process of enlistment, but under the
draft system the Federal government took charge and provost marshals were
appointed for each congressional district. The provost marshal for this dis-
trict was James Merriwether, and his headquarters were located in a large
building belonging to Judge Read, standing on the west corner of Front and
IMulberr)' streets. Here the names of all citizens between the ages of eighteen
and forty-five were placed in a wheel, and the required number drawn out.
Physical disability being a satisfactory excuse from ser\-ice, it is said that a pe-
irusal of the records of this district, now filed in the archives at Washington,
would show a most alarming and appalling list of diseases and ailments which
-then afflicted many of our citizens who favored the quiet walks of peace to the
clash of arms or tented field.
On the present site of Ebert's flour mill, corner of Wall and Park streets,
stood a large two-story brick I)uilding which was temporarily used for a hospi-
tal; and the brick building just in the rear of the new Citizens' Bank on Court
avenue was used for a like purpose until the government had provided better
quarters for her sick and wounded.
Of all the institutions and industries maintained by the Fed-
eral government in the city of Jeffersonville during the War of
the Rebellion but one remains, and that is the Jeffersonville depot
•~*' ->*«* . J-J
THE UNITED STATES QUARTERMASTER DEPOT
INTERIOR VIEW.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 165
of tlie United States Quarter Master Department. \Vork was
begun in the spring of 1871 on the buildings which were to be used for the
consoHdation of the ware liouses and offices still scattered around the city, and
the commodious and spacious brick building covering the four city blocks from
Tenth to Twelfth and from Watt to Mechanic streets were first occupied in
1874. The general plan of the depot was designed by Brevet Major General M.
C. Meigs, quartermaster general U. S. army at that time. It is eight hundred
one feet and four inches on each front, and its inside dimensions are six hun-
dred and ninety-six feet each way. The building is of brick with metal roof,
and is divided into forty compartments, each about fifty feet deep and giving
a total storage capacity of two million seven hundred thousand cubit feet. In
■the center is the commanding officers's office, a brick building, originally sur-
mounted by a tower one hundred feet high, which was torn down in igo2.
This quarter master's depot has steadily grown in importance since its be-
ginning, until it has become one of the principal supply stations of the quarter
master's department of the United States army.
The business of the institution consists of the manufacture and issue of
army clothing, and the issue of quarter master supplies of all kinds to the army
throughout the United States, the Philippines, Cuba, Porto Rico and the Ha-
waiian Islands. The commanding officers of the depot since its completion
in 1874 have been as follows :
Col. James E. Ekin 1872 to 1883
Col. Rufus Saxton 1883 to 1887
Col. Henry C. Hodges 1887 to 1894
Col. A. G. Robinson 1894 to 1897
Col. Charles W. Williams 1897 to 1898
Lt. Col. Charles R. Barnett 1898 to Sept., 1901
Col. James M. Marshall July, 1904, to Jan., 1903
Lt. Col. Sam R. Jones April 1903 to Dec. 1903
Col. C. A. H. McCauley Dec. 1903 to July 1904
Col. James M. IMarshall July 1904 to Jan. 190S
Col. George Ruhlin Jan., 1908 to
One of the phases of military life in Clark county which should not be
overlooked, was the draft. This horrible nightmare to some men stalked
through the state, carrying nervous prostration and stage-fright to more than
one poor thing who should have been at the front. It is said that if the records
at Washington could be examined that it would disclose a roster of men who
had the worst and most varied collection of ailments ever known to the
medical profession.
A poor excuse was better than none, and it is a wonder that the officers in
charge of the draft did not call a convention of the local M. D.'s to liehold,
for once at least, this galaxy of athletic cripples and sound decrepits.
1 66 baird's history of CLARK CO.j ind.
From the Mexican war period there was Httle of the mihtary spirit mani-
festing itself throughout the country ; but from the response to the heavy calls
for men to put down the Rebellion, it is evident that the spirit was donnant
and not dead. The relations between the North and South had reached a state
of strain bordering on rupture. In Jeffersonville a meeting was called for the
purpose of organizing a military company in March, i860. At the next meet-
ning, March 8, i860, held in the Mayor's office, which seems to have been the
same building on Front street where the first meeting was held, the organiza-
tion was effected by the election of John N. Ingram, captain ; Nathaniel Field,
first lieutenant ; Robert F. Bence, second lieutenant : James G. Caldwell, third
llieutenant; William M. Darrough, orderly sergeant, and John S. McCauley,
secretary. A careful survey of their old minute book, and inquiry among
those who still sur\'ive, show a roster of seventy names.
At the organization the following non-commissioned officers were ap-
pointed, the first sergeant having been elected, as were the commissioned offi-
cers:
Second Sergeant — W'illiam Howard.
Third Sergeant — Francis Berresford.
Fourth Sergeant — David Bailey.
EnsigU' — Gabriel Poindexter.
First Corporal — George H. Kram.
Second Corporal — Samuel Beach.
Third Corporal — James Patterson.
Fourth Corporal — William Thompson.
The "Indiana Greys" was the euphonious name selected, and it was also
recorded that it was the express wish of the company that their uniforms
should be a "grey suit trimmed with black, and that the buttons on the suit
should be a silver color with an eagle on the face." The drill hall selected was
known as Pratt's Hall, and was located on Spring street about one hundred
and fifty feet from Front street, and about opposite Strauss' Hotel.
There seems to have been more or less enthusiasm at the early meetings of
the Indiana Greys. New members were proposed and elected, various com-
mittees were appointed to attend every^thing imaginable, and fines were as-
sessed and collected ; but the spurt did not last, and the company decided on Alay
30, i860, to "suspend operations until January i, 1861." The awakening, how-
ever, which did not take place until February 21, 1861, seems to have been an
entirely new' move, as a mass meeting was called for the purpose of organizing
a niilitar\- company. This company elected the following officers, re-electing
the captain of the former company on account of his experience in the ^Mexican
war :
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND. 167
Captain — John X. Ingram.
First Lieutenant — Xatlianiel Field, Jr.
Second Lieutenant — James Keigwin.
Third Lieutenant — James G. Caldwell.
Secretary — James N. Patterson.
Treasurer — John W. Kane.
Orderly Sergeant — John ^^^ Kane.
Second Sergeant — James W'athen.
Third Sergeant — J. W. Jacobs.
Fourth Sergeant — David yi. Dryden.
Fifth Sergeant — J. T. Davis.
First Corporal — George H. Kram.
Second Corporal — Moses Nahm.
Third Corporal — James Patterson.
Fourth Corporal — Forbes Redman.
Shortly afterward John Kane was elected third lieutenant and Gabriel
Poindexter to be second lieutenant. The name selected by the company was the
"Clark Guards" and they began their service, which was carried on during such
critical times and which reflected so much credit on them. Some of their first
meetings were held at the residence of David Dr\'den, on Walnut street,
but very soon afterward they procured Spark's Hall on Wall street, between
Market and Chestnut, and used it for a drill hall and assembling place as long
as they remained in the state service. This building remained here until the
summer of 1903, when it was torn down to make room for a modern dwelling,
having been used at diiiferent times for hall, armory, theater, r^Iethodist church,
dance hall and stable. The City Council gave the company three hundred dol-
lars with which to procure uniforms, and the purchase of these, the purchase
of a keg of powder, three thousand gim caps, and the manufacture of paper
cartridges, etc., etc., fitted the men out in true military style. The uniform
adopted was a frock coat, so states the minutes, but even this scanty and ab-
breviated costume was only decided upon after various pros and cons between it
and "a hunting shirt with stiff collar." "A cap similar to the National Blues of
Louisville" was added to their apparel by almost unanimous vote, the only one
voting against it being \\''illiam Howard, and he held out for a "tall cap."
There being practically a total lack of military knowledge in Jeffersonville,
as well as elsewhere in the Union at this time, it was deemed advisable to get
instniction from some outside source. A committee which had been appointed
to attend to the matter reported on March 13, 1861, that Captain Woodruff, of
Louisville, would give the company twenty lessons for seventy-five dollars. Con-
sidering the time and the condition of the country, this offer seems anything but
patriotic. This gentleman afterward became a brigadier general in the Union
l68 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
army. In the early fall of this year Captain Woodruff was succeeded b}- Cap-
tain Mussey, of the regular army. He was here on recruiting service at the
time and his instructions were gladly given to the company without pay. He
brought them to a high state of efficiency. Among other fancy drills which he
taught them was the "bayonet drill," an exhibition which made the company
very popular at fairs, etc. The organization was in a remarkably prosperous
condition when the Legislature enacted a new militia law, which necessitated a
reorganization. On June 5, 1861, the Deputy Adjutant General of Indiana,
J. W. Ray, mustered the company into the state service and the records at In-
dianapolis contained the following roster of the Clark Guards, officers and non-
commissioned officers :
Captain — John X. Ingram.
First Lieutenant — James G. Caldwell.
Second Lieutenant — Gabriel Poindexter.
Ensign — John \V. Kane.
Orderly Sergeant — Henry F. Miller.
First Sergeant — Alford Lee.
Second Sergeant — H. H. Reynolds.
Third Sergeant — J. W. Jacobs.
Fourth Sergeant — B. R. Prather.
First Corporal — J. M. Ruddell.
Second Corporal — Ed A. Heller.
Third Corporal — A. \\'. Hamlin.
Fourth Corporal — William Xorthcutt.
Company Clerk — G. F. Miller.
There were sixty-five pri\'ates enrolled at muster.
J. Chap Colluni afterward became secretary and Ed A. Heller was pro-
moted to be second lieutenant.
From the organization of the Clark Guards in Jefferson\-ille up to the sum-
mer of 1862 the company did excellent work, at a time when the armies-to-be
■were evolving themselves from chaos, and when guards such as these were
sorely needed. They served until the volunteer regiments began to be formed
and were relieved by them of much of their work, and most of their men and
officers.
This company continued to exist through the whole period of the War of
the Rebellion, and together with the other but later Clark county companies
performed a valiant and valuable service. It later on became part of the Eighth
Regiment, Indiana Legion. Clark county at the beginning of the War of the
Rebellion was in a similar condition to the rest of the state. Although there
were a few independent companies such as the Clark Guards, here and there,
rthere was no organized militia anywhere when the war had actuallv commenced.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 169
Tliere were less tlian five hundred stands of effective first class small arms in
the state, and eight pieces of weather-worn and dismantled cannon. Through-
out the various counties there was an unknown number of old flint-locks, altered
to percussion cap muskets which had been issued to militiamen years before, but
these were useless, except for drilling purposes. The nucleus of the newly or-
ganizing regiments and brigades was the few independent companies which al-
ready existed. The Clark Guards became one of the three original companies
in the Eighth Regiment, Second Brigade, Second Military Division, when Col.
James Keigwin was commissioned to the command of the regiment August 30.
1861. the other t\Vo companies being Ben Lutz's company, the Battle Creek
Guards, from just this side of Charlestown, and Ben Henderson's company,
tlie "Union Company," from Hibernia. The resignation of Colonel Keigwin
soon afterward to become lieutenant colonel of the Forty-ninth Indiana Volun-
teer Infantry, caused John N. Ingram, the captain of the Clark Guards, to be
promoted and commissioned colonel October 6, 1861.
This Eighth regiment was augmented by the addition of several other
companies from Scott and Clark counties and was considered a very fair or-
ganization. Generals Mansfield and Lane were at the head of the state troops
at this time, and among the most efficient officers on the southern border of the
state were James Keigwin, John N. Ingram and John F. Willey.
Colonel Willey succeeded to the command of the Eighth Regiment Octo-
ber 13. 1862. and at this time had seventeen companies under his command, of
which twelve were in Clark county.
The field and staff' of the Eighth Regiment were as follows :
Colonel — James Keigwin.
Colonel — John N. Ingram.
Colonel — John E. Willey.
Lieutenant Colonel — \\'arren Horr.
Lieutenant Colonel — Samuel C. Taggart.
Lieutenant Colonel — Thomas D. Eouts.
Adjutant — Josiah W. Gwin.
Adjutant — James Ryan.
Quartermaster — Mehin Weir.
Surgeon — David H. Combs.
The Jeff'ersonville Artillery, one of the units of the regiment, was only a
paper com])any ; the r)fficers were George L. Ke>-, captain : Reuben Wells,
first lieutenant ; James Wathea, second lieutenant. This batterv was supposed to
hail from Jeffersonville, but no record exists of its service. The Battle Creek
Guards, an infantr}- company from Utica township and froiu the south of
Charlestown, was a loyal and efficient organization.
The Battle Creek Guards was about the onlv one beside the Clark Guards
i;-o baird's history of clark co.^ ind.
that saw a great deal of active service during the war. Their organization
was kept up from the date of muster all through the war period, and it was a
service not wholly of the nature of the service of Home Guards elsewhere. In
October, 1861, the company was called into service and was taken down the
Ohio by steamboat to the mouth of Salt river. Here they volunteered to cross
the river, although their legal service did not extend beyond the state of Indiana.
Thev here formed a part of quite a force of volunteers and were engaged, a
part of the time, in collecting all the boats on Salt river. Their service here
lasted about ten days, and while here they were quartered on a steamboat. They
were on active service during Morgan's raid and added in no small way to the
effectiveness of the militia force sent out to meet the invader.
The officers of this company, during its term of service, were Captains Ben-
jamin F. Lutz, John F. Willey and Dennis F. Willey: First Lieutenants, Isaac
M. Koons, George W. Luman and Oscar F. Lutz ; Second Lieutenants, Alban
Lutz and S. L. Jacobs.
The Union Home Guards was recruited from Memphis and vicinity. Its
officers were Captains, James M. Gwin, Josiah W. Gwin and Joseph C. Drum-
mond; First Lieutenants, William C. Combs, and Second Lieutenant John C.
Peden.
The Oregon Guards, from Oregon township, had as officers : Captains.
Francis M. Carr and Jesse Summers; First Lieutenants, William W. Watson
and Wilshire Minor; Second Lieutenants, Cornelius B. Ruddle and Joseph
Carr.
The Ellsworth Zouaves, of Jeffersonville, was one of the phantom com-
panies of the Eighth Regiment. It existed only on paper. Its officers were :
Captain, William W. Caldwell ; First Lieutenant, Thomas Gray, and Second
Lieutenant, George W. Brown.
The Union company was recruited from the vicinity of Hibernia. Its offi-
cers were: Captain, Benjamin Henderson; First Lieutenants, John D. Noe and
Jacob P. Bare ; Second Lieutenants, Paron Crop and Calid Scott.
The Hemwville Grays was an infantry company, with officers for its two
years of service as follows : Captain, Cyrus M. Clark; First Lieutenants, J. S.
Ryan, Luke S. Becket and James V. Herron; Second Lieutenants, J. A. C.
M'cCoy, H. H. Prall and Alexander G. Biggs.'
The Hoosier Guards were from New Hope and vicinity and added their
quota of strength to the defense against the !\Iorgans who might dare invade
Clark county soil. The officers were : Captains, John T. Hamilton and John
J. Baur; First Lieutenant, Chesterfield Hutsell; and Second Lieutenants, Ed-
ward W. Thawley and William K. Matthews.
The Utica Rough and Ready Guards came from the hills and valleys
of Utica. Jesse Combs was captain, Moses H. Tvler, first lieutenant and
Thomas J. Worrall, second lieutenant.
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. I7I
The Silver Creek Guards came from Sellersburg. E. W. Moore was cap-
,tain, George Bottorff was first lieutenant, and P. J. Ash, second lieutenant.
The Charlestown Cavalry was commanded by Captain Warren Horr.
Isaac Koons was first lieutenant, and Benjamin Perdue was second lieutenant.
This troop completes the roster of companies in the Clark county regiment.
Besides the ser\-ice which these companies gave, "they were a prolific
nursery for the volunteer service, a quickener of the patriotic impulse and a con-
servator of genuine loyalty." The service given by this regiment is summed up
in the report of Colonel W'illey for 1863-64 as follows :
"We had five battalions, and were called mto service by order
of the Governor, June 20th. to meet the raid under Captain Hines ;
July 6, 1863. called into ser\-ice by Adjutant General Noble; rendez-
voused at Jeffersonville : July 7th. dismissed the command: July 8th. met
at Jeffersonville to repel Morgan raid ; were in line of battle but no
enemy came; July 15th relieved from duty and command dismissed; June
9, 1864, called into ser\-ice by order of the Governor to meet a raid from Ken-
lucky by jMorgan ; dismissed June 25th ; August loth called companies A and
H to picket the Ohio river in the vicinity of the Grassy Flats to stop guerrillas
under rebel Jesse from crossing; pickets fired on guerrillas, fire returned, but no
one hurt; dismissed August 20, 1864. We had two battalion drills in April,
1864, one regimental drill in 'Sla.y and one in October. The regiment is well
drilled for militia, and is ready and willing to turn out whenever called on."
Such was the temper, character and service of the regiment of Clark coun-
•ty militia.
The Morgan raid across the southern part of the state in July. 1863. was
the cause of an abnormal activity among both the active and sedentaiy militia,
and although it amounted to nothing so far as active service was concerned, it
caused more or less patriotism to suddenly appear in the breasts of the stay-at-
homes and an outward and visible sign of a desire to fight that must have been
gratifying if not amusing to the boys in blue at the front.
A movement was commenced to intercept ^Morgan at \'ienna on the after-
noon of the loth by sending a brigade of infantry and a battery of artillery from
Jeffersonville by rail, and the troops were already embarked on cars, in high
spirits, when an order from General Bovle. to whom the military "post" at Jef-
fersonville belonged, stopped them. The militia, as stated in Colonel \\ il-
ley's report, were called to duty July 9th for the same purpose, but the public
mind was in such a wrought-up state that these United States volunteers and
militia did not give satisfactory assurance of perfect safety from the dreaded
bugaboo, so a volunteer force was raised besides. This force appeared in the
;shape of a so-called regiment of men from Jeflrersonville, which seemed to
spring, mushroom-like, out of the ground over night. The "raiders" were
(Coming and everybody was ready to fight. This hurry-up organization amount-
172 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
ed to from six Imndred to eight hundred men, besides two "quick" troops
of cavah-y (if the historian may be pardoned for so designating them), the
above mentioned bodies having about all the able bodied men of Jefiferson\ille
:in their ranks.
The battle of Corvdon was an inspiration to the luke-warm. so the advance
of this bodv of men to the rear of the city was an imposing one so far as numbers
went. The first night out they camped in Taylor's woods, and then moved out
near the springs property on Spring street, near Twelfth, there to welcome the
dread invader "with bloody hands to hospitable graves." The fact that al-
though thev had been armed w^ith muskets, yet had been issued no ammunition.
never dawning upon them until after the scare. They remained on duty about
six davs. but it is stated by some that when the remnant of the regiment returned
to the city at the end of their duty they found that the largest portion had al-
readv arrived before them, not ha\-ing waited for such an inconsequential thing
as an order or permit to leave and return homeward.
Among these brave defenders was one Isaac Gaither. a brother of Perry
Gaither. the Falls pilot. He was a most enthusiastic shouting Methodist and a
ileader in the ^\'all Street church. The night being cool when ]\Iorgan was ex-
pected, and the anticipation of a fight being rather trying to many, a bottle of
that "licker" commonly called "spirits frumentii," was circulated among the
boys, and Gaither was persuaded to take a pull for his health's sake. As the
spirits in the bottle lowered the spirits of the men rose, especially Gaither's. and
he finally seized his gun, jumped into the middle of the road, raised the weapon
to his shoulder and shouted, "John Morgan, if you're coming, come on NOW !"
This show of spirits did not seem to appeal to some and touched the risibles of
none, for one of them, "Bill" Jackson by name, replied in a stage whisper, "Shet
up, you damned fool, some of Morgan's men might be out there and hear you."
This body of Jeffersonville soldiery disappeared as it came, and its history
is only what can be gleaned from the tales told by the survivors at this day.
The citizen soldiery of Charlestown lost no opportunity to perfect them-
selves in the art of war, and night after night found them drilling in the court-
house. During the winter of i860 and 1861, these drills were kept up, Harry
Daily being the drill master. During the period of nervous prostration which
General Morgan had caused to be an epidemic in Clark county, and when the
militia had assembled to repulse the invader, about five hundred rebels started
to cross the river at Twelve-Mile Island, but a gunboat opened fire on them
and only one boat load of forty-six succeeded in reaching the northern shore,
or rather in escaping to it. At this time there was a deep-laid, well-organized
conspiracy throughout the southern part of the state to assist Morgan in every
way possible. That treasonable, disloyal and infamous secret society, called the
"Knights of the Golden Circle," had plotted and planned to make Morgan's raid
successful. Clark county was unfortunate enough to have within her borders
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND. 1 73
men who were traitors to their country and flag, and to these men the invaders
at Tweh-e-I\Iiie Island looked for support. Of the forty-six who succeeded in
invading Clark county, hardly a one escaped capture, while Morgan's force
itself went around to the north. The militia force returned home, and the coun-
'try-side guards who had, like Putnam of old, left field or team to defend their
homes, returned once more to peaceful pursuits.
One of the earliest organizations of men in Clark county formed for the
purpose of entering into active service in the great conflict, was headed quite
naturally by that patriotic citizen of Jeffersonville, wdiomi every one knew and
everybody liked, James Keigwin, later the gallant colonel of the Fortv-ninth In-
diana. \\'hen the President had issued his first call for 75,000 men. April 15.
1861, to put down the rebellion, JefYersonville, like every other city and town in
the state of Indiana, had its company of men ready in a few hours after receiving
the news. This company consisted of about sixty men and they were quartered
temporarily in Spark's Hall, on Wall street, where stoves to cook upon and
bedding and provisions were provided, not, however, by the State or Federal
Government, but out of the private purse of the man raising the organization.
Indiana's quota being filled almost as soon as the call was made, the men whom
Keigwin had assembled sought other fields and the only reward or satisfac-
tion he received for his patriotism at that time was a knowledge that he had
done his duty, the three hundred dollars spent for subsistence being credited
ito profit and loss.
A company of first-call men was raised in Charlestown the same time that
Keigwin raised his Jefifersonville company. Clark county made her initial bow
in this conflict as early as any other county in the state, and the standard which
she set at the outset was kept up throughout the jjeriod. When Sumter was
fired on, several young men at the county-seat began the organization of an in-
fantry company, and Henry Ferguson assumed the leadership in the movement.
J. B. Roland was slated for first lieutenant and Isaac Haymaker for second lieu-
tenant. -A drum and fife corps was made up, and these ofiicers, together with a
few others, started out to visit the neighboring villages near Charlestown to re-
cruit their company. Vesta, Solon, New Washington, New Market and other
places were visited and the temper of the men was shown by a roster of one hun-
dred and thirty-eight enlistments. The recruits marched to Charlestown and
camped in the public square, but they were doomed to the same disappointment
which Keigwin met, and their offer of service was refused, as those companies
nearer Indianapolis had alread}' been accepted. Da\id Daily was not discour-
aged, however, and took seventy-eight of these men up to Indianapolis on a spe-
cial train, marched them up to the State House and offered their services to
Governor Morton. It was too late, but the men had only to wait a short while
before an opportunity was gi\-en for them to (ifTer their ser\'ices in newer
174 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
The next body of men raised in Jeffersonville was headed by David M.
Drydan, the pilot. An old riverman named Jesse J. Stepleton had interested
Drydan in raising a company for immediate sei-vice. Stepleton had been a mate
or one of the river boats and Dr}'dan very naturally fell in with his plans, and
raised a good-sized squad of men in and around Jeffersonville. For this work he
was made a second lieutenant when the company was mustered in.
Drydan's squad consisted of twenty-seven men from Jeffersonville, Utica,
Charlestown and vicinity. These men. with a number from Louisville, aggre-
gating about one hundred and six, embarked on the mail boat and were taken to
Cincinnati, Ohio, where they were mustered in as Company F, First Kentucky
Volunteer Infantry, by Major S. Burbank. of the First Infantry, U. S. A., at
Camp Clay, June 4, 1861. Captain Stepleton resigned soon afterward, it is said,
from fear of his men, whonl he had treated with great brutality, and Drydan was
promoted to fill his place. The regiment was ordered to the Department of W^est
Virginia and performed much valuable service in the early part of the war.
From there it was ordered to the Department of the Cumberland in January.
1862. and took active part in the advance on Nashville and participated in the
following engagements: Gauley Bridge, Red House and Peytonia, Virginia;
Shiloh, Tennessee; Corinth, Mississippi: Stone River, Tennessee, and Chicka-
mauga, Georgia.
These men composed the first bod}- of soldiers to go into the army, and
as they went into a Kentucky regiment, neither Indiana nor Clark county re-
ceived the credit for them. They served until mustered out at Covington, Ken-
tucky, June 18, 1864.
The first volunteers from Clark county to go into an Indiana regiment
were Company D, of the Twenty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, from
Charlestown. This was the regiment commanded by Col. Jeft' C. Davis.
Colonel Davis was promoted brigadier general of the United States Volun-
iteers, December 18, 1861, and brevetted major general, August 8, 1864.
The organization and muster of this company was but the prelude to that
proud chapter in Clark county's histoiy. wherein is written the patriotic service
of her sons in many regiments.
"How they went forth to die !
Pale, earnest thousands from the dizzy mills.
And sunburnt thousands from the harvest hills.
Quick, eager thousands from the city's streets,
And storm-tried thousands from the fisher's fleets,
How they went forth to die!"
Company D. of the Twenty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteers, was
headed quite naturally by David W. Dailey, who had made such strenuous
efforts to force his earlier company into the service. A\"iHiam H. Ratts went out
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 175
as first lieutenant, and Isaac X. Ha}-maker as second lieutenant. Dailev rose
to the lieutenant colonelcy after the death of John A. Hendricks at the battle of
Pea Ridge, March 6, 1862. During the service of this company, David W.
Dailey, Isaac X. Haymaker, James M. Parker, Thomas H. Dailey and Pat-
rick H. Carney, served as captain ; William H. Ratts, James M. Parker,
Samuel H. Campbell, Thomas H. Dailey, Patrick H. Carney and George
G. Taff as first lieutenants and Isaac X. Haymaker, Samuel H. Campbell,
Thomas H. Dailey, Patrick H. Carney, David X. Runyan and Charles J. Giles
second lieutenants.
The company was rendezvoused in Charlestown. the squads of recruits
camping in the court-house yard. The movement to raise this body of men was
not coincident with the organization of the Twenty-second Regiment, most of
ithe men being the remains of Dailey's old company wb.o had been kept to-
gether and drilled from time to time. The regimental rendezvous was at
Madison and here, on July 15, 1861, they were organized, and soon after left
for Indianapolis, where they were mustered into the United States ser\-ice.
August 15, 1861, for three years.
The battle of Pea Ridge, Siege of Corinth, pursuit of Bragg, Perryville.
Stone River, the charge up Mission Ridge, and Sherman's "Marching Through
Georgia," were all part of its history, and Company D's return to Charlestown
after muster-out at Washington, D. C, in June, 18G5, was the occasion of well
merited congratulations.
The next troops were Companies B and I, Twenty-third Indiana Volun-
teer Infantry. Most of the men in B company were from Jefifersonville and
vicinity, while those in I company were from Charlestown. One of the prime
movers in organizing Company B, besides William \Y. Caldwell, was James B.
Merriwether, who later on served as lieutenant colonel of the Thirty-eighth
Indiana, vice \\'alter O. Gresham, resigned, and still later as provost marshal
of the second district. The company was organized in their own camp at Tay-
lor's Woods, just back of Jeffersonville, and was mustered in at Xew Albany,
July 29, 1861. In February, 1862, several men of this company lost their li\es
on the ill-fated gunboat Essex, eleven guns, when her boilers blew up. Lieut.
Daniel Trotter being one of the unfortunates.
Caldwell took out with him William M. Darrough as first lieutenant and
Daniel Trotter as second lieutenant. Darrough was promoted captain and was
killed at Vicksburg and Trotter was killed at Fort Henry in 1862.
Company I was recniited in Charlestown during the month of June, and on
July 8th received orders from Gov. O. P. IMorton to proceed to Camp X'oble at
X^ew Albany. On July 27th they were mustered into the Ignited States service,
and on August 15th left Camp X'oble for St. Louis.
The battle of Shiloh, the Siege of Corinth, the capture of luka, Thomp-
son's Hill, Raymond, Champion Hill, Jackson, Vicksburg, the Atlanta Cam-
176 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
paign, the pursuit of Hood, with Sherman to Savannah, the campaign of
the Carolinas and the battle of Bentonville, is a record that any regiment
could be proud of, and our companies of the Twenty-third did their share
of duty. The officers of Company B were as follows :
\^'illiam \\\ Caldwell, Captain.
William M. Darrough, Captain.
Michael Whalen, Captain.
Frederick ^^'ilkens, Captain.
William AI. Darrough, First Lieutenant.
Michael Whalen, First Lieutenant.
Henry C. Foster, First Lieutenant.
Philip Pflanzer, First Lieutenant.
Daniel Trotter, Second Lieutenant.
Henry C. Foster, Second Lieutenant.
Martin Muthig, Second Lieutenant.
The officers of Company I were as follows :
Henry C. Ferguson, Captain.
Benjamin F. W'alter, Captain.
James N. Wood, Captain.
Benjamin F. W'alter, First Lieutenant.
Joshua W^ Custer, First Lieiitenant.
David Moore, First Lieutenant.
Joshua W. Custer, Second Lieutenant.
Henry C. Dietz, Second Lieutenant.
Francis M. Crabtree, Second Lieutenant.
Claiborn M. Delton, Second Lieutenant.
When the Thirty-eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteers was organized
it had two companies from Clark county. Company H, of Jeffersonville,
and Company F, of Charlestown. Company H was raised by Capt.
Gabriel Poindexter, who at the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion,
was in the hardware business on Spring street, near Front. During this
company's term of service it had the following Clark county officers : Gabriel
Poindexter, Victor M. Carr and Andrew J. Crandell, captains; Victor M.
Carr, Andrew J. Crandell and Joseph L. Leach, first lieutenants, and An-
drew J. Howard and Victor M. Carr as second lieutenants.
About three o'clock on a beautiful afternoon in the early part of Septem-
ber. 1 86 1, the men composing the company assembled and took wagons for
Xew Albany. The leave taking of soldiers was still new to the city, and a
goodly crowd assembled to witness their departure. The road that led to
New Albany in those days was on the present right of way of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad. They were not mustered in until September i8th, but before
liAIKl; S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 1 77
that time one nf their number died. His name is not to he found now on
mortal rolls, but all the h.onors of war were accorded him in his funeral
obsequies. Besides the officers and men who composed this company and who
hailed from Jeffersonville. there were James B. Merriwether, lieutenant
colonel of the regiment; Joshua B. Jenkins, major, and T. ,C. Mercer, of
Utica, assistant surgeon. In Charlestown the company for this regiment was
raised by ^^'esley Connor. There w^as no lack of enthusiasm, and the quota
was filled without trouble. Wesley Connor, Joshua B. Jenkins and \\'illiam
M. Pangburn served as captains ; Stephen S. Cole, Joshua B. Jenkins. William
M. Pangburn and Thomas R. Mitchell served as first lieutenants, and Joshua
B. Jenkins, Thomas H. Adams and Elias Daily as second lieutenants. The
men composing this company were recruited from the vicinity of Charles-
town, Otisco, New Market and New Washington, and as was usual in those
days, rode to the place of rendezvous at New Albany in farmers' wagons.
The history of these companies was the history of the regiment throughout
the war. They served in the campaigns in Kentucky, 1861 ; Tennessee and
Kentucky in 1862: pursuit of Bragg, 1862: Rosecrans' campaign in Tennes-
see, 1863; against Chattanooga, 1863; against Atlanta, 1864; pursuit of
Hood, 1864; Sherman's march to the sea, 1864, and through the Carolinas
in 1865. They were sent to Louisville in 1865 and remained there until the
middle of July of that year. The two companies of Clark countv men were
mustered out with the regiment July 15, 1865, participated in a public re-
ception at Indianap<:)lis July i8th, where they were addressed by Governor
Morton. During the service of this regiment it covered an immense amount
of territory in its marches. After the campaign in the Carolinas it marched
to \\'ashington, D. C, a distance of one hundred and ninety-two miles in
six days, an average of thirty-two miles per day. The sum total of its
service is more than creditable.
12
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF CLARK COUXTY.
^- FORTY-NINTH INDIANA.
The Forty-ninth Regiment of Indiana Vokmteers was organized at Camp
Joe Holt, Jeffersonville, Indiana, on the i8th day of November, 1861, and
mustered into service November 21, 1861, for three years or during the war.
The staff officers for the whole tenn of their service were as follows :
Colonel. Residence. Date of Com.
John W. Ray Jeffersonville November 18, 1861.
James Keigwin Jeft'ei'sonville October 18, 1862.
James Leeper Charlestown December i. 1864.
Lt. Colonel.
James Keigwin Jeft'ersonville November 18. 1861.
Joseph H. Thornton. . . .Leavenworth October 11. 1862.
Arthur J. Hawhe New Albany July 28, 1863.
James Leeper Charlestown December i. 1864.
James A. Gardner Rome September 6, 1865.
Major.
Joseph H. Thornton Leavenworth November 25, 1861.
Arthur J. Hawhe New Albany October 13, 1862.
James Leeper Charlestown July 28, 1863.
John A. Hamacher Vienna September 26, 1865.
Adjutant.
James M. Gwin Memphis November 22, 1861.
George W. Riddle Leavenworth April 15. 1862.
Beverly W. Sullivan Jeffersonville February 22, 1865.
Quarter-master.
Charles H. Paddack Jeft'ersonville September 25. 1861.
George W. Pettit Jeft'ersonville April i. 1865.
4
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. IJQ
Cliaplain.
\\'illiam Maple Salem December 5, 1861.
L. M. Hancock ^Nlav i. 1862.
L. L. Hazen June 17, 1863.
Surgeon.
Charles D. Pearson Indianapolis Xoveml:)er 19. 1861.
James R. AInnroe Seymonr ]\[arch 11. 1862.
John A. Ritter Orleans October 18, 1862.
Emanuel R. Ha'.vn Indianapolis February 20, 1864.
Edward F. Buzzett Jeffersonville April i, 1865.
Assistant Surgeon.
J. A. C. McCoy Jeffersonville December 27, 1861.
The non-commissioned staff' was George F. Howard, sergeant major; Eli-
sha L. Trueblood, quarter-master sergeant ; Beverly \\' . Sullivan, commissar}^
sergeant: Samuel Lingle and Preston C. Worrell, principal musicians. The
Forty-ninth was the first and only regiment organized in Clark county for
the ^^'ar of the Rebellion, and had so many Clark county men as field and line
officers, besides the rank and file that it may be truly called a Clark count}''
regiment. Colonel Ray resigned after commanding the regiment from its
muster into the service. X'ovember 21. 1861, until the following June, when
he left it. and from that time until the regiment ser\-ed out their full term
of enlistment of three years it was commanded by Col. James Keigwin. A
part of the regiment re-enlisted in Texas and Captain Leeper was made lieu-
tenant colonel, and sensed with the veterans up to the close of the war, when
they were mustered out of the service at Louisville. Kentucky. September 13,
1865. having served their country three years and ten months as gallantly and
faithfully as any soldiers that ever left the state. It would require a large
volume to record the battles, skirmishes and hardships the old Forty-ninth
endured during- its long and faithful service for their country and flag. The
enlistments, first and last, of officers and men. numbered twelve hundred and
sixty-eight, of whom two hundred and thirty-eight gave up their lives for
their country. The regiment performed the duties required of it by anny
regulations, and obeyed with alacrity all orders from superior officers, and
were ready every hour of their three years and ten months' seiwice to kill
the enemies of their country and flag, or be killed in defense of them. And
well may Clark county be proud of her boys who wore the blue and performed
their part so well in saving and making the greatest nation on the globe.
"A government of the people, by the people and for the people."
One of the most amusing things occurred at the time the Forty-ninth was
in camp at Joe Holt, and was published in all the papers in the country after
l80 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
its occurrence. Many of the recruits came from a dark corner of our state,
and were not up to tlie fashions, etiquette and polished ways of the present
day. They might have been called green if the hayseed in their hair had not
been faded to a light dust color. They were told by their friends when they
started for camp to wear the oldest and worst clothes they had, and throw
them away when they drew their uniforms, which would save them the trouble
and expense of sending their clothes home after they had drawn their uni-
forms. I can truthfully sa}- that they accepted the advice of their friends, and
any sort of a judge of man's dress would say that they wore their worst
clothes when they came t(i camp. On account of some delay of the quarter-
master, the uniforms did not arrive as soon as expected, and the poor boys
had to wear those "worst clothes" for a week or more, which was a great dis-
appointment to the whole regiment. Colonel Keigwin recounts the following :
"All the young ladies in Jeffersonville were casting wistful eyes at the young
officers of the regiment, and using every endeavor to make their stay in camp
as pleasant as possible. One of the debutantes of our city concluded that she
would cast her hook into the military fish pond to catch a soldier, if possible,
by giving to the officers of the regiment a reception at her home on Market
street. (In our day it would be called a 'function' or some other Newport
name.) The debutante wrote the invitations to the 'function' herself and it
read : 'Tlie pleasure of your company is invited to attend a party to be given
by JNIiss , at her home on Market street, on day, hour, to the
defenders of our flag and country.' The captain of the company that came into
camp with their worst clothes on understood the invitation for him to appear
wdth his company, and he came. I, being a distant relative of the young lady,
of course it was my duty to make things go off as pleasantly as possible for
the company, and to be the first on the ground to receive them. Just as it was
getting dark I went to the front gate and looked down market street, and you
can judge of my surprise when I saw the captain with his full company in
their rag-tag motley garments they had left home in. \\'ell, just at that time
I was worse rattled than I ever was when forming the regiment in line for
battle. Jack Fallstaff and his famous company were well dressed as compared
with that crew. Well, we did the best we could with them, inviting them into
the parlors which we had taken so much pains to decorate with pictures of
Washington and Jackson and other famous fighters of early times. The walls
were decorated with flags and other ornaments suitable for a regimental 'func-
tion' in t86i. Refreshments for all that number? you ask. Well, we just cut
the bits of cake which were small enough for one into two pieces and added a
little more water to the lemonade, and all returned to camp well satisfied that
he had learned what a real reception in Jefifersonville was forty years ago.
The captain who brought all of his company to the reception has been dead for
more than twenty-five years previous to this writing (1904), and it is to be
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. l8l
hoped that tlie function he is now enjoying is of a different sort from the one
he attended in Jeffersonville with his FaHstafifian company. Many hundreds
of years ago a multitude of fi\-e thousand were served with five loaves and two
fishes, and after all were satisfied there remained twelve baskets full of loaves
and fishes, but I can truthfully say that not a crumb as big as a buck-shot was
left after the well dressed company of the Forty-ninth Indiana had been sensed
at that 'debutante function' on Market street in Ti^ffei'sonville fortv-two vears
ago."
The Forty-ninth Regiment left their camp at Joe Holt, Jefferson\-ille, De-
cember II. 1 86 1, and made their first march through Louisville and out the
Bardstown Pike. At that time Jefifersonville had a brass band, and they vol-
unteered to escort the regiment across the river and through Louisville, where
at that time, as many cheered for Jefferson Davis as shouted for Lincoln. Wil-
liam H. Fogg, Professor John Johnson. Henry Ewing, Abraham Carr and
others were members and they tooted their horns vigorously marching through
the city with one thousand armed men following them, but the danger of get-
ting back with their horns exposed after escorting a Yankee regiment through
(the streets of a rebel city, was too great to be risked, and they deposited their
instruments in a house on the outskirts of the city and sent a wagon to haul
them home. This trip was the last toot the band ever made on those horns.
The regiment reached Bardstown on the 13th of December, and went into
camp at the fair grounds, where they devoted all their time to drilling and fight-
ing mouth battles, telling how they would lick the Johnnies and return to their
homes in a few months to receive from their friends the palm of victor}-. The}'
did not know as much about war then as they learned later. Col. James Keig-
win's account of their service is as follows: "One thing which added greatly
to our courage was the good old Nelson countv Bourbon whiskev whicli was
sold at that time fur twenty-fi\'e cents per gallon, which brought it in reach
of the most impecunious soldier in the regiment. Tlie only total abstinence
man that I knew in the regiment at that time was Col. John W. Ray, who spent
most of his time talking about the comforts of home as compared to those of
camp life, and admonishing- us of the great danger of a too free use of "old
Tambo" fas it was then called by the men in the regiment), and praying that
Jeff Davis and his followers would soon find the folly of tr}'ing to break up the
Union and tiying to lick such loyal fiohting men as he had in the Forty-ninth
Indiana. Our colonel was from his boyhood days a better talker than a fighter,
and he almost convinced me in some of his oratorical flights that the war could
not last six months longer, and I was almost afraid that I would never have a
chance to witness or take part in a battle. One beautiful, crisp, frosty moon-
light night I suggested that we have a false alarm in camp to teach the men
that when they lay down for the night to always put their arms, accoutrements
and clothing where they could put their hands on them no matter how dark
l82 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
it might be. or under all sorts of danger or excitement, when called out in the
night. No one knew that there would be an alarm but Ray, m3-self and ^lajor
Thornton. About twelve o'clock we called up the drum corps and ordered
them to beat the long roll, that the enemy was but a few miles from us, ap-
proaching on the Lebanon pike. They beat the roll earnestly, and we three
field officers ran up and down the company streets commanding in a loud voice
'turn out ! fall in on the color front,' that the Johnnies were advancing on the
pike and were but a few miles away. Well, it was one of the most excitable
and amusing scenes I have ever witnessed. After getting them on the color
front we found some of them with only one shoe on. some without a gun and
others without a cartridge box ; in fact they would have put up a poor fight in
the condition they were in. We double-quicked them out of the fair grounds,
down the pike, formed line of battle and told them that there was no armed
enemy within fifty miles of the place, and explained to them what the alarm
was given for, and I can truthfully say that the regiment never forgot the
lesson it learned that night. We had the roll called and found thirty "cofifee
coolers" absent. Next day we held a court martial and found that all of the
absentees had some sort of an excuse for his absence. I will never forget the
excuse of a Company A man, who was the tallest in the company, which gave
him the honor of marching in the first four at the head of the regiment. He
had an idea that regiments went into battle endways and as the front files fell
the others followed up until all were killed or wounded to the left of the regi-
ment. He denied being absent and his excuse was that he was at the taller end
of the regiment, that he thought the enemy might 'tak us at 'tother end and
he wanted to be first in the fight. His excuse was so novel we had a good
laugh over it and he was excused without punishment.
"The regiment left Bardstown January 12, 1862, under orders to re-
inforce General Thomas, who was watching General Zollicoffer, who was
threatening Kentucky with another invasion, he having been defeated at Wild-
cat and driven through Cumberland Gap by our forces a few months before.
The regiment marched through Springfield, Danville and Lebanon, Kentucky,
reaching a point five miles south of Lebanon, where it received the news of
General Thomas' victory at Mill Springs, Kentucky. We marched from
Lebanon to Cumberland Ford, Kentucky, arriving there February 15, 1862,
and remained there until the following June. \\'hile camped at this place the
regiment was severely scourged by disease, losing by death a large number of
its members. On the 14th of March, 1862, I took part of the regiment to Big
Creek Gap, Tennessee, where we had a skirmish with the First Tainessee Cav-
alry, capturing their battle flag, which is now in the state library at Lidianap-
olis, and Lieutenant Colonel W'hite, Captain \\"inston, a lieutenant and thirty-
two men and seventy-five horses. We returned to the Ford and took part in
. an ineffectual attempt to take Cumberland Gap. The regiment marched with
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.j IND. l8^
Gen. Georg-e W. Morgan's force over the Cumberland mountains into Powell
valley. Tennessee, toward Cumberland Gap, and on the i8th of Januaiy, 1862,
we occupied it, the enemy having evacuated it the same day. The regiment
remained at Cumberland Gap, engaged in building fortifications, and having
almost daily encounters with the enemy, by whom we were surrounded a
greater part of the time until the night of the 17th of September, 1862, when
the works were abandoned, the enemy having cut off all communication with
the rear, preventing reinforcements and supplies from reaching the garrison.
"The first man killed in the regiment was Corporal Henry H. McCullum,
in a skinnish near Cumberland Gap, August 25, 1862. The regiment was en-
gaged in a number of skirmishes near Cumberland Ford and the Gap with
only a few wounded. One incident that occurred while we were invested at
the Gap I shall never forget because it brought to me a very valuable piece of
property in the form of a fine black stallion, which was the property of Colonel
Alston, a son of Governor Alston, of South Carolina. Gen. Samuel P. Carter,
who commanded the first troops that reached Cumberland Ford, wanted to
purchase the horse and asked me what I would take for him. 1 told him the
horse was worth five hundred dollars, but in the locality in which we were at
that time soldiering, and poor facilities for running away in case the Johnnies
got the better of us in a fight, we were about to be engaged in, that I would
not trade nor sell the horse for a steamer Jacob Strader, at that time the finest
boat on the western rivers. I do not want my friends to think that I stole that
horse from the government, to whom he belonged at the time of the capture
so I must tell you the story of how I came by the horse honestly :
"We had an old Tennessean, a sergeant in the Second Tennessee Regi-
ment of Infantry, who was the mcist reliable scout in the command. He knew
every path and road through the mountains of East Tennessee, and everv man
who kept a stallion in that part of the state. He ne\'er returned from a scout-
ing expedition that he was not mounted on a horse of that kind. He was a
great friend of the Forty-ninth Indiana, and seemed to have more confidence
in Hoosier soldiers than those from his own state. He wnuld often come to
me to get a detail of men to go with him on some of his dangenius journevs.
He was known by all of the command as "Stud Reynolds.'' One dav at my
quarters I said to him jokingly. "Stud I wish the next time ynu leave camp
you would bring me a fine stud horse.' He laughed and said the next one he
found he would bring to me. He said that his business at that time was to
get some of my men to go with him down to Baptist Gap, five miles distant
from our camp, to try to trap some rebels who had been crossing the moun-
tains in our rear, and a few days before had killed Turkey Joe Turner, a Union
man for giving us information in regard to the "Johnnies' at the Gap. I told
him to take as many as he wanted, and to take the choice of any in the regi-
ment. He selected twenty men and moved along the bench of the mountain'
184 BAIRd's history of CLARK CO., IXD..
to Baptist Gap and divided bis men, placing ten of them about half way to the
top of the mountain and the others be kept with liim about two hundred yards
nearer the foot of tlie mountain. All of the men were concealed in the thick
shrul)l)erv of the mountain side. He was there but a short time when he heard
the clatter of horses' hoofs in the valley below. Soon they were ascending
the path up the mountain gap. Stud kept quiet until Colonel Alston and five
of his men rode past him when he charged into the path in their rear and
ordered them to surrender. The squad charged into the path from above and
there was no escape' for the colonel and his men. Colonel Alston at first re-
fused to surrender to a private soldier, and demanded that they send for an
ofificer before he would consent to give up his sword and dismount. Stud again
ordered him to dismount, but the haughty South Carolinian began to parley
about the matter, when Stud ordered, 'Ready! Take aim,' which brought the
noble scion down from the saddle in short order. Stud mounted the black
stud, ordered them to march in front, and brought them into camp, the most
woe-begone looking cavaliers that ever left the state which fired the first shot
at 'Old Glory,' waving over Fort Sumter and the emblem of the freest people
on earth. Of course we rejoiced when the son of one of the aristocratic gov-
ernors of that state, which was the first to secede from the Union, had been
captured by private soldiers in the Union army. Stud Re^-nolds rode the ijlack
stallion up in front of my quarters, saluted and said, 'Colonel, here is your
stud hiirse.' Our chief (|uartermaster. IMajor Garber, from Madison, an old
friend of mine, whose duty it was to take care of all captured propertv and re-
port the number of horses on his rolls, had told me that anything in his corral
that had four legs and a tail counted for a horse, and ha\ing one of that sort
on hand at that time I just turned him into the corral and rode Colonel Alston's
horse through the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Mississippi
and Louisiana, and I never mounted him but I thought that I was riding the
state of South Carolina with sabre at my side and spurs on my heels.
"While at Cumberland Ford a part of the Forty-ninth Indiana
( Company B, under command of Capt. James Thompson) and a
part of the Second Regiment East Tennessee Infantry, made a
raid against Cumberland Gap. which was heavily fortified and oc-
cupied by a large force of the enemy under General Raines, C. S.
A. Colonel Carter of the Second East Tennessee Infantry, with myself in
charge of the above troops, was sent to Big Creek Gap which was blockaded
and guarded by the First Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, Colonel Rodgers in
command. Colonel Carter left Cumberland Ford on the moming of the 14th
of March, 1862, without a wagon or any artillery, and the paths through which
our guides were to lead us could only be trodden in places single file, and the
officers, horses and thirty cavalrymen we had with us would often be several
mdes ahead of the main column to find a path through which to lead their
BAIRD S HISTOKV OF CLARK CO., IXD. 105
horses. I think that the route the guides took us was ahout sixty-five miles
from the ford to Big Creek gap, our objective point. We left the ford with all
the provisions we could carry in our haversacks and were alisent on the expe-
dition eleven days, passing through a country scantily supplied with provisions
in times of peace so you will understand tliat many of the boys went hungry a
greater part of the time on the trip. When we reached the foot of the moun-
tain after crossing it, we turned into the fields in the valley with only two hun-
dred men left of our original command, the remainder being lost somewhere
u]) in the mountains. It being nearly time for rexeille. we decided to attack
with our force and Colonel Carter and I both taking half, he attacking the part
of the enemy camping at the school-house and I that at Sharp's residence. It
was just beginning to get light when we made the attack and I could see the
Johnnies skedaddling up the bluff bank in the rear of their tents and running
toward Jacksbnrough, where the rest of their troops were camped. There
was a voung lieutenant in the Second Tennessee with about thirty men. who
stayed with me and I ordered him to charge down the road, which he did in
gallant style, capturing some of the enemy that would ha\e esca]ied. Capt.
J. A\'. Tliompson with Company B, of the Forty-ninth Indiana, who was left
on the mountai'i, heard the firing and he and his men came on the run, Steve
Gil)bs leading the van, and when he got near to me he called out, 'Here we
come, where do you want us?" After it was all over we formed the command
across a field facing Fincastle. \\'e could hear plainly t!ie clatter of the horses'
feet a long time before they came in sight and when our line fired they turned
and returned to Fincastle as fast as they came. \\'e broke ranks and it was
a jollv sight to see our boys gatherin.g the spoils of war. Plenty of corn meal,
flour, sugar, coffee and tobacco, two hundred double-barreled shot guns, sev-
enty-five horses with saddles and ec|uii)ment. We also captured Lieutenant
Colonel \\'hite, one lieutenant, thirtv men and the regimental liatlle flag which
was captured by Capt. James W. Thompson, Company B, Forty-ninth Indiana
Infantry. The captain gave me the flag and I had it deposited in the state
librar\- at Indianapolis, where it still remains, the first trophy of the valor of
the Forty-ninth Indiana. This was the maiden fight of the regiment. We
then advanced to Jacksborough where we captured Captain \\'inston and two
other soldiers and the camp supplies and camp e(|uipage. the force having run
away from us as we approached. We returned to Cumberland Ford and find-
ing that the army had gone to the Gap, we followed, arriving there in time to
see the first unsuccessful attempt to capture that stronghold. General Carter
honored me by detailing me with a detail of men from the Forty-ninth to take
the prisoners to the Louisville military prison, which was cpute a treat to us as
it enabled us to get to our homes once more and ha\e a time with our friends.
"The Forty-ninth Indiana was located at Cotteral Spring, three miles
south of Cumberland Gap. and while there General Morgan ordered me to
l86 BAIRd's history of CLARK CO., IND.
take a squadron of cavalry to g(i on to picket post to learn the nature of the
flag of truce. The General instructed me that after the business of the truce
was over to go toTazewell, Tennessee, with the rebels if they invited me.
When I had concluded the business with the Confederate officer and we were
about to separate, he invited us to go to Tazewell and spend the night. I
thanked him. accepted the invitation and dismissed my escort of cavaliy from
which I had detailed two to act as orderlies. Maj. S. S. Lyon, topographical en-
gineer on Genera! ^lorgan's staff, and Lieutenant Montgomery, one of my aids,
accompanied me, which made five of us and forty-one Confederates in the party.
The rebels had, previously to this, approached our picket post several times
and fired on it. Col. James Carter, of the Second East Tennessee Lifantry,
with Company F, of the Forty-ninth Lidiana, set a trap to kill and capture
them. On the night that I received a flag of truce at the ford. General ]\bir-
gan sent a messenger to Colonel Carter to notify him that a flag of truce was
there, but the messenger failed to find him in the woods, so the colonel kept
on to a point on the road that the flag of truce party had taken. He inquired
of a native whether he had seen any 'Johnnies' lately and was told that a com-
pany had gone to the ford about an hour before. Colonel Carter, in selecting
a place to kill or capture the party, placed part of his men, in four ranks, with
bayonets fixed, across the road to impale the horses should any reach that
point. The remainder of his eight hundred men he deployed along the road-
side. Company F, of the Forty-ninth Indiana was on his right side with or-
ders to fire and wheel across the road in our rear to prevent escape that way.
Our party came jogging along nicely : I was riding at the head of the column
with Doctor Compton on my right and the Confederate sergeant with the flag
of truce on my left. No one had a thought of the trap we were riding into,
and the first intimation we had of danger was a volley from about eighty
rifles so close to us that the fire from the muzzles reached past us. Down
went about half of our party. The hoi'se that I was riding got a flesh wound
in the first fire which caused him to nm in spite of all I could do to stop him.
He carried me along that line of men who were not more than fifteen feet from
the middle of the road in which the horse was running, followed by some of
the riderless horses of the party. On we went, and every man by the roadside
took a crack at us till the horse had run the gauntlet with me on his back, and
no less than five hundred guns had been emptied at us as we flew liy them.
The horse carried me to within two hundred feet of the men with fixed bayo-
nets across the road, when a volley from about twelve guns flashed tlieir fire
past us. and the last thing I remember was dropping my feet out of the stir-
rups and the horse and I came down with a crash on the hard turnpike road.
I must have fallen on my head for I was knocked senseless. I was trodden
on the back by the riderless horses following me, which paralyzed both of my
legs for several weeks after it happened. It was several hours afterwards that
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 187
I was found and tlie men who found me said that I was lying on my face ap-
parently dead. They doubled their blankets and carried me to a log house near
where they had gathered all of the wounded. It was daylight before I was
brought to consciousness and Major Lyon and I were placed side by side and
hauled by ambulance over the rough roads, six miles to the Gap. It was re-
ported that I was dead and Major Lyon seriously wounded. His wounds re-
ceived that night finally caused his death, and here I am writing about it forty-
one years afterward. The retreat of the army through the mountains of East-
ern Kentucky was a long and arduous one, the troops subsisting mosth' on green
corn during the entire distance of two hundred and fifty miles, occupying sev-
enteen days and nights of almost constant marching and fighting. The regi-
ment reached Greenupsburg, Kentucky, on the Obin river on the night of Octo-
ber 4. 1862. and proceeded from there to Oak Hill, Ohio, where they received a
new outfit, all their camp and garrison equipage having been destroyed when
we evacuated the Gap. At Oak Hill I received my commission as colonel of
the regiment on my birthday, October i8, 1862. From Oak Hill the regiment
marched to GalHpolis, Ohio, and crossed into ^\'estern Virginia, going up the
Kanawha ri\-er as far as Cole's Mouth, where it went into winter quarters, but
in a few da^s received marching orders and proceeded down the river to Point
Pleasant where, on the 17th of Xovember, 1862, it embarked on transports
for ^lemphis, Tennessee, arriving there the 30th of the same month. We em-
barked at Point Pleasant on the steamers, Sunny Side and New York. Noth-
ing of importance occurred on the trip until we got almost in sight of old Jef-
fersonville, and I well knew that there was not a soldier in the regiment who
would not be delighted to take one more look at Spring street before contin-
uing his journey. When we left Cincinnati. I requested the Secretary of War
to pemiit me to let the men, who nearly all lived near the bank of the river,
to let me land and furlough thenr home for three days to see their families
and sweethearts before continuing our journey. The secretary declined to
grant the request. I knew that if I landed at either Louisville or Jefferson-
ville, nearly all of the regiment would go to their homes in spite of all that I
could do, so I concluded to anchor the boats near the middle of the river,
double the guard and trust to luck. The bar-keeper on the Sunny Side had a
barrel of whiskey on the boiler deck in front of his bar. Just as we could see
the lights of Jeffersonville the boys got that barrel of whiskey down to the
lower deck, had it back in the deck room with the head knocked in, and were
taking it straight and filling their canteens. I called the officers to me and
we made haste to the barrel where the men were as thick as flies around a
molasses barrel in summer. W'e threw it overboard, searched all the canteens
and poured out all the whiskey we could find. Without this precaution there
was no telling what the men would have done to the boats that night. They
did cut the anchor line on the New York, but it was discovered in time to save
her from the Falls of the Ohio.
l88 BAIKI.'s HISTORY OF CLARK CO.. IND.
"Tliere was a small covered opening on the top of the wheel house of the
Sunny Side that I knew nothing about and failed to guard it. As soon as we
dropped anchor there appeared all of the skiffs in Jeffersonville, loaded with
all the old soldiers' friends and cronies frcmi Jeffersonville. When they found
that thev would not be permitted to take their friends ashore, they hid their
skiffs under the wheelhouse and Steve Gibbs, Tom McCawley, Beverly Sulli-
van, Jim AMieat and al)i.ut twenty ntlier Jeffersonville boys went down
through the wheel, and from what I heard, had a high old time in Jefferson-
ville that night. They had all returned for roll call in the morning. The
next day we passed through the canal, where wt took aboard the soldiers'
wives, friends, and sweethearts. One of the most heroic deeds that I have
ever witnessed in saving a life occurred as we were passing" through. Lieu-
tenant Thomas Bare, Company B, was an officer of the guard that day, and I
must say that no braver or more generous soldier ever wore Uncle Sam's blue
than Tom Bare. There was a soldier in his company from our old town,
named Thomas Smith, who had married a few months before his enlistment.
During his absence from home his wife bore him a little babe: it was natural
that his wife should want the husband to see the child, and of course the hus-
band was anxious to see it. She crossed the river and walked from the ferry-
boat down to the canal, carrying the young babe, wrapped in a red shawl in her
arms. The river was low and as the boat bumped along the sides of the canal
many stepped from the shore to the boat, and Bare and the men were assist-
ing them to get aboard. \\'hen Mrs. Smith arrived the boat was swinging
away from the wall, and Lieutenant Bare told her to hand him the little child
and that the men would assist her in getting aboard. She passed the little one
to the lieutenant and as he took it the boat swung away from the wall about
three feet. Bare thought he had the urchin secure, but it was so small that it
slipped out of the shawl into the canal. Down the poor little fellow went and
Bare, with uniform, sash and sword, after him. Down he went under the
water, he scooped up the little one in his arms, passed it up, saved its life, and
was hauled out of the water by his comrades. The mother fainted, fell on the
shore, the boat was stopped, she was brought aboard, restored to consciousness
and you can imagine that meeting of husband and wife and the darling babe
whose life had been saved by the brave and generous Lieutenant Bare, and you
can imagine the cheers that went up from a thousand men for the officer's
brave act. He lived to be eighty-three years old, and died during the Spanish
war. The father, Samuel Smith, never saw the child after that day: he was
killed at Vicksburg on the 19th of May, 1863. I ne\-er heard f)f the widow
afterward. After the boats passed through the canal, I ordered them to land
at New Albany, and ordered the soldiers' families and friends ashore. After
they were sent ashore the boats ran down the river about twentv miles and
dropped anchor for the night. A short time afterwards an officer approached
BAIRd's history of CLARK CO., IND. 189
me and told me that there were two women from Xew Albany with their
sweethearts, Thomas Killick and Charles Yack. hidden abaft the ladies' cabin.
I went back and found them sitting as close together as lovers are apt to get
on all occasions at that happy period of man and woman's life, when they don't
care if all the world knows they are lovers. I approached them and said :
'Ladies, did you not hear the order for all persons to go ashore at New Al-
bany?' The girls spoke up and said that they had heard the order, but they
were engaged to be married to the boys, that they were going to Memphis with
us, and would get married down there. I said, 'You will not go to Memphis
with us. for I will put you on the first l)oat we meet going up or at the first
town we come to in the morning.' Tlie\' seemed to be so disconsolate over
the order that I left them alone until after supper and found that the\' were
in earnest about going to ^Memphis with us and marrying the two young
soldiers. I thought about the matter for a while and concluded that it would
be better for them to marry that night and prevent a scandal upon the good
morals and virtues of the best regiment in the service : a regiment that had
always up to tliat time been noted for its good conduct and piety. What could
we do ? We had a good chaplain who could perfomi the ceremony that uould
make four souls with but a single thought, four thoughts that beat as one, hap-
py, if not for life, at least for the time being. I finally came to the conclusion
that they ought to marry and save their reputations, and that of the regiment
I had such a fatherly care over. We had the minister, but where could we
get the license for parties to be joined together in 'holy wedlock,' anchored
amid the stream with the nearest court-house twentv miles awav? I took the
matter under careful consideration, and finally came to the conclusion that as
all the laws of the land were in a chaotic state, and not strictly observed in the
territorv where the boats were anchored, I ci~included to make the jijining of
the couples a military necessity, and issued an order to my chaplain to per-
form the ceremon}'. He objected at first to the proposition, but finally con-
sented to join the couples in the Imlv bonds of matrimony, pro\-ided all the
officers of the regiment signed a request for him to perform the ceremony,
which they willingly did. He said he wanted the paper to protect himself
from charges that might be brought against him in the conference to which
he belonged. The tables were put nut of the way in the cabin, and the parties
called forth and joined together as husband and wife. Two of the best
rooms in the ladies' cabin were assigned them, and we all retired for the night
feeling certain that we had four happy souls aboard, regardless of the dangers
and hardships we knew were to follow. Arriving at Memphis the newly
wedded pairs got boarding for their wives in the city and were permitted to
spend their time with them. The young soldiers had plenty of money which
thev expended freelv on their wives for clothing and jewelry and seemed well
satisfied with the choice they liad made for life partners. It is an old adage
that absence conquers love, and it seems to have been true in their case.
ICJO BAIKl) S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
"'I'lie regiment fought its way down the ]\Iississippi river to New Orleans
and fn ini there to Texas. About eighteen months after the happy event had
tai-cen place I received a letter from one of the ladies saying that she had con-
sulted a lawyer and that he said she was not legally married and if I did not
let the soldier come home and marry her she would prosecute me to the £xtent
of the law, and wound up the missive with the old adage, 'A word to the wise
is sufficient.' About a month after my letter was received, her husband re-
ceived a letter stating that she had found a man she loved better than him,
and had married him. I am no lawyer, but it has always been a question in
my mind whether or not the lady was guilty of bigamy. The other lady re-
married a short time after and the young soldiers have long since joined the
'invisible caravan,' who have passed on before, and I have made up my mind
that in making military laws for matrimony, I haven't proved a success.
"On the 19th of December. 1862, the regiment embarked with General
Sherman's army on the first campaign against Vicksburg, landing at Chicka-
saw Bayou on Christmas day, and engaging in the seven days' battle that fol-
lowed, in which its losses in killed and wounded were cjuite severe (fifty-six).
The attempts to take the enemy's works were unsuccessful, and I will never
forget the jollification the "rebs" had that beautiful, frosty, moonlight night,
when all the citizens of Vicksburg, including the ladies, came out to jollify
over our defeat. You can imagine how we felt in the bottom, below the
works, where we could hear every word the speakers uttered, the cheers of
the men and the ringing laughs of the ladies as they rejoiced over tlie bravery
of their soldiers, who had proved conclusively by that day's fighting that one
'Jnlmnie' could lick five 'Yanks' every day in the week.
"The regiment re-embarked on the transports and left Chickasaw Bayou
on the 2d of January, 1863, and proceeded to Young's Point. Louisiana, In mi
where it went on the expedition against Arkansas Post. Arkansas. In the
capture of that stronghold on the nth of January. 1863. with General Church-
ill and over five thousand prisoners of war. the Forty-ninth performed gal-
lantly their part. The day of the battle was a beautiful, warm day. and after
the prisoners had been corralled on the bank of the river, many of them with-
out coats or blankets, it commenced raining anfl then followed the hardest
snow storm that ever fell in that latitude. It then turned very cold and froze
everything .stifY as pokers. Our men sufifered severely from the cold and you
can judge of the suffering of those five thousand prisoners, their clothing first
soaked by rain and then frozen to their skins. This was a big victory for our
army at that time, and following so soon after the licking we got at Chicka-
saw Bayou, it removed some of the humiliation we felt after the Chickasaw
Bayou campaign.
"After the capture of the Arkansas Post, the regiment returned to
Young's Point, Louisiana, and assisted in digging Grant's famous canal or
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. IQI
ditch across the point, b}- which lie hoped to turn the IMississippi ri\er away
from Vicksburg, in order to pass our naval fleet and transports out of reach
of tlie fortifications at that place. The canal was a failure and all the labor
expended on it was in vain. The regiment remained at Young's Point until
April 2, 1863. when it moved with Grant's army down the west bank of the
river to a point opposite Grand Gulf, Mississippi, which the army had strongly
fortified. Admiral Porter fought the river batteries for five and one-half hours
and withdrew from the contest with his fleet badly disabled. The army
marched down the river, passing Grand Gulf to Dishroon's plantation, five
miles below. During the night the army and navy transports ran the block-
ade at the gulf, landed alongside the army and bivouaced on the levee. The
next morning the army went on board gunboats and transports, which took
them to the landing at Bruinsburg, near the mouth of Bayou Pierre.
"It was on the 30th day of April, w-e crossed the river to the side of the
enemy in Mississippi. Rations were issued and the army left the river about
4 o'clock, marching on the road to Port Gibson. The enemy
at the Gulf spiked their guns, destroyed their magazines and
other property, marched to Port Gibson and down the road we were
marching on, meeting our army about four miles from Port Gibson at 2 :oo
o'clock, a. m., May ist. The battle opened at daylight, and continued until
4 p. m.. when the enemy retired from the field, and our army scored the first
victory on Mississippi soil. The Forty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry was
the first to open the battle on the left of an army at Thompson's Hill, or Port
Gibson, Mississippi. It was the Forty-ninth Indiana that killed Confederate
General Tracy. Early in the morning they were relieved after firing all of
their ammunition but six rounds, by the Forty-Second Ohio. Colonel Pardee.
They supported the First Wisconsin battery until abijut 3 p. m., when they
were ordered by General Osterhouse to charge the rebel battery in front that
had held its position on the field near a farm house filled with rebel sharp-
shooters, who had sent many of our comrades to eternal rest during the day.
The batteiy was called the 'Botetourte Virginia Artillen'.' The charge of
the Forty-ninth Indiana on that battery is so iuflelibly photographed on my
memory that I can see it every time I think of it. At this writing (1903).
forty-one years afterward, I can see the Forty-ninth with bayonets fixed, in
column by division on the center. I can see the ravine in front, across which
we were to charge the battery on the other side. I can still liear m_\' voice
command, 'Attention ! Battalion ! Forward. ]March !' The left foot of every
man steps ofi^ and we are of¥ to capture that battery or die in the attempt.
After moving a short distance I gave the command. 'Deplo}' into line on cen-
ter division : campanies right and left face, double quick, march !' The com-
panies obeyed the command and performed the evolution as nicely and quickly
as they would have performed it on drill, with no enemy near them. As the
I02 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLAKK CO., IND.
companies tlouble quicked into line on the center division, the next command is
given: 'Forward! Double quick! March!' We are now near enough to hear
the officers order the pieces loaded with canister. On, on, the Forty-ninth go in
the face of shot and shell with their victorious shouts — over the battery and
beyond it to the house where they capture seventeen sharpshooters between the
upper tier of joists and rafters, who had removed enough shingles to give them
a clear view of our battle line. About forty feet in the rear of the house was
another valley about two hundred yards wide, beyond it an open field about
two hundred yards to a dense forest. The Forty-ninth passed the house and
about thirty feet in the rear of it was a high rail fence, running along the bank
at the top of the valley, up which the Sixth Missouri Regiment was marching
in as soldierly a manner is if on dress parade. Not more than thirty or fortv men
were up with the colors at the time we met the Sixth IMissouri, with nothing
but the fence to separate us. As soon as the colonel of the regiment saw that
we had captmxd the battery and the house we had been fighting for all day,
he halted and ordered them to fire and they did it without wounding a man
in the Forty-ninth, faced about and down they went into the valley, where
half of them threw down their guns and fell on their faces in token of sur-
render. The rest of them followed their colonel, a gallant fellow, who lay flat
over the front of his saddle, hugging his horse's neck tighter than he ever
hugged his sweetheart in his young days. The colonel and about half of his
men escaped to the woods on the other side of the field. I never was so busy
as I was at that time, urging the men to load and fire at that colonel and his
men as they were running before us. Many fell in crossing the field, killed
or wounded. After the firing was over General Osterhouse rode up and
standing in his stirrups shouted, 'Put that Forty-ninth flag on the top of the
house : no other shall go up there,' and up it went to the chimney top, where
it could be seen all over the field, giving notice that the battle was won and
the enemy on the run to Port Gibson. We followed them as fast as we could
w'ith that jubilant feeling that no one can describe after the battle is won, a
sensation the evangelist tells us the sinner feels after life's cares are over and
he has reached the portals of that Heavenly abode of rest. On the contrary
when the battle is lost and you are on the skedaddle and the enemy following
at your heels, it is like that hot place with the short name where the wicked
and weary are never at rest. After the Forty-ninth Indiana had made that
charge which ended the battle of Thompson's Hill and the men had halted, it
was then that General Grant rode up, raised his hat and saluted the regiment
and said, 'Men, I thank you for what you have just accomplished.'
"Alay 2d, we reached Port Gibson, crossed Bayou Pierre and with the
advance division of the army commanded by Gen. Peter J. Osterhouse, we
drove the Confederate army before us as far as Raymond. Mississippi, where
the enemy offered battle and were defeated bv Gen. John A. Logan's division.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., INI). 193
The Forty-nintli took an active part in that engagement as well as those that
followed at Champion's Hill, May i6th, losing twenty men killed and wounded
there. At Black River bridge. May i/th, the Forty-ninth Regiment was or-
dered by General Lawler to support his brigade, which was going to charge.
Before I had reached the regiment after receiving the order, his men sprung
up like magic and were off. Just as they started an aid on the general's staff
rode up and said that the general desired that I go in the charge and the
Forty-ninth and Sixty-ninth Indiana were oft' like race horses when the button
is touched that tlirows up the barrier across the track on the race course. My-
self and Adjutant George \\'. Riddle being the only mounted officers on that
part of the field our men being nearest to the rifle pits, from where we started
gave us some advantage in being the first to reach it. There was a small
bayou running parallel to the rifle pits with about a foot of water in it and
full of fallen trees. We knew nothing of this c:)bstacle until we were close to
it. Fortunately for us, just before we reached it our rebel friends ceased
firing and in token of surrender pulled little tufts of cotton from the cotton
bales along the rifle pits and put it Ijetween the rammer and the muzzle of
their guns, which plainly indicated to us that they had quit firing for that day,
which was one of the loveliest Sundays I have ever seen. On we went over
them, Riddle's horse and mine jumping over their heads, and the Forty-ninth
colors being the first inside the works. As soon as the enemy on the bridge
and boats saw that we had captured the place, they first got their artillery
horses across, then fired both bridge and boats leaving on our side of the river
one thousand seven hundred prisoners and seventeen pieces of fine artillery,
which some of the men in the Forty-ninth who were well drilled in artillery
tactics turned upon tlie enemy and fired all the ammunition in the limber
chests at them on the other side of the river. The pontoon was laid across
the Big Black river just above the burnt bridge and we crossed on the morning
of May 18, 1863, and marched ten miles which brought us in sight of the ene-
mies' fortifications at Vicksburg and the Forty-ninth took an active part in
the actions here, including the assaults on the 19th and 22d of May.
'■'At 2 p. m., on the 19th of May, 1863, our brigade (First Brigade, Ninth
Division, Thirteenth Amiy Corps) under command of General Lee was de-
ployed in line of battle, followed by the Second Brigade as a supporting col-
umn. We moved to the top of the hill in our front, where we discovered the
enemy waiting for us and ready to give us a hot reception by a salute from
all the guns on our front with an accompaniment of small arms that made a
racket which would put a Fourth of July celebration to shame. On we went
until we reached the top of a hill, which left another valley between us and the
enemy. Just as we started to go across the valley. General Lee fell, seriously
wounded. The brigade went a short distance further and concluded that dis-
cretion was the better part of valor, halted and opened fire on the enemy. This
13
194 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
continued until the 22d day of May, 1863, when General Grant assaulted the
works with the whole of his army. He was repulsed with great slaughter, and
then began the siege which lasted until the 4th day of July, when the army
surrendered thirty-five thousand prisoners to General Grant. After the sur-
render of Vicksburg July 4, 1863. the regiment marched to Jackson, Missis-
sippi, and took an active part in the seven days' fighting at that place and
vicinitv. Returning to Vicksburg the regiment embarked August loth for
Port Hudson, from whence it proceeded to New Orleans, when it was assigned
to the Department of the Gulf. From New Orleans the regiment was trans-
ported on cars to Brasher City on Berwick's Bay or Atchafalia Bay, and took
part in the expedition up the Tesche, going as far as Opelousa, Louisiana,
passing through the towns of Pattersonville, Franklin and New Iberia, on that
river. I must relate another characteristic event that occurred when the regi-
ment was in camp at Carrion Crow Bayou, Louisiana, November ist to No-
vember 15, 1863, with the Thirteenth Army Corps under command of Major
Gen. E. O. C. Ord. We camped on that bayou about four weeks and I don't
think there was an officer or soldier in the command who knew what we were
there for, as there was no enemy within two hundred miles of the place. It is
an old saying that idleness is the devil's workshop, and I am certain that he
had personal supervision over the shop at that time. It seemed to me that the
corps became somewhat demoralized about that time. Old Nick started a
gambling epidemic in his shop, and the consec|uence was that all. from the
highest officer to the lowest private in the rear rank engaged in the sport.
The disease became so violent a type that it became necessary to check it if
possible. The soldiers could hardly be kept in line long enough for roll call.
They raced our horses, fought cocks, played chuck-a-luck, honest frank, old
sledge, euchre, draw poker, faro, red and black, in fact all the games that
covild be played with cards or dice. I often think what an unfortunate thing
it was for our poor soldiers of the Civil war that craps was unknown to the
gambling fratemitx' at that time. The mania became such a nuisance that
Col. Thomas Bennett, of the Sixty-ninth Indiana Infantry and myself went
to General Ord and requested him to issue an order prohibiting all sorts of
gambling in the corps. He issued the order: it was read that night on dress
parade, and cast a gloom over the men of the command as great as if half of
their comrades had been killed and wounded in battle. The order, however,
had the effect of stopping the gambling. A few' days after this order was pro-
mulgated. Colonel Bennett and I were walking together and noticed quite a
number of soldiers under the shade of a tree. Coloael Bennett said, T won-
der if those fellows have a chuck-a-luck game running over there?' I re-
plied, 'No, I don't think the boys would dare violate General Ord's order.'
'Let us go over,' said he 'and see what they are doing. As we approached
them, I said, 'Hello, boys, playing chuck?" One of them spoke up and said,
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 195
'You Stopped the onh' amusement we had in camp and we have found a new
game that does not violate the order." I said. 'What is it?' The soldier an-
swered, 'We are running louse races." 'Well/ said Colonel Bennett, 'that's one
of the games I never heard of; how do you play it?" Come into the ring and
we will show you,' replied the soldier. We stepped in and found a cracker box
in the center of which was a circular piece of paper about ten inches in diam-
eter, fastened to the box by a pin in the center. Those who entered for the
race just put up a quarter of a dollar in the judge's hands, and when the pool
was made up those in the race searched under their shirt for the gamest-look-
ing thoroughbred grey-back he could find and then held it over the pin in the
center of the paper. When the judge said, 'Go!' they let the grey-back drop
and the first off the paper got the pot. The game being novel to both Ben-
nett and I. being somewhat sporty ourselves, we concluded to take a hand, and
I said, 'Bennett. I'll bet you five dollars that a Forty-ninth thoroughbred can
beat a Sixty-ninth one over the course.' Colonel Bennett said it was a go. We
put the money in the judge's hands and I said to a Forty-ninth soldier, 'Now
get me a thorough-bred.' The Si.xty-ninth man had his ready, the judge said
'Go!' and the Sixty-ninth greyback won the money for Colonel Bennett.
There had alwaj's been a rivalry between the two regiments and when the
Sixty-ninth bug won the money, they cheered as loudly as they ever did
when they put the Johnnies to flight. The Forty-ninth boys were as mum
as they ever were when the "Johnnie Rebs" won the victory. About a week
after the race, the Forty-ninth soldier, who entered the greyback in the race
for me, having some business at my c|uarters, I discovered a large greyback
on the collar of his blouse, and was reprimanding him for his carelessness
about the care of his person. He looked the bug over very carefully, picked
him up and put him under his shirt, remarking, '^^1^y colonel, Fve had that fel-
low in training for the last week to beat that Sixty-ninth Indiana fellow and
win back that five dollars from Colonel Bennett that he won from you the
other day.'
"The regiment, after leaving camp at Carrion Crow Bayou, was ordered
back to New Orleans, from whence, on December 19, 1863. it embarked on
steamers for the coast of Texas, reaching Decroe's Point, Matagorda Penin-
sula, on the 14th of December, 1863, after a rough voyage across the Gulf of
Mexico. From Decroe's Point the reg-iment crossed Matagorda Bay to In-
dianola, where, on the 3d of February, 1864, one h.undred and sixty-seven
men and four officers re-enlisted for three years, or during the war. In March.
the regiment moved to Fort Esperanza. on Matag'orda Island, where it
remained until April 19th, when it re-embarked and crossed the gulf back to
New Orleans, where it took passage on the steamer, 'Emma.' for Alexandria,
Louisiana, to re-inforce General Bank's army on Red river, which had met with
disastrous defeat on that river campaign. The regiment, after arriving at
196 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Alexandria, were moved to the front and engaged thirteen days in driving
the enemy from the ^•icinity of where our army was constructing dams on the
falls of that river, where our naval fleet had been left above them by low
water. After the gun boats were safely landed below the falls, the regiment
on May 13. 1864, retreated with the army to ]\Iorganza Bend on the Missis-
sippi river. From ^Nlorganza Bend the regiment was again ordered to New
Orleans, and went into camp at Chalmette. Jackson's old battle ground below
the city, from whence in a few days the veteran portion of the regiment pro-
ceeded to Indiana on veteran furlough, reaching Indianapolis July 9. 1864.
At the expiration of their furlough, the veterans were ordered to Lexington,
Kentucky, passing through Jeffersonville. The citizens of the city gave them
a royal reception : the tables were loaded with even'thing to tickle the palate
and stomach of an old soldier. They were waited on by all the loyal matrons
and beautiful lassies in the city, and the veterans have not to this day for-
gotten the reception given to them by the patriotic loyal women of Jefferson-
ville. The tables were on the ground where the city hall now stands, which
makes that spot of ground hallowed abo\'e all others in my native town, ex-
cept the place of my birth, a few hundred feet below on the same street.
That good, patriotic, loyal old citizen of Jeffersonville. known to ever}' one in
the city. Dr. Nathaniel Field, made the reception address, which was cheered
and applauded by all the old veterans and their friends who turned out to wel-
come them. That good woman. Mrs. J. H. McCampbell. one of the pioneers
of our old town, who had known me all of my life, claimed the honor of
waiting on your humble sen^ant at the table and it is unnecessary to say that I
was well served, in fact all the ladies of old Jeffersonville did everv'thing in
their power to make the reception pleasant for the boys, and the boys enjoyed
and fully appreciated their efforts.
"The veterans were sent to Lexington, Kentucky, where they had light
service the remainder of their enlistment, serving as provost guards, and in
charge of the militar}- prisons in that city until the war closed. On the 7th
of September, 1865, they were ordered to Louisville and from thence to In-
dianapolis, where on September 13, 1865, they were finally discharged from
the L'nited States service after serving their country honorably three years
and ten months. Well may the survivors and friends of the Forty-ninth be
proud of the old regimental organization that was raised and officered by so
many natives of our loyal old city, who served their country so faithfully and
honorably through four years of bloody war in defence of the old flag, the
emblem of our nationality, that floats triumphantly over the greatest and freest
people on the face of the earth.
"After the departure of the veterans from Chalmette in July, 1864. the
non-veteran portion of the regiment was ordered to Algiers. Louisiana, just
across the river from New Orleans, where it did garrison duty in the city un-
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. IQ7
til November 5, 1864, when it embarked on an ocean steamer for Xew York-
City, arriving there November 20th, after a roug-h vovage. From New York
the regiment went by rail to Indianapolis, where on the 29th day of Novem-
ber, 1864. it was honorably discharged from the service of the United States,
having sen-ed three years, one month and eight days. On the voyage from
New Orleans to New York one man died, and Black Ann, a company cook,
had a child born on the voyage. Our surgeon. Dr. Emanuel R. Hawn. re-
ported to the health officer at New York that the regiment was all present or
accounted for — one died and one born, which made the number they started
out with from New Orleans correct. The doctor was a great wag. and it
would take a volume to tell all the amusement he furnished for the regiment."
Thus ends the history of the largest and most notable militan,^ organiza-
tion that Clark county ever furnished. At this writing ( 1908) but few of the
survivors remain and another decade will find the roster of living members
of the gallant Forty-ninth but a blank, yet they have indelibly inscribed their
names on the roll of fame of their city and county, and history will forever
record their hardships and deeds, their victories and ultimate success, and the
Clark county citizen of years to come must needs remember that this brave
band of men who went out from our borders to fight and die for the cause
of liberty and justice and the Union did not suffer in vain, and though they
have passed through the valley of the shadow of death, have crossed the
ri\-er and rest under the shade of the trees, their deeds li\-e after them.
"On Fame's eternal camping ground,
Their silent tents are spread.
And Glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead."
James Keigwin, their colonel, was a man of the highest patriotic ideals,
of braverv' unquestioned, and the peer of any in gallantry. A high type of the
American soldier he lived and died beloved of all, a ' fitting character for
emulation among the younger men at arms of later davs.
CHAPTER XIX.
.i
THE AHLITARY HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
sterling's battery.
Immediately following the organization of the Forty-ninth Regiment of
Indiana Volunteer Infantry the Twelfth Battery of Indiana Light Artillery
was recruited. George W. Sterling, who was a blacksmith in Jefifersonville
became enthused when he received a contract to build the wood and iron work
for several batteries of artillery. He was joined in his efiforts by Wilford
Walkins, M. Stradler, Benjamin Lutz and Samuel Glover. The organization
left for Indianapolis December 19, 1861, one hundred and fifty-six strong,
officers and men, and were mustered in January 25, 1862. Their equipment
consisted of six brass twenty pounders, one hundred and twelve horses and
seventy-six mules and the batteiy was in excellent condition when it went
south. Captain Sterling resigned and the lieutenants did likewise soon after
the battle of Shiloh. Governor Morton, who was there soon after, commis-
sioned James E. White, captain ; George Leach, Sr., first lieutenant : Moody
Dustin, Jr., first lieutenant; James Dunwoody, Sr., second lieutenant, and
Joseph Shaw, Jr., second lieutenant. The battery was engaged before Nash-
ville and was in the battle incident to the great victories at Lookout Mountain
and Missionan,' Ridge. For the rest of the war they remained as the garrison
in Fort Negley at Nashville. They returned to Indianapolis July i, 1865,
one hundred and eleven strong, and were mustered out of the sennce July
7th. This battery was a Clark county organization and though their service
was confined to few actions, yet their record measures up to the standard set
by Clark county men elsewhere in the great struggle.
When the Fifty-third Regiment of Indiana Volunteers was organized at
New Albany in January, 1862, Company D represented Clark county's quota.
This company was organized by Seth Daily, one of the most popular men of
Charlestown. He established his headquarters in the old Zed Griffith hotel,
which stood on the corner of Main and Market streets, and here he received
his recruits. The Clark county officers of this company were as follows:
Captains, Seth Daily, of Charlestown and William Howard, of Jefifersonville ;
Howard was commissioned second lieutenant. May 23, 1863, and was pro-
moted captain July 23, 1864. The colonel of this regiment was Walter O.
Gresham. This organization served in Tennessee ; with Grant in Mississippi ;
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND. 199
was at the siege and capitulation of Vicivsburg; in the Atlanta campaign/with
Sherman to Savannah, and in the Carolinas. It was mustered out at In-
dianapolis in July, 1865.
The Sixty-sixth regiment, wliich was organized at Camp Noble, Xew^
Albany, in August, 1862, had two Charlestown men to serve it as quarter-
masters — Campbell Hay, Jr., the nephew of the Black Hawk war veteran,
and Thomas C. Hammond. Dr. Nathaniel Field, of Jeffersonville, went out
as surgeon, and Dr. James C. Simonson, of Charlestown, returned with the
regiment as surgeon.
The Seventy-seventh had one company from Clark county ; Company D,
from Charlestown, recruited by Warren Horr and Edmund J. Davis. This
company was officered by first class material, two of its captains being pro-
mated majors, and one lieutenant was brevetted captain. The regiment was
organized at Indianapolis, August 22, 1862, as the Fourth Cavaln,'. It sen-ed
in Kentucky and Tennessee in 1862 and 1863, and participated in Chicka-
mauga, Fayetteville, ]\Iossy Creek, Talbots, Dandridge, the Atlanta campaign,
and back into Tennessee in 1865. The Clark county officers were as follows:
\\'arren Horr, captain ; promoted major. Samuel E. W. Simonson, captain ;
promoted major of the Seventh Cavalry. Richard F. Nugent, captain, all of
Charlestown. Thomas B. Prather, first lieutenant, of Jeffersonville, brevetted
captain. Edmund J. Davis, second lieutenant, of Charlestown ; Enoch S. Bos-
ton, second lieutenant, of Jeffersonville; Isaac M. Koons, second lieutenant, of
Charlestown ; Albert Taggert, second lieutenant, of Charlestown. Besides
these officers Dr. John F. Taggert, of Charlestown. "went out as assistant sur-
geon, and he was afterward promoted regimental surgeon.
\\'hen Captain Caldwell of the Twenty-third Indiana resigned March
28, 1862, and returned to Jeft'ersonville, it was not to remain long. In August
the Eighty-first was organized, and he was made adjutant, and eight days
later promoted colonel, there having been no ci.immander commissioned. An-
drew J. Howard (Jack) resigned as second lieutenant of Company H, Thirty-
eighth Indiana, July 16, 1862, and returned home to raise a company for this
new (Eighty-first) Regiment, and re-entered the service as its captain. A
sketch of this regiment is doubly interesting from the fact of it being com-
manded bv a Clark ciiunty man. and having a Jeft'erson\ille and a Charles-
town company in it. "Jack" Howard began to recruit his company in the city
and several meetings were held in Sterling's old blacksmith shop, on Spring
street. Sterling having left with his battery, the Twelfth, some time previous.
Some time prior to this \\'ilIiamD. Evritt, Jolin Carney and John Schwallier, of
Charlestown. had begun the systematic organization of a company of men for
the Sixty-sixth Indiana. Schwallier had gone to New Albany, where the regi-
ment was forming, while Evritt and Carney went out in the county around
Charlestown after recruits, sending them to Schwallier as fast as found. A
200 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
total of fifty-eiglit men was recruited, but tlie company was refused, as its
roster was too short, and because there were other full companies ready to
enter the sen-ice, already organized. John C. McCormack, of Charlestown,
had raised fifty men for the Eighty-first, then fonning, and the earlier com-
pany, spliced with his. made a full company and was mustered in as Com-
pany I. The men of this organization were from Charlestown, New Wash-
ington and Bethlehem, and were a well organized and thoroughly efiicient
company. The regiment was mustered in at New Albany, at Camp Noble,
August 29, 1862, left there and marched up the old plank road, the present
route of the "dinky" track, to Jeffersonville, where they received their equip-
ment at the Jeffersonville. Madison & Indianapolis depot. They then
marched to the river, took the ferry to Louisville, and camped that night
south of the city at Camp Neffler. After moving camp several times, they
returned to Louisville, when Kirby Smith was reported to be marching on
the city. They afterward crossed to Jeffersonville on their way to Cincinnati,
Ohio, but their orders were countermanded and the regiment went into camp
just above Port Fulton, on the top of the river bluff above the deep diggings,
where the present water works pumping station is located. Details from
Company B were made to guard the ferry boat, while at Camp Gilbert, as it
was called, but outside of this duty the men spent an enjoyable period while
here, receiving from their friends and relatives much to help out their usual
camp fare. They moved south again about the middle of September, 1862,
and acted as support for artillery during the battle of Perryville. Company
B was selected at almost even,- opportunity for picket duty, the first mention
of this duty being near Lebanon, Kentucky. The regiment remained in
Kentucky until the early part of November, when they moved into Tennes-
see, where they lost Lievttenant Morgan, of Company B, at the battle of Stone
River. While the regiment lay at Nashville, Corporal John J. Gallager, of
Company B, was appointed ordnance sergeant and with him were detailed
Neil McClellan and Mel Bruner of the same company. They were all cap-
tured by the rebels, but afterwards, being paroled, were exchanged October
7, 1863. In the roll of honor published at this time appear the names of a
number of men from both Company I and Company B.
In August. 1863, Lieutenant Schwallier of Company I commanded a
company of the Pioneer Corps and assisted in constructing a pontoon bridge
over four hundred feet long across the Tennessee river. During a skirmish
outside of Murfreesboro, Sergeant James 'M. ^litchell of Company B was
mortally wounded and died on the field. The latter part of the summer of
1863 the regiment was engaged in the advance upon Chattanooga, and it was
while they were camped at \\'inchester that Colonel Caldwell and Capt. A.
J. Howard of Company B left the sen'ice. Lieutenant Northcutt (Bill) was
wounded at Chickamauga, and Lieut. Eugene Schell, who was acting as regi-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 20I
mental adjutant at the time, received some very high compHments for his
actions during the same engagement. From this time on, all through the
campaigns in Georgia, Companies B and I had a great deal of hazardous duty.
Detail after detail, as skirmishes, pickets, flankers, advance and rear guard
were given them, and on March 31, 1864, Company B was detailed to guard
Confederate prisoners. At the siege of Atlanta, the men were under fire for
twenty- four days. On June 20. 1864, Joseph Kenner, of Company B, was
wounded while on the skirmish line, and had to be left on the field, but on
Tune 22, the enemy having been driven back somewhat. Lieutenant Schell,
with two men volunteered to undertake the very dangerous duty of going out
to find him. They were successful and brought him in after he had lain on
the field two days and one night. He had been robbed of everything he had,
and had been refused food and water by the rebels. He was sent to the
hospital at Chattanooga for care and treatment, but died a few weeks later.
About July 24, 1864, Captain Xorthcutt rejoined the regiment, after a fur-
lough home, but resigned soon after and Schell, that "l^ravest of the brave,"
was commissioned captain. Soon afterward he was granted a well earned
leave and returned home, rejoining the regiment, however, October 31, 1864,
the command then being beneath the shadow of Lookout Mountain. His
sen-ices from this time cm were but a continuation of that manliness and dig-
nity which had marked him before. His personal bravery and gallantry had
alreadv been proven, and his actions at the battle of Nashville were but a
repetition of those whicli had marked him ever since he had won an enviable
reputation and practically his commission at the battle of Stone River. At
Nashville, the Eighty-first Lidiana, with Schell leading Company B, charged
a hill beyond Fort Negley and captured part of the Thirty-fifth Mississippi.
The action was won, but at the cost of a life of great promise. Captain Schell
falling, and dying on the field. It is no reflection upon the other soldiers
which Clark county has furnished to laud this brave and gallant young ofiicer.
His reputation among his associates in the army and among his home people
before he entered the sen-ice was one of great promise, and it is to be re-
gretted that his life was not spared for the successes and honors which
would undoubtedly have been his had he lived. The regiment was mustered
out of the sendee June 13, 1865, and arrived at Indianapolis June 13. During
its term of service it participated in the following engagements : Perryville,
Libertv Lick. Rocky Face. Dallas, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain,
Peach Tree Creek, Jonesboro, Franklin, Stone River, Chickamauga, Resaca,
Kingston, Bald Knob, Marietta, Siege of Atlanta, Lovejoy's Station, Nash-
ville. The following are the Clark county officers of the Eighty-first Indiana :
William \V. Caldwell, colonel. — Jeft'ersonville.
William D. Everett, major. — Charlestown.
William W. Caldwell, adjutant. — Jeffersonville.
202 BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
John J. Gallaglier, adjutant. — Jeffersonville.
Andrew J. Howard, captain. Company B. — Jeffersonville.
William H. Northcutt, captain. Company B. — Jeffersonville.
Eugene M. Schell, captain, Company B. — Jeffersonville.
Leonard Tuttle, captain. Company B. — Utica.
William H. ^^lorgan, first lieutenant Company B. — Henryville.
William H. Northcutt, first lieutenant, Company B. — Jeffersonville.
Eugene M. Schell, first lieutenant. Company B. — Jeffersonville.
Leonard H. Tuttle, first lieutenant. Company B. — Utica.
James Wilson, first lieutenant. Company B. — Utica.
George W. Alpha, first lieutenant. Company B. — Jeffersonville.
George W'. Clark, second lieutenant, Company B. — Henryville.
\^'illiam H. Northcutt, second lieutenant, Company B. — Jeffersonville.
Eugene M. Schell, second lieutenant. Company B. — Jeffersonville.
Charles Ashton. second lieutenant. Company B.^ — Utica.
William D. Evritt. captain. Company L — Charlestown.
John Carney, captain, Company I. — Charlestown.
John C. McCormack, first lieutenant, Company L — Charlestown.
John Carney, first lieutenant. Company I. — Charlestown.
John Schwallier, second lieutenant. Company I. — Charlestmvn.
George T. Peters, second lieutenant. Company 1. — Charlestown.
COMPANY E, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIFTH (TENTH CAVALRY).
The next time Clark county appears as furnishing a company was in
December, 1863, and the movement was headed by one John W. Bradburn, an
erstwhile Jeft'ersonville man, who had been authorized to raise a company
or rather a troop for the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Indiana, better
known as the Tenth Indiana Volunteer Cavalry. He opened a recruiting
office in a' little frame building on the east side of Spring street about one
hundred and fifty feet north of Front. The only enlisted man from Jeft'er-
sonville was Walter Eversole, and in procuring recruits and taking care of
them he seemed to be the chief cook and bottle washer. With hardly an ex-
ception all the other enlisted men were Southerners, hailing as Eversole says,
from Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. At this time there were
many refugees from the South coming north, and Jeffersonville being on
one of the main lines of travel in that direction, many of them reached there.
Some of the travelers had procured jobs as wood-choppers in the woods which
then stretched away from the hospital buildings in Port Fulton. A few of
these refugees were inveigled into the new company by the promise of three
hundred dollars bounty by the county. Bradburn, however, not being satis-
fied with this, offered four hundred dollars (for which he had no authority)
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND. 2O3
and many additional recruits were received. They were usually met at the
ferry boat by Eversole, and sent to the otifice on Spring street, where Brad-
burn administered the oath. The recruits were quartered in tiK Hrge brick-
house which stands on the north side of Market street between Meigs avenue
and Walnut street, and were sent in squads of twenty from here to the fair
grounds in New Albany, where the company was mustered in. The other
companies of the regiment were organized and mustered in elsewhere.
This conglomerate mass of soldiers, many of whom, according to Ever-
sole, had served in the rebel army, constituted the worst company which is
credited to Clark county. Their past record was not open to inspection, and
the history of the company reflected no honor on either themselves, the
county, state or nation. Their incomparable act in the military tragedy of
Clark county, was a melodrama. It opens with a brilliant display, where
their officers as stars appear on the stage playing the natural parts of the most
damnable ignorance, viciousness and general cussedness, which it will be ne.xt
to impossible to duplicate in any other Indiana organization. It is a matter
of regret that Walter Eversole ever pulled the fair name of Clark county into
this aggregation by going into it, and although the county is credited with
this quota of men, she should not be held responsible for their acts in the
service. Bradburn, the captain of this crew, is not remembered by the older
citizens of Jeffersonville with a great deal of pleasure, for some reason or
other, and his record together with that of his first and second lieutenants, who
hailed from Jeffersonville also, would lead the unprejudiced mind to con-
clude that they were not what ofificers should be. Terrell's reports give the
following record of their services: Bradburn was compelled to resign for
the good of the service, November 29, 1864. First Lieutenant John T. Dun-
lap was dismissed from the service for general worth'essness April 12, 1865,
and F. G. W^all, second lieutenant, was sent to the pern"tentiary before he was
mustered and his commission revoked. The enlisted men themselves
showed a complete lack of that careful early training which tends to elevate
and ennoble the mind. The regiment passed through Jeffersonville (in their
way south, and at Louisville they were given mounts, and what more appro-
priate mounts could have been selected than the old reliable army mules which
they received, a few horses being thrown in for variety's sake. Bradburn and
Company E, together with one other company, were detached from the regi-
ment and ordered to Pulaski, Tennessee, arriving in time for the fight there.
Their actions here were quite noteworthy in that they ran like the Old Harry
at the first few shots, Bradburn in the lead, and they never lost a man, al-
though it is quite possible that some of the warriors were pretty well blown
when they reached town. This was the only fight they ever got near enough
to smell smoke, but their fear of being captured by their former comrades in
the Confederate army must be remembered and accepted as the reason of their
successful retreat.
\
204 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
After Pulaski the regiment went south on steamers to New Orleans and
thence on transports to Mobile, where they were stationed for some time on
courier d-tvV no doubt on account of the great speed they had shown pre-
viously in the service. They must have been saturated with the spirit of
courier duty for they allowed nothing to interfere with it in the least. In
climbing aboard their mules most of the men found that their sabres would
get tangled up in their legs, and they forthwith threw them (the sabres and
not their legs) away. Even the mules were sold and the money used by the
fortunate seller to indulge his fancy as his fancy saw fit. This, however,
was always fixed up with the captain, and an accounting of some sort made
to the government. From Mobile the regiment moved to Vicksburg, where
they were mustered out of the sen-ice and sent to Indianapolis to get their
pay and discharge papers. Many of the men deserted to remain in the land
of their birth, and Indiana was relieved of their citizenship, which at least
should be entered to their credit. By the testimony of reliable citizens, not a
single member of this foreign crew has ever been seen in Jefifersonville since.
So endeth the lesson extaiding from December 30, 1863, to August 31,
1865. Let us, therefore draw the veil and proceed to further chronicles of
better men. The historian feels justified in reciting this wonderful tale. For
fear that the narrative of brave men and brave deeds may become tiresome,
he has recited this history in full as a change. It is true, unfortunately.
Walter Eversole and General Terrell had no reason to misrepresent.
The Thirteenth Cavalry, One Hundred Thirty-first Regiment, was the
last cavalry organization raised in the state. Company M of this regiment
was recruited from Charlestown by Dillon Bridges and George P. Bunce, of
that town, as captain and first lieutenant. James M. Ross, of Charlestown,
was promoted first lieutenant in June, 1865. Company M was unmounted
until after the battle of Nashville, in which it participated, but after receiving
an entirely new equipment the regiment embarked on transports for New Or-
leans February 11, 1865. Here they re-embarked for Navy Cove, Mobile
Bay, arriving there in time for the operations against the defences of Mobile.
They were mustered out at Vicksburg, Mississippi, November 18, 1865.
When the One Hundred Thirty-seventh Regiment was organized in May,
1864. Thomas D. Fouts, of Jefifersonville, was commissioned as lieutenant
colonel, although there was no Clark county company in the command.
The month of January, 1865, saw the organization of a movement to
raise the last Clark county troops for the war. It might have been argued
that the county had already furnished enough, but evidently her citizens
thought otherwise, for both Jeffersonville and Charlestown appear in the
roster of companies. John F. Wilson took the lead in organizing the Jeffer-
sonville company although he was sadly lacking in military knowledge. The
men were examined by Doctor Collum. and sent by squads to Indianapolis.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 2O5
The officers of this company were Henry H. Ewing, captain, and lohn F.
Wilson, first heutenant, both of Jeffersonville. The company was designated
as Company G. One Hundred and Forty-fourth Regiment Indiana Volunteers.
Company H was commanded by Stephen S. Cole, of CharlestDwn. The
regiment was sent to Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and was subsequently en-
gaged in guard dutv in Virginia and Alarvland, until mustered out August
5. 1865.
From the close of the War oi the Rebellion until 1876 Clark county re-
mained without a military organization of any kind. This condition can
hardly be criticised as the county had responded so often to calls that were
necessary regardless of the cost it entailed during the progress of the war that
the spirit of war had about run out. Besides this the tame attractions of a
militiaman's life were so far below that of the service just finished in the
South that few if any recruits could have been secured. It was onlv when a
new vintage of youths had reached maturity that a company became possible.
JEFFERSONVILLE RIFLES, 1876
The period immetliately preceding the Presidential campaign of 1876
seems to have been a time when the martial spirit of the young men of Jeffer-
sonville demanded expression. The movement to organize a military com-
pany met with an enthusiastic response, for an organization of eighty-two men
was the result. They elected their officers and organized on the night of
November i, 1876. This meeting was held in the old council chamber at the
corner of Spring and Court avenue, where the engine house now stands.
"Bill" Carter was appointed temporary chairman, and in the election of
officers which ensued, J. P. Wallace was elected captain, W. H. Carter (Bill),
first lieutenant, and James B. Young, second lieutenant. The non-commis-
sioned officers were as follows :
William C. Glossbrenner, orderly sergeant.
Lloyd White, first duty sergeant.
Pink Schell, second duty sergeant.
Peter Miller, third duty sergeant.
James Pierson, fourth duty sergeant.
John P. Wallace, the captain, was a veteran of the Civil war. having
been chief of scouts under botli Burnside and Sherman. He was retained in
the service after the war and was in Custer's regiment. He seems to have
been an excellent soldier, but the company fell to pieces after he left it in 1877.
"Bill" Carter is still a fixture of Jeffersonville, having filled various po-
sitions in the city's political business for many years. At his election to the
206 BAIRd's history of CLARK CO., IND.
first lieutenantcy he knew nothing of his duties but Idv study became a fairly
good mihtia officer of that time. He owed his election solely to the fact that
he had worked hard to bring the organization to a consummation. The men
composing the company, with possibly one exception, were all Jeffersonville
citizens, and an article in the Jeffersonville Evening News, of November 15,
1876, speaks of them as being composed of "clever and brave men." and
predicted that with their enthusiasm they would soon be the "best military
company in the state." The number of their members certainly speaks well
for their prospects for the writer well knows that eighty-two men in 1876
were an indication of enthusiasm, when in 1895 fifty members were as many
as could be induced to go into the state's ser\nce. Tlie Jeff Blues were mus-
tered in as an Independent company November 27, 1876. The city of Jeffer-
sonville helped the company in various ways in their organization. On
November 22, 1876, a resolution was adopted "That we hereby tender our
hearty thanks to the Honorable Council and City of Jeffersonville, for the
kind encouragement extended to us in perfecting our organization : that we
will endeavor to show in some measure our appreciation of their kindness by
trying to make it the 'crack company of the state.' " Soon after this, on
December 6, 1876, one hundred breech-loading 45-calil)er Springfield rifles
were received from Indianapolis.
The armory of the company was the lower floor of the Odd Fellows"
building, at the corner of Market and ^^'all streets, and here the weekly drills
were held except when the}^ used the streets or commons. The large open com-
mons below Graham street and extending on either side of Maple street were
used most frequently for drills and marching, while the commons just above
the Pennsylvania bridge fill, between the state prison and the river, were used
for target practice and turkey shooting, the fill making an excellent abutment'
in which to fire, ranges up to two hundred and fift}' yards being laid out.
These target practices were frecjuent occurrences, the state furnishing the am-
munition. Washington's birthday, 1877, was the occasion of the largest
turkey shooting. This was held at the usual place, the target being placed
against the fill and a range of one hundred and fifty yards laid ofi. A large
crowd of friends attended the "shoot," among their number being several
soldiers from the garrison of the government buildings. These regulars had
arrived here. Company I, Second Infantry, U. S. A., January 7, 1877, to
protect the militaiy stores from harm by the hot heads during the great
strikes of this year. Later on, July 26, 1877, Company B and Company C, of
tlie Eighteenth Infantry. U. S. A., arrived.
During the whole time of this company's service it was only once under
arms for actual duty. At that time, during the great strikes, when President
Standiford's house in Louisville was stoned by reckless men, the rumor had
become current that the mob intended to seize the old ferr\- boat, W'athen,
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 20/
come to Jeffersonville and capture the rifles wliich tl'Cy thought were stored
at the quartermaster's depot. The company remained under arms for fort)--
eight hours at their armory, but the rioters never appeared ; whether it was
because they had heard of the ferocious warriors awaiting them, or other
reasons, no one ever knew.
On September 20, 1877, the enthusiasm had waned to such an extent tliat
a meeting at was held by the citizens to raise money for uniforms for the en-
tire company. Tiiis mass meeting at their armory was foHowed by an appeal
in the Evening News, and an entertainment was projected, but as the efforts
of tlie citizens did not seem to be appreciated the subject was dropped. From
this time on interest lagged and the organization gradually went to pieces, the
arms being returned to the government depot.
The company at one time took a practice march to New Albany, partici-
pating in a parade while there, and marching back later in the day. They were
also invited to Louisville to join with the Louisville Legion and some regular
troops in the parade at the opening of the first Louisville exposition at Fourth
and Chestnut streets. The boys were first taken to the Gait house, where they
were given their dinner, after which the parade took place.
A company from Louisville, named the "Clark Rifles," challenged the
Jeffersonville Rifles to a turkey shooting match, at the range of the latter.
The result was a tie, and Captain Wallace, of the JelTersonville Rifles, and
Captain Clark, of the Clark Rifles, shot to decide it. W^allace won and saved
the day. The return match was shot at Lion Garden on Preston street, be-
tween St. Catharine and Kentucky, and at this match Jeffersonville won, and
was given a supper and dance. These and other like occasions enlivened the
existence of the organization, but it went the way of manv others, where
there was so little inducement to serve the state in a military capacity-, and
Jeffersonville remained without a military organization until 1892.
COMPANY G, FIRST REGIMENT INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD.
On October 11, 1892, a company of the National Guard was mustered in
at Jeffersonville, about sixty strong, as Company G, First Infantry Indiana
National Guard. The officers at muster were Captain L. C. Baird : First Lieu-
tenant C. H. Kelly, and Second Lieutenant H. H. Thacker. Lieutenant
Thacker was promoted first lieutenant, vice Kelly, resigned, and First Sergeant
W. ^^^ Crooker was commissioned second lieutenant, vice Thacker. promoted.
Later on H. E. Barrett was commissioned second lieutenant, vice Crooker. re-
signed. This company was armed with Springfield 45-caliber rifles, and uni-
formed in the regulation army uniform. Captain Baird had shortly before re-
signed as midshipman of the United States Navy from Annapolis. Lieutenant
Thacker had served in the Louisville Legion, but aside from these two, there
208 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND.
were no others who had had any mihtary training. The company made an
excehent reputation for discipHne and drill, and on June 3, 1894, they re-
ported near Princeton, Indiana, on active service in the strikes of that year.
Their record here was excellent although their duties were tr\'ing. They,
with other troops, were engaged in restoring law and order near Shelburn,
Farmersburg and Alum Cave until June iSth. The only casualty was when
Captain Baird was accidentally shot in the foot while Company G was left in
charge of the train at Alum Cave. After two weeks in the field they were
ordered home, the lawlessness having been subdued, and were received by a
great demonstration on the part of friends, mothers and sweethearts.
In June, 1893 the company attended the state encampment at Terre Haute
and in June, 1895 at Fairview Park, Indianapolis. Visits to New Albany and
Scottsburg, dances in their armorj- on Pearl street near Court avenue, and
several picnics at Fem Grove added an interest and helped to cement the or-
ganization. When the Twenty-ninth Annual Encampment of the Grand
Army of the Republic was held at Louisville, Company G invited some si.x
or eight companies down to partake of her hospitality and participate in a
sham battle at Four Mile Springs, just above Jeffersonville. The battle was a
roaring success. In the summer of 1893 a rifle range was established at Four
'SUle Springs, and practice was given the men in target shooting.
The various inspections held by the regimental and brigade ofificers were
always passed with flying colors and the company acquired a more than local
reputation for soldierly qualities. On October 11, 1895, the three year term
of enlistment having expired, the company was mustered out of service and
the arms and equipment reshipped to the state quartermaster general at In-
dianapolis. During the three years' ser\'ice of this company there were all
told eighty-five enlistments.
WAR WITH SPAIN 1898-1899.
The National Guard of Indiana filled the state's quota in the first call of
President McKinley for troops. The second call fourid Clark county waiting
and ready. Alay 28, 1898, a meeting was held in Jefl^ersonville, officers elected,
and enlistment lists opened. The company was recruited above the maximum.
On the evening of June 30, 1898. the ladies of Jeffersonville presented the
company a stand of colors, and on July ist, the boys left for Indianapolis,
with the following officers : Captain Lewis C. Baird, First Lieutenant James
Fortune, and Second Lieutenant W. W. Crooker. Captain Baird and Lieu-
tenant Crooker had had experience in military training. Lieutenant Fortune
had served as a Columbian guard at the World's Fair at Chicago. Edward
McCawley, the first sergeant, was afterward commissioned second lieuten-
ant, upon the promotion of Lieutenant Crooker. He and John Van Liew, the
new first sergeant, were both old Companj' G men.
BAIRU S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXI). 2O9
On July 1st. the company arrived at the regimental rendezvous at In-
(HanapoHs. While camped at the old fair grounds here the diii'erent companies
were quartered in the barns on the grounds. The Clark county company was
designated as Company E. and the regiment as the One Hundred and Sixty-
first Indiana Volunteer Infantry. They were mustered into the United States
service July 12, 1898. and remained in Indianapolis until August nth, when
they moved south. At Jacksonville, Florida, tiie regiment was made a part
of the Seventh Army Corps under the command of Major-General Fitzhugh
Lee. Lea\ing- Camp "Cuba Libre" October 24th, the regiment moved to
"Camp Onward." at Savannah. Georgia, and remained there two months.
\\'hile camped there the Clark county company was detached and Captain
Baird was placed in C(immand of the Avondale Rifle range as range otficer.
On December 12th, the regiment boarded the Lnited States transport. Mobile,
and arrived in Havana. Cuba, December 15th. going into camp at Camp Co-
lumbia, near Mariana, about eight miles beyond Havana, on a beautiful table-
land overlooking the gulf. The regiment remained in Cuba until March.
1899, ^vhen they were ordered home for muster out, and they were finally
mustered out and discharged April 30, 1899, ^t Savannah, Georgia.
Clark county also furnished another officer to the volunteer army in the
appointment of Dr. David C. Peyton as major and brigade surgeon.
There was no active duty for the One Hundred and Sixty-first Regiment
to perform during its term of senice. and there were no casualties : but its
"foreign service" was performed with credit and pleasure and it returned to
Indiana with an honorable record to its name. This regiment together with
all other troops in the province of Havana, participated in the impressive cere-
monies of January i. 1899, when the flag of Castile and Aragon was lowered
from the staff over Moro Castle, and the stars and stripes run up, thus ter-
minating Spanish rule in the New World, and placing the United States
before humanity as the greatest benefactor ever known ainong nations.
In 1902 an effort was made to organize a company of the National Guard
in JefTersonville by James Fortune, but it resulted in a discouraging fizzle.
Later on others took up the matter and a roster was quickly made up. John
Van Liew, late first sergeant of Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-first
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in the Spanish war, and Dr. George Twomey. a
late m.ember of the same company, headed the movement, and to their ability
and management may be attributed the successful organization. There being
no vacancy the company was not accepted until 1906 It was mustered into
the state service February 9, 1906, in a store room on the west side of Spring
street, about four doors south of Market street. John R. Van Liew was com-
missioned captain : George Twomey, first lieutenant, and William W. Fitch
second lieutenant. The company procured the third floor of Spieth's hall on
14
2IO BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Spring and Chestnut streets for their drill hall, and also a large room on the
second floor which they fitted up as gun rooms, and for gallery target practice.
These quarters were used as a club room and were attractively furnished for
the use of members of the organization. The company was designated as
Company M. First Infantr\' Indiana National Guard, and was assigned to the
First Battalion, commanded by ]\laj. W. J- Coleman, of New Albany.
Lieutenant Twomey was detailed and appointed battalion adjutant Oc-
tober 12, 1906; Fitch was promoted first lieutenant ; and First Sergeant Francis
B. Shepherd was commissioned second lieutenant. Captain Van Liew re-
signed June 19, 1908. and Lieutenant Fitch July i, 1908. Lieutenant Shep-
herd was promoted captain : First Lieutenant Leon Harrell was transferred
from Company C, First Infantry, and Private Lawrence G. Smith was com-
missioned second lieutenant.
The company participated in the maneuvers at Fort Benjamin Harrison
in 1906 and 1908, and in the state encampment in 1907. They formed part
of the military display at the Madison Centennial. July 4, 1906. and at the
dedication of the soldiers' monument at ISIadison. May 29. 1908. In marks-
manship this company has made an enviable reputation, being the third best in
the state and the first in the regiment. In 1907 it had two expert riflemen,
four sharpshooters and five marksmen. The personnel of the company is
good, the officers earnest and hard-working, and the rank and file composed
of men who seem to realize the character of the service in which they have en-
listed. The present membership is sixty-eight.
A recital of the things military in Clark county, and of the men military
who were her citizens would be incomplete if mention were not made of the
fact that hundreds of sturdy youths and young men had enlisted in the regu-
lar sen'ice of their country, afloat and ashore. During the \\'ar of the Re-
bellion and since, there has been a small but steady stream of enlistments in
the army and navy which is large in the aggregate.
Lemuel Ford in the thirties, Jefferson C. Davis and John S. Simonson, in
the sixties, were prominent men in the regular army and were all Clark county
men. Richard S. Collum was appointed a lieutenant in the Marine Corps.
L^nited States Xavy, in 1865. Frank Spear Armstrong entered West Point
from Jeffersonville in 1887, and is at present in the Philippines as captain in
the Ninth Cavalry. Jonas Howard Ingram, ensign in the United States Navy
who was with the battle ship fleet that circumnavigated the globe, is a native of
Jefifersonville. These and others, besides the large number of enlisted men,
present a most creditable showing, and indicate that despite the foolish and un-
American refusal of some workingmen to sen'e in the state troops, there
underlies a mighty stream of patriotism which has only to be tapped to bring
forth companies, regiments and brigades, if necessary.
CHAPTER XX. ;
FREEMASONRY IN CLARK COUNTY.
The legal estaljlishment of IMasonary in Clark county took place when
Blazing Star Lodge, No. 36, was established at Charlestown in 1816. by
authority of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. The charter of this lodge is
dated August 28. 18 16, and her lineage, which is also that of the other lodges
in the county, as well as that of the Grand Lodge of Lidiana. adds distinction
to an already distinguished society. They derive their ]\Iasonic authority from
the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. That Grand Lodge was the offspring of the
Grand Lodge of Virginia, and the Grand Lodge of Virginia was composed of
lodges which had been chartered by the Grand Lodge of England. At the
organization of the Grand Lodge of Indiana at Madison, Januaiy 12, 1818,
Alexander Buckner, of Charlestown, was elected first grand master, and two
other Clark county men from Charlestown were elected to offices in the Grand
Lodge. Samuel C. Tate was elected grand treasurer and Isaac Howk was
elected senior grand deacon. Charlestown was then selected as the site of
the Grand Lodge until legally changed agreeably to the rules and regulations
governing such matters.
Blazing Star Lodge, No. 3, of Charlestown. in 1818, at the time of the
organization of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, had the following officers : Alex-
ander Buckner, master; Joseph Bartholomew, senior warden; George Leas,
junior warden ; Isaac Howk, secretary ; Evan Shelby, treasurer ; John
Meriwether, senior deacon; \\'illiam Boven. junior deacon, and William Duer-
son, steward and tyler. The high regard in which Masonry was held by men
of prominence at that time is shown by the character of her officers and mem-
bers. Alexander Buckner became the first grand master ; Isaac Howk, later
on speaker of the Indiana house of representatives ; Evan Shelby, Colonel
Joseph Bartholomew, was wounded at the battle of Tippecanoe ; John Owens,
Jonathan Jennings, the first Governor of Indiana, and others, who considered
it not beneath their dignity to meet within the tiled recesses of the lodge. From
1830 to 1835 this lodge was stricken from the list of subordinate lodges by a
resolution of the Grand Lodge, but its charter was not arrested. Nine years
later, in 1844, the Grand Lodge remitted all the dues and arrearages of Blaz-
ing Star Lodge and reinstated her with all powers as if no forfeiture of her
chartered rights had taken place. Her new officers were installed on May 15,
1845, by Brother Levi Sparks.
212 BAIRD's history OF CLARK CO., IND.
During the years 1846 andi847 the lodge made no report, her cliarter
was forfeited, and lier number. 3. was given to Carlisle Lodge. In 1857 the
Grand Lodge granted a dispensation to form another lodge at Charlestown
by the name of Blazing Star, No. 226, and in 1858 a charter was granted, with
Asa Glover as master ; Andrew J. Hay, senior warden, and David W. Dailey,
junior warden. Since then the lodge has pursued the even tenor of her way.
The following is a list of the past masters of Blazing Star Lodge :
John Miller. Alexander Buckner. first most worshipful grand master
1818; Henry L. Miner, Jonatlian Jennings, most worshipful grand master
1823 to 1825 ; Joseph Bartholomew, Isaac Howk, most worshipful grand
master 1826 to 1827; Asa Glover, James Morrison, Hugh Lyle. \^'illiam M.
Steele. Isaac Naylor, John S. Simonson, George Green, William Duerson, Asa
Glover. Andrew J. Hay, most worshipful grand master in 1877: Alfred
Hough, S. L. Robinson. James Oldham, Francis M. Runyan, William Work,
Joseph Cotton, Cadwalder Jones, Edward C. Hughes, McDowell Reeves.
It will be noticed that this lodge has been honored above any lodge in
the state in having four of its masters elected grand master of the Grand
Lodge of Indiana. In 1908 it has about sixty members and numbers among
them the most prominent and influential citizens of Charlestown township.
Clark Lodge, No. 40, of Jeffersonville, -is the next oldest Masonic lodge
in the county. She was preceded in Jeffersonville by Posey Lodge. No. 9,
which was chartered by the Grand Lodge September 14, 1819. This lodge
was named in honor of Governor Posey, and Samuel Gwathmey was the first
master. Gwathmey was a distinguished citizen of Southern Indiana, and was
one of the trustees who laid out Jeffersonville in 1802. Posey Lodge was a
weak organization from the beginning, and in 1829 its charter was arrested
and it ceased to exist. The first Mason to be made in Jeffersonville was James
Nesmith. He was initiated in Posey Lodge October 2. 1819. The annual com-
munication of the Grand Lodge met in Posey Lodge hall September 11. 1820.
Clark Lodge. No. 40, was organized January 26. 1835. and chartered
December 17th the same year, with Thomas D. Lemon as master. The fol-
lowing is a list of past-masters with years of service:
Samuel J. Stuart, (L\ D.) 1835
Thomas D. Lemon (U. C.) (a) 1836
William M. Steele (b) 1836
Daniel Trotter (a) 1837
(b) 1837. fa) 1838, (b) 1838, (a) 1839, (b) 1839.
(b) 1840, (a) 1841, (b) 1842, (a) 1843, (a) 1846, (b) 1846,
(a) 1847. (b) 1847, (a) 1848
Robert H. Read (a) 1840
Robert Curran (b) 1841
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 21T,
Levi Sparks (a) 1842
Burdette C. Pile (b) 1843, (b) 1848
R. S. Heiskell (a) 1844, (b) 1844— 1863— 1865
Henn' French (a) 1845
John 'Mitchell (b) 1845
James G. Caldwell. . . (a) 1849, (b) 1849. (a) 1850. (b) 1850. (b) 1851— 1853
H. W. Heaton (a) 1851, 1857 1858
John W. Ray 1852. '54. '55- 1856
William H. Fogg 1861
Archibald Cameron 1859
John Ware 1864— 1866
Reuben Wells i860— 1862
W. H. Snodgrass 1867
Simeon S. Johnson 1868, '69. '70, '71, '72, '84, '85, '86. '87. 1888
(M. \y. Grand Master 1898— 1899.)
John L. Delahnnt 1873, '74- '76. '82, 1883
Thomas Sparks 1875
Fountain Poindexter 1877 1878
John P. Glossbrenner 1879 — 1880
Jabez R. Cole 1881
Robert W. \\' ood 1889
Harvey G. Eastman 1890
William N. Northcutt 1891 1892
Floyd Parks 1893
Walter L. Twoomey 1894, '95, '96
John W. Stratton 1897
Nelson B. Hartwell 1898
Thomas W. Perry 1 899
Lewis C. Baird 1900, '01 , '02
William H. Humphreys 1903
Horace Dunbar 1904
George M. Crum 1905
Joseph A. McKee 1906 '07
Thomas B. Bohon 1908
Note. — From 1835 to 1852 officers were elected semi-annually; (a)
shows first half of year and (b) second half of year.
The first meeting place of Clark Lodge was in the old county court
house, which stood on the north side of Market street, about where the pres-
ent city hall is located; then on October 2. 1840, they moved to a building on
the east side of Spring street, adjoining the north side of the alley between
Market and Front streets. It then occupied the upper floor of a building on
214 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
the northwest corner of Chestnut and Pearl streets. While occupying this
building it burned, Sunday, March 3, 1861, and her charter was the only thing
saved. The third floor of the building on the northeast corner of Spring and
Chestnut streets was then used for a Masonic hall until 1898, when the third
floor on the southeast corner of Spring and Maple streets was fitted up. This
hall is now used by all the Masonic bodies in Jeffersonville.
Clark Lodge laid the comer stone of the Jeffersonville Orphans' Home,
and was instrumental in having the Grand Lodge lay the corner stone of the
Jeffersonville Carnegie Public Library September 19, 1903. On May 20, 1886,
Clark Lodge was honored with a visit and lecture by Brother Robert Morris.
The first [Masons made by Clark Lodge were Brothers B. C. Pile, Robert S.
Heiskell and John Mitchell. They were initiated on April 21, 1835. Brothers
Pile and Heiskell were raised in New Albany at 2 :oo p. m. in the Grand Lodge
of the state there assembled, June 24, 1835.
New Washington Lodge, No. 167, is located at New Washington. This
lodge was organized December 12, 1854, and chartered May 30, 1855, with
Thomas S. Faltinburg as master. It is the only lodge in Washington town-
ship, but is an energetic and loyal supporter of the tenets of Freemasonry. The
following is a list of her past-masters :
Thomas S. Faltinburg 1855, 1856
Thomas D. Fouts. 1857, '58, '59, '60, '61, 1862
Thomas Davidson 1863, ,64, '65 — 1870
Felix B. Campbell 1866, 1867
Andrew M. Fisher. . . . 1868, '69—1873, '4, '6, '7, '8, '9, 1880, 'i, '2, '3,
... .•4. '5, '6, '7, '8, 1890, '2, '3, '4, '5, '9, 1900, 'i, '2, '4, '5, '6—1907
George E. Taflinger 1871, '72
John C. Fouts 1875
James R. Russell 1888
Wright R. Wells 1891
Thomas W. Sample 1896, '97
Wilton F. Blackford 1898
Otis B. Fifer 1903
New Washington Lodge has about fifty members in 1908.
New Providence Lodge, No. 237, is located at Borden, Wood township.
It was organized January 26, 1859. and chartered May 24. 1859, with David
W. Voyles as master. The following is a list of her past-masters :
David W. Voyles 1859 '60 '61 '62 '63 '64 '67
G. M. Lockmiller 1865 '66
W. H. Bright 1868 '69 '70
'71 '72 '74 '75 '76 '77 '78' 79 '80
BAIRDS HISTORY. OF CLARK CO., IND. 2I5
T. \V. Elrod 1873
B. F. Stalker 1881 '82 '83 '85 '86
'87 '88 '89 '90 '95 '96
J. N. Charles 1884
S. W. Burns 1891 '92 '94 '96 '97 '98 '99 1900 '02
J. M. Herle 1893
Jesse E. McKinley 1901
A. G. Littell 1903
S. W. Bums 1904
John Hallet 1905
Willard Todd 1906
F. M. Brock 1907
It has about fifty-five members at present.
Utica Lodge. No. 337, is located at \^'atso^. The lodge originally held
her meetings at Utica, but owing to the change of residence of many of her
members moved to Watson. Utica Lodge has suffered much loss from fires
in the past, but a no more loyal body of Masons can be found in the state. It
has had the honor of having one of its past-masters, Brother Calvin W.
Prather, elected most worshipful grand master of Indiana. Brother Prather
is now the grand secretary of the Grand Lodge. A lodge that makes Masons
Hke Calvin W. Prather can certainly hold no mean place in the estimation of
the fraternity throughout the state. The following is a list of her past-
masters :
H. W. Fulton 1866-1867
S. R. Wilcox 1868
Calvin W. Prather 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873
Most \\'orshipful Grand Master 1880 — 1882
Thomas J. Brendle 1874— 1881 1884 1885
Stephen W. Belknap 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879
George Zinck 1880
James H. Hazzard 1882
Lewis L. Williams 1883— 1886
C. Ezra Bushfield 1887
Sarvis M. Howes 1888
John D. Curran 1889
Nathaniel C. Noe 1890. 1893, 1894, 1895. 1899
Robert L. Russell 1891
Basil E. Myers 1892 1904 1905
Erasmus T. Sage 1896— '97
Aaron P. Scott 1898
2l6 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Washington M. Hunt IQOO
Edward A. Snodgrass 1901
Edward Dold 1902, 1903
Lewis F. Roller 1906 '07
This lodge has about fifty-five members at present.
Jefi'ersonville Lodge, No. 340, is located in Jeffersonville. She was or-
ganized August I, 1866, and chartered May 29, 1867, with William H. Fogg
as master. Jeft'ersonville Lodge is an oft'shoot of Clark Lodge, having been
formed by a number of members of that lodge. Brother Calvin \\". Prather.^
past grand master, and our present grand secretary, is also a past master of
Jeffersonville Lodge. This lodge is the second largest Masonic body in Clark
countv, ha\-ing about one hundred and twenty members. The following is a
list of her past masters :
William H. Fogg 1866, '67, '69, '70, '71
J. Chapline Cullom 1868
Edward J. Tuttle 1782 1873
George T. Anderson 1874 '75 '76
Harry T. Sage 1877 '78 "79 'So '81 '82 '83 '85
Edward A. Austin 1884
Calvin W. Prather 1886 '87
(Most Worshipful Grand Master in 1880 '81 and present Grand Secretary.)
A. D. Scott 1888
C. H. Walden 1889
Norval G. Felker 1890
Thomas J. Fires 1892
U. B. Lewis 1892
A. M. Thias 1893
George W. Meaders 1894 '95 1900
Charles E. Louis 1896
George Dunham 1 897 '98
Thomas B. Rader 1899
Edward Page 1901
Benjamin C. W^atts 1902
William B. Thornley 1903
John P. Barsha 1904
William G. Young 1905 '06 '07 '08
Buckner Lodge No. 631, is located at Sellersburg, in Silver Creek town-
ship, and was organized May 31, 1900. It was chartered on May 28, 1901,
with Edward N. Wicht as master.
The following is a list of her past masters:
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 21/
Edward N. A\'icht, (U. D.) 1900
Edward N. Wicht, (U. C.) 1901
Walter J. Leach 1902 '03
John T. Smith 1904
John M. Meloy 1905 — 6
William E. Lines 1907
Buckner lodge has about thirty-five members.
Henryville Lodge No. 651, of Henryville. was organized March 30. 1903,
and chartered Alay 27, 1903, wit): Alichael L'. Harbold as master. It has
about forty members. The following is a list of its past masters :
Michael U. Harbold 1903 '04
H. Ray Hamacher 1905 '07
Harry C. Raymond 1906
HOREB CH.\PTER NO. 66 ROY.\L .ARCH M.\SONS.
Capitular Masonry made its official advent into Clark county when Horeb
Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, was organized January 26, 1867. This chapter
was chartered on May 2;^. 1867, with James S. Caldwell as. high priest.
The history of Capitular Masonry in Clark county shows that it has at-
tracted to its fold the most prominent and influential men of the county. The
high standing of these members and the enthusiasm with which they labor,
reflects credit on the community in which they live. Their apartments in
the Masonic Hall are tastefully and appropriately furnished, and bear witness
to the enthusiasm they have for this branch of Masonry. The following is a
list of the past high priests :
James G. Caldwell 1867, 70
Theo W. McCoy 1868
John G. Briggs 1869
Jabez R. Cole 187 1
Simeon S. Johnson 1872, '73 '74
(Most Excellent Grand High Priest in 1878:)
Edward J. Tuttle 1875, '76
George T. Anderson 1877 '78
Galvin W. Prather 1879
(Most Excellent Grand High Priest in 1888.)
Harry T. Sage 1880
John L. Delahunt r88i
Henry Voigt 1882
Simon Goldbach 1883
2l8 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Richard L. W'oolsey 1884, "85, '86, '87, '88
Fernando H. Miller 1889
Floyd Parks 1890
Arthur Loomis 1891
John Rauschenberger 1892
John H. Hoffman 1893
George Pfau 1894
William H. Harper 1895, 1903
Alfred M. Thias ^. 1896
Har\'ey E. Eastman 1897,1902
John C. Lewman 1898
Walter L. Twomey 1 899
Jarvis M. Howes 1900
George A. Dunham 1901, 1906
Andrew P. Williams 1904
Porter C. Bottorff 1905
George A. Scheer 1907
This chapter is in a most flourishing condition and has about eighty
members.
JEFFERSONVILLE COUNCIL NO. 3I. ROYAL AND SELECT MASTERS.
Cryptic Masonry is represented in Jeffersonville by Jeffersonville Council
No. 31, Royal and Select Masters. This council was organized May 23,
1867, and chartered October 20, 1869, with William H. Fogg as illustrious
master. The following is a list of past illustrious masters: William H.
Fogg, 1867. "68, '69. '70. S. S. Johnson, 1871. '72, '73, '74, '75, '76, "78,
'79, '80, '81. '82, '83, '84, '85, '86. '87. "88, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93. '94,
'95' '96, '97, '98, '99, 1900, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07 and '08, and illus-
trious grand master in 1894. Edward J. Tuttle, 1877.
The Council has about forty members.
JEFFERSONVILLE COMMANDERY, NO. 27, KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.
Jeffersonville Commandery No. 27, Knights Templar, was organized
August 28, 1875, and chartered April 26, 1876. The history of the
commandery shows the high standing of the men who have been
attracted to chivalric Masonry in Clark county. The following is a list
of past eminent commanders: Simeon S. Johnson, 1875, '76. '80, '86, and
right eminent grand commander in 1883. R. L. Woolsey, 1877, and right
eminent grand commander in 1883. Calvin W. Prather, 1878, '82, '89;
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
219
Harry T. Sage, 1879: John P. Glossbrenner, 1881 ; Henry Voigt, 1883: Jolm
L. Delahunt, 1884; Herman H. Heaton. 1885; Jacob Loomis, 1887; Charles
H. W'alden, 1888; Edward C. Eaken. 1890; Fernando H. Miller. 1891 ; John
H. Hoffman, 1892; Arthur Loomis, 1893; John Rauschenberger, 1894.; Al-
fred M. Thias, 1895. '96, 1902, '03, '06, '07, '08; William H. Harper, 1897;
Harvey G. Eastman, 1898; Jar\'is M. Howes, 1899, 1900; Silas Carr, 1901,
Andrew P. Williams, 1904: Porter C. Bottorff, 1905. The commandery has
about seventy-five members.
On October ij, 1905, Jeffersonville Chapter. Order of the Eastern Star,
was organized, and on April 26, 1906, a charter was granted by the Grand
body at Indianapolis. The few years that the Order of Adoptive Masonry has
been in existence in Jeffersonville have proved its popularity, and their roster
shows about forty members.
Clark county also has a goodly number of Masons who have received
the degrees of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. Valley of Indianapolis.
Freemasonry throughout the county has existed from the earliest times,
and a full history of the order would be a history- of the county and its most
distinguished citizens.
CHAPTER XXI.
ODD FELLOWSHIP PYTHL\NISM AND OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES IN CLARK
COUNTY.
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS.
The Odd Fellows organized their first lodge in Clark county at Jeffer-
sonville, September ii, 1837, and named it Jefferson Lodge. It appears as
No. 3 on the roster of lodges of the state, and this number indicates that
Clark county was only behind two other places in the state in organizing.
Jeft'erson Lodge was chartered on application of C. H. Paddox, Thomas
Humphries. John Applegate. Benjamin Riggles and Nicholas Kearns. It
now has two hundred and thirty-four members, and Don D. Walker is noble
grand.
The next lodge of Odd Fellows to be organized in Clark county was
Tabor Lodge, No. 92. also at Jeffersonville. Tabor Lodge now has one hun-
dred and forty-eight members, and Ernest E. Jacobs is noble grand.
Charlestown Lodge. No. 94. was organized the same year. February 20,
185 1, at Charlestown. This lodge has at present seventy-nine members.
Milliard A. Badger is noble grand.
The next year saw the birth of Odd Fellowship among the rugged hills
of Utica. Utica Lodge. No. 112, was organized May 29. 1852. It has thirty-
eight members and J. M. Worthington is noble grand.
Tell Lodge, No. 272. was organized in Jeffersonville on January 16,
1867. Its present membership is eighty-eight, and Ernest Rauth is noble
grand.
Cement Lodge, No. 494, was organized at Er^ther. July 2, 1875, and
named after the industry which has added so much to the business life of the
county. Cement Lodge has a membership of forty-nine at present. E. C.
Long is noble grand.
Sellersburg Lodge, No. 702, was organized at Sellersburg, December 28,
1S93. George W. Morgan is the present noble grand. Its membership is
eighty-seven.
Marysville Lodge, No. 714, was organized at Marysville. June 13, 1895.
Its present membership is ninety-nine, and B. K. Stoner is the noble grand.
Henry ville Lodge, No. 794, was organized at Henryville, November 15,
1902. Homer Wills is the present noble grand, and the membership is one
hundred and two.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.j IND. 221
The total membership of these Clark county lodges is nine hundred and
twenty-four.
Rebekah Lodge. Xo. 8, Daughters of Rebekah, was instituted in Jeffer-
sonville, March i. 1869, with Herman Preefer, Mary Preefer, R. H. Tim-
monds, M. C. Timmonds, H. N. Holland, J. T. Davis, James \V. Jacobs and
others as charter members. This lodge is for the benefit of the wives and
daughters of Odd Fellows, and it gives them the fraternal ties which bind
their husbands and brothers in the bonds of friendship, love and truth. Re-
bekah Lodge has two hundred and four members. The noble grand is Lola
Hodson.
Gold Knob Lodge, No. 701, Daughters of Rebekah, is located at Henry-
ville. It was instituted January 2j, 1906. Mamie Ferguson is the mtble
grand.
Excelsior Encampment, Xo. 14, Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
was organized several years ago. The membership at present is about seventy.
S. L. Huff is chief patriarch.
The lodges now existing in the county are enthusiastic and energetic in
pushing the principles of Odd Fellowship. Thomas H. Stradley is the present
district deputy grand master.
Clark county has furnished several distinguished Odd Fellows to their
grand lodge. William Cross, a member of Jefferson Lodge, was grand master
in 1S44.
\\"illiam H. Dixon, a member of Tabor Lodge, was grand master in 1861.
John P. Sanders, a member of Jefferson Lodge, was grand master in
1867. and John Dixon, of Jefiferson Lodge, was grand secretary in 1846-47.
Some years ago \\'illiam Beach erected a tAVO-stor\' brick building on the
southeast corner of Alarket and Wall streets. The Odd Fellows added a
third story for their use as lodge rooms in 1856; and later on, on the death
of Mr. Beach, they purchased the lower part of the building. This they rent,
retaining the upper floors for their own use.
THE KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS.
The Knights of Pythias of Clark county are a numerous and progressive
organization. The oldest lodge in the county is Hope Lodge. Xo. 13, founded
on July 7, 1 87 1. It was instituted by Grand Chancellor Hazelton, assisted
by other grand officers, and Friendship Lodge, No. 10, of New Albany. It
had twenty-five charter members, and the following were the first officers :
S. B. Halley, P. C. : W. H. Northcutt, C. C. ; T. B. Sharp, V. C. : J. Davis,
Jr., K. of R. S. ; C. H. Kelly, M. of F. ; Herman Preefer, M. of E. ; John
Howard, M. A. ; Brother LeClare. I. G. ; Brother Bowman. O. G.
The membership December 31, 1907, was three hundred and sixteen.
222 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Jeffersonville has another lodge of Knights of Pythias, Myrtle Lodge,
No. 19. It was chartered July 24. 1872, by A. L. Eggleston, C. H. Kelly,
W. H. Bowman, J. B. Piper, 6. W. Rogers, OW^Prather, W. E. Rose and
about thirty others who came out of Hope Lodge to organize this additional
lodge. It is in a prospering condition.
Sampson Lodge, No. 32, was organized by members of the two previous
named lodges on July 22, 1873. Among those who were the earliest and
most enthusiastic members were William H. Myers, W. S. Bowman, W. W.
Crooker, R. M. Hartwell, J. E. Finch, Charles Rossler, G. W. Ware, E. A.
Bamett and M. Myers. This lodge has ceased to exist.
The Endowment Rank, Knights of Pythias, was organized in Jeffer-
sonville December 29, 1877, by William T. Myers, R. M. Hartwell, Alexander
Sample, Charles H. Kelly and ten others.
The Unifonn Rank, No. 9, Knights of Pythias, was organized and mus-
tered in on July 27, 1882, by H. T. Rawlings. John M. Glass was the first
captain, Samuel Perrine the second, Thomas B. Rader the third, W. W.
Crooker the fovu^th and Fielding Wilson the fifth and present commanding
officer. This organization has been a most enthusiastic and hard working
body and has the reputation nf having won prizes at every competition which
they entered.
At Cincinnati, August 3, 1882, they won the silver cup. At Seymour,
Indiana, they took the second prize; at Washington they took the thirty dol-
lar prize: at Indianapolis they took the fourth prize of three hundred dol-
lars : at Detroit they took the third prize of six hundred dollars : at Indian-
apolis, in 1904, they won the prize, a fine sword; and at Louisville they won
a prize of three hundred dollars.
The company at present has a membership of twenty-seven and with the
excellent accommodations afforded by the spacious armory just completed will
evidently prosper.
This armory, completed at a cost of twenty thousand dollars, is the largest
and best hall in the city of Jeffersonville. Built upon the site of the old Wig-
wam armory, which burned several years since, it occupies a convenient posi-
tion, and from a financial standpoint the attractiveness of its auditorium will
make of it a valuable investment and reflect credit on the order which made it
possible. The floor of this armory is one hundred two by fifty-nine feet ; the
stage is thirty by twenty-three feet ; the lodge room is sixty by forty feet and is
located in the third floor.
Henryville Lodge, No. 532, Henryville, Indiana, was instituted April
6, 1907, with thirty-five (35) members. It was instituted with the following
officers : J. H. Walker, C. C. ; J. C. Hainincher, V. C. ; T. F. Huffman, prel-
ate; M. H. Dunlevy, M. of W. : J. W. Bailey, K. of R. S. : T. F. Prall, M. of
F. ; Ed. Hostettler. M. of E. ; J. A. Smith, M. at A.; Frank Masters, I. G. ;
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
223
Fred Metzgar, O. G. : Trustees, Dave Dunlevy, Fred Hallimbach and Ira
Smith. Officers, June 30, 1908: James D. Dean, C. C. ; Frank Mastin, V. C. ;
Aaron Cummings, prelate : Otto Guernsey, M. of W. ; M. H. Dunlevv, K. of
R. S. ; T. F. Prall, M. of F. : James A. Smith, M. of E. ; J. W. Bailey, M. at
A ■ Charles Enterman, I. G. ; Charles Francke, O. G. ; Trustees, I. L. Smith,
Zack Taylor and Fred Kallenbuck.
Bethlehem Lodge, No. 498, Bethlehem, Indiana, was instituted July 19,
1902, with twenty-nine (29) members. It was instituted with the following-
officers : George Schowe, C. C. ; Amie Clemmons, V. C. ; Harry Baird, prel-
ate : James Smith, M. of W. : Samuel P. Kelly. K. R. S. : Thomas Stevens,
M. of F. ; U. S. Bern,.-, M. of E. : John S. Smith, M. at A. ; Aaron Baker, I.
G. : Judson Hineline, O. G. A. Hollenbeck, J. ^^'. Jackson and \\'illiam \\'ood-
ward. Trustees.
Officers, June 30, 1908, are: J. E. Farmer. C. C. ; E. M. Matthews, V.
C. : A. B. Clemmons, prelate ; C. Y. Priest, M. of W. ; S. P. Kelby, K. R. S. ;
U. S. Berry, M. of F. : C. E. Pernet, M. of E. ; Tracy Smith, M. at A. : C. E.
Strausbern-, I. G. : R. L. Beach, O. G. D. E. Pemet, D. W. Jessup and T.
R. Stevens, trustees. In 1908 there were one hundred eighteen members.
Jennings Lodge, No. 418, Charlestown, Indiana, was instituted June 6,
1895. with thirty-seven (37) members. It was instituted with the following
officers: Eli Runyan, C. C. ; Charles Lanz, Jr., V. C. ; C. M. Bottorff, prelate;
B. T. Buler, M. of \\'. : L. L. Chapman, K. R. S. : loseph W. Morrow. M. of
F. ; E. O. Hostettler, M. of E. ; J. L. Cole, M. at a"; W. G. Conn. I. G. : Gus-
tav Beuler, O. G. ; E. B. Bentley, J. O. Johnson and D. K. Coombs, Jr., trustees.
Officers, June 30, 1908: E. G. Runyan, C. C. : James Morrow, V. C. : E.
L. Boyer. prelate : Royal Boyer, M. of W. ; A. W. Yager, K R. S. ; William
Frickhoeffer, M. of F. : Joseph W. IMorrow, M. of E. ; William Noe, M. at A. :
H. H. Floyd. I. G. : William Nickles. O. G. J. B. Carr, James Morrow and
J. J. Cole, trastees.
Sellersburg Lodge, No. 417, Sellersburg, Indiana, was instituted ]\Iay
22, 1895, with thirty-one (31) members. It was instituted with the following-
officers : William O'Connell, C. C. : William Pass, V. C. : Earl Piercy, prel-
ate; Elias Dodd. :\I. of W. ; Will H. Sierf, K. R. S. ; Walter Hyatt, M. of F. ;
Edward Dodd, M. of E. : John W. Piercy. M. at A. ; Walter Carson. I. G. ;
Pat Nevils. O. G. John M. Nickles, Stephen Allen and Michael Moore,
trustees.
Officers, June 30, 1908: Charles Werle, C. C. ; C. J. Eismann, V. C. ;
Louis Dodd, prelate : ^^^illiam Seitz. M. of W. ; L. F. House, K. R. S. : Ben-
jamin Beyl, M. of F. : O. F. Davis, M. of E. ; E. E. Seibel, M. at A. : C. P.
Hartling, I. G. ; \\'. M. Cleveland, O. G. M. F. Nickles, Elias Dodd. \Ailliam
Seitz, trustees.
Valley Lodge, No. ^/. LTtica, Indiana, was instituted December 22. 1874,
224 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
with thirteen (13) memljers. Officers June 30, 1908: Charles Ruddle, C. C. ;
Charles Colvin. V. C. ; Henry Deairk, prelate; William Carmney, M. of W. ;
W. B. Sims, K. R. S. : S. X. 'W'ood. M. of F. ; Louis Meyers, M.' of E. ; Tood
Woods, M at A. : F. C. Colvin, I. G. ; J- C. Grimes. O. G. F. C. Colvin, D.
W. Deairk, J. C. Grimes, trustees.
Bethlehem Temple, No. 325, Pythian Sisters, was instituted February 2,
1906, at Bethlehem, with thirty-three charter members. Since the organiza-
tion of the Temple there have been sixteen memlaers admitted.
THE BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS.
This order was organized February 5, 1897, with the following officers:
James W. Fortune, exalted ruler ; Joe E. Bottorff, esteemed leading
knight; AI. Z. Stannard, esteemed loyal knight; C. C. Foster, esteemed
lecturing knight ; James E. Burke, treasurer and William C. Pfau, tyler. The
thirty charter members in 1897 has grown to one hundred fifty members in
1908, and since the organization the following have served as exalted ruler:
James W. Fortune, 1897; Joseph E. Bottorff, 1898; Edgar Howard, 1899;
G. A. Scheer, 1900; James E. Burke, 1901 ; W. A. Ruby, 1902; M. H. Gas-
coign, 1903; W. J. Schwaninger, 1904; Orlando Chandler, 1905: James W.
Taylor, 1906; Harry C. Sharp, 1907; Thomas J. Piers, 1908.
During the summer of 1901 and 1902 the Elks gave a street fair and
carnival for the purpose of raising money to build a "Home." With the fund
thus started the project was carried to a successsful culmination in 1904. On
November 17th of that year the handsome Elks' hall at 242 Spring street was
dedicated in the presence of a large number of Elks and their friends from the
three falls cities. The cost of the building was eighteen thousand dollars, and
the whole of the upper floor is given up to lodge rooms, the first floor being
used for a store room. Jeffersonville Lodge, No. 262, Benevolent and Protec-
tive Order of Elks, is in a flourishing condition, and the comfortable and com-
modious club rooms oft'er a convenient and attractive lounging place for the
members and their friends at all times.
THE MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA.
The Modern \Voodmen of America, a fraternal organization, entered
Clark county about 1896. Sellersburg Camp, No. 3896, was organized at
Sellersburg January 30, 1896. The first venerable consul was M. L. Smith,
the present is A. E. Snodgrass. The present membership is one hundred
thirty-five.
Hoosier Camp, No. 3594. was organized February 21, 1896, at Jefferson-
ville. The first venerable consul was Henry Nachand, the present is Luther
Childs. The present membership is two hundred twenty-eight.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 225
Henryxille Camp, No. 3761, was organized at Henry\'ille in .\pril, 1896.
The first veneraljle consul was John Gray, the present is George Smallwood.
The present menihersliip is thirty-three.
Charlestown Camp, No. 3823, was organized at Charlestown in May,
1896. The first venerable consul was Frank W. Carr. the present is John
^\^ W'hitlatch. The present membership is sixty-six.
Ivanhoe Camp, No. 3951, was organized at Utica in June, 1897. Tiie
first venerable consul was William Hobson, the present is Aaron Scott. The
present membership is twenty-six.
Jeffersonville Camp, No. 12587. was organized at Jeffersonville in July,
1907. The first venerable consul was C. T. Brightwell, the present is C. T.
Brightwell.
New Washington Camp, No. 4408, was organized at New Washington,
in December, 1897. The first venerable consul was A. G. Knowles, the pres-
ent is Charles Pierce. The present membership is fifty-six.
Ideal Camp, No. 4103, was organized at Borden, in March, 1898. The
first venerable consul was A. E. Almstead. the present is Richard A. McKin-
ley. The present membership is forty-five.
Otisco Camp, No. 6406, was organized at Otisco in August, 1903. The
first venerable consul was Dr. C. P. Meloy, the present is S. L. Stoner. The
present membership is forty-six.
THE KXIGHT.S OF HONOR.
This fraternal and beneficial order was organized in Louisville, Ken-
tucky, on June 30, 1873. ^^ was originally composed of men only, but of late
years members of both sexes are admitted, the age limits being eighteen to
fifty-four years. The order soon spread to Clark county, and Eureka Lodge,
No. 3, was organized in Jeffersonville November 6, 1873. Soon after this,
on August 24, 1875, Barbarossa Lodge, No. 146, was organized in Jefferson-
ville. It was followed by Hope Lodge No. 308, organized at Charlestown,
June 15, 1876: Ohio Falls Lodge, No. 405, organized at Ohio Falls Novem-
ber 15, 1876; Silver Creek Lodge, No. 1171, was organized at Sellersburg
on August 8, 1878.
Up to the present date the Supreme Lodge has paid out death benefits
for the following amounts :
Eureka, No. 3—36 deaths $58,000.00 received.
Barbarossa, No. 146 — 29 deaths 55,000.00
Hope, No. 308 — 14 deaths 26,000.00 "
Silver Creek, No. 11 71 — 8 deaths 13,000.00
Making a total of one hundred fifty-two thousand dollars paid to bene-
ficiaries in Clark county.
IS
226 BAIRD's HISTORV of CLARK CO., IXU.
GERMAN AID SOCIETY.
This society was organized ]\Iay i6. 1887. Its object is as its name im-
plies — aid to its various members as they may need it. It is composed of the
most prominent German citizens of Jeffersonville, and since the date of its or-
ganization in 1887, to 1908, has received as dues and interest, nine thousand
five hundred sixty-one dollars. There have been paid out as benefits, seven
thousand one hundred fifty dollars, leaving two thousand four hundred eleven
dollars in the treasury. A weekly sick benefit is paid each member, while ill,
and in case of death of either a member or his wife a substantial sum is do-
nated. Alatthew Kilgus was the first president, F. X. Kern, the first secre-
tary, and Herman Preefer the first treasurer. The presidents who have served
since the organization are as follows: Alatthew Kilgus, 1887-1888; G. T.
Englehardt, 1889; F. X. Kern, 1890: Matthew Kilgus, 1891 to 1901 : An-
drew Kilgus, 1902 to 1908. The secretaries have been Frank X. Kern. Adam
Laun, Hugo Alben and August Happel.
KNIGHTS AND LADIES OF HONOR.
Mystic Tie Lodge, N^o. 7, Knights and Ladies of Honor, was organized
in Jefifersonville, December 12, 1877, with thirty-three charter members. At
present it has a membership of ninety-eight.
Eden Lodge. No. 240, Knights and Ladies of Honor, was organized in
Jefifersonville December 31, 188 1, with twenty-five charter members. At pres-
ent the membership is one hundred seven.
The railroad men of Jeffersonville have three organizations, as follows:
The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen have one lodge. Jeffersonville
Lodge, No. 689. This organization is composed of railroad conductors,
brakemen and yardmen, and the objects of the order are mutual protection
and insurance. The lodge was organized in the eighties, and at present has
one hundred sixty-five members.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen have one
lodge, Clark Lodge, No. 297. This lodge was organized in 1886, and at
present has one hundred twenty-five members. Its membership consists of
Pennsylvania engineers and firemen, of the Louisville division. Its objects
are mutual protection and insurance.
The Brotherhood of Locomtive Engineers have one lodge. Engineers'
Division No. 712. It was organized in 1907, and at present has fifty members.
Its objects are mutual protection and insurance. The Pennsylvania has fitted
up a reading room and billiard room in the depot at Wall street and Court
avenue, where their employes may spend their leisure time. The above named
organizations meet regularly in the Elks" hall, on Spring street.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 227
IMPROVED ORDER OF RED MEN.
Kwasind Tribe, No. 268, Improxed Order of Red Alen, was organized in
Jeffersonville April i, 1898, with a membership of fifty. The tribe has grown
until it now has a membership of over three hundred. Harry Pfeiffer is the
prophet. Thomas Hodson, a member of Kwasind Tribe, is district deputy
grand sachem.
Okenuck Tribe, No. 476, Improved Order of Red Men, was instituted at
Memphis, Indiana, August 22, 1908, with a membership of forty. Jack
Cleveland is the prophet.
Mengive Tribe, No. 376. Improved Order of Red Men, was instituted at
New Washington, Indiana. Januan* 23, 1904, with twenty-three charter
members, and Charles H. Jones as prophet. The trilie at present has a mem-
bership of thirty-two.
Agawan Tribe. No. 272. Improved Order of Red Men was instituted at
Sellersburg July 8. 1899. with thirty-six charter members. John M. Meloy
was elected sachem. The present membership of the tribe is eighty-six.
Abenaki Tribe, No. 367, Impr(i\-ed Order of Red Men, was instituted at
Bethlehem, with thirty-six charter members. E. D. Giltner was the first sa-
chem, and W. H. Patterson, the prophet. July i, 1908, there were one hun-
dred fifteen members.
There are councils of the Degree of Pocahontas at Charlestown and
Bethlehem. The Bethlehem council is known as Silver Heels Council, No.
260. This degree of the order admits women, and these two localities are
in a flourishing condition.
THE EAGLES.
Jefifersonville Aerie. No. 1527. of the Order of Eagles, was organized in
1907 with Lyman Parks, past worthy president; James Fortune, president,
and Heniy Miller as vice president. This order is a social and convivial or-
ganization and its popularity has resulted in a roster of over two hundred
names.
THE ROYAL ARCANUM.
Clark Council, No. 12 16, Royal Aixanum, is located in Jeffersonville. It
was organized on December 9. 18S9, with Herman Preefer as regent. At
present it has a membership of forty-five. Clark Council is the only council
of the Royal Arcanum in Clark county.
THE P.\THFINDERS.
Jeffersonville Lodge, No. 403. was organized November 20. 1905. by
Jacob Hoffman. George Kopp was the first president and the following have
228 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
sen'ed as such: George Kopp, 1905-6; Emil Rauth. 1906, six months; Levi
EngHsh. 1907, six months; Walter Grant, 1907. six months; Charles Clayton,
1908. The Pathfinders is an insurance and social organization. The lodge
in Jefifersonville. the only one in the county, has at present eighty-five members.
UNITED ORDER GOLDEN CROSS.
The Grand Commandery United Order Golden Cross was instituted in
Jefifersonville April 29, 1891, at which time William H. Buckley was elected
past grand commander; Rev. E. L. Dolph, grand commander; Kate W. Daw-
son, g'rand prelate ; W^illiam S. Tucker, grand treasurer ; John C. Loomis and
S. W. Evans, grand trustees ; all these being residents of Clark county. The
Rev. E. L. Dolph is at present prelate of the supreme commandery, and re-
sides in Jefifersonville. Previous to this date there had been several com-
manderies in Clark county, Bain Commandery being the pioneer. This com-
mandery was the first one to be organized outside the state of Tennessee.
Bain Commandery, No. 15, was organized on February- 28, 1877, by the
late George W. Bain, Kentucky's great temperance lecturer. Since its or-
ganization the commandery has had nearly five hundred members, sixty or
more of which have died. At present the membership is one hundred fourteen.
Perpetual Commandery, No. 724, was organized at Ohio Falls, November
10, 1894, by Samuel Swartz, of Jefifersonville, who was the grand com-
mander of the state. The commandery was organized with twenty-five charter
members and since that time there have been initiated one hundred nineteen
new members. At present the membership is forty-two.
Clark Commandery, No. 57, was instituted on June 7, 1877. At present
the membership is thirty-six.
Charlestown Commandery, No. 454, of Charlestown, was instituted Oc-
tober 6, 1890. It is not a strong organization, having only ten members.
Banner Commandery, No. 456, was instituted October 28, 1890 It has a
membership of ten.
Welfare Commandery, No. 746, was instituted February 3, 1897. It has
a membership of twenty-three.
CHAPTER XXII.
HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S PARISH, jEFFERSOXVILLE, INDIANA,
THE ONLY EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE COUNTY.
Few there are who do not take an interest in the beginning of a family, a
town or parish : is it not interesting to know who were the first church people
of Clark county, where they worshiped and who first administered to them
of the Word and Bread of Life? The slow growth of the church in Indiana
is no criterion to judge of its founding and growth elsewhere.
It is a matter of history that the first religious service in the English
tongue, on this Western Continent, was that of the Church of England, con-
ducted by the Chaplain of Sir Francis Drake on the California coast, in 1579,
in commemoration of which George W. Childs has erected on the spot a
beautiful Celtic cross of mammoth size.
The prayer-book services of the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia,
were the first in the English language on the Atlantic coast.
The first religious sen-ice in Kentucky was a prayer-book sen-ice held
under the trees, during the erection of the fort at Boonesborough.
The majority of tlie signers of the Declaration of Independence were
members of the Church of England. Thomas JefTerson, who planned our city,
was a regular attendant upon the services of the church.
In 1823, the Rev. Amos G. Baldwin, of New York, was sent here by the
Domestic and Foreign IVIissionary Society. His report says he found in
Jeffersonville, "members who welcomed him gladly." In 1835, the saintly
Bishop Kemper paid Jeffersonville a visit, and also a second visit in 1836.
The fonnation of the parish followed these visitations. The Rev. James G.
Britton, who was assistant at Christ church during this time gave occasional
services. The Rev. Benjamin O. Peers, a prominent presbyter and educator,
officiated prior to this visitation of the bishop, and was present and pre-
sided at the organization of the parish, August 14, 1836. The record stands
thus in the old register:
"Organization of St. Paul's church, Jeffersonville, Indiana.
"At a meeting of those desirous for the formation of an Episcopal
parish in the town of Jeffersonville on Sunday, the 14th of August, 1836, the
Rev. Mr. Peers was called to the chair and Mr. G. Stearns appointed secretary,
the following preamble being adopted." etc. The Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper
was bishop of the diocese and the signatures were as follows : Robert Weinmer,
230 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
Charles Fisk, Samuel Merriwether, Francis Barnes, W. D. Beach, George-
Stearns, Christopher Peaceley, Andrew Fite, David Grisamore, Ira Robinson,
Georgiana Buchannan, Ann Idell, Mary Ann Idell.
At the first election of vestrymen, the Rev. Mr. Peers in the chair, the
following were chosen: Charles Fisk, Andrew Fite, Francis Barnes, George
Stearns, Ira Robinson. Mr. Stearns was elected secretary. In November
of the same year, the Missionary Board appointed the Rev. Mr. Steele as
First Missionan^ to the parish; he also had charge of St. Paul's parish. New
Albany.
The congregation first worshiped in a school-house on Market street,
but soon the lower room of the court-house was fitted up and afforded a
convenient accommodation.
The Sunday school was organized in that year.
January i, 1837, the Ladies' Guild was formed.
Januaiy, 1837, Rev. Mr. Steele removed to New Albany and confined
his ministrations to that city ; he was succeeded by Rev. Samuel R. Johnson.
In 1837 the primary convention to organize the diocese was held in
Madison, and the Rev. Robert Ash is reported as pastor from Jeffersonville.
The first confirmation service was held July i, 1838, when the following
persons received the Apostolic Rite at the hands of Bishop Kemper: ^Irs.
Ira Robinson, Mrs. N. Kerms, Miss Mary Buchannan and Miss Mary A. V.
Idell.
The first vSt. Paul's church was erected on a leased lot on Spring street,
at what is now No. 238. Later a debt of three hundred dollars was paid ofif
W'ith the very kind aid of the ladies of Christ church, Louisville, Kentucky.
The Rev. Charles H. Page, who resided in Louisville, had charge of this
parish from 1839 to 1840. He was a godly man and left his imprint upon
the parish. He writes in the old parish register: "In 1839 the house of Ira
Robinson was the only house where the minister was entertained, but now
in 1849, there are eight families where the minister is kindly entertained.
Upon the Rev. Mr. Hickox, my successor, may grace, wisdom and strength
be multiplied."
Rev. Air. Page says in the first published report of the parish, the Sunday
school has twenty-five children and the church twenty communicants. The
assessment for convention expenses was two dollars.
In 1 84 1 there were twenty-six communicants.
Bishop Kemper consecrated St. Paul's church in 1840, the debt having
been removed.
In May, 1843, the bishop says in his address, "The remainder of Sunday,
January 15th, was devoted to Jefifersonville, where I found the congregation
in a flourishing condition." He confirmed eight persons.
Rev. Mr. Page writes later. "A Sunday school has been reorganized.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
231
whicli commenced with twenty-five children." It is evident from tliis tliat
the Sunday school formed in 1836 hatl died ont, and from a resolution by the
vestry at this time, we conclude that our parents were \-ery bad children, or
else that the vestry held very high notions with regard to the sancitv of the
building. The resolution was, "That the church be not used for the purpose
of a Sunday school, it being considered by the vestry that the sanctuary should
not be used for that purpose."
In 1843 a special meeting or convention was held in Indianapolis for the
purpose of electing a bishop, and for the first time the parish had a represen-
tation in the person of Doctor Collum.
Bishop Kemper in 1844 writes, "I went to Jeitersonville with several
clergj'men November 30th, and preached to an attentive congregation."
During the winter the Rev. Mr. Hicko.x, of ^ladison, took charge of the
parish and also of New Albany ; but not receiving the encourag'ement he
hoped for, he determined to go South for the benefit of his health, as he had
an afliection of the throat. He was. however, suddenly attacked by sickness
which in three weeks' time proved fatal. He died Sunday morning May 5th,
and was interred at New Albany.
In 1845 ^Messrs. Bottorff, Cookerly and Collum were appointed a com-
mittee to purchase a lot upon which to remove the church from Spring street,
where it stood on leased ground. They purchased on Chestnut street, be-
tween Spring and Pearl streets, on which, still in 1897 stood the original
building used for a kindergarten school. A vestryroom large enoug-h to ac-
commodate the Sunday school was erected and the church painted, all costing
about four hundred dollars.
Mr. Page's report for 1844 was: Baptisms seven, confirmed four, com-
municants thirty-one, Sunday school teachers five and scholars twenty.
Report for 1846. Communicants twenty-eight, Sunday school scholars
twenty-five. He regrets that the ground upon which the church stands has
not yet been paid for, owing to the divided estate of the population, there being
five different denominations and the too prevalent apathy to eternal things.
In 1845 the Rev. Mr. Page regrets that he cannot report the prospects
of the church essentially improved. The congregation varies from thirty to
fifty, teachers four, scholars twenty, communicants twenty-six, marriages five.
In 1848 he reports that it was difficult to sustain the Sunday school ;
teachers three, scholars twenty, communicants forty, contributions for mis-
sionary work fifteen dollars, diocesan assessment, two dollars, not paid. At
the diocesan convention the apportionment made on Jef¥ersonville for the
support of the bishop was twenty-five dollars or one thousand dollars to be
raised.
In 1849 the Rev. R. M. Chapman came to the parish as rector. He was
a man of fine character and education. In 1852 for the first time the parish
232 EAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
was represented among the clerg}\ In 1854 the convention was held in New
Albany, the Rev. Dr. Chapman and two lay delegates, \V. F. Collum and H.
P. Murry being present. Report : diocesan assessment or bishop's salary,
twenty dollars; missionary fund fifteen dollars. Now the parish is beginning
to show real life. In 1854 Doctor Chapman resigned his charge and confined
himself to his duties as principal of a ladies' seminaiy.
On January i, 1855, Rev. James Runcie took charge of the parish. He
reports thirty-three communicants. Sunday school thirty-four, contributions
thirty-three dollars. Rev. Air. Runcie was elected alternate delegate to the
general convention.
In 1855 the first convention was held in the parish, being that of Central
Indiana, at which time the bishop ordained Rev. John B. \\'akefield, who was
chosen as rector of St. Paul's. Richmond, and as priest the Rev. W. G.
Spencer, rector-elect of St. Stephen's, Terre Haute. This was the first or-
dination service held in the parish, offering for missions at convocation,
thirty dollars.
In 1857 Mr. Runcie was appointed chaplain at the penitentiary. In
1858 a fund was started by the Ladies' Guild looking towards a new church,
and the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars placed to its credit. The
Rev. Mr. Githens assisted the rector during this year. In 1859 Rev. Mr.
Runcie resigned the parish but still remained chaplain at the penitentiary.
The Rev. R. A'\'. Trimble, deacon, officiated from April to November.
1859. This year the Ladies' Guild contributed two hundred and five dollars,
most of which was used to repair the church. Deacon Trimble speaks of the
Sunday school as being increased fourfold, and of the ofifering as being taken
up weekly instead of monthly. The Rev. Mr. Runcie was a man of genial
personality, and upon his departure left none but friends.
Januai-y 9, 1862. the Rev. P. Chariot took charge of the parish, init his
stay was short as he was appointed chaplain of the Twentv-second Indiana
Volunteers.
January i, 1864, Rev. C. \V. Fitch, D. D., took charge of the parish,
rendering as his report says such services as did not interfere with his duties
as chaplain to a L^. S. Amiy hospital. In his time a committee was appointed
to procure subscriptions for the erection of a new church, and four hundred
and ten dollars was raised. Communicants thirty-eight. Sunday school fifty,
burials three hundred and thirty-six. This extraordinary large number of
burials was from the army hospital, where Mr. Fitch was chaplain. In 1866
Doctor Fitch removed to the diocese of Michigan.
March, 1867, Rev. F. G. Carver officiated in the parish, and then Doctor
Davidson as hy reader. The latter was a Presbyterian minister, who came
from New Albany. He was ordained deacon March 31, 1867.
November 4, 1867, Rev. Thomas R. Austin, LL. D., assumed the rector-
BAIRd's history of CLARK CO., IND. 233
ship, being then only a deacon. He came from the Methodists and was or-
dained priest in New Albany, April 15, 1868. The vestry decided to pur-
chase the Government chapel at Camp Joe Holt and a lot was procured from
the Baptists on Mulberry street. They gave one hundred dollars for the old
church and there was an even exchange of lots. For the chapel three hundred
dollars was paid, and Hiram Wright received four hundred and fifty dollars
for moving the building-, repairs, furniture, etc., making the total cost two
thousand eight hundred dollars. The Ladies' Guild gave one thousand three
hundred and twenty-six. Judge Read one hundred dollars, INlrs. Childs two
hundred and five dollars. Mr. Willacy one hundred dollars, Mr. Shryer one
hundred and fifty dollars. Mrs. Merriwether one hundred dollars, the Misses
Shryer eight}'-five dollars and many smaller amounts. The church was
consecrated by Bishop Talbot, April 16, 1868.
May I, 1870, the pews were declared free. In this year the Rev. Dr.
Austin we!it to St. Stephen's, Terre Haute, and the Rev. Thomas B. Bacon
took charge of the parish; but in 1872 he went to Ohio. In 1872 Rev.
Richard Totten took charge, but in i87_i. went to the diocese of Easten.
On December i, 1874, Re\-. Dr. Chapman returnetl to the parish, but
his health obliged him to remove to California.
December, 1875, Rev. G. \\\ E. Fisse was sent as locum tcncns; he left
in 1876. The parish being vacant for some time, the services were supplied
by Rev. Dr. Chapman. Rev. John Girlow, of Xew Albany, and Rev. Dr. Fitch.
At this time a bell was placed in the church, being borrowed from the
Government Depot.
Rev. G. C. Waller, of Louisville, officiated part of 1878, until Rev.
Charles A. Cary, of Mississippi, took charge as rector and remained five
years, the longest pastorate to date. A reed organ was placed in the church.
^Ir. Frank Burke being organist.
In 1 88 1 the first rectory was purchased principally with the bequest of
one thousand dollars left by Mrs. Buchannan ; it stood on Mulberry and
Chestnut streets. In 1883 Rev. Mr. Cary resigned and went to Florida, when
Rev. J. R. Bicknell took charge until 1885. In his pastorate the congregation
began to look toward a new church, and a fund was commenced of one
hundred and fourteen dollars.
In 1884 Bishop Knickerbacker, of blessed .memoiy, was elected to the
diocese. It was in the year of the great flood, and the first note of relief
came from him ; he sent fifty dollars and telegraphed, "How much more do
you want?" Rev. Mr. Cary also sent a donation. In all the money dona-
tions aihounted to five hundred and twenty-five dollars, which placed the
church in good repair. There was over ten feet of water on the site of the
present church. During the flood services were held on board the steamer.
Grey Eagle, and in the O. F. Hall on Market street. Our services and those
of our Roman Catholic brethren were the onlv ones held in those davs.
234 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
December, 1885, Rev. F. C. Jewell, of the diocese of Chicago was called
and assumed charge. The endowment fund of the diocese was started and
this parish gave its bond for eight hundred dollars, which was paid in full in
seven vears. New additions were constantly made to the building fund. The
parish was honored by the appointment of its senior warden, E. \V. Fitch, as
supplementary deputy to the General Convention.
A lot on which the present church now stands was finally purchased from
James Burke, at a cost of two thousand five hundred dollars, five hundred
dollars of which was provided by Miss Hannah Zulauf and five hundred
dollars more provided in a manner unknown to the vestry, but which was
supposed to have come from the same generous family. In 1889 the parish
lost two old and valued communicants, Mrs. J. G. Reed and her daughter,
Mrs. Merriwether. They remembered the parish liberally in their wills.
February, 1890, the old church and rectory were sold for two thousand
dollars, with the privilege of using the church for two years and the owner-
ship of the furniture. A terrible cyclone struck the town March 27th. causing
loss to eleven church families, amounting to over twenty thousand dollars.
Rev. Mr. Jewell resigned July, 1890, the state of the church being as follows:
Communicants ninety-eight, Sunda}^ school sixty, current expenses seven
hundred and fifty-nine dollars, total expenses, one thousand three hundred
and nine dollars and seventy-one cents.
October 12, 1890, Rev. W. H. Bamford became rector and remained for
one year. Mr. Bamford insisted that the building of a parish house and rectory
were of equal importance with the building of the church.
The Rev. A. F. Todrig succeeded Mr. Bamford as rector.
July, 1892, the plans of Arthur Loomis for church and parish house
were accepted and the offer of Captain Ed. J. Howard for both, for the sum
of fourteen thousand f(jur hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty cents, was
accepted ; this did not include the furnishing of the church which was about
one thousand five hundred dollars. October 6, 1892, the corner stone was laid
with appropriate ceremonies. The list of principal contributors to the new
church, St. Paul's: Mrs. S. C. Ransom, four thousand dollars; Captain E. J.
Howard, five hundred dollars ; Joseph V. Reed, five hundred dollars ; R. M.
Hartwell, five hundred dollars; Mrs. Wilhelmina Zulauf, five hundred dollars;
Miss Hannah Zulauf, five hundred dollars ; John C. Zulauf, five hundred dol-
lars ; Mrs. John Read, five hundred dollars ; E. W. Fitch, five hundred dollars ;
Misses Ellen and Georgiana Shryer, three hundred dollars each ; Captain John
Hoffman two hundred and fifty dollars; Ladies' Guild, three thousand six
hundred and twenty-seven dollars ; Arthur Loomis, the architect, contributed
all the plans and superintendence of the work, which was in itself a large con-
tribution. Words should fail to express the gratitude of the congregation
to Mr. Loomis. Some of the other contributors were :
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 235
Thomas Sparks, !M. Z. Stannard, P. C. Donovan, J. A. Jenkins, J. C.
Lewman, S. D. Oglesby, IMrs. E. :\L :\Iyers, L. C. Baird, Mrs. C. Poindexter,
H. Peter, G. W. Lewman, John Adams, Mrs. I. J^Iyers, ^Irs. S. Simmonds,
Louis Girdler, J. D. Stewart, Eugene Frazer, J. E. Burke, Rev. Mr. Hutchin-
son, Mrs. J. L. Lewman.
Much praise is also due to Capt. Ed. J. Howard, tlie contractor, who has
saved the congregation one thousand five hundred dollars or two thousand
dollars in the cost of the church, and given more honest work than any other
would.
]\Larch i, 1894, Rev. Dr. C. Graham Adams accepted the rectorship of
this parish, and came at a time when a pilot at the helm was sorely needed.
A handsome rectorv was erected next to the church at a cost of five thousand
dollars.
Should the dead who took such an interest in the beginning and progress
of the parish, but revisit the scenes of their toils and trials, or the familiar and
cherished places which they loved on earth : should they be with us in the
Holy Temple, and listen to the prayers and sermons, the chants and hymns,
they w^ould not think they labored in vain.
Easter, 1897, a beautiful pipe organ was placed in the church by the
munificence of that ever-liberal and truly Christian lady, Mrs. S. A. Ransom.
It was built by the Pibcher Organ Company, of Louisville. In the sanctuary
of the church stands the beautiful white marble altar, the noble gift of the
Zulauf family. The Stealey family placed a fine memorial window in the
church. ^lany other gifts were given, as an altar rail, literary desk, pulpit, etc.
Comparison — A. D. 182 1, church property, three thousand dollars;
communicants, seventy-one; Sunday school average, forty; offering, eight
hundred and eighty-three dollars.
A. D. 1891, church property, two thousand five hundred dollars; com-
municants, one hundred ten ; offerings one thousand three hundred and nine
dollars ; Sunday school average, sixty.
A. D. 1893. church property, nine thousand eight hundred dollars; com-
municants, one hundred fifteen ; current expenses, nine hundred and eighty-
five dollars ; Sunday school average, forty-six.
A. D. 1897, church property twenty-seven thousand five hundred dollars;
communicants, one hundred eighty-five ; Sunday school, the 28th of November,
sixty-two present on the rolls ; current expenses, one thousand five hundred
and seventy-five dollars ; total offering, three thousand six hundred and fifty
dollars.
February 5. 1900. the Rev. C. Graham Adams resigned the rectorate,
and the Rev. Frank N. Chapman, of Kirksville, Missouri, was called June 8th.
Mr. Chapman served the parish about four years, resigning June i, 1904. In
October of this same vear the Rev. ]\lr. Bamford, who had ser^-ed the pari.sh
236 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
in 1891, but who had been in cliarge of St. Paul's at Madison since that time,
was called to the rectorate. He remained in charge of the parish until
February, 1908. During the two succeeding months the Rev. E. A. Xeville,
rector of St. Paul's, New Albany, gave such time as he could spare from his
own church. The Easter offering while Mr. Neville was temporarih' in
charge, was a large one.
The Rev. A. O. Bailey was called from Hartwell, Ohio, to assume the
rectorship and took charge in April, 1908. Mr. Bailey seemed to be able to
enthuse a new life in the people, and under his tactful and wise administration
the church is building up and strengthening itself in all the different phases
of parochial work. The vestry at present, 1908, is: J. Howard Fitch, senior
warden: Thomas Sparks, junior warden: Thomas Bohon, treasurer: Lewis
C. Baird, clerk ; John C. Zulauf, A. T. Allmond. \\'. J. Schwaninger
The church societies of St. Paul's, the St. Ag-nes Guild, the Woman''
Auxiliary and the Ladies' Guild are earnest and enthusiastic bodies. The St.
Agnes Guild was organized by the Rev. W. H. Bamford, during his first
rectorate and was strictly an altar guild, but it became ambitious and branched
out into other work Ijesides its altar duties. This guild erected the brass
railing- in front of the organ, and also gave the stone wall around the church
property. Part of the money for the wall was raised by entertainments, the
remaining one thousand dollars being a bequest to the St. Agnes Guild for
that purpose, by Miss Hannah Zulauf. Much of the best work (if the jjarish
has been accomplished by this guild. It has been a society of unmarried
women, so the members were expected to leave as soon as they changed their
names. The following are the officers at present: ]\Iiss Nora \\'liitesides,
president: Miss Bess Hoffman, treasurer; Mrs. Bettie Allmond, secretary.
The Woman's Auxiliar}' of St. Paul's was organized diu'ing the rectorate
of the Rev. F. C. Jewell. It is the missionary societv of the church. After
several years of activity it was discontinued, but was revived again bv Doctor
Adams. During the rectorate of Mr. Chapman it became a live factor in the
activities of the parish and the diocese. At that time the officers were :
President, ]\Irs. J. V. Reed : treasurer, Mrs. Thomas Sparks : secretary. Miss
Lila Jewett. This society has the reputation of being one of the most active
in the parish, and of being one of the best and strongest auxiliary branches
in the diocese. It has given twenty-five dollars each year to the arch-deacon's
salary, it has sent a number of very good boxes to different mission stations,
besides responding to many special appeals. It has distributed missionary lit-
erature and in many ways has endeavored to interest the parish in missions.
At present the work is being carried on by twenty-five members, with the fol-
lowing ofificers: President. Miss Lila Jewett: treasurer. Mrs. C. E. Poindex-
ter; secretary. Mrs. Lewis Girdler.
The Ladies' Guild of St. Paul's was first organized January i. 1837. and
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 237
with very few breaks in its service has had a continuous history to the present
day. This body of earnest women has accomplished a great deal for the
parish in various ways. It has raised much money for different church pur-
poses and is one of the strongest societies in the parish.
St. Paul's Sunday school has the most modern organization of any Sun-
day school in the county. The new method of adopting the graded system of
the public schools for Sunday school work has worked wonders
in the school, and the systematic study of the Bible, the church and
the prayer book is carried on up clear through a high school course. The use
of this new method and an excellent staff of enthusiastic teachers presages a
bright future for this school. A system of home study for those who cannot
attend regularly has just been organized, and will afford an opportunity to
many to take up a study of church subjects and learn more of the church and
her ways.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.
(By J. V. Biggert.)
The history of the Baptists in Clark county, Indiana, is most peculiar and
sad. but withal, very interesting. It is peculiar and sad because of its many
trials, discords and divisions, thereby weakening the local strength of the Bap-
tists and their doctrines of faith and practice ; interesting because of its early
date in the history of the country, its continued existence through its many
trials, and its influence for good in the cause of Christianity.
In the year 1765 representatives from Baptist churches met at Phila-
delphia and adopted what is commonly known among Baptists of today as the
"Philadelphia confession of faith."
In the brief space alloted in this work it is impossible to give in detail the
facts contained in this document, but it is probably sufficient to say that it de-
clares the "Bible to be the only infallible, sufficient, certain rule of all saving
knowledge, faith and obedience," and teaches the doctrine of regeneration as
prerequisite to salvation, a principle peculiar to the Baptists and the promulga-
tion of which relieves the Baptists of the unkind and unjust criticism of the
term, "close communists" (communionists).
On November 22, 1798, the first evangelical church organized in the
territory west of Cincinnati, Ohio, was called into existence by the announce-
ment of the following constitution, which is copied from Elder William H.
McCoy's pamphlet entitled, "The oldest church in Indiana" :
"We. the church of Christ, on Owens creek in the county of Knox, and
territory northwest of the Ohio river, in the Illinois grant, were constituted as
238 BAIRd's history of CLARK CO., IND.
a churcli on the principles of the Baptist Confession of Faith, adopted at Phil-
adelphia in the year of our Lord 1765. Being constituted by Brother Isaac
Edwards, we have hereunto set our hands this twenty-second day of Xo\-em-
ber. 1798. John Fislar, John Pettet. Sophia Fislar, Cattern Pettet."
Thus two men and their wives constituted the first e\angelical church in
the Northwest Territory, "A Baptist Church," originally known as "Fourteen
Mile Church." because of its location on Owens creek, which was soon after-
wards and to this day, known as Fourteen Mile creek.
The church was subsequently called the Charlestown Baptist church and
is now known more commonly as the Silver creek Baptist church, Isaac Ed-
wards, who organized the church, was a Baptist preacher from Kentucky, but
the records of the church show no further reference to him immediatelv fol-
lowing the organization.
The first recorded meeting of this church following its organization was
held on Februaiy 16. 1799, at which time William Kellar was chosen mod-
erator and John Pettet church clerk.
The former was at this time pastor of the chuixh, being a Baptist preach-
er from Kentuck}-. On July 16, 1799. the first additions to the church are
recorded, viz : James Abbett and Margaret Abbett by letter and Ste]ihen Ship-
man by experience and baptism.
James Abbett was chosen pastor on ]\Iarch 13, 1802, and tlie same day
the church "agreed to attend to communion and washing feet." However,
at the meeting in the following June the records read, "that as considerable
light was shown upon the thirteenth chapter of John by several of the mem-
bers present, the matter of washing feet was deferred."
On December 11, 1802, James Abbett, the pastor, was excluded for the
"heinous and abominable crime of falsehood."
On July 8, 1801. Elisha Carr was received by experience and baptism.
For some time following, the meetings of the church were held at the resi-
dence of Elisha Carr, on Silver creek, near the present location of the Charles-
town or Silver creek church. In April and May, 1803, the matter of building
was considered and in December, 1804. an amount had been secured suffi-
cient to erect a comfortable log house on "Silver creek, near the mouth of
Sinking Fork," on ground donated for the purpose.
In 1818 the house had become too small and too old to be sen-iceable and
it was agreed to build a brick house on a piece of ground donated by Elisha
Carr, near the old house. This house was forty-six by twenty-eight feet and
it was completed and ready for occupancy November 27, 1824. the trustees
at the time of building being John McCoy. John Bowel and Jonah Harris.
The church prospered greatly for thirty years, and was the leading church of
all denominations in Clark and adjoining counties. It was also the "Mother
Church" in all the surrounding territory, the following named churches in
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 239
Clark county being organized by members of the Charlestown church : Xew
Providence (Borden). 1820: Jeffersonville. 1839: Utica (probably), 1844;
Memphis, 1858. In addition to these, many of the Baptist churches in Wash-
ington and Scott counties as well as the church at New Albany were the re-
sult of aggressive work on the part of this church. In 1829 the first serious
problems confronted the church in dealing with the questions advocated in the
"Christian Baptist," edited by Alexander Campbell. The articles of faith on
which the church was constituted were voted out. and a split resulted, the di-
vision taking place on May 23, 1829.
Each party met at the church, but the minority being aggrieved at the
action of the majority and its continued persistence, on April 23. 182c). with-
drew to the "shade" near a large basin not far from the church, and here it
was that this minority received the approbrious epithet, "The Sink-Hole
Elect." Here in the shade, with prayers and tears, they prepared a remon-
strance and detemiined to stand fast, maintain the Baptist faith, ask their con-
stitutional rig-hts and declare themselves. "The Silver Creek Baptist church."
The two branches continued to occupy the house, alternately, until about
1834. when the majority built a commodious and neat house in Sellersburg
and styled themselves the "Silver Creek Christian church." On December 4.
1858, the majority gave its entire right and title in the old meeting-house to
the Charleston Baptist church. The schism of 1829 caused by the propaga-
tion of the principles advocated in the Christian Baptist resulted in the adop-
tion of extreme views by those of the minority. However, the strict adher-
ence of these few to what they believed to be the scriptural teaching regard-
ing missionary activity soon led to renewed growth and for a number of years
the little church was again prosperous. We find also that from this early
church went out as missionaries to the Indians, Rev. Isaac McCoy, Christiana
McCoy, Eliza McCoy and Sarah Osgood. At present the church house still
stands, but is used very little except for funeral ser\'ices. The location is
rather isolated, the settlement being now along the railroad and in Sellers-
burg, and there is probably little future for the church. In Jeffersonville the
Baptist church was organized on June 22, 1839, the meeting being held on
Sunday afternoon in the Presbyterian church, the following being the con-
stituent members : Mason J. Howell, Eleanor Howell, by letters from Spencer
county, Indiana : Judith Halstead, by letter from Cincinnati, Ohio : Asa
Marsh, by letter from Madison. Indiana; \\'i]liam ]\IcCoy. by letter from
Charlestown, Indiana : Levi Hall, Esther Hall. Sarah Shrj-er. James Gill,
baptized in the Ohio river at foot of Pearl street. Sunday. June 22. 1839.
Besides these there were present seven ministers and five laymen from
points in Kentucky. Indiana. Missouri and Louisiana. Rev. William C. Buck
was the first pastor, and the church met regularly on Saturday afternoon of
each week in the Presbyterian church until a house was built on the southwest
comer of Pearl and Market, where subsequent meetings were held.
240 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Whether or not this house belonged to the organization or was only
leased could not be learned, but some time later the organization built a house
on leased ground on the south side of Market street between Wall and Locust
streets, but owing to what was termed an exhorbitant rental for the real estate,
the church bought a lot on the opposite side of the street where the residence
of Capt. William Howard now stands, and the house was moved to this lot.
]\Ieetings continued here until some time in 1866, according to the best infor-
mation, when the house was destroyed by fire. It is presumed that the records
of the church were destroyed in this fire, as nothing can be found between
October 21, 1856, and January 15. 1869. It is rather a peculiar coincidence
that on the night of the fire a business meeting was held in the church and the
matter under consideration brought about a division of the church, the minor-
ity organizing the Enon Baptist church. This latter organization held meet-
ings for some time in the old engine house on W^est Maple street, until the
present house on the square below was built in 1868.
This organization of the Enon Baptist church was wholly uncalled for
and the church was doomed to failure. The pastor of this organization, tak-
ing advantage of the opportunity, solicited aid to rebuild the church which
was destroyed by fire and used the money for the Enon church, and while the
buncHng was completed and occupied, the church was not sufficiently strong
to live.
In the meantime the original organization had held meetings at various
points throughout the city and soon purchased the property of the Episco-
palians on West Chestnut street, near Pearl. Here many overtures were made
to secure a union of the two churches, but all to no avail, as both sides were
unwilling to make concessions, and finally after most of the Enon member-
ship had returned, few at a time, to the parent church, the house passed to the
control of Capt. Ed. J. Howard, from whom it was purchased by the First
Baptist church on June. 1880.
Wliile still holding meetings in the Chestnut street property the First
church called to its pastorate a young man then at the Seminary in Louisville,
Rev. Nelson B. Rariden, and during this pastorate perhaps greater progress
was made than at any time in the previous history of the church.
The Rev. Mr. Rariden is now one of the prominent men of the denomina-
tion, being District Secretary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society,
having charge of the work west of the Mississippi river.
Notablv among the men who have served this church are the following:
Rev. E. F. Strickland, who together with George C. Lorimer, was an actor
plaving an engagement in the old Third Street Theater in Louisville, when
thev were visited by a couple of the women and prevailed on to attend a serv-
ice then being held in one of the Louisville churches. They were both con-
verted and immediately went into the ministn,-. Rev. Strickland sen'ing the
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 24I
church in Jeffersonville during his term in the seminary. He is now one of
the prominent men in the denumination. Rev. F. C. ^VlcConnell, at present
pastor of one of the largest cliurches in Kansas City and considered one of
the ablest men in the Southern Baptist convention, served the First Baptist
church in this city about 1880-1. With all of the difficulties and trials which
the church appears to have experienced the organization is at the present time
in a very prosperous condition, and, in fact, this is true with respect to the
Borden church, which has had a seemingly peaceful existence. A peculiar
thing is the fact that along the entire northern bank of the Ohio river in
the state of Indiana, the Baptists are as a rule weak. Located as they are at
Jefifersonville and the immediate surrounding country' in the very pale of the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at Louisville, it appears that they
should be very strong, but for some unknown reason the seminary appears to
have been a hindrance rather than a help. But with all the struggles and dis-
couragements, the several churches are not satisfied : they seek enlargement ;
they desire to do even greater things for the cause of Christianity. They have
been cast down, but not forsaken ; discouraged, but not despondent. Through
it all the spirit of the Master has inspired and lead, and with an unwavering
faith in Him, they pray, labor and wait, looking forward with hope to the
time, "when Christ shall come the second time without sin unto salvation."
16
CHAPTER XXIII.
METHODISM IX CLARK COUNTY.
Early in 1801 there came to Clark's grant a young man named Samuel
Parker. He was not yet licensed to pi each but deep in his soul he had felt the
call of God to cross the river from his native Kentucky and preach the gospel
of peace and love to the settlers in Indiana. He went from house to house,
preaching and exhorting. Later he was joined by Edward Talbott. another
earnest young Kentuckian. and the two held a great camp meeting at Spring-
ville. then the only town in the county, except Clarksville. This was the first
seed sown.
The next year Benjamin Lakin. a traveling preacher of the Salt River
and Shelby circuit of Kentucky, visited the Methodists in the grant and or-
ganized societies at Gazaway's, Robertson's and Jacob's, Gazaway's is now
Salem, three miles southeast of Charlestown: Robertson's, Bethel, three miles
northeast, and Jacob's, New Chapel on the plank road. These three societies
were added to the Salt River circuit, which already embraced all of Kentucky.
Northern Tennessee, and most of Illinois and Indiana, a district covering hun-
dreds of miles of almost unbroken wilderness, and all traveled by one man.
What his salary was we do not find recorded, but in 1S15 the circuit preacher's
munificent stipend was fifteen dollars and ninety-seven and one-fourth cents,
and the presiding elder's nothing. Verily those were the days when men
preached truth for truth's sake and esteemed the reward of conscience higher
than the praise of men.
In 1803 Rev. ^Ir. R. Lakin was given entire charge of the circuit and in
1804 was succeeded by the noted Peter Cartwright. At the close of the year
1806 the grant was made into a separate circuit and named Silver Creek. In
1807 the first church was erected, old Bethel meeting house. It was a rude
log cabin built on the farm of Nathan Robertson, one of five brothers, who
were pioneers of Methodism in Clark county. Bethel meeting house is still
in existence. It was used for fift}^ years, then sold and removed to the farm
of John Stanger, where for many years it served as a stable. Fast falling into
decay the old house was purchased in 1902 by a committee appointed by the
Indiana Conference of the Methodist church, the intention being to place it
on the old site and restore it as nearly as possible to its original condition. On
the brow of the hill it stands again, while below on the sloping hillside sleep
the men and women who long ago traveled the wilderness roads, gun in hand.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXU. 243
to worship God in the old log church, and thus it serves as a fitting memorial
of the days that are past and calls to the minds of the new generation, the
sacrifices and toils of the fathers and mothers of Methodism.
In 1803 Ralph Lotsprech, a traveling preacher, was sent into the grant to
assist Benjamin Lakin. and soon after A\'illiam Huston was also employed in
traveling and preaching in the grant.
Quoting from a letter of the Rev. George Knight Hester to his son. As-
bury : "It is believed that the first society that ever was formed in the state
was organized at old Father Robertson's. It has sometimes been supposed that
the first society was formed at Gazaway's, but Brother Hezekiah Robertson
distinctly recollects that the first society was formed at his father's, and Sister
Gazaway has often been heard to say to female members when excusing them-
selves for their neglect in attending class-meetings on account of distance that
she had uniformly gone to Nathan Robertson's to class every two weeks, a
distance of four miles, which makes it evident that the first class was organized
there. And this must have been done in the spring of 1803, when Lakin and
Lotsprech, who were at this time tra\-eling the Shelby circuit, came over the
Ohio river and took them into their work, for there were a few scattered mem-
bers in the wilderness, and these faithful pastors would gather them into the
church fellowship at the earliest possible time, and this probably was done in
the month of April or !May of 1803."
These brethren were succeeded the following conference year by the
Revs. A. McGuire and Fletcher Sullivan. Following these preachers came
Benjamin Lakin and Peter Cartwright. Peter Cartwright was in Capt. David
Robb's company at Tippecanoe. He was the man who ran against xA.braham
Lincoln for membership in the Illinois Legislature and defeated him.
In 1805 Lakin and Cartwright were succeeded by Asa Shin and Moses
Ashworth, and they continued in charge until the fall of 1806.
In 1807 Joseph Olesley and Frederick Hood were the regular preachers.
Hood did not continue long as there was some objection raised against him
on account of his connection with slavery. He declined traveling in this circuit,
but Olesley continued. At the close of the year 1807 it was thought best to
strike off the Illinois grant into a separate circuit, and Moses Ashworth was
sent to take charge in 1808. A two weeks' circuit was established and this was
soon after changed to a three weeks' circuit. The boundaries and work of the
circuit continued to grow until in 181 5 it was an eight weeks' circuit, yet had
only one traveling preacher. Ashworth's last year on Silver Creek circuit, as
it was called, closed with a great camp meeting held near Robertson's. It was
a novel afifair and was attended by great multitudes of people.
The old Bethel meeting house, erected in 1807. was the first IMethodist
church erected in Indiana, and in this church the first Christian meeting per-
haps ever held in this part of the state was held this year. James Garner
244 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND.
preached on the occasion from the following text: "We have seen His star in
the East, and have come to worship Him."
Up to 1809 local brethren supplied the newly settled country, but in 1809
and 1810 there were marked revivals of religion. Preaching was introduced
into Charlestown in 1809, and strange as it may seem, at this day, no house
could be found large enough to accommodate the crowds. The early camp
meetings of those days were occasions where scenes were enacted which seem
strange to those of our time and age. The nervous and hysterical state to
which many of the hearers were wrought produced an excitement which was
intense. Men and women often rolled on the ground and lay sobbing or shout-
ing. An affection called the "jerks" prevailed at many meetings, and while
under the influence the victim would plunge and pitch about with convulsive
energy. The nerves of many became uncontrollable, and they became affected
with what was called the "holy laugh," in which the mouth was distorted with
a hideous grin, while the victim gave vent to a maniac's chuckle, and every
muscle and nerve of the face twitched and jerked in horrible spasms. The ex-
hortations of the workers moving among the audience, and the shoutings of
hysterical enthusiasts or "converted" sinners, produced an indescribable con-
fusion and excitement. Scenes such as these, or sometimes worse, prevailed
at most of the religious meetings of this kind in those days. Happily they
have disappeared and a quiet and more serious reflection has superseded the
nervous hysteria which marked the great assemblages for public worship in
the early years of the nineteenth century.
The War of 181 2, and the incident brutalities and butcheries, which our
British cousins incited the Indians to commit, was a setback to the spread of
the Gospel throughout the whole state of Indiana. The traveling preachers
continued to travel some time after the Indian disturbances began, but at last
they gave it up and left the country, and local preachers supplied. One quar-
terly meeting, held about this time, within five miles of Charlestown, had
neither presiding elder nor circuit preacher, and but a handful of people.
In 18 1 9 occurred the second great revival, and its results were felt
throughout the whole of the circuit. Such a thing as a Sunday school was
unheard of for many years by the first settlers of the county, and the first pro-
posal to start one was met with great opposition, and by some too, who were
official members of the church, as being a reflection on the citizens and citizen-
ship of the locality, as not being able to school their own children.
In 1825 the Illinois Conference was held at Charlestown. and embraced
the whole of the states of Indiana and Illinois. Bishop McKendree and
Bishop Roberts were in attendance, as was also Peter Cartwright. About
182 1 the Silver Creek circuit was united with the Charlestown circuit. James
Armstrong served this circuit for about two years, but it had grown so large
that it was impossible for one man to perform the work.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IXD. 245
WALL STREET METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, JEFFERSONVILLE.
The churclies in the circuit were gradually becoming stronger, and in
1833 the church in Jeffersonville was separated from the circuit and made a
station, of which the celebrated Edward R. Ames became the first pastor.
During the pastorate of Reverends Moore and ^IcMurray, trustees had al-
ready been appointed for the First Methodist church, namely ; James Keigwin,
Charles Slead, Andrew Fite, David Grismore, Aaron Applegate and Nelson
Rozzle. The date of the appointment of the trustees is June 25, 1833, but the
deed^of the first church was not made until after 1840, by \\'illiam Heart to
James Keigwin. Charles Slead, David Grismore, Leonard Swartz and William
D. Beach, as trustees. The church was finished in 1835. This church stood
on Wall street, between Chestnut and Market streets, south of the alley.
James Keigwin laid all the brick in the building as his subscription.
In 1840 Wall street church had grown so that an addition was built,
making the building like a "hemp rope factory," as Dr. T. M. Eddy, one of
the early pastors, remarked. In 1858 the necessity for a larger and more com-
modious house of worship becoming apparent, the question was vigorously dis-
cussed and January 1 1, 1859, at a quarterly meeting, on motion of William L.
Beach, a committee was appointed to report a plan and estimates for a new
church. The question of a site was a ver\' absorbing one, and many places
were considered, especially the lots upon which St. Augustine's Roman Cath-
olic church and George H. Holzbog & Bros." carriage factorv now stand, but
at last all agreed upon the lot where stood the house in which the first society
was organized. The deed was given by Mrs. Ann Tuley on May 6, 1859. and
June 6, 1859, the corner stone was laid. In October of the same year the brick
work was completed, and April 22, i860 the basement was dedicated by
Bishop Thomas Bowman. In November, 1863, the steeple, including belfry,
clock tower and spire, surmounted by a cross, was erected. The erection of
this cross caused considerable dissention among the members as it was un-
fortunately not usual for Protestant churches to be surmounted by the Chris-
tian symbol. The main auditorium was not dedicated until July 16, 1865,
under the pastorate of the Rev. J. K. Pye. The dedicatory sermon was
preached by the Rev. Dr. Thomas M. Eddy upon the subject, "Now is the
Judgment of this ^'\'orld : Now Shall the Prince of this W^orld be Cast Out."
The total cost of the new edifice was near twenty-five thousand dollars.
The Board of Trustees was composed of B. C. Pyle. \^''illiam D. Beach. R. S.
Heiskell. Peter Myers and W'illiam S. Jacobs, of whom i\Ir. Jacobs is the sole
sur\nvor. and to this day a trustee and a member, whom everyone delights to
honor. Tlie present edifice was enlarged by the addition of an organ loft in
1892.
The church has had two parsonage properties. The first was erected
246 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
during the pastorate of Dr. T. M. Eddy in 1850, and consisted of four rooms.
It was built upon the west half of the lot at the southwest corner of Wall and
Chestnut streets and the east half was sold to satisfy a claim for brick work
on the house. A number of years afterward the house was remodeled and en-
larged and is now owned and occupied by Mrs. Elizabeth Liston. The last
parsonage was erected during the pastorate of Rev. V. W. Tevis, and is one
of the most modern and beautiful homes in the city. Upon the death of Felix
Lewis, the church was able to obtain the lot adjoining the church on the corner,
and the whole is now a very valuable piece of property.
The pastors of the Wall Street church, beginning with Benjamin Lakin,
are as follows :
Benjamin Lakin 1802
■ Adjet McGuire 1803
Peter Cartwright 1804
Asa Shin and D. Young 1805
Frederick Hood 1806
Moses Ashworth 1807
Josiah Crawford 1808
Sela Payne 1809
Isaac Lindsey 1810
Gabriel Woodfill 181 1
\\'illiam AIcMahon and Thomas Nelson 1812
James Garner 1813
Charles Harrison and Elijah Sutton 18 14
Shadrack Ruark 1815
Joseph Kincaid 1816
Joseph Purnal 1817
John Cord 1818
David Sharp 1819
Calvin Ruter and Job W. Baker 1820
Calvin Ruter and William Cravens 1821
James Armstrong 1822-23
Samuel Hamilton and Calvin Ruter 1824
James Thompson and Isaac Verner 1825
Allen Wiley and James Randle 1826
Allen Wiley and James Gamer 1827
George Lock, Calvin Ruter and Enoch G. Ward 1828
I. W. ]\IcReynolds and James Scott 1829
James Scott and I. W. McReynolds 1830
James L. Thompson , 183 1
\\'illiam Moore and D. M. Murray 1832
BAIRU S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
247
Edward R. Ames
W. V. Daniels
Zech Gaines and John \V. Eayless
John W. Bayless
John Kearns
William H. Good 1838-
T. C. Holliday 1840-
William V. Daniels
Hosier Durbin
William Morrow
James Jones
\\'alter Prescott 1846-
T. M. Eddy 1848-
James Hill 1850-
Jiles C. Smith
Enoch G. Wood 1853-
F. A. Hester 1855-
S. B. Falkenberg'
J. ^^'. Sullivan 1858-
J. S. Tevis
T. G. Beharrel 1861-
Elijah D. Long and John K. Pve 1863-
John K. Pye '. 1864-
\\'illiam H. Harrison
G. P. Jenkins 1867-1868-
J. G. Cheffee 1870-
T. \\'. Locke 1872-
^^■. \\'. Snyder 1874-
Rev. E. L. Dolph 1876-1877-
John S. Tevis 1879-1880-
George L. Curtiss 1882-
G. P. Jenkins
R. Roberts 1885-1886-
J. H. Doddridge .\ 1888-
Virgil W. Tevis 1890-1891-
Charles Tinsley 1893-1894-1895-
James T. O'Neal .\ 1897-1898-
George D. ^^'olff
Charles E. Asbury 1901-1902-1903-
John S. Ward 1905-1906-1907-
833
834
835
836
837
839
841
842
843
844
845
847
849
851
852
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Among the most prominent men who have been pastors of Wall Street
248 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
church may be mentioned Edward R. Ames, who laecame missionary secre-
tar\- and later bishop.
The Rev. Moses Ashworth buih the Bethel meeting house, and the Rev.
James Garner preached the first Christmas sermon in this part of Indiana.
During the pastorate of the Rev. J. \Y. Sullivan the present church building
was begun.
The greatest revival ever held in Wall Street church was in the year
1867. and continued for one hundred days, during which time there were two
hundred sixty confessed conversions and three hundred forty-nine accessions
to the church.
Among the early class leaders were Andrew Fite. James Keigwin, Robert
Heiskell and Charles Slead.
Among the members who contributed much to the success of the \\'all
Street church was Dr. Robert Curran. Doctor Curran was a holv man and
one who took a lively interest in the church.
Robert Heiskell^ William D. Beach, B. C. Pile, John \\' Ray, I. N. In-
gram, Rev. Samuel Bottorff, Jonathan Johnson and wife and others were
prominent in the affairs of the church for many j'ears.
\\'all Street church has had several off-shoots : Port Fulton was organized
in 1849: the German ^lethodist Episcopal church had its first members, men
and women, from Wall Street. In 1868, twenty-two members of Wall Street
organized Morton Chapel, later on called Morton Memorial Church South.
Wesley Chapel in Ohio Falls, and Harrison Avenue Chapel, in Howard
Park are also offsprings.
In 1867 the first organ was placed in the church and although its advent
was the cause of much talk, yet no division nor withdrawals took place. In
1891 the Epworth League was organized. In 1859 the Woman's Mission-
ary Society was organized by Mrs. Seymour. The Young Ladies' Mission-
ary' Society was organized a few years later, and the Standard Bearers, a
societv for voung folks, still later. As far back as 18^0 there was a flourish-
ing sewing society.
At present Wall Street church has seven hundred forty full members,
twenty-nine probationers and four hundred thirty scholars in the Sunday
school. The church building is valued at fifteen thousand dollars and the
parsonage at five thousand dollars.
PORT FULTON METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The church was organized in the year 1849. Among its first members
were the following: Rev. E. L. Dolph. Nancy French, Mrs. Ault. Henr}'
French. Ann Buckley. William Prather and Ann Prather. There were early
circumstances that led to the formation of this church that in this space it
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 249
will be impossible to print. At the session of the Indiana conference of 1850.
Rev. F. \\'. White was appointed to Port Fulton charge, which embraced the
following appointments : Fort Fulton. Asbuiw chapel, Louisville, Kentucky,
(known as the Point) and Preston Street church, three appointments.
The stewards met in Asbury church and fixed the amount of the pastor's
salary at one hundred dollars, besides an allowance for board and traveling
expenses, which was raised outside of the membership.
The second Sabbath of May, 1850, the first Sunday school was organized
in the east end of the "double house on the hill," as it was then called. At
'that time it was nwned l)y Henr\- French, Ijut is now owned liy the ^loore
family.
It was seated with seond-hand school benches while a nicely covered
drv goods box was used as a pulpit. E. L. Dolph was chosen as the tirst super-
intendent, a position he held for a number of years.
The teachers were the following: ]\Irs. JMartha Howard Baird, Miss
Sallie French, Miss Mary Prather, Miss Frank Ault, nuw :\rrs. Josiah Dor-
sev, ;\Irs. Lightcap, Mrs. Mary Prather Holmes.
Although the room in which the church was organized was small, yet
a verv successful revi\'al meeting was held.
One of the first converts was Aaron \\'ootan, whose conversion was so
wonderful that its influence affected the whole community.
Reverend \Miite took up a subscription to build a church, and so success-
ful was he that early in the spring of 185 1 the erection of the church was com-
menced and was completed in time for dedication in the following July. The
dedication sermon was preached by Rev. Thomas M. Eddy. The building
cost one thousand six hundred dollars. In 1851 Port Fulton was attached
to Wall Street. Revs. James Hill and F. S. Potts were appointed to the
charge. From that time on the church began to grow in numbers and
financial strength.
After this came the following pastors: Sheets, Collins, Curtis, Marlatt,
Wood, Maule, Sargent, Sheets, O'Beyrne, Ruddell, Machlan, Kinnear. Sheets,
IMendall, Beharrell, McMillan, Kennedy, Farr, ]\Iurphy, Reynolds, Jones,
Grigsby, Thomas, Smidi, Henninger. Stout, Dolph and Jerman, now serving
his third year.
In June, 1899, subscription lists were opened for the purpose of raising
money to build a parsonage, and with the generous assistance of Capt. E. J.
Howard, of the ship yards, who gave them a fine lot, the parsonage was soon
completed. Captain Howard was also the donor of the bell which hangs in
the belfry of the church. In ^Nlay, 1900, the semi-centennial of the founding
of the cliurch was most appropriately held.
At present the membership of Port Fulton church is about one hundred
250 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND.
sixty-five. Its Sunday school lias one hundred and twenty-five scholars and
sixteen teachers. The church building, on the northwest corner of ]\Iarket
and Jefferson streets, is worth two thousand four hundred dollars and the
parsonage at No. no Market street is worth about one thousand five hun-
dred dollars.
CHARLESTOWN.
The town of Charlestown has a very prosperous and influential congre-
gation of i\Iethodists. Of the later history of the Charlestown church but
little can be learned, but its earlier history is that of the grant, as the earliest
ser\'ices held in this locality were held near Charlestown. The church here
is one of the three full stations in Clark county, Wall Street in Jeft'ersonville,
and Port Fulton being the other two. The church building at Charlestown
is a substantial brick structure. It was dedicated in 1854 by Bishop Ames.
There is also a good parsonage, offering a comfortable and convenient home
for the pastor. It is valued at three thousand dollars. The congregation
numbers about three hundred souls.
NEW W'A.SHINGTON CIRCUIT.
The New Washington Circuit at present consists of six chapels: New
Washington, Mount Zion, New Hope, Bethlehem, Saiem and Shiloh. Salem
Chapel is about three miles southeast of Charlestown and was originally Gaza-
ways, one of the first three societies organized in the county by Benjamin
Lakin. The congregation now numbers sixty. The New Washington church
at New Washington is not very strong, having only thirty-seven members
reported at the last conference. Mount Zion was reported as having ninety
members; New Hope, twenty; Bethlehem, seventy, and Shiloh, fifty.
Shiloh lays between Westport landing and Hibernia. It is one of those
temples which we all turn to intuitively ; one whose history awakens the hap-
piest and tenderest emotions. Its first members w-ere Thomas Allen and wife,
John Lever and wife. Job Ingram and wife, Jacob Bottorff and family, John
Hutchins and wife. Calvin and John Rutter were the first preachers. They
were brothers, men devoted to the work they had chosen. In 1854 the old
house of worship was replaced by a better building. This society is fairly
prosperous.
The church at Bethlehem is the only one in the extreme east end of the
county. The Methodist church in this end of the county sprang from a long
series of successful revivals. On the same section where Jacob Giltner ran his
horse mill in 1808, but on the northeast corner, lived Melsin Sargent. His
house stood on the road which led to New Washington, one and one-half
miles from the present post-office of Otto. Sargent was one of the first ]\Ieth-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 25I
odists in this end of the county, and at his house the services of the denomina-
tion were held for many years. His house was always open to preaching, and
was the regular place of worship up to 1836. Sargent moved to Jefferson
county, Indiana, and died many years ago. The people who gathered at
Sargent's were of various religious professions. ]\Iany of the richest experi-
ences of this class were enjoyed there, while the church was just beginning
to feel the healthful currents of a sound body politic. From these meetings
the New Hope ^Methodist Episcopal church sprang into existence : l)ut during
the time which elapsed previous to 1836, the }ear the church building was
erected, services were often held in the dwelling houses of Michael Bern- and
Eli Watkins. The church was erected in the year above mentioned, and was
the first church of this denomination put up in the township. The old house
was used until 1871, when it was replaced by another frame, thirty bv forty-
two feet. Rev. Calvin Ruter was probably the first preacher. He was a man
of great influence among the members, and afterwards became presiding elder.
Rev. Samuel Hamilton succeeded Mr. Ruter as presiding elder. He also was
much admired for his excellent character. Rev. James L. Thompson, John
McRunnels, Thomas Scott, Allen Wylie, James Garner and George Lock came
in succession after Hamilton. Then came Enoch G. Wood, a person of great
influence and possessed of an unblemished character. Rev. Joseph Tasking-
ton and John Miller were here in 1833 ^^'^'^ 1834, the latter a man of many
fine parts. Rev. Zachariah Games and Thomas Gunn came next, Mr. Gunn
preaching in 1835. Revs. George Beswick and McElroy (the latter an Irish-
man and by profession a sailor), John Bayless, W. V. Daniels, were all here
in 1836-37-38. Rev. John Rutledge ser\'ed one year. After him came Rev.
Isaac Owens, who preached in 1839-40-41. In 1843 Charles Bonner served
the people. Rev. Constantine Jones was their circuit preacher for one year.
Rev. Lewis Hulbert, assisted by Elisha Caldwell, was the preacher in 1844.
Then came Revs. ^^'ilHam McGinnis, L. V. Crawford. John Malinder,
Doctor Talbott. E. Flemming. Amos Bussey, and William jNIaupin. These
latter persons bring it down to 1854. The first members were Eli Watkins,
Melsin Sargent, John Tyson, Daniel Ketcham, Levi Ogle, Michael Berry,
John ^^^ Jones and Samuel ^^'hiteside, all with their wives and a portion of
their families.
HEXRYVILLE CIRCUIT.
The Henrvville Circuit consists of five chapels and is at present under
the charge of the Rev. W. H. Thompson. The chapels are located as follows :
Henrvville at Henryville, ^Memphis at ^Memphis, Underwood at Cnderwood,
Mount Olive and Xew Chapel in the adjacent country. The first preaching
place in this cummunity was Little Union, a school-house, which was built
about the year 1830. It was a hewn log building with an old-fashioned fire-
252 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
place. This building we are told was used by all denominations then worship-
ping in this community. This house was built about one-half mile northwest
of Henryville. on the ground now known as the Little Union graveyard.
About the year 1835 the Methodists organized and built what was known
as the Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal church. It was built on the farm of
the Rev. Seymour Guernsey in the plat of ground now known as the Mount
Zion cemetery. This house was built of hewn logs, many of them poplar, and
was perhaps twenty-four by thirty-six feet in size. In 1839 the west end of
the house was sawed out and an addition of frame added. This house was
used as a preaching place until some time in the sixties. Henrvville had
grown to have enough members of the Methodist church to reasnnablv expect
that sen-ice should be held in the town, so by the consent of the Presbyterians,
the Methodists used the Presbyterian church, a frame structure, standing on
the bank of Wolf Run, a few rods east of the preserit Henrvville seminary.
The old Mount Zion church underwent some repairs about this time, and
was used for a number of years as a shelter in time of storm for those who
came to bury their dead. About the year 1871 the society got together and
concluded to build a church in Henryville. They selected a mechanic, known
as Uncle Sammy ^^'illiams, as foreman, and the house was dedicated early
in the vear 1872 with the name of Williams Chapel. In this house the people
worshiped until the year 1908. The church having been remodeled through
the instrumentality of the pastor. Rev. Lit Peck, was re-dedicated April 26.
1908.
The Mount Olive Methodist Episcopal class was first known as the ]\Iount
Moriah class, which was organized in 1828 some three and a half miles south-
east of the present town of Henryville. In 1859 or i860 the class was moved
nearly a mile from the former place to Oakland school-house, where the people
worshiped regularly until 1871, when Mount Lebanon Presbyterian church
was built. The Methodists worshiped with them in the same building until
1899 under Rev. U. G. Abbott, when the people began building the present
frame building called Mount Olive church about one mile north of the
Mount Lebanon Chapel, and three miles southeast of Henryville. It was com-
pleted under Rev. J. L. Cooper and dedicated in 1900.
Willey's Chapel, Methodist Episcopal class, was organized in 1885, in the
Forest Grove school-house by Rev. J. M. Norton, where the people worshiped
until 1886, when the present frame building was erected and dedicated. It
stands about five miles southwest of Henn-ville. The class around which the
people at Willey's chapel rallied was a few survivors of the old "Boweiy
Chapel" church, erected in early times about one mile west of Memphis. W'hen
Bowery ceased to be used for church purposes this class erected the old "Gum
Log" meeting house at Blue Lick, which served as a place of meeting for
manv vears, but at this time, 1886. had gone to decav. and most of the mem-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND. 253
bers had either died or scattered. The few remaining ones constituted the
first class at Wihey's chapel. The leaders were Joel Rose and John King.
The Underwood JNIethodist Episcopal class was organized in the year
1883. and was known as the Summit class. During this same rear the frame
church building was erected, where the people worshiped regularly until No-
vember, 1908, when under the pastorate of the Rev. W. H. Thompson, Ph.
B., the church was enlarged and completely remodeled. This building was
re-dedicated by the Rev. M. B. Hyde, D. D., the district superintendent of
Seymour district.
Memphis Methodist Episcnpal church was built by the Baptist society
in 1870, but was sold the same year at Sheriff's sale to Daniel Guernsey, who
turned it over to the Methodist congregation, which was at that time worship-
ing in the schonl-house. It stands in the present town of jMemphis, having
escaped the fire in 1901, which destroyed nearly the whole town.
HISTORY OF THE OTISCO CHURCH AND CIRCUIT.
The Otisco society was organized early in 1870 in the school-house, with
only eleven members, none of which are now living. It was organized by
Rev. Peter H. Bottorff, as local elder. He is now living on a farm in ITica
township, near Utica, Indiana. At that time Enoch G. ^^'ood was presiding
elder. The following pastors served while they worshiped in the school-house :
In the fall of 1870 Rev. W. H. Widman was sent on the work; his year was
completed by Rev. Jacob Ruddle. Rev. A. M. Louden served one year, from
1871 to 1872. Rev. Thomas Brooks served one year, from 1872 to 1873:
Rev. A. G. Aldridge one year, from 1873 to 1874. Rev, Henn.' Morrow,
one year, from 1874 to 1875. Then came the Rev. W. H. Burton, who
served three years in all, from 1875 to 1878. During his first year's
work in the school-house, he, with the help of others, erected and com-
pleted the church which is now standing, and in June, 1876, on the 25th
day of the month, the church was dedicated for the public worship of God,
by the Rev. F. A. Hester. D. D. Brother Ed Covert is now the oldest living
member uniting with the Methodist Episcopal church, in March of 1870.
Sister Emma Nevelle, being the next oldest living member, both of these
united during the pastorate of Rev. P. H. Bottorff. Brother J. A. Kirk, now
living at this place was licensed as a local preacher in 1878, during the pas-
torate of Rev. J. T. O'Neal, D. D., who ser\'ed as pastor two years, from
1878 to 1880. Brother Ed Kirk was given an exhorter's license by Rev.
George Church, who served one year, from 1901 to 1902. The following
pastors have served the church faithfully and well :
Rev. W. H. Burton, three years — 1875 to 1878.
i Rev. James T. O'Neal, two years — 1878 to 1880.
254 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND.
Rev. T. W. Conner, two years — 1880 to 1882.
Rev. D. T. Hedges, two years — 1882 to 1884.
Rev. Isaac J. Turner, one year — 1884 to 1885.
Rev. J. M. Norton, tliree years — 1885 to 1888.
Rev. J. P. Maupin, two years — 1888 to 1890.
Rev. J. T. Davis, part of one year — 1890 to 1891.
Rev. J- S. Campbell, two years and remainder of J. T. Da\-is's year from
1891 to 1893.
Rev. A. R. Jones, three years — 1893 to 1896.
Rev. U. G. Al>bot, one year — 1896 to 1897.
Rev. W. P. Wallace, one year — 1897 to 1898.
Rev. T. J. Tone, one year — 1898 to 1899.
Rev. Charles Rose, two years — 1899 to 1901.
Rev. George Church, one year — 1901 to 1902.
Rev. J. P. Maupin, two years — 1902 to 1904.
Rev. D. G. Griffith, two years — 1904 to 1906.
Rev. James W. Trowbridge, two years — 1906 to 1908.
Rev. James O. Scott came in 1908 and is the present minister sent by
the conference held at Shelbyville, Indiana.
The church has continued to grow from her infancy with only eleven
members until now, during the present minister's pastorate. Rev. J. O. Scott,
she has reached almost one hundred members.
Other chapels in the Otisco circuit are: Pleasant Ridge, a class of sixty-
five members; Beswick chapel, a class of thirty-nine members; Nabb's chapel
at Nabbs, with a class of thirty-five members ; New Bethel, a class with ninety
members, and Lexington, a class with thirty-five members.
The church at Sellersburg and Pleasant Grove are in charge of the Rev.
E. F. Schneider. Sellersburg has a well built frame church and a parsonage
of a total probable value of six thousand dollars ; two hundred ninety-four
members of the church and two hundred and thirty members of the Sunday
school. Pleasant Grove has a class of fifty-five members.
Sellersburg circuit consists of chapels as follows : Jacob's chapel, situated
on the New Albany road between Sellersburg and New Albany, fifty-six
members.
Ebenezer church stands three miles west of Memphis and fourteen miles
west of New Albany. This church was built in 1842 and re-built in 1888.
It has sixty members.
Bennettsville JMethodist Episcopal church stands in the town of Bennetts-
ville, ten miles northwest of New Albany, on the Monon Railroad. • This
church was built in 1852 and re-built in 1891. It has sixteen members.
Asbury Methodist Episcopal church stands five miles north of Jefferson-
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND. 253
ville on the Baltimore & Ohio Raih-oad. and two miles east of Cementville.
This church was built in 1879. It has thirty-eight members.
The Jeffersonville circuit comprises chapels on Harrison Avenue in
Howard Park, and \\'esley Chapel, in Ohio Falls. Both of these chapels are
flourishing and give promise of being influential factors in the growth of these
localities.
UTICA CIRCUIT.
The Utica circuit consists of three chapels: Utica. New Chapel and
Union. The date of the New Chapel church is not exactly known, but it is
given as veiy near the date of 1800. It belonged to the oldest circuit in the
state. As early as the year 1793 preaching had been lield about a mile above
Utica, and several IMethodists from Louisville had their membership here on
account of there being no church class at home.
The organization of the Utica class was effected at the residence of Basil
R. Prather. whose house for a number of years before had furnished a place
of worship. Bishop IVlcKinley was the minister in charge on the day of or-
dination. About 1804 a round-log house was erected on an acre of land in
tract number thirty-seven, deeded to the Methodist Episcopal church by Jere-
miah Jacobs ani Walter Prather. It was built by subscription, and worth,
when completed, alx)ut two hundred and fifty dollars. It had but one window,
clap-board roof and the old style of stone chimney. In 181 1 the house was
torn away, and a new hewed-log house erected twenty-two by thirty-six feet,
one and one-half stories high. It had four windows, a shingle roof, stove,
pulpit, comfortable seats, and so on. This house was also built by subscrip-
tion, and cost two hundred dollars. In 1836 the hewed-log house was torn
away and a third, built of brick, forty-five by fifty-five feet, took its place.
It had eleven windows, was one and one-half stories high, had three doors,
and an altar and pulpit. This house was also built by subscription, and cost
one thousand three hundred eighty-two dollars. In 1867 the chapel was re-
paired at a cost of one thousand four hundred dollars.
Among the first preachers at the new chapel of the Methodist Episcopal
church were Revs. Josiah Crawford in 1808, Silas Payne in i8og. Isaac
Lindsey and Thomas Nelson in 1810-11, William McMahan and Thomas
Nelson in 1812, James Garner. Elijah Sitters. Shadrick Rucker, Joseph Kin-
caid. Joseph Powel. John Schrader, David Sharpe, C. W. Ruter, Rol>ert M.
Baker and William Cravens, all before 1820.
The Utica Methodist Episcopal circuit was fomied in 1843, with Wil-
liam V. Daniels as the first presiding elder. Rev. Charles Benner was the first
traveling preacher. He was followed by Emmaus Rutledge in 1845 ^^^^
James Hill in 1846: Rev. Elijah Whitten was in charge in 1847, and then for
one year each the following persons : Revs. Lewis Hulbert, John A. Brouse,
256 BAIRd's history of CLARK CO.^ IND.
Jacob ]\Iyers and Jacob Bruner. These men were all here before 1852. Rev.
J\Ir. Daniels served as presiding elder until 1850, when he was succeeded by
Rev. John Herns, who acted for one year. Revs. C. R. Ames and \\'illiam
Dailey were presiding elders in 1851-52.
Connected with the New Chapel church is a handsome cemetery, enclosed
by a stone wall on the east side and at both ends. A number of fine monu-
ments are scattered about. The graveyard looks decidedly neat, more so
than any other in the county as far from Jeffersonville. The vard is a rec-
tangle ; has about four acres of land, and is in keeping with the church of
which it forms a part. There is also a good Sunday school carried on at this
point during the year. This church and Sabbath school are fair exponents
of the people in this region. They are located about one mile northeast of
Watson post-office.
N^ew Chapel has at present one hundred twenty-two members. It was
originally called Jacob's Chapel and was one of the three first classes or-
ganized by Benjamin Lakin.
Tlie Union ]\Iethodist Episcopal church, in the northwest corner of the
township, was composed formerly of members from the Lutheran church, by
whom really the Methodist church was formed. Among the first members of
the Lutheran church were Jacob Grisamore and wife and David Lutz, Sr.,
and wife. Rev. ^Ir. Frenimer, of New Albany, who traveled the entire
country, was one of the first preachers. The original church building was a
log structure. Some few years after 1830 a brick church was erected by the
neighborhood, the old Lutheran members having moved ofif or died in many
instances. This church derived its name from the fact that all denominations
worshiped in the first house. After forty-odd years of use and much repair-
ing, a proposition was made to buy or sell by both the Christian and Meth-
odist Episcopal people, who were the leading denominations. At the sale the
Methodists paid two hundred fifty dollars for the undivided half. The church
was then repaired and used for a few years more, until it needed repairing
again. At last a movement was made to build a new house. Money was
solicited, a kiln of brick was burned on the ground, and now a handsome
building is situated almost on the old site. The property is worth, including
the cemetery, about eight thousand dollars. The land on which the church
stands was originally deeded to the Lutheran denomination by Jacob Gris-
amore, but it has since become the property of the IMethodists. Mathias Crum
and wife, David Spangler and wife, Charles Ross and wife, were some of
the first members of the Methodist class. For preachers they had, before 1810,
Revs. Josiah Crawford, Silas Payne, Thomas Nelson and others, who preached
at the New Chapel church. This class has now about ninety members.
In the western part of the county in the fall of 1891, Pomona ChajTel
was built as the result of a series of meetings held in the school-house near by.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 257
MORTON MEMORIAL CHURCH, SOUTH.
For several years during tlie latter part of tlie sixties a little band of
eleven Alethodists met regularly and held services in the old engine house on
Maple street between Pearl and Mulberry, and called themselves Southern
Methodists. The names of the eleven charter members of the church are JNIan,'
E. \\'elburne, Edwin H. W'elburne. J. R- Lingenfelter, Esther F. Ling-
enfelter. Sarah Potter, Martha Campbell, Caddie Bosworth, Judith
A. Bellis. George McKensie, G. W. Baxter and Anna L, Guernse}\ Of
these four are still living, and are Mrs. Potter. ^Irs. Bosworth, G. \\ .
Baxter and Esther F. Lingenfelter. This was in 1868, and Rev. Samuel
W. Speer, D. D., was the pastor from Xovemljer 8, 1868, until July, 1869.
At that time Rev. Silas Xe^vton became pastor and remained until
October of the same year. Rev. Jacob Ditzler was sent as pastor in 1869,
but did not serve. In the year 1869 the idea of building a church edifice was
conceived and carried out, and the first Southern ]\Iethodist church
in Jeffersonville was erected at Maple and Mulberry streets and was dedicated
March 13, 1870, by Bishop Kavanaugh. The first pastor for this new church
was the Rev. R. D. Pool, who came July 21, 1870, and remained until the
conference was held four months later, when the Rev. Thomas G. Bosley was
sent October i, 1870, to become pastor and he remained five months.
Irregular supply was furnished from March, 1871, for three months,
and on July 30, 1871, John Lewis came as pastor and served three months.
In October, 1871, Rev. F. G. Brodie became pastor and he remained six
months, and was followed by Rev. J. E. Martin, who occupied the pulpit
for six months also.
In October. 1872. Rev. Samuel Lovelace was installed as pastor and he
served the church faithfully for three years and was followed by Rev. J. M.
Phillips in October, 1875, who was pastor for two years. Rev. George
Brush became pastor in October, 1877, and remained two years and the Rev.
George Foskett came in October. 1879. and was pastor for four years and
was greatly loved by all the members.
Rev. Granville Lyons served one year, coming in October, 1883, and
he was followed by the Rev. John M. Crow in September, 1884, and he in
turn was followed by the Reverend Gaines.
About this time the Big Four bridge was planned and the railroad com-
pany purchased of the church trustees the old building and the members con-
cluded to build a larger and better church. For some time after the building
was abandoned the church was used by a religious sect who called themselves
the Feet Washers, or All Saints. Later, when a split occurred in the Chris-
tian church, some of the members secured the building and held services there
for about two years, calling themselves the Second Christian church.
17
258 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
After this the colored people held church services in the buililing.
In 1893 the Morton Chapel ^Methodist Episcopal church was erected
on Locust street, between iNIaple street and Court avenue, and the following
ministers have served as pastors in the new edifice : Revs. Charles Crow, G.
B. Overton, George Campbell, B. F. Bigg, J. RI. Lawson, J. F. Cherry, J. B.
Butler and S. M. Miller. In 1887 the membership consisted of three hun-
dred sixty members and now over four hundred are enrolled on the church
books.
At the time when the old church was in use the parsonage was at 100
Ohio avenue, at the foot of Maple street. \Mien Morton chapel was erected
a parsonage was erected adjoining the church.
The name Morton Memorial church was given after the death of Dr.
David Morton, who was secretary of the church extension. He had been
veiy active in raising funds for this church.
THE GERMAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, JEFFERSOXVILLE.
This congregation was organized in 1845 by the Rev. Conrad Muth.
The first church building was erected on Locust street in 185 1 by the Rev.
G. Heller. The second church building was erected on the site of the present
building in 1877, at the corner of Maple and Watt streets by the Rev. Jacob
Brockstahler. The congregation was organized originally from among the
early German settlers, and it is still largely composed of the descendants of
these people. At the present time the church is really more English than
German. German preaching being retained only in the Sunday morning ser-
vice. Its present membership is one hundred three. In 1908 a beautiful
pipe organ was installed. The officers of the church are Jacob Schwaninger,
C. C. Prinz, Charles Strauch, Charles Roth, John Francke, William Seibert,
Albert Schwaninger, Albert Peters and Alfred Holzbog.
'I
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IX CLARK COUNTY.
THE CH.\RLESTO\VX CHURCH.
Presbyterianism in Clark county began with the organization of the cliurch
at Charlestown in 1812. by the Rev. Joseph P. Lapsley. This was the second
Presbyterian church in the state, the first being "The Presbyterian chnrcli of
Indiana," organized near Vincennes in 1806.
It is impossible to give any of the particulars of the early days of the
Charlestown church, as there is no record of the first eight years of its life.
The first book of records in possession of the church contains this statement
on its first page: "Charlestown church was organized in the year 1812: but
no record was kept of its proceedings until April, 1820, at which time there
were thirty-nine members, of whom fourteen were the heads of families."
The first minister was the Rev. John Todd, but of his origin or end we know
nothing. He came out of the mists of obscurity, labored well in this field for
a few years and then disappeared. He probably began his ministrv in Charles-
town in 1815 or 1816 and closed it in September, 1824. The Rev. John T.
Hamilton came in the fall of this year and remained until April. 1827. In
the spring of 1827 the Rev. Leander Cobb was called and remained until 1838.
During his pastorate the church prospered and increased in meml^ership from
sixty-eight to ninety-three. In March, 1839, the Rev. \\'illiam Orr took
charge and remained until March, 1841. In August. 1843. th^ Rev. H. H.
Cambern was installed as pastor and remained in charge until 1853. He was
a man of strong character and made his influence felt in educational as well
as spiritual matters. Under his leadership the "Barnett Academy" was built.
This school was in existence for a number of years and during its life did much
for the mental growth and advancement of the community.
In July, 1853, the Rev. John S. Hays came and remained until March,
1857. Mr. Hays was a young man, fresh from the seminars-, this being his
first charge. He was a genial, popular and earnest man and made a strong
impression upon the community. His departure was regretted by all.
The Rev. Henry E. Thomas held the pastorate from 1837 until September,
1859. In his manner he was dignified, in his habits, studious and scholarly,
and was careful and faithful in the discharge of his pastoral duties. The
church was ministered to until October, 1862, by the Rev. J. L. Matthews,
26o BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
when he was succeeded by the Rev. C. B. Davidson. Mr. Davidson remained
until the fall of 1864. The Rev. Henry Keigwin was in charge from April,
1865, until October, 1867. Mr. Keig\vin was a brother of the late Col. James
Keigwin, of the Forty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantiw, during the War of
the Rebellion.
In November, 1867, the Rev. William Torrance took charge of the church
and remained until October, 1871. He was a man greatly beloved by all, both
as a man and as a minister. Faithful as a pastor and elocjuent as a preacher,
he impressed himself most powerfully upon the church and community.
In Januaiw, 1872, the Rev. J. W. Blythe was called to the charge, and
he sen-ed until his death in 1875.
The Rev. Samuel Barr came in November. 1875, and remained until the
fall of 1879. Under his leadership the church prospered, the greatest result
of his labors being the erection of the present beautiful and commodious brick
church in 1877. The old church which this building replaced was built upon
ground deeded to the Presbyterian church by John Work, one of the
pioneers of Clark county, and one of the very early members of the church.
The old building served for more than fifty years as a house worship and at
one time was one of the best church edifices in Indiana. Among the promi-
nent men who shouldered the burden of building this first church may be
mentioned Samuel McCampbell. Judge James Scott, James McClung and
Jacob Simmers.
Since the time of Air. Barr the following ministers have served the
Charlestown church : The Revs. M. E. McKiflip, W. E. B. Harris, W. M.
Cutler, J. C. Garrett, B. W. Tyler, S. D. Young. F. R. Zugg, E. O. Fry.
The church has at present one hundred sixty-one members and a Sunday
school of seventy-five scholars.
THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN JEFFERSONVILLE.
On February 16, 1816, a church of Presbyterians was organized at Jeffer-
sonville, called the Union church of New Albany and Jeffersonville, and com-
posed of residents of both places. It was organized by the Rev. James Mc-
Gready, under commission of the General Assembly. In this church the Hon.
Thomas Posey, Governor of Indiana, then residing here, was a ruling elder.
The organization was only temporary and by the removal of the members to
New Albany was afterward transferred to become the First church of that
city.
The First Presbyterian church of Jeflfersonville was organized by a com-
mittee of Salem Presbyten.^ May 22, 1830, with twelve members. Samuel
Merriwether was elected ruling elder. On June i, 1830, the Rev. Michael
Remley was received as stated supply, and remained with the church until
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 261
September 28, 183 1. Many of tlie members were lost by death and removal,
but not being discouraged, the remaining ones began the erection of a small
brick church on lower Market street, now occupied by the German Reformed
congregation. The church lot was donated by Dr. Samuel Merriwether. and
the means to build the house were contributed by him in a large measure.
James Keigwin, of the Methodist church, aided materially, and the corner-
stone was laid September 24. 1832. by the Rev. Mr. Fleiner, pastor at that time.
Up to December, 1833, the church seems to have had no permanent min-
ister, but on December i, 1833, the Rev. Edward P. Humphrey, D. D., was
called as stated supply, and served until the summer of 1835. At this time
the membership was eighteen, only two of whom were male members.
On January i, 1836, the Rev. P. S. Clelland began his ministry in this
church, and remained until the troubles of 1837-1838, known as the New
and Old School controversy, began. The pastor and two of the elders,
Messrs. Heiskell and Rodgers, adhered to the new school body, and they carried
with them almost the entire membership : but it was not long before they began
■to take letters to the churches of the other denominations in the town. Doctor
Merriwether fitted up a room in his residence for the members of the old
church to worship in. This bodv of Presbyterians finally purchased the church
from the new school party, who had kept possession of it, and called the Rev.
H. H. Cambern as pastor. He was an energetic, active, faithful man and
ser\'ed until the winter of 1841, when he resigned to accept a call to Charles-
town. The Rev. John Clark Bayless was called and entered upon his labors
here October 9, 1842, and was ordained and installed as pastor June 30. 1843.
He resigned his pastorate in the summer of 1844. Mr. Bayless was a splen-
did preacher, strong mentally and a successful pastor, who endeared himself
greatly to his congregation. The Rev. W. H. Moore was stated supply from
1845 to 1848. From the fall of 1848 to the fall of 1851 the Rev. W. W. Hill,
D. D., of Louisville, supplied the church. On November 18, 1851, the Rev.
R. H. Allen accepted a call as stated supply and on November 6, 1S53, was
called as pastor. The regular quarterly communions were established under
his ministry and in 1853 the church had one of its greatest revivals. It was
during these meetings that Doctor Merriwether died. April 13, 1856, Mr.
Allen resigned and the Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Thomas supplied until November
8, 1856.
On ]\Iay 13, 1857, the Rev. S. F. Scnvel, a graduate from the seminary at
New Albany was called as supply, and on September 6, 1857. was elected pas-
tor, his ordination and installation taking place October 18, 1857. He had a
prosperous pastorate, and it was during his ministry here that the present
church was built. The fecundations were laid in August, i860, and the lecture
room was dedicated to the worship of God in December, i860. The complete
building was dedicated in October, 1864, Dr. James Wood, of Hanover Col-
lege, preaching the dedication sermon.
262 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND.
In the latter part of December, i860. Air. Scovel resigned, but regular
services were kept up until the Rev. Thomas F. Crowe, D. D., began his min-
istiy May i, 1862. The pastorate of Doctor Crowe lasted until his death,
January 13. 1871, and was one of healthy growth in numbers and influence.
Shortly after Doctor Crowe's death the Rev. J. M. Hutchinson was invited
and on April 26, 1871, he was installed. Mr. Hutchinson's labors were abun-
dantly rewarded, and his long pastorate lasting until his death. April 2, 1896,
was one of sound growth in all lines of church work. His untimely death
was a loss not only to the church, his family and his wide acquaintanceship,
but to the city as well.
On June 10, 1896, Rev. J. P. Hearst, Ph. D., was elected pastor, and was
installed October 7, 1896. Doctor Hearst resigned on the nth day of April,
1899. On the i6th day of August, 1899, Rev. John Simonson Howk, D. D.,
was elected pastor and was installed October 19, 1899.
A church manse was begun February, 1900, and completed in the summer
of that year. This building is- situated in the rear of the church at No. 222
Walnut street, and furnishes the pastor a commodious, convenient and beautiful
home.
Doctor Howk resigned as pastor October i, 1908, and on the 23d day
of December, 1908, Rev. C. I. Truby was elected pastor and occupied the pulpit
for the first time January 31, 1909.
Among those who have taken prominent parts in church work may be
mentioned Henry E. Thomas, an elder in the forties ; ^\'ilIiam Lackey, an elder
in the fifties, and Elders James W. Gilson, John G. Fenton, Charles Paddox,
Abraham Carr, Dr. O. S. Wilson, W. H. Fogg, John S. Hall, Thomas Caise,
George C. Zinck, William Smart, Prof, R. L. Butler and Charles D. Kiernan.
But of those who bore the burden when it was heaviest and who labored the
hardest for the upbuilding of the church no names can be written higher than
those of Dr. Samuel ]\Ierriwether in early days, and James H. McCampbell.
in later ones. Capt. Addison Barrett, an elder, and for many years the super-
intendent of the Sunday school, was an example of dignified Christian man-
hood and loval)le character seldom encountered.
PISG.AH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The (lid Pisgah Presbyterian church on Camp creek, tlrree miics east of
New Washington, was organized on the 27th day of February. 1816, at the
house of Alexander \\"alker by the Rev. James !McGready, a missionaiy under
the direction of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church. The Pisgah
church was supplied by missionaries until the year 1819, when the members
of the Pisgah church with the Rev. Samuel Shanon presiding, elected the Rev.
John M. Dickey pastor, and appointed two of the elders to confer with the
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND. 263
New Lexington churcli in preparing- a call. This call was laid before the
Louisville Presbytery of Kentucky in April by I\Ir. Walker and accepted by
Rev. John AL Dickey, who was a regularly installed pastor of the two churches
on the first Saturday of August, 1819, at Lexington, Scott county, Indiana,
Rev. Isaac Reed preaching the installation sermon. Rev. David C. Banks pre-
siding and giving the charge. J. M. Dickey settled in the bounds of New
Lexington church and continued there until January, 1827. About the year
1837 the Presbyterian church di\-ided, forming two separate congregations
known as the Pisgah church, Xew School, and the Xew Washington church,
Old School. The new school congregation retained the old church building, the
old school going to New Washington. The early memliers of the Pisgah
church were true, devoted Christian men, who were guided by a conscientious
regard for law and justice. AniDug these earh- members were Alexander
Walker, John Henderson and John Matthews, with their wives and families.
The early life of the church was prosperous, but it received a set-back after
the controversy arose which divided it into two parts, and Presbyterianism
has never been very strong in that part nf the county since.
THE MOUNT VERNON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, NEW MARKET.
The Mount Vernon Presbyterian church at Xew Market was organized
in June, 1833, with fourteen members. The Rev. Enoch Alartin preached
to the settlers in this locality about the year 1830. Peter Amick and John
Cortner were the first ruling elders and they also acted as deacons. It was
owing to the labors of such men as these that the unity of the Presbyterian
church was preserved, and the code of morals which she so untiringly main-
tains, kept to a respectable grade.
In 1839 the first Sunday school was started with John Covert and George
Stith as superintendents, but the school has been allowed to die out. During
the history of the church there have been received into membership about four
hundred fifty members. At present the membership is forty. The present
church was built in 1874, and it stands on the site of the old church. The list
of the fourteen charter members of the Mount Vernon church represent some
of the oldest families around X^ew Alarket. They were Abraham Cortner,
Levi Amick, John Covert, Gideon Amick, Daniel Cortner, Margaret Amick,
Barbara Cortner, Mary Amick, Elizabeth Cortner. Catharine Cortner, Fama
Cortner, Sophia Amick, Gilbert Ray and Elizabeth Ray.
THE OWEN CREEK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. '
An application was made to Salem Presbytery in 1840. The Presbytery
appointed a committee consisting of the Rev. James Wood and the Rev. Wil-
liam Orr, and William McAIillan as elder. These men met on Saturday. Tune
264 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
13, 1S40, and (irganized Owen Creek Presljyterian church, with Uie follf.iwing
charter members : William Crawford and his wife. Jane ; Mary Ann Crawford,
Catherine McNulty, William McGhee, father of the Rev. Clark McGhee, and
his wife, Tamar, Charlotte Henderson, ^Martha McGhee, Jacob Bare and his
wife, Polly ; Harriet Taggart, Rebecca Ray, James McGhee and Joseph Bare.
William Crawford and Jacob Bare were elected elders at that time. The
Presbvterv appointed the Rev. Samuel Orr as supply for the year, from May
I, 1840, and he was succeeded by the Rev. Josiah Crawford, who served from
1841 to 1848. The Rev. H. H. Cambern came next and supplied from 1848
to 1852, when the Rev. Josiah Crawford returned and sen-ed until 1887.
The Rev. E. B. Harris came in 1887, Rev. William A. Cutler in 1889. Rev.
\\\ B. Brown in 1892, Rev. J. M. Oldfather in 1896.
During the life of this church it has had three ^-oung men brought up
under its care: Rev. C. R. McGhee. Dr. J. F. Baird and Dr. ^^'illiam Baird.
The present brick church ^vas erected about 1842, and the Sunday school Avas
also started about this time. The present elders are C. L. Bare. W. W. Tag-
gart and S. E. Taggart. The congregation numbers seventy-five.
THE NEW WASHINGTON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The early history of the New ^^"ashington church is identical with that
of Pisgah. The memorable pastorate of the Rev. John 'M. Dickey is dear to
to the New Washington church as well as Pisgah. It was under his
pastorate that the commodious brick church was built, and his resi-
dence, a substantial hewed log house, plastered and weatherboarded,
built in 1827, still stands in a good state of preserA-ation on the farm
now owned by his grandson, W. A. Britan. It was also under his pastorate
that the branch church was erected at Bethlehem. He was a great believer in
higher education and induced Thomas Stevens, a wealthy member of his
church, to build a seminary or boarding school on his farm near Bethlehem.
Teachers were brought from the East, and Mr. Dickey lived here for a num-
ber of years and boarded the teachers and some of his pupils. He was also
instrumental in the founding of Hanover and W'abash Colleges. In the un-
happy division of the Presbyterian church in 1838, about one-third of the
membership of old Pisgah withdrew and formed another church under the
name of the Old School church. Their first pastor was the Rev. James A.
McKee, who was instrumental in building their church in 1841. It still
stands, the home of the united church and a monument to their fidelity. The
old Pisgah church building having become much cracked it was considered
dangerous, and it was torn down, the brick being used in the home of W. A.
Britan. The New School division also built a chtirch in New Washington, a
church and seminary building combined, the lower part for the church and
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND. 265
the upper rooms for the scliool. It was used as such for a numljer of years
until the pubHc schools were started when it was sold to the township and
for many years used by it for school purposes. The present high school build-
ing stands on its site. Mr. Dickev served this church faithfully fur thirty years,
until his death in 1849. He rests with many nf his fold in the old Pisgah
cemetery. A simple marble slab marks his grave, on which is inscribed :
"Rev. John M. Dickey ; died May 21, 1849. aged fifty-nine years, eleven months
and five days. A pioneer preacher of the Presbyterian church. He was a
good man, full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and many people were added
unto the Lord." Some of the pastors after him were his son. Rev. N. S.
Dickey. Rev. Enoch ]\Iartin, Re\-. John Gerrish, Rev. Josiah Crawford, Rev.
John Creath, Rev. Isaac More. Rev. ^^^ H. Brown and the Rev. J. M. Old-
father, D. D. In 1870 the two divisions were happily united, taking the name,
"New ^^'ashington Church," antl in 1902 the Bethlehem branch became a
separate church, retaining the old church name. Pisgah. Since its organization
eight hundred ten persons have been connected with it. and some of its mem-
bers have become distinguished ministers of the Gospel, among these being
the Rev. N. S. Dickey, whose son the Rev. S. C. Dickey. D. D., is the promoter
and manager of the \\'inona Chautauqua: the Rev. J. L. Taylor, D. D., of
Fairmount Park, New Jersey : the Re\-. Joseph Taylor Britan, of Yonkers,
New York, and the Revs. Homer and Virgil Scott.
Sunday schools were organized about 1850. and have continued until the
present time, the membership being about forty. The church membership is
now sixty-five.
Henry F. Schowe. James Graves and ^^'. A. Britan are the elders, and
John H. Ferry and Robert Brentlinger are the deacons.
THE BETHLEHEM PRESBVTERL\N CHURCH.
The Bethlehem Presbyterian church was founded some time in the
thirties, while the Rev. John M. Dickey was pastor of the Pisgah church, near
New Washington. Mr. Dickey had founded his seminary and boarding school
on Mr. Stevens' farm near Bethlehem, and it was in active operation at an
early day. The church building there must have been completed in 1842.
In 1902 the Bethlehem branch became a separate church and it retained
the old church name of Pisgah.
THE PRESBYTERL\N CHURCH AT N.\BBS.
In March, 1885, the session of the Lexington church decided to send the
Rev. Frank M. Gilchrist to establish a preaching point here. He began by
holding sen-ices in the school-house until the Rev. Georg-e Ernest came and
266 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND.
held a series of protracted meetings. About t\venty-ti\'e persons were received
intci membersliip and tiie ciiurch was organized Deceml^er 5. 1885. The follow-
ing were the charter members : Anna Belle Tilford. Lizzie Lukenbill, Rose Cole,
Alary Izzard, Robert Henderson, Sarah Alice Henderson, Franklin Hender-
son, Addie Henderson, James C. Bussey. Jolm AI. Graves, William L. Tilford,
John Boyd, Frank Bussey. Edwin Lukenbill, (ieorge Cyrus Bussey, Ella Bus-
sey, John Tilford, Alary Tilford. Hugh R. Ursher. Alary Ursher and Alary
E. Tafflinger.
August 19th, preceding the organization of the church, William Gray
deeded a lot to the church and subscriptions were started toward erecting a
building. With about four hundred and fifty dollars raised locally and fur-
ther assistance from the board of church extension, a church was built and
opened Saturday night, June 18, 1887. Rev. F. AI. Gilchrist preached to a
large congregation, but the happy anticipations of the dedication the next day
were rudely broken by the complete demolitiiin of the building by fire that
night. Plans for rebuilding were made immediately and in ALav, 1888. the
second church was dedicated, the Rev. T. G. Bosley preaching the dedicatory
sermon. The following pastors have served this church since its organization :
Rev. George Ernest 1885- 1886
Rev. F. M. Gilchrist 1886-1887
Rev. James Gilchrist 1887-1889
Rev. J. AL AJontgomery 1889-1890
Rev. T. G. Bosley '. 1890-1891
Rev. W. C. Broady 1892-1900
Rev. D. B. Whimster 1901-1903
Rev. Trigg Thomas 1903-1904
Rev. W^ D. A'lalcome 1904
The present church building was erected in the years 1887-1888. Tlie
Sunday school was started in 18S4.
Previous to 1901 this church had been a branch of the Lexington church,
but on Alarch 25th of this year it was organized into a separate church with
a membership of thirty-nine souls. A series of protracted meetings held at
this time resulted in twelve additions. The first elders were John Kennedy,
\V. D. Tilford and Sanford K. Peck.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT I"TICA.
April 10. 1839, when G. C. Zinck came to Utica. there was a small
Presbyterian church here, consisting of Robert AIcGee and wife. Theophil-
ias Robinson and wife, Jacob Aliddlecofif and w'ife and daughter, Elizabeth
and Aliss Sallie Byers. Alessrs. Robinson, AIcGee and AIiddlecof¥ were then
acting elders. The division in the Presbyterian church had taken place just
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 267
before this in 1838, into the New and Old School. Air. Robinson had identi-
fied himself with the New School church just before he moved here from
New Washington, and after being elected elder here, attended Salem Pres-
bytery, it being a New School Presbytery, and had this church enrolled with
Salem Presbytery. The other members of the church were Old School in
sentiment, and the New School Presbytery being short of ministerial strength,
were not able to supply the church with preachers but very rarely. About
1841 John C. Bayless and family moved here from Louisville, he having been
an elder in the First Presbyterian church for years and Dr. William Orr and
family moved here from Covington, and being in the regular enjoyment of
the means of grace felt the loss of it and would have been satisfied if the New
School Presbytery could have supplied the church with preaching, but that
could not be done. Mr. Bayless drew up a petition to the Old School Pres-
bytery, of New Albany, which was signed by all the members of the church
to be organized into an Old School church. New Albany Presbytery granted
the request and appointed a committee to eiYect the organization and ap-
pointed Rev. Josiah Crawford the stated supply. He continued preaching
here for seven years, every other Sabbath. Mr. Bayless and Doctor Orr
were also elected elders in the new organization. Mr. Robinson declined to
unite with the new organization. The church prospered and God visited the
little church with a revival of wondrous power : by it the church more than
doubled itself as to the eldership in the church. In the absence of the church
records, the writer must speak from memory. Dr. Robert Sprowl came here
from the Charlestown church. Some of the former elders having moved
away, Doctor Sprowl was elected elder and was also a verj' efficient one. G.
C. Zinck was elected shortly after and George Summers was elected in due
time. N. B. Wood and Moses W. Tyler and a Mr. Patterson were the next
called to the eldership and Marion Gunter followed. John Tyler is one of
the present elders.
MOUNT LEBANON PRESBYTERL\N CHURCH, HENRYVILLE.
The [Mount Lebanon church was organized on May 22. 1853, in the
Steuart meeting-house near the Lexington road, and moved to the Mount
Lebanon church in 1871. There were ten charter members, all from the
Mount Vernon church : Mrs. Polly Nicolls was received by profession of faith.
A committee of two, the Rev. J. G. Atterbury and Elder Haines, from the
Salem Presbytery, assisted in the organization. William Hartman was
elected ruling elder and Cyrus Park, deacon.
The Sunday school here was organized in the earlv forties, bv the Cum-
berland church, and has continued down to the present day. The present
church building was erected in 1871. There have been two hundred fourteen
members of this church, all told, with a present membership of forty-five.
268 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
THE OTISCO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Tlie Otisco church was organized December ii, 1875, with eighteen
charter members. There have been received into membership of this church
one hundred sixteen persons, with fifty on the roll at the present time. The
building now occupied by this congregation was built by the German Luther-
ans in i860. In 1882 the Sunday school was organized, its membership being
fifty now. The following ministers have served this church since 1875 :
Rev. John McCrae until iS/Q
Rev. Engstrom until 1880
Reverend Buck until 1881
Rev. M. E. McKillip until 1882
Rev. George Ernest until 1886
Rev. James Gilchrist until 1889
Rev. I. I. St. John until 1890
Rev. Alexander Hartman until 1891
Rev. W. C. Broady until 1900
Rev. D. B. Whimster until 1903
Rev. F. A. M. Thomas until 1904
Rev. W. D. Malcome until 1906
Rev. E. Fry, present pastor.
The first elders were William Hartman, M. J. Lewelln. and the first
deacon was Francis Watt. The present elders are W. R. Hunter, M. J.
Lewellen, W. T. Montg'omery and P. R. Lewellen. The present deacons are
P. C. Hartman, Phillip Dayes, W. T. Montgomen,' and John W. Bower.
MOUNT ZION PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The Mount Zion church was organized at Pleasant Hill in 1876 with
thirteen charter members. The church building was erected at this time, but
it burned down in the fall of 1892, and was rebuilt at Mount Zion in 1893.
It was dedicated November 12, 1893, by the Rev. Mr. Vandyke, of New Al-
bany. The Sunday school was organized in early days. This church was
first organized at Henryville, and its building was used as a place of worship
for a great many years until the members became so scattered that it was
abandoned. It was in after years that it was reorganized at Pleasant Hill
by the Rev. John McCrae. The following ministers have served ]\Iount Zion
church : Revs. John McCrae. Theodore McCoy, George Ernest, W. C.
Broady. W. E. Prather. Clinton H. Gillingham, John Engstrom, I. I. St.
John, William Lewis, R. H. Bateler, J. M. Oldfather, D. D., and the Rev.
L. V. Rule. The first elders were Thomas Lewellen, David Cass and Wil-
liam T. McClure. The first deacon was Charles Franke.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 269
Since 1876 tliere have been received into this church about one hundred
members, and at present the roll shows forty-three. The membership of the
Sunday school is forty. The present elders are George F. Guernsey, Michael
Fetter and T. J. McClure. The present deacons are C. S. Dunlevy and
Charles Fetter.
HEBRON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The Hebron church was organized about three miles east of Underwood
on November 17, 1894, with fifteen charter members. The first elders were
William F. Zeller, Fred Ester, and the first deacon was Charles Does. There
have been received into membership here sixty-six persons. The membership
is at present thirty-eight. The Sunday school was organized in 1895, and has
an average attendance of forty children. The pastors who have served Hebron
are Rev. W. C. Broady, Rev. R. C. Hartman, Rev. W. C. Prather, Rev. R.
H. Bateler. Rev. J. M. Oldfather, Rev. J. Gillingham and Rev. Lucien Rule,
the present incumbent. The present building was erected in 1896. The
present elders are William F. Zeller and J. W. Gladden. The present deacons
are Joseph Clak and Edward Bolly.
CHAPTER XXV.
HISTORY OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.
There are many difficulties in the way of writing an accurate history of
the Catholic church in Clark county, since its organization as a countv in
1801. Ever since 1783. when the State of Virginia ceded one hundred and
fifty thousand acres of land to Gen. George Rogers Clark and his soldiers,
for their \-alor in reducing the British Post at Vincennes, in February. 1779.
there have been members of the Catholic faith resident in Clark countv.
In Clark's "army" of one hundred seventy men. there were seventy pri-
vates and eighteen officers of Irish birth or descent, and quite a number of
French. It is but fair to presume that many of these were of the Catholic
faith. They took up the lands allotted to them by a grateful state, in what
is known as the "Illinois Grant," which comprises most of Clark county, soon
after 1784, when the lands were divided and alloted to each officer and soldier.
Both the surname and Christian name of these soldier settlers, in many in-
stances, indicate that they were of the Catholic faith.
Jesuit and other missionaries frequently passed through Clark county on
their way from Bardstown to Vincennes. It is recorded that Father Bene-
dict Joseph Flaget, afterward the first Catholic Bishop of Kentucky, read
mass in a log church located at the foot of the Knobs, at St. Mary's, in what
is now known as Lafayette township, Floyd county, soon after the year 1800.
This was then a part of the county of Clark, for Floyd county was not or-
ganized until 1819. Father Theodore Stephen Baden, also made trips thmugh
Clark county on his way to Post Vincennes along about 1800, but whether
he stopped to minister his divine office, or to shrive those of his communion,
history does not record. There were Catholic churches, or at least Catholic
priests, all the time in the early days, between 1702 and 1850, in Vincennes
and Bardstown and at Louisville, Kentucky, and the devout Catholic residents
of Clark county, in all probability either went to Kentucky or to Vincennes
when they desired to perfonn their annual religious obligations.
It was not until 1850 that the Catholics of JefTersonville requested the
church authorities to send them a priest to offer up the holy sacrifice of the
mass. In response to their request the Rev. Father Daniel Maloney came to
the city and read mass at what was known then as the Hansley House, on
the river front. It belonged to Capt. James Wathen, who operated the ferry
line, and who was at that time the most prominent Catholic in the town. In
271
August, 185 1, the Rt. Rev. ^Martin John Spaulding. Bishop (jf Louisville,
laid the cornerstone of the first Catholic church in Jeffersonville. It was
located on what was then known as Canal street, now Meigs avenue, near
Maple street, and was a hrick structure twenty-fi\-e by fifty feet. It was named
in honor of St. Anthony. The first mass was said by Rev. Father Otto Jair,
a Franciscan priest, from Louisville. In this church the English-speaking
and also the German Catholics worshiped for years. Among the pastors of
this unpretentious church, and who was really the first Catholic pastor in
Jefi^ersonville, was Father August Bessonies, who afterward became vicar
general of the diocese, and who took a prciniinent part in the civic affairs of
the city of Indianapolis and of Indiana until his death. Father Bessonies
came to Jeft'ersnnville in ^larch, 1834, and was accompanied by Bishop de
St. Palais, who begun to take a deep interest in the spiritual welfare of the
Catholics of Jeft'ersonville. Father Bessonies, who also attended seven other
stations in Clark and Floyd counties, remained until 1857. when he was suc-
ceeded by Rev. ^^'illiam Doyle, who remained a year, and was succeeded by
his brother. Father Philip Doyle, who remained until October, i860. After
that date the spiritual wants of the congregation were attended to by Fran-
ciscan priests from Louisville until December, 1861. when the Re\'. G. Ost-
langenberg was appointed pastor. B)- this time it became apparent that the
little church on Canal street was inadequate to accommodate both the Ger-
man-speaking and English-speaking Catholics, and by direction of Bishop de
St. Palais, Father Ostlangenberg took steps to build a new church for the
Irish or English-speaking Catholics, on ground donated by the Bishop and
Father Bessonies, at the corner of Chestnut and Locust streets. On October
10, 1863, Rt. Rev. Bishop Martin John Spaulding, of Louisville, laid the
cornerstone, and the Veiy Rev. Bede O'Connor preached the sermon. Father
O'Connor, by the way, was an Irishman, educated in Germany, and a mem-
ber of the Benedictine order. He spoke German with great fluency and
pow'er, and on several occasions gave missions in Jeffersonville, converting
many to the faith and bringing back wayward church members to a sense of
their religious obligations.
Father Andrew Michael became the pastor April 16, 1864, having suc-
ceeded Father Ostlangenberg, who left in December, 1863. the interim being
filled by the Rev. William Doyle. As soon as Father Michael took charge
he set to work to complete the foundation of St. Augustine's, and he accom-
plished the task during this year. In the meantime small-pox broke out
among the soldiers in Jeffersonville, and in ministering unto them, he contract-
ed the disease, but recovered, but his sister who was his housekeeper died of
it. In 1866 the Bishop directed the Rev. John Mougin, of New Albany, to
attend to the pastorate in connection with his other duties, and under his di-
rection the walls of St. Augustine's were completed, and the first mass was
272 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
said within the unfinished building by Rt. Rev. Bishop de St. Palais, on March
17, 1868. Rev. Father M. Fleischmann became pastor of St. Augustine's for
a short time in that year, when the Bishop appointed the Rev. Ernest Audran,
rector, on December 3. 1868. who remained pastor until his death, December
II, 1899. The name of Father Audran will forever be an inspiration to the
Catholics of Clark county. For thirty-one years he looked after the spiritual,
and at many times the temporal affairs of his flock. Born in France, of dis-
tinguished ancestry, Father Audran came to Vincennes when a young man,
and studied theology under his uncle, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Celestine de la
Hailandiere. For fifty-four years he was a priest, laboring incessantly in the
cause of religion and morality. When he came to Jeffersonville there was
nothing but the bare church walls. He built up schools, beside practically re-
building the church. He was a man of strong individuality ; firm, but kind-
hearted. He had the respect of the entire community, and was loved by
Catholic and non-Catholic alike. At his death there was widespread sorrow
throughout the city and throughout the county of Clark.
On the night of December 9, 1903, fire destroyed the church building"
completely, causing a loss of about forty thousand dollars, but Father O'Con-
nell and the trustees, John B. Murphy, Dennis O'Heam, Martin Fogarty, Red-
mond Stanton, James Marra and Thomas Donahue, pushed the movement to
rebuild, and the result was the present handsome building designed by D. X.
Murphy, of Louisville. The building is commodious and will seat about nine
hundred persons. It is in the Spanish Renaissance style. The beautiful tow-
ers in the front are seventy-four and ninety-six feet high. On Sunday, Oc-
tober 2. 1905, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Francis Silas Chatard conducted the ser-
vices of dedication, and once more the congregation of St. Augustine's had a
home.
The little church of St. Anthony continued to prosper. In 1871 Rev. Ave-
lin Szabo took charge, and during his time did much in the way of reducing
the indebtedness contracted in the purchase of the new building site. In 1875
Father Leopold Mozygamba, who succeeded Father Clements Luitz, com-
menced the erection of the present place of worship on Maple street, just
above Wall street. The church was built at a cost of between eight thousand
and nine thousand dollars, under the supervision of Henry Nagle, Ferdinand
Voigt. George Unser, Michael Recktenwald, Engelbert Spinner and Theobald
Manny, building committee. The priests after Father Leopold came in the
following order: Caesar Cuchiarian, 1877-78; Joseph Liesen, 1878-79; Pius
Koetterer, 1879-81 ; Anthony Gehring, 1881-83; Bernard Ettensperger. 1883-
87; Avelin Szabo, 1887-96; Francis Newbauer. February, 1896, to July. 1896;
Lucius Matt, 1896.
Two school-houses, one for boys and the other for girls, have been built
on the church lot, and the schools are flourishing under the supervision of the
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 273
Franciscan Sisters. I'here are at present aliout one lumdred schcjlars for the
two teachers.
During the pastorate of Father Liesen the cemetery just above the east-
ern cemetery was purcliased. and also the lot at the corner of Maple and Wall
streets.
In 1889 the church had ninet}'-nine families, and in 1909 has one hundred
twenty-five families. The societies are the Knights of St. John, the Ladies'
Sodality, the Poor Souls Sodality and the Young Ladies' Sodality. The
Spanish has furnished two members to the priesthood, both of whom have
joined the Franciscans, O. M. C. One is the Rev. F. M. Voigt and the other
is the Rev. Otto Recktenwald.
St. Joseph's Hill, cjr St. Joe, as it is called, is situated near the di\iding
line of Clark and Floyd counties in Grant 146.
The early settlers were from Gennany, coming to this countrv in 1846,
and by their industry gained a Imme. .\fter having p'"ovided for their bodies,
they provided for their souls, mindful of the words of our Savior, "What does
it profit a man. if he gain the whole world and loses his own soul?" by erect-
ing a church in their midst. The building was of frame, eighty bv thirty
feet: it was commenced on the iith day of June, 1853, and finished the same
year. Martin Koerner and Joseph Eringer were the carpenters and contrac-
tors. They received for their labor two hundred seventy-fi\-e dollars. The
leading men were Peter Biesel, Sr., Peter Renn, Sr., Frank .\ckerman, An-
drew Rank, Sr., Philip Strobel and Ludwig Herbig.
Rev. Father Neyron, the well known priest and physician, was the first
missionary attending to their spiritual wants. He resided at St. Mary's, Floyd
knobs. Father Bessonies, vicar general, attended to them afterwards. St.
Joseph's was then attended by Rev. Ed Faller. of New Albany. After the
congregation numbered about seventy families, they petitioned the Right Rev.
Bishop for a residing priest, but their petition was not heard immediately, for
the want of priests. Li the year i860 the first resident priest. Rev. Andrew
Michael, arrived at St. Joseph's Hill. His arrival was announced by the
ringing of bells, and the people rejoiced at the arrival of their spiritual direc-
tor. He remained with them for four years. During his time he erected a
large two-story brick parsonage, valued at one thousand five hundred dollars,
he himself working like a laborer quan-ying rock. His successor was Rev.
Father Pauzer. He remained with them nearly nine years, and erected two
large frame buildings, the one for a school-house, and the other for a teacher's
dwelling.
In the year 1873 Rev. Joseph Dickman. a native of Indiana, took charge
of the congregation. He paid all outstanding debts, and made preparations to
erect the present splendid church, the old one having become too small. In
1880 he took up a grand subscription towards that building. He next had the
18
/'/
2/4 r.AIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
members to quarry rock for the foundation and haul logs to Peter P. Renn's
mill, only a few hundred yards from the church, where all the lumber for the
building was sawed. On the i8th day of October, 1880. the cornerstone was
laid of the new church with great solemnity, by the Right Rev. Bishop. The
foundation was completed that fall by Joseph Zipf. of Clark county, and Louis
Zipf, of Floyd county. The new edifice, which is one hundred fourteen by
fifty-two feet, and crowned by a spire of one hundred and thirty feet, was
completed in 1881. It was dedicated by the Right Rev. Bishop, assisted by
Rev. Joseph Dickman, the pastor: Rev. J. Stremler, D. D., of St. Mary's;
Rev. J. P. Gillig, of St. John's, Clark county; Rev. Ubaldus, O. S. F.\ of
Louisville, and Rev. J. Klein, of New Albany, on the 20th day of November,
188 1. The cost of the building is estimated at twenty-seven thousand dollars.
The congregation numliers one hundred families. The trustees who assisted
the pastor deserve credit for their activity. They were Mathias Renn, Jacob
Strobel, Lorenz ^Veidner, Joseph Zipf, Max Zahner and J. C. Schmidt.
St. Joseph's is the largest Catholic church in the county, outside of JefYer-
sonville. The situation is well adapted for regular religious growth. Every-
thing is in a prosperous condition. Industry and public-spirited enterprise
have made for St. Joseph's Hill a name which many other religious com-
munities may well strive to attain.
The schools at St. Joseph's are taught by the Sisters of St. Francis, and
about one hundred ten children attend them. There are over one hundred
thirty families in the parish, mostly German.
ORDERS OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHTS OF AMERICA.
Branch No. 54 was organized in Jeffersonville April 4, 1879. The follow-
ing is a list of presidents since that date: Dennis Kennedy, 187Q-1880: T. J.
Gilligan. 1881-1882-1883 : Maurice Coll, 1884-1885 : John B. Murphy, 1886-
1887; John Miller, I888^ J. E. Thicksrun, 1889-1890: Patrick Tracy, 1891-
1892-1893; John Miller. 1 894-1 895 : Jacob Sedler, 1896-1897; J. E. Thick-
stun, 1898; Patrick Tracy, 1899-1900: J. E. Thickstun. 1901-1902: B. A. Coll,
1 903- 1 904- 1 905 : Maurice Coll, 1906-1907: John Kenney, 1908.
Since the organization of the branch the beneficiaries of deceased mem-
bers in Jeffersonville have recei\-ed fifty-eight thousand dollars. At present
the membership is about fifty.
The Catholic Knights and Ladies of America Branch No. 13 was organ-
ized in Jefifersonville March 19, 1892. The following members have served
as president since that date: John B. Murphy, 1892-93-94-95-96-97 and 98:
Patrick Tracy. 1 899-1 900-1 901 and 1902; Miss Maggie Ash. 1903; L. Con-
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 275
stantine, 1904-1905: Mrs. Mary Burke, 1906-1907; Mrs. Ella Brooks, 1908.
At present the membersliip is small.
THE ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS.
Division No. i of Clark county was organized in Jeffersonville September
15, 1890. William McDonald was president: John Donahue, vice-president:
George O'Neil, recording secretary: Stephen Hogan, financial secretaiy and
Richard Flood, treasurer.
Since the date of organization the presidents have been as follows : \\'il-
liam McDonald, 1892: John Mooney, 1893-94-95: James Cavanaugh. 1896-
97: William P. Reilly, 1898- 1899- 1900; Robert Gleason, 1 901 -1902- 1904-
1905: Frank W. Hogan, 1903: John A. Kennedy, 1906- 1907- 1908. At pres-
ent the membership of the branch is about one hundred.
THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS.
Jefifersonville Ciiuncil No. 1348 was organized June 28. 1908, with a
charter membership of fifty-four. It is a subordinate council of the Knights
of Columbus, incorporated at New Haven, Connecticut, March 29, 1882, and
whose purpose is to more closely unite practical white, male members of the
Roman Catholic church. It has insurance as well as social features, \\nien
organized Jeffersonville council elected the following officers, who are still
holding office : Grand knight, James W. Fortune : deputy grand knight, John
A. Kennedy : chancellor, John J. Hines : financial and recording secretary,
Conway C. Samuels: warden, Lawrence Ford; advocate, Matthew Dolan;
lecturer, Frank A. Lang : treasurer, Frank J. Braun : trustees, Martin Fogarty,
Richard J. Kennedy, IMartin A. Conroy : guards, Thomas F. O'Hern, John E.
Cole, Jr.
KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN.
St. George Commandery, No. 141, Knights of St. John, was organized
May 2, 1882, with Anthony P. Karbel as its first president. This society
is a semi-military, social Roman Catholic order, offering benevolent and in-
surance rates to its members. It has a present membership of fifty-four of
the leading German Roman Catholics in Jeffersonville. It has paid out a sum
exceeding eight thousand dollars for sick benefits to its members, besides doing
a vast amount of charitable work. Its members belong to St. Anthony's Ro-
man Catholic church. August Gatterer is the present president.
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH— THE ADVENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(By. F. E. Andrews.)
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
The Christian church, or the Church of Christ, began in Jerusalem at the
great Pentecost, wlien the first Gospel sermon was so grandly proclaimed; but
the current restoration movement began on September 7, 1S09, at which time
the famous address of Thomas Campbell was issued.
This movement has spread until it now numbers UKire than one million
communicants. Its chief distinctive tenets are :
1. The urgent need of the union of God's people.
2. N'o government except God's word.
3. The restoration of apostolic teaching and practice in all church ordi-
nances and government.
In Clark county, Indiana, there are congregations at the following points :
Jeffersonville, Charlestown, Borden, Pleasant Ridge, Muddy Fork, Sellers-
burg, Memphis, Blue Lick, Bethel, Hibernia, Olive Branch, Marysville, New
\\'ashington, New IMarket, Utica, Bethany, Stony Point. Several other con-
gregations have been started in the county, but they disbanded and the mem-
bers entered the other congregations near them.
One of the earliest organizations of this faith in the county was perfected
July 7, 1832, on Camp Run, near Belknap's mill. It was organized by the
adoption of the following resolution : Resolved, therefore, that we give our-
selves to the Lord and to one another by the will of God and from this 7th
day of July, 1832, consider ourselves standing in the relation of a church of
Jesus Christ, professing to be built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; mutually agreeing
and receiving the Scriptures of Divine authority and as such the only infallible
rule, in both faith and obedience and agree to be governed thereby. The
following were the charter members :
Joseph Cunningham, George B. Campbell, Clevias Poinde.xter, John
Adams, Mary Littell, Charles Vandyke, Elizabeth Wilson, Jane Vandyke,
Samuel Tilford, Ann Tilford, Francis Widener, Rachel Campbell.
In 1837 a meeting house was built in Hamburg. Some years after this
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 277
the congregation moved to Sellersburg and of late years has not affiliated with
the other churches of this name because of opposition to instrumental music
and organized missionary work.
Another early church was organized at Stony Point, April 22, 1837.
This congregation still meets near the point where it was organized, about
midway between Memphis and Charlestown.
The earliest congregation of which any records can be found was organ-
ized in Jeffersonville on March 7, 1830. in the court-house. Elder Benjamin
Allen, of Goose Creek church, Kentucky, was the organizer. The follow-
ing were the charter members : Nathaniel Field, Christian Bruner, Elizabeth
Bruner, Mary Phillips. Elizabeth Bennett, Eleanor Wright, Francis Mc-
Garrah, Maria McGarrah. To these were added liy baptism the same day,
Sarah Ann Field, Elizabeth Field and Elizabeth Knight. The original book
of this organization is now in the possession of Henry Burtt. It is in a fair
state of preservation, and is quite interesting to read. In those days many
members were excluded for living in an unbecoming manner.
A congregation was started at Charlestown at a ven,' early date but the
exact time is not known since the records have been lost. In 1834 a member
was received by letter in Jeffersonville from the Charlestown congregation;
but how long before that the church was in existence is not known.
The Christian church is congregational in its government : but there is
an annual meeting of the various county congregations, at which co-operative
work is often considered. This meeting is held on the fourth Lord's Day in
August.
THE ADVENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
Differences regarding doctrine in the Christian church having arisen
in the early forties Dr. Nathaniel Field and eleven members of this church
withdrew April 11, 1846. Shortly after this they organized a new church in
the old court-house, on Market street, between Spring and Pearl. In 1850
Calvin Cook gave the new congregation a lot on Watt street, near Maple, and
Doctor Field furnished the material and built the church. Doctor Field re-
mained pastor of this church until his death, in the late eighties, and during
the long time of his service never received pay. C. C. Anderson, Daniel Lan-
ciskes and Mr. Wooley were the first trustees.
During the year 1897 and 1898 most of the members took their letters
and united with the Advent Christian church in New Albany, at Silver Grove.
After the death of the Rev. M. A. Stevens, who was pastor of both churches
at that time, the members of the old church came back, reorganized, and in
1899 rebuilt the present church building, on Watt street. The Rev. Mr. Gar-
berson is the present pastor.
' ■ ■ CHAPTER XXVIII.
GERMAN REFORMED CONGREGATIONS, JEFFERSONVILLE AND SELLERSBURG.
ST. LUCAS GERMAN EVANGELICAL REFORMED CONGREGATION, JEFFERSON-
VILLE.
On May 13, i860, a call was issued b)' a number of German citizens,
signed by John A. Bachman, Daniel Ever. Heniy Sittel, I. L. Rockstroh, Wil-
liam N'anz, John Reuhl, Daniel Rieth, Christian Heyn, Valentine Wuergler,
Ludwig Henzler, Jacob Angst, John Greiner, Henry Pfiester, Herman Pree-
fer, Jacob Spielman, Joseph Stein, August Reipschlaeger, Jacob Ever, Andrew
Bauer, Christian Schlosser, Melchior Brtendly, Fried, Renz, Philip Gcebal,
Christian Hoffman., for the organization of a German Protestant church. At
that first meeting officers were elected to perfect the organization : J. L. Rock-
stroh, president; John A. Bachman, secretary, and Henty Sittel, treasurer.
As a result on June 22, i860 the congregation bought the Presbyterian
church, opposite the present city hall, for the sum of one thousand two hun-
dred dollars.
At a regular legal meeting on July 12, i860, the first officers were duly
elected as follows : J. L. Rockstroh, president ; Ludwig Henzler, secretary ;
John A. Greiner, treasurer. Henry Sittel, Valentine Wuergler, Christian
Heyn, ^^'illiam N^anz and John Ruehl, trustees. In October, 1861 the first
constitution and by-laws were adopted, signed by John L. Rockstroh, Henry
Sittel, Ludwig Henzler, John Greiner, Christian Hejai, Valentine Wuergler,
William X'^anz, John Ruehl, Christian Selimer, Jacolo Angst, Daniel Rieth,
Andrew Bauer, John A. Bachman, Melchior Brjcndly, Christian Schlosser,
Karl S. Spielman, John Best, Conrad Seelbach.
The first pastor to be called was a Reverend Grassow, and the congre-
gation was known as "The German Evangelical." The next pastor was called
on September 21. 1862, Reverend Hartly. In March, 1863, he was succeeded
by Rev. I. N. U. Bradsh, of New Albany. On December 6, 1864, Reverend
Wiehe was called, who was followed by the Rev. Carl Becker, of New Albany,
who served to January 30, 1870. Then came a decided change, the congre-
gation voted to affiliate with the Reformed Church, and called a graduate
of the Mission College, Rev. Christian Baum. on May i, 1870. Then began
a new era. The new officers under Reformed church rules were : John Rausch-
enberger, president: H. Preefer, secretary; Andrew Bauer, treasurer; consis-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 279
tory, John Ehle, G. Woehrle, W. Same, Ludwig Roederer, A. Kern, W.
Bueschemeyer. The first official action was to appoint a committee to buy a
lot for a parsonage. The lot next to the church was secured at a cost of one
thousand dollars, of John H. Read ; and a parsonage at a cost of one thousand
six hundred dollars built by C. Heyn (addition was since added thereto at a
cost of six hundred dollars). The church was rebuilt and enlarged in 1882
at an expense of several thousand dollars.
Reverend Baum resigned April, 1873, and was succeeded by the Rev.
H. Rieke, who on accoimt of longing for the old country, resigned in the
following year. Rev. H. Meiboom followed and served to July 10, 1876, to
be succeeded by the Rev. C. F. Fleiner, who filled the pulpit to July 7, 1880..
Next to take charge of the pastorate was the Rev. H. M. Gersman, to May,
1900, followed by Rev. Daniel Neuenschwander, wiio served one year, and
was succeeded by J. G. Rees, of Chicago. In March, 1901, he resigned and
was followed in the pastorate by Rev. W. G. Lienkaemper, who, on account
of ill health resigned on November 13, 1903. Next, Rev. A. G. Gekler took
charge in February, 1904. He served one year and resigned to again enter
the mission field. On April 2, 1905, Rev. J. F. Vornholt took charge and
served to August, 1908, and the pulpit is now filled by Rev. Ben E. Lien-
kaemper. the brother of a former pastor.
Over five hundred members have been taken intd the church by confirma-
tion, making it in point of membership the largest congregation in the city.
A strong feature is its "Woman's Society," which is saving funds, with a
view of building a church which modem conveniences for Sunday school and
the young people. A beautiful pipe organ has been installed less than a year
ago. The future for this church looks very promising. The church is offi-
cered at the present time by Rev. Benjamin E. Lienkaemper; consistory, John
Rauschenberger, F. H. ]\Iiller, Peter Nachand, John Gienger, William Pfau,
John Schlc-efer, Andrew Schlosser, Jacob \\'oehrIe, Charles A. Schimpfif, sec-
retary, since 1870, continuous. A flourishing Young People's Society was or-
ganized in June, 189 1, that has sixty-five members, whose aim is to assist tlie
'church in the equipment of the new edifice in prospect.
A Sunday school with an enr.ollment of one hundred sixty-five has been
in uninterrupted regular session since 1870, with Charles A. Schimpfif as super-
intendent, with only a slight intennission of service. Another member with
almost the same record is J. C. Reschar, a faithful teacher. John Rauschen-
berger has been a member of the consistory for a generation. Miss Lucy
Steidinger has filled the position of organist for both church and Sunday
school, continuous and faithful, since April, 1889. Great' work is anticipated
tuider the present new energetic pastor. A fitting semi-centinnial celebration
would be the dedication of a new church in 1910.
28o BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
ST. Paul's German evangelical reformed congregation, sellersburg.
St. Paul's Reformed congregation of Sellersburg. Indiana, belongs to
tlie Reformed church in the United States, historically known as the German
Reformed church.
The work of the Rev. J- H. Krueger, a minister of the Reformed church,
who occasionally held religious services for the German Protestants living in
the vicinity of Sellersburg. Indiana, resulted in the desire on their part to
have an organized congregation and a house of worship for regular ser\-ices.
A meeting was held in the Baptist church at Sellersburg on March, 20, 1871,
which was presided over by William Stickan, and of which Edward Haas was
the secretary. An organization was effected under the direction of Rev. J. H.
Klein, of Louisville. A constitution was adopted, and a consistory of three
members was elected, one elder and two deacons. William Mueller being the
choice for the office of elder and William Stickan and William Dreyer for
that of deacons. Following are the names of those who signed the constitu-
tion at the time of organization: J. William ]\Iueller, F. William Stickan.
William Dreyer. Carl Schwengel. Frederic Loheide. Louis Utrecht. Christian.
Melcher, William Matteg, Carl Loheide, George Kranz. Edward Haas, Wil-
liam Krekel, H. Grossbach, Peter ^Mueller, August Koehler, Ernst Meyer.
A modest frame structure, twenty by thirty feet, was soon afterwards
erected in which the congregation worshiped and in which were also held
the sessions of its parochial school, until almost twenty years later a new and
more commodious church was erected. The latter, located near the site of
the old. was built during the pastorate of the Rev. Ph. Steinhage, in 1890.
and dedicated on December 14th of that year.
For a number of years after its organization St. Paul's Reformed con-
gregation, together with Reformed congregations at Charlestown and Otisco.
Indiana, constituted one pastoral charge, these three being served successively
by the following pastors : Revs. Julius Herold, Edward Gruenstein and
Charles Hartmann. St. Paul's was then united with Immanuel Reformed
congregation of Crothersville, Indiana, these together forming the Crothers-
ville charge, under the care of one pastor, and now within the bounds of
Kentucky Classis, Synod of the Northwest, of the Refnrmed church in the
United States.
Since 1882 this charge has been served by the following pastors, succes-
sively: S. C. Barth, Ph. A. Steinhage, C. Wisner (1891-98). J. Gaenge 1898-
1903), Caleb Hauser (1904-1906). P. G. Kluge. since ]\Iay, 1907.
The number of young persons who have been received into the member-
ship of St. Paul's since its organization is one hundred twenty-five. The
membership of this congregation has at no time been large. This is due
partly to the fact that it shares the fate of most churches in the small com-
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 281
munities, which constantly lose from their membership those who remove to
the larger towns and cities in search of greater opportunities and more re-
munerative employment, and also to this, that its activit}- has been more or
less restricted to the German protestant population of the community in which
it is located. But St. Paul's has always faithfully endeavored to discharge
its duty of training those under its influence for a Christian life and church
membership. Numerous members of churches in the nearbv cities have re-
ceived their early religious training and education wh.ile under its care. St.
Paul's has always distinguished itself by charitable liberality, contributing free-
ly for the support of missions and other benevolent causes. With regard to
matters of language the present is a time of transition from the German
into the English.
Membership (1909): Communicant members, eighty: unconfirmed mem-
bers, sixty-nine. Organizations i'.i the congregation: Sunday school, choir.
Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, organized in 1908; Ladies'
Aid Society, organized 1908.
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE BENCH AND BAR OF CLARK COUNTY.
The profession of law in no part of the United States in early days had
more brilliant intellects nor deeper students than did Clark coimty. Her
judges upon the bench and the lawyers who practiced before them will com-
pare with those of any other locality both as to depth and breadth of intellect.
Perhaps the most prominent early member of the bar in Clark county
was Jonathan Jennings, the first Governor of Indiana under the state con-
stitution. He was a native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, and was born
in 1784. When a youth his father emigrated to Pennsylvania, and the boy
having obtained some knowledge of Greek and Latin, commenced the study
of law, but before being admitted to the bar removed to the Territory of
Indiana, and was employed as clerk by Nathaniel Ewing, of Vincennes.
He returned to Charlestown soon after and adopted that place as his
home. His slogan was "No Slaveiy in Indiana," and throughout his long
and brilliant career he kept the slavery question to the front Jonathan Jen-
nings was a man of the people and owed much of his success in politics to his
peculiar knack of keeping close to them. Clark county has produced no more
brilliant character. His incorruptible integrity, his refusal to bow to political
expediency, his hospitality, his thorough understanding of the people, and his
firmness of character place him in the front rank of Indiana's great men.
In 1809 he was elected delegate to Congress, and remained as such until
the formation of a state constitution. He was chosen president of the con-
stitutional convention, and at the first state election, in 1816, was the choice
of the people for Governor. He was again elected to the office in 1819, and
in 1822 was returned to Congress from the Second district, continuing its
representative until 183 1, when he failed of a re-election. He died on his farm
about three miles west of Charlestown, in 1834.
The following paper was written by the late Judge C. P. Ferguson,
and is of particular value on account of his personal knowledge of the man of
whom he writes :
THE BENCH AND BAR OF CLARK COUNTY, PRIOR TO THE CONSTITUTION OF 185I.
Early in the month of January, in the year 1801, William Henry Harri-
son, then twenty-eight years of age, arrived at Vincennes and entered upon
the discharge of his duties as Governor of the Indiana Territory. At that
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 283
time the boundaries of the territory inchided all that immense scope of coun-
try out of which the states of Indiana, Illinois, ^Michigan and Wisconsin were
afterwards formed. So it remained until 1805, when Michigan Territory
was struck off, and in 1809, Illinois Territory was organized, and from that
time the territoiy of Indiana had the same boundaries as the state of Indiana
now has.
As a part of the organization of the Indiana Territory, the law pro-
vided for an appointment by the President of the United States of a
Governor, a Secretary and three Judges. Jnhn Gibson was appointed Secre-
tary and served as such during the whole territorial period, and among the
territorial judges acting under the commission of the President of 1813, and
as United States Attorney for the territory in 1809, was a Charlestown man,
who for a long period ranked as an important man under both the territorial
and state governments. Of this man I have never seen in print anv biograph-
ical sketch, and what I shall say of him I have gathered from his public acts,
so far as they have liecome a part of the history of the state, and from what
I knew of him personally in his old age.
I have reference to Judge James Scott. After serving as United States
Attorney and United States Judge for the territory his next public service
was a delegate from the county of Clark to the convention called for the
purpose of framing a state constitution, in 1816. That constitution provided
for the appointment, by the Governor, to be confirmed bv the Senate, of three
judges of the Supreme Court. Jonathan Jennings, the first Governor and also
a Clark county man, appointed his friend and neighbor. Judge Scott, as one
of the Supreme judg-es for the constitutional period of seven years. He served
his first term and was re-appointed by Governor William Hendricks for a
second term, serving altogether fourteen years and retiring in 183 1. After
retiring from the Supreme Bench, it would seem that he did not meet with
much success as a member of the bar, for about the period 1834 we find him
giving attention to the editing of a newspaper called "The Comet," printed in
a little frame building which stood on a part of his residence lot. No 55, in
Charlestown. At the liead of his paper the following lines were kept stand-
ing as its motto : "Ask not to what doctor I apply, for sworn to no sect or
party am I."
How long this newspaper was published, I am unable to say, but after
Gen. W. H. Harrison was inaugurated as President, in 1841, Judge Scott
was appointed as register of the land office, at Jeflfersonville. and served as
such until removed under the administration of President Polk.
After leaving this office he opened a school for girls in Charlestown. I
could name several grandmothers, well known to some of you, who were
under his tuition when they were frisky little girls. But the school did not
last- very long, and it seems this was the last effort he made for self-support.
284 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
He was old and poor and childless, and his wife had been dead for many
years, but there was a lady living in Carlisle whom he had reared as an adopted
daughter. In her house he sought a home and found it, and there he died.
Judge Scott had the rqjutation of having a fine education and great learn-
ing. As to his ability as a jurist, his many opinions published in the Supreme
Court reports in the hands of every Indiana lawyer, must speak for them-
selves. That he was an amialjle. honest and devoted Christian man. I can
testifv of my own knowledge.
\\'hen the Indiana Territory was established by ordinance of Congress,
the county of Knox included all the territory embraced in what is now the
state of Indiana. Out of Knox county the county of Clark was formed,
which included what is now Harrison county and by boundaries eastward
and northward covered about one-fifth of the present state and a court was
established in the new county. Oiu^ court records show that the first court
held in the county was held at Springvalle. April 7, 1801, by the following
named persons as judges : William Goodwin. ]\Iarston G. Clark, Abraham
Huff, Thomas Downs, and James N. Wood. Charles P. Tuley was also one
of the justices of the court, but was not present. Samuel Gwathmey was the
first Clerk and Samuel Hay the first Sheriff.
These first officials in the organization of the county took deep root.
During their own lives they continued from time to time to fill important
places and after them, their descendants have often filled places of honor
and trust in the county. It may be interesting to note that after the lapse
of nearly one hundred years, a great-grandson of one of these judges was
the Judge of the Circuit Court, and another great-grandson of the same person
was the Clerk of the court, and the grandson of the first Sheriff, as well as
grand-nephew of one of those judges, was Recorder of the county, all hold-
ing office at the same time.
The laws governing these local courts were made by the Governor and
Territorial judges appointed by the President, until the county arrived at
what was called the second grade, when it became entitled to a Legislature,
and this happened in 1805. when the first Legislature convened.
No trace of Spring\'ille. which was located a little more than a mile
west of Charlestown, where the courts were held until July 6, 1802, can now
be found, but like ancient Carthage, it has not only been destroyed, but the
ground upon which it stood ploughed up and converted into a field.
On and after July 6. 1802, the courts were held at Jeffersonville until
March 3, 181 1, when the court was first held at Charlestown. These local
county courts continued to exist for thirteen years, some new names appear-
ing as judges from time to time: the name of Evan Shelby. Rezin Redman
and John Miller appearing as judges at the close of 1813.
They had both criminal and civil jurisdiction and had a grand jury
J
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 285
to present indictments. Xone of these judges pretended ti. be lawyers, but
were plain, honest and intelligent men, acting under the appointment of the
Governor, in fact, justices of the peace, with power to come together at
certain times as a court. During the period of these courts and especially
while they were held at Jeffersonville, the business was largely in the hands
of Louisville attorneys, the names of Breckinridge, Harrison. Johnson, For-
tunatus Cosby. \\'orden Pope, James Ferguson and other Kentucky names
of distinction, often appearing in court proceedings.
Among the Indiana lawyers of this early period the names of Henry
Hurst, Robert A. Xew, Jonathan Jennings, James Scott, Benjamin Park,
Gen. Washington Johnson, Thomas Randolph and others appear in the
records.
It may truly be said of Henry Hurst that he was in at the beginning,
for at the second term of court held at Spring^^ille he made his appearance
under the style of Deputy United States Attorney General, ready to indict
and prosecute in the name of the United States all violators of the law. He
settled himself at Jeffersonville and among the landmarks of that city still
standing in a good state of preservation is his two-story brick dwelling, with
high stone steps, at the top of the wharf directly fronting the ferry landing.
Major Hurst became one of the noted men of Indiana. He was an aid to
General Harrison at Tippecanoe, and history has it that on the morning of
the battle, the general had risen a little after four o'clock as usual, and was
in his tent in the act of drawing on his boots in conversation with Major
Hurst and Major Owens, when the unexpected attack was made. When
President Harrison was inaugurated, on the 4th day of March. 1841, he rode
on horseback at the head of the procession, through the streets of W'ashing-
ton, and at his request, Alajor Hurst, mounted on a white horse, rode at his
right hand, while the officer who had been his aid at the battle of the Thames,
rode at his left. Thus was Clark county, through one of her citizens, given
the post of honor on a most notable occasion. Major Hurst, for a time, served
as Clerk of the United States District Court, and in 1838 was a member of
the Legislature from Clark county. He was of portly frame, with the digni-
fied carriage of a gentleman of the old school, and his ivory headed cane, his
bandana handkerchief and his snufif-box were his inseparable companions.
He was blunt of speech, and was fond of a joke, liked his wine and delighted
in a game of cards, but he was not a gambler. In the long ago when lawyers
traveled the circuit he was generally with them, more for the pleasure of the
association than the profits of his profession. The last iuiportant business
he attended to was in settling the estate of John Fischli. as executor of the
will. Mr. Fischli died in 1838, leaving the shortest will ever recorded in
Clark county, the devising part occupying only three lines of record, yet
those three lines controlled the largest estate ever disposed of in the county,
286 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD.
up to that time, the settlement of which demanded the attention of the court
for years, as well as requiring some special acts of the Legislature to preserve
the rights of the devisees.
In 1814 the judicial system of the territory underwent a change; the
territory was divided into three circuits, with a presiding judge for each cir-
cuit and two associate judges in each county, all appointed by the Governor.
In November, 1814, Jesse L. Holman appeared in Charlestown and took
his seat as presiding Judge imder the commission of Territorial Governor
Posey, and William Goodwin and John Miller having also produced their
commissions, took their seats at associate judges, and Isaac .Shelby was the
Clerk. This was the same Judge Holman who became one of the first
Supreme judges under the state constitution, and unless I have been wrong-
fully informed, he was the father of William S. Holman, who was an Indiana
Congressman almost continuously for thirty years. Judge Holman's com-
mission being a territorial appointment, his ser\'ices came to a close at the
November term, 1816, Indiana having been admitted as a state and adopted
a constitution. Under the constitution the state was divided into circuits,
each circuit to have one presiding Judge, to be elected by the Legislature,
and two associate judges for each county, to be elected by the votes of the
respective counties, and term of all judges was seven years. At the com-
mencement of this new. era in Indiana history, the following named Clark
county attorneys were permitted to continue in the practice by taking a new
oath to support the constitution, and also the oath against duelling, -required
by law; Alex Buckner, John H. Thompson, Benjamin Ferguson. David Floyd,
Craven P. Hester, Henry Hurst, John F. Ross, Isaac Naylor, Isaac Howk
and James Morrison.
Many of the attorneys so named subsecjuently removed from the county.
Mr. Buckner owned and kept his office on lot i, in Charlestown, and while a
resident here he was the very head and front of the Masonic Order in
Indiana. He went to St, Louis and became L'nited States Senator in 183 1.
Mr. Thompson, after becoming Judge, removed to Salem. Mr. Ferguson
retired from the practice and settled on a farm. Mr. Hester, the father of
the late Judge James S. Hester, of Brown county, went to California.
Mr. Morrison removed to Indianapolis, became Judge of the Circuit
Court and filled other important offices, among which was president of the
State Bank. Mr. Naylor removed to Crawfordsville and became Judge of
the Circuit Court. Mr. Howk. who was the father of the late Supreme Judge,
George V. Howk. died at Indianapolis in 1833, and had been speaker of the
House of Representatives. Mr. Floyd, formerly of Clark county, was already
located in Harrison county. At this period Charles Dewey attended the
Clark county courts, but was a resident of Paoli.
The first term of the Clark Circuit Court under the constitution was
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IXD. 287
held in Marcli, 1817. The court records show that David Raymond was the
presiding Judge and W'ilham Goodwin and John Beggs the associates. Isaac
Shelby produced his commission as Clerk for seven years and took the oath
of office and oath against duelling. The June term. 181 7, was held by the
same judges. I have been unable to find out who Judge Raymond was and
by what authority he held these two terms. The election for Judge should
have been at the November session. 1816, when the United States Senators
and state officers were elected by the Legislature. If Judge Raymon was the
Judge elected why did he hold two terms only? So far as I ha\'e knowledge
Judge Raymond is one of the lost judges.
At the October term. 181 7, Davis Floyd took his seat as Judge of the
Second Circuit, under a commission to hold the office for seven years from
October 13. 1817. William Goodwin and John Beggs were the associate
judges and John F. Ross Prosecuting Attorney.
The career of Judge Floyd, if written out in detail, would read like a
romance. From the first organization of the county he seems to have been
the liveliest man in it. A yen* tall and dark complexioned man full of courage,
he appears to have been in e\'erything and ready for anything, and for twenty-
five years he was a most prominent figure in the territory and state of Indiana.
The records show that in 1801 he was deputy for Samuel Hay, the first
Sherifif ; was licensed to keep a tavern at Clarksville ; said tc have been a falls
pilot and major of militia, and in 1803 was Sheriff and collector of public
revenues, and was adjutant for Joe Hamilton Daviess at Tippecanoe, and
admitted to the bar in 181 2.
His name often appears in litigation in the earliest records sometimes
as plaintiff, but generally as defendant, defending actions for debt, actions
for trespass, suits on his official bond, and sometimes indictments preferred
against him. The first execution issued in the county. No. i on the docket,
issued January, 1802, was in his favor against Aaron Bowman, for fifty dol-
lars, and the criminal records show that on account of matters growing out of
the execution of the writ, Mr. Bowman assaulted Sheriff Hay, for which he
paid a fine of twenty dollars. With it all he seems to have been a verv' popular
man, for at the first territorial Legislature, in July, 1805, he took his seat as
a member of the House of Representatives from the county of Clark. Soon
after the close of the Legislature he became involved in the mysterious and
supposed treasonable movements of Aaron Burr, went to Blennerhasset's Is-
land to meet Colonel Burr and received a special visit from him at Jef-
fersonville. and on December 16. 1806, some men he had in charge joined the
expedition and proceeded down the river. For this little piece of fillibustering
he was indicted in the United States General Court, held at Jeft'ersonville,
June 2, 1807, by Judge Thomas T. Davis, tried by a jury, which found him
guilty of carrying on a militaiy enterprise against his Catholic ]Majesty. the
288 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
king of Spain, and was punished by a fine of ten dollars and imprisoned for
three hours. But this did not seem to set him back in the estimation of his
fellow citizens, for we find him taking an active part in a historic meeting
held at SpringTille. October lo, 1807. over which John Beggs presided as
chainnan and ]\Ir. Floyd acted as secretary, the object of which was to remon-
strate to Congress against the scheme of Governor Harrison, Walter Taylor,
Thomas Randolph and other pro-slavery men. for the suspension of that part
of the Ordinance of 1787, forbidding slavery in the territory. Of how many
inter\-ening legislatures Judge Floyd was a member, I am unable to say, but
having been a member of the first territ(jrial Legislature, he again turns up
as a member of the first state Legislature, which convened November 4, 1816,
he then appearing as a member of the House of Representatives from Harri-
son county, having previously been a delegate from that county in the con-
vention which framed the constitution.
At this session the Governor was directed to procure a great seal for the
new state, and it was upon the motion of Mr. Floyd that the device adopted
by the Legislature was the same now in use, with which the school children
are familiar — a woodman felling a tree, a fleeing buffalo and the setting sun.
At the next session of the General Assembly he was elected Judge of the
Second Circuit and after ser\ing seven years on the bench went to Florida
under the commission of President Monroe, to investigate some troubles
growing out of land titles. Of his career afterwards scarcely anything is
known with certainty, but old citizens of Harrison county are emphatic in the
assertion that he never returned to Indiana. The Sheriffs of Clark county
who served under Judge Floyd were John \\'eathers. Joseph Gibson, James
Curry and John S. Simmonson.
Judge John F. Ross, a resident of Charlestown, was the successor of
Judge Floyd. His first term of Clark Circuit Court was commenced in May,
1824, when he was thirty-six years of age. Willis W. Goodwin and Benjamin
Ferguson took their seats with him as associates. Gen. John Carr had just
commenced his first term as Clerk, and tien. John S. Simonson was Sheriff.
Judge Ross, after serving one term of seven years, was re-elected and died
about the middle of his second term, his last signature on the court record
being May 24, 1834. He was a scholarly man, had been a soldier in 1812,
served in a session of the Legislature, often was Prosecuting Attorney and
of undoubted integrity as a Judge. His birthplace was Morgantown, Vir-
ginia, but in his infancy his parents moved to near Bardstown, Kentucky,
where his father died when he was nine years of age. After his death his
mother was careful to see that he, as well as the other children of the family,
received a good education. L'pon the death of Judge Ross the venerable
Judge Scott, who had been his law preceptor, pronounced this eulogy : "His
life was strictly moral, humility was one of the brightest traits of his Christian
— BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND. 289
character. He was one of Indiana's purest statesmen. He was a strict, un-
compromising temperance man, and fearless in advocacy of his views. Phil-
anthropic in his aims, he was popular with the mass of the public. He always
thought to promote the best interests of humanity. A gallant soldier, a
finished scholar and a true gentleman, without fear or reproach."
During Judge Ross" administration several Clark county lawyers, not
previously mentioned, were members of his bar, among whom were James
Collins, father of the late Judge Thomas Collins, of Salem. Xewton Laugh-
berry, who married the daughter of Judge Evan Shelby, and Samuel C.
Wilson. Mr. Wilson came from New York and located at Charlestown,
married Miss Laura Maddock and afterwards removed to Crawfordsville,
where he became a partner with United States Senator, Joseph E. McDonald,
in the practice of law. Also, alxiut this time, Lyman Leslis took up his resi-
dence at Charlestown.
The Sheriffs under Judge Ross, after General Simonson. were Thomas
Carr and David W. Daily. When Judge Ross had been on the I)ench about
one year he was called upon to perform a duty, the most painful of all duties
required of a Judge of humane feelings, the pronouncing of the death penalty
on a convicted criminal. A negro named Jerry killed ex-Sheriff Joseph Gib-
son at Charlestown Landing, in 1825, and was indicted, tried and sen-
tenced to death by Judge Ross within two weeks after tiie killing. But Jerry
did not hang, the Supreme Court gave a new trial, and upon the second trial
he was sent to the penitentiary for fifteen years. Here I will digress a little
to state that the sentence of death had been pronounced seven times in the
Clark Circuit Court since its organization, but only two executions have taken
place: that of \\'illiam Hardin, who was executed by Sheriff T. F. Bellows,
and Macy Warner, executed by Charles S. Hay. In territorial times there
was no penitentiary and if the killing was not a hanging case, the punish-
ment was by burning the letter ]\I in the hand with a red hot iron.
Such was the punishment given Henry Bannister in 181 1, who killed
Moses Phillips, in Harrison county, who was tried in Clark. And to John
Irwin, in 1812, who killed Joseph Malott near the road leading from Charles-
town to the Ohio river. On November 8, 1809, at Jeffersonville, Walter
Taylor, a United States Jutlge for the territory, and afterwards Lfnited States
Senator, passed sentence that John Ingram, for stealing a horse worth ten
dollars, "be hanged by the neck until he is dead, dead, dead," but afterwards,
on the day set for the execution, the prisoner while on the scaffold, was
reprieved.
In cases of theft generally, the punishment, in territorial times, was by
compelling the restoration of the property, or its value, and by a designated
number of stripes laid on the bare back.
After the death of Judge Ross, Governor Noble, on the 5th of July,
19
290 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
1834, appointed Jolin H. Thompson Judge of the Second Circuit to sen-e
until a Judge could be elected. Under this appointment, and a subsequent
election, Judge Thompson presided for a period of over ten years. At the
time he went upon the bench, he was a resident of Charlestown, but after-
wards removed to Salem. In early life he had been a cabinet maker, but
after he took to the law he became a successful practitioner at the bar and
was Liuetenant-Go\-ernor of the state from 1825 to 1828. At the session of
the General Assemlily, which convened in December, 1844. a Judge for the
Second Circuit had to be elected. And Judge Thompson was a candidate for
re-election. At that time there was living in Brownstown a young lawyer by
the name of William T. Otto, scarcely thirty years of age. At the previous
Legislature he had been principal secretary of the Senate, proved himself to be
an excellent officer, and became well known and popular, and when the elec-
tion came off, he was elected over Judge Thompson. Judge Thompson took
the defeat very much to heart, Init it turned out to be the very best thing that
could have happened to him. The same Legislature had to elect a Secretary
of State, and the defeat of Judge Thompson for Judge aroused a sympathy
for him, and he was elected Secretary' of State. This office suited him ad-
mirably. His wife had been the widow of John Strange, the eminent Methodist
minister, and in his family he had a step-son, William R. Strange, just
arriving at manhood, who went into the office as deputy and relieved the
Judge of many of its burdens. Besides, a change of residence had to be made,
causing the Judge to sell his Salem property, and to remove to Indianapolis
and remain there, and the advance was so great that he was put at ease finan-
cially during the remainder of his life.
Among the attorneys who located in Clark county while Judge Thomp-
son was on the bench, were the following: B. F. Clark, Joseph Evans, M. Y.
Johnson, J. M. Stagg, William Newton, John C. McCoy, Charles Hensley,
Silas Osborn, T. W. Gibson, a Mr. Ogden, Andrew C. Griffith, Amos Lover-
iner, and Geors:e F. Whitworth. none of whom remained in the countv verv
long except Mr. Gibson and Mr. Lovering. Major Griffith died in Charles-
town in 1844.
\Miile Judge Thompson was on the bench Lemuel Ford and Joseph Work
served as associate Judges, after the expiration of the terms of Judges Carr
and Prather. and Henry Harrod served as Clerk, as the successor of General
Carr, who had been elected- to Congress. Thomas Carr was the successor
of General Simonson as Sheriff, and Joseph Moore succeeded Colonel Carr :
then Carr came in again and was succeeded by George Green.
Judge \\'illiam T. Otto first presided as Judge of the Clark Circuit Court
at the May term. 1845. The associate judges were: Beverlev W. James and
Hezekiah Robertson. Eli McCauley was Clerk, and John C. Huckleberry
was Sheriff, succeeded by John Stockwell. At the very start Judge Otto gave
JL'DGE CHARLES DEWEY, OF CHARLESTOW'N.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 29I
things a general shake-up. In many respects he revokitionized the practice,
and let the members of the bar and the officers of his court understand that
the go-easy methods they had been pursuing would not be tolerated : in fact,
he assumed a crabbed air. as if to say that when he put his foot down every
person must succumb without a word. But notwithstanding his apparent
harshness, his splendid ability as presiding Judge, his quick comprehension
of the law and clearness in decision soon developed themselves, and the bar,
without excepti()n, had the greatest admiration for him. It is safe to say
that no Circuit Judge in Indiana was ever his superior. He was the last
Judge of the Second Circuit elected by the Legislature. When his term
expired, the constitution of 1851 was in force, and he was succeeded Iiy Judge
Breknell, by election of the people. After Judge Otto retired from the bench
he returned to the bar. secured a fair practice and was considered a formidable
lawyer. But misfortune overtook him, his partner involved him into some
financial troubles, which swept his means from him and turned him loose
upon the world. Deciding to leave New Albany, the place of Assistant Secre-
tary of Interior under Mr. Lincoln's administration was offered him and he
accepted. After this he became official reporter of the decisions of the
Supreme Court of the United States. This place he kept for many years,
then gave it up, fickle fortune in the meantime smiled on him and placed him
in independent circumstances. A few years ago he was living and I have not
heard of his death. Judge Otto was never married, but in Brownstown ceme-
tery there is a tombstone erected by himself which marks the grave of a lady,
who doubtless would have become his wife had not death carried her away.
[Note: — Judge Otto died in Philadelphia in November. 1905. at the advanced
age of eighty-nine.]
The Clark County Bar. during Judge Otto's term, was a strong one.
The resident attorneys were: Judge Charles Dewey, Capt. T. W. Gibson,
Amos Lovering. Charles E. Walker. John D. Ferguson, J. G. Howard,
Charles Moore, John F. Read. W. H. Hurst, Henn,- Foster Smith, C. T.
Solas, W. W. Gilliland, and possibly some others whom I have overlooked.
Besides every term of court was attended by some of the best lawyers of the ad-
joining counties. Randall Crawford, H. P. Thornton. James Collins. Judge
W. A. Porter, Cyrus L. Dunham and Joseph G. Marshall, the sleeping lion.
were regular in their attendance, as were also Humphrey Marshall and W.
P. Thomasson. of Louisville, and sometimes in particular cases the most
eminent of the Louisville lawyers would make their appearance. I know of
one case, in 1848. memorable as the Clarksville Slip Case, in which Henry
Pirtle. Charles M. Thurston, T. W. Gibson, James Guthrie and Randall Craw-
ford all took their turn in making speeches to the Judge. It was a battle of
giants. Mr. Thurston swaying like an aspen in a storm. Mr. Guthrie stood
motionless as a statue, looked the Judge square in the face and talked to him
292 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
as man talks to man, but made no gestures. Mr. Thurston had never seen
the Judge before whom he was to appear. When he entered the court room
finding Judge Otto in the act of charging a jury, he stopped in the lobby with
the crowd until the charge was finished, then nodded his head and muttered,
"A pretty smart Judge that."
Among the strong lawyers at Judge Otto's bar was Judge Charles Dewey,
who returned to the practice after over ten years' service as Judge of the Su-
preme Court. He was a Massachusetts man and when he came to this state lo-
cated in Paoli. He represented Orange county in the Legislature in 182 1, and
the journals show that he was an active member, and was conspicuous as
the special friend and defender of Governor Jennings, when an attempt was
made to censure him in regard to some transactions growing out of the Jef-
fersonville canal project. After this he came to Charlestown and became
Supreme Judge in May, 1836, upon the resignation of Stephen G. Stephens.
While serving as Supreme Judge he was by the President tendered the
appointment of United States Judge for the District of Indiana, as the suc-
cessor of Benjamin Parke, but declined it on account of the difference of the
salaries of the two offices. No previous Judge in Indiana had ever attained
the celebrity that was given Judge Dewey while on the Supreme bench. I had
known him from early boyhood, and when I heard him so often spoken of as
a great man I was a little slow to comprehend it, for a boy never sees great-
ness in a person with whom he is familiar, but always looks for greatness in
the distance. When I got older I got over that, and now, at that distant day,
when I think of the kind of man he was, I am satisfied that no man of ordi-
nary perception could have come into the presence of Judge Dewey without
being impressed with the feeling that he was in the presence of no ordinary
man. His superb frame, large features, swarthy complexion, protruding under
lip and heavy brow indicated force of extraordinary character.
When Judge Dewey died I walked with Judge Otto tc the family resi-
dence to take a last look at the corpse. I well knew of the high esteem Judge
Otto had for the deceased, and was not surprised when he turned to me and
said, "The equal of Daniel Webster is in that coffin today "
Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury under three administrations,
a few years ago wrote a very interesting book in which it is stated that when
he came West, in 1833, seeking a location, he remained at Madison for a con-
siderable time, and while there made the acquaintance of three of the most
distinguished lawyers in Southern Indiana, and they were Charles Dewey,
Isaac Howk and Jeremiah Sullivan.
x'Vnd now at the close of this feeble effort to bring to your minds the
memory of some of the men, now dead and gone, who assisted in establishing
and building up your county and state, I want to say a few words in regard
to one man whose long service at the bar and close identification with the peo-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 293
pie of the county, demand something more than a mere casual reference. I
mean Thomas \\'. Gibson, who first came to Charlestown in 1837, over sixty
long years ago. Young, handsome, active, full of pranks and frolicsome mis-
chief, he soon became the life and soul of enjoyment among the young and
middle aged people of the town, and from the start he attracted attention as
a promising lawyer. After he became married and the head of a family, he
soon established his reputation as an able attorney and counsellor, acquired
a large practice and great influence among the people, which he retained to
the last. After serving as an officer in the Mexican war he was sent as a
delegate to the convention that framed the constitution adopted in 185 1. Not
only did he help make the constitution but for several sessions was a member
of the Legislature which had before them the dit^cult task of making the
laws in conformity with the constitution so adopted. Subsequently, while
retaining his family and residence at Charlestown he opened an office in Louis-
ville and was recognized as a leading lawyer in that city. In the war between
the states he did not hdld ;iny commission, but was often called in consultation
with men of high official positions, especially in regard to the organization of
troops, munitions of war and the gun-boat service, and his counsel was valu-
able. He had been a cadet at West Point, a midshipman in the navy, and had
seen service in the field. Not only was he learned in the law, but he was a
great student and close observer, and his knowledge of things in general, small
matters as well as great, was wonderful, and besides he had been a student of
medicine before he turned his attention to law. As a companion Captain
Gibson was the most entertaining of men, had a supply of jokes always on
hand, and was as fond of a joke as Abraham Lincoln. He had a horror of
gambling and drunkenness, was steadfast in friendship, and always on the
lookout for an opportunity to confer a favor upon some friend or relieve the
suffering of some fellow-being. Altogether he was certainly a remarkable man.
Beneath the sod of Clark county are the remains of many men who were re-
garded as excellent lawyers and jurists ; others who were distinguished as
soldiers, and others who were justly classed among statesmen, but it might
well be written upon the monument of this man, that the quality of the jurist,
the statesman and the soldier were all combined in the same person.
The following paper by the Hon. Jonas G. Howard completes the history
begun in Judge Ferguson's article:
THE BENCH AND BAR OF CLARK COUNTY, SUB.SEQUENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
OF 1851.
The Judicial District of Indiana, of which the Clark Circuit Court forms
a part, was composed of the counties of Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Crawford,
Orange, Washington. Jacksnn and Scott, until about the year 1876. when the
294 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.j IND.
counties of Clark and Floj-d were formed into a Judicial District. Prior to the
change in the districts there were but two terms a year in each district in the
state, and the sessions for the transaction of business in each county were
limited to trom two to four weeks. This court was in session onh- in one
county at the same time. The time tixed for the session to be held in each
county \\as prescribed by law.
The Judge would go from count}- to county and hold cdurt at tl\e pre-
scribed time, and the lawyers of the district, as a rule, wt)uld follow the court
around the circuit and would take cases wherever ofi'ered. The lawyers did
not then, as now, confine themselves in the practice of law to the counties in
which they lived. Prior to 1850, when many streams were unbridged, the
traveling was chiefly by horseback. From 1843 to the close of the year 1852,
Judge William T. Otto presided over the Clark Circuit Court. Judge Otto
was succeeded by George S. Bicknell, who presided over said court from 1852
to 1876. Judge Bicknell was succeeded by John S. Davis, who presided from
1876 to 1882, the time of his death, which occurred a few months before his
term expired. Simeon K. Wolfe was appointed to fill out the unexpired term
of Mr. Davis. Mr. Wolfe was succeeded by Charles P. FergusDii, who
served on the bench from 1882 to 1894. Mr. Ferguson was succeeded by
George H. D. Gibson, who served from 1894 to 1900. Mr. Gibson was suc-
ceeded by James K. Marsh, who served six years and was succeeded by Harry
C. Montgomery, the present incumbent.
In 1852 a Common Pleas Court was created in the state of Indiana,
with circuits composed of from two to four counties, with four terms a year.
It had exclusive jurisdiction oi all probate business and concurrent jurisdic-
tion with the Circuit Court in all matters of contract and tort, where the
amount in controversy did not exceed one thousand dollars, and in matters
arising between landlord and tenant, where the title to real estate tlid not come
in issue. For several years after the creatirm of this court, the counties of
Clark and Scott formed a circuit and afterwards the circuit was enlarged by
the addition of the counties of Flo} d and Washington. Judge Amos Loxering
was the first Judge to preside over the Common Pleas Court. He sen-ed from
1852 to 1862, when he resigned about the middle of the third term, when
Melville C. Hester was appointed to fill the vacancy. In 1864 Judge Hester
was succeeded by Judge Patrick H. Jewett, who hekl the office for eight
years. In 1872 Judge Charles P. Ferguson succeeded Judge Jewett and held
the ofifice about four years and until the court was abolished.
Judge \\'illiam T. Otto was the first Judge to preside over the Clark
Circuit Court during the period above mentioned. It was claimed by Judge
Otto's contemporaries that as a jurist and presiding judge he had no superior
and by some that he had no eciual.
The Honorable Alexander Dowling, Ex-Judge of the Supreme Court
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 295
of Indiana, recently said tliat Judge Otto was tlie finest conversationalist, the
best lawj'er and the best judge he ever met: that he could talk law as no other
man he ever heard of did, and would ha\'e been an ornaiiieni uvr.n the bencli
of the Supreme Court of the United States.
The late Gen. Walter O. Gresham, Ex-United States District Judge for
Indiana; Ex-Postmaster-General under Arthur's administratimi and Ex-Sec-
retaiy of State under ClevelancTs second ailministrati(.)n, said of Otto as a
jurist and presiding judge that "he had no superior and few equals."
Judge Otto was born, reared and educateil in Philadelphia. He was
born in 1815 and came to Indiana about 1837, settled in Brownstown, Indi-
ana, Jackson county, and commenced the practice of law. Soon his superior
literary and legal attainments attracted the attention of the leading men of
the state : that at the age of twenty-se\-en years he was elected by the Legis-
lature Judge of the Clark Circuit Court and the District of which Clark
county formed a part. This position he held until the close of the year 1852.
During the period of his incumbency on the bench he spent his winter vacation
in lecturing on law at the Indiana State University at Bloomington.. While on
the bench he won the re])utation of being the ablest presiding Circuit Judge
that was ever in the state. \Miile on the bench his manner was imperious,
austere and autocratic. He brooked no familiarity from young or old, and
handled the most abtruse proposition of law as if a plaything- and astonished
the older members of the bar with the rapidity and case with which
he solved every legal question submitted for his consideration. Imme-
diately after leaving the bar in 1853 li^ settled in Xew Albany in the practice
of the law and at once his sen-ices were in demand to argue important cases
pending before the Supreme Court. In 1855 l""^ ^^'^s employed l)y the Liquor
League of Indiana, to test the constitutionality of tlie Maine li(|uor law, then
but recently passed by the Indiana Legislature, in which his ettorts were
crowned with success. In person he w-as commanding; was about five feet
and eleven inches tall; would weigh about 175 pounds; stout, sturdy and
symmetrically built, with a head of medium size, well shaped, with a strong
but handsome face, with features, every lineament of which was suggestive
of a great strength and power ; with a strong, full voice, and fine flow of the
choicest language. In arguing before the court or jury he stood straight
up, motionless, without a gesture or any dallying with oratory, went direct
to the controlling- points of the case, and came down on his adversary with
crushing power like an avalanche. His power was not in arousing the pas-
sions or feelings, but in convincing and carrying captive the judgment. I am
now speaking of him as a lawyer. He never appealed to the passions or feel-
ings of the court or jury. He seemed to have no use for any weapon other
than that calculated to convince the judgment, and enlighten the understand-
ing. His power and influence over a jury thus exerted, far surpassed the
296 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
effect and influence of the impassioned class of orators. The efifect of the
impassioned speech may die \vith the passion, while the convincing power of
logic will live.
In 1895. less than three years after Otto had left the bench, he was pitted
against George G. Dunn, the "Henry Clay of the West," as he was called,
in a noted murder trial at Corydon, in which Dunn spoke eight hours. Mr.
John F. Reed, who was associated in the case with Mr. Dunn, said that Otto
made the most powerful speech before the jury that he had ever heard and that
there was no comparison between the power of the men liefore a jury ; that
Otto was by far the superior of the two ; yet Dunn stood at the head of the
bar in Indiana, as an advocate. I have seen Charles Dewey, Joseph C. Mar-
shall and William T. Otto at the bar in Clark county at the same time and I
never have seen three men at the bar of any court, or on the bench of the
Superior Court of any state, or of the Cnited States, that I thought equal to
those three men.
Judge Otto was appointed Assistant Secretaiy of the Interior under
Lincoln's administration in 1862, and left Indiana and never returned. He
served in the position to which he was appointed through Lincoln's and John-
son's administrations and then served for ten yea^rs as Reporter of Decisions
of the United States Supreme Court, after which he spent the remainder of
iiis life traveling in foreign countries. He died about two years ago at the age
of eighty-nine years.
George A. Bicknell was born, reared and educated in the city of Phila-
delphia and came to Indiana and settled in Scott county in about 1848. and
was soon after elected Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District,
and in 1852 was elected Judge of the same district and served for twenty-four
consecutive years until 1876, when he was made a Representatix'e in Congress,
when he served until 1880, then he served several years as Commissioner as an
assistant to the judges of the Supreme Court of the state, in deciding cases
that had accumulated in said court frum time to time, over and above what
the regular judges could dispose of. After that he was elected Judge of the
Floyd Circuit Court, which position he filled until his death in 1892. Here
is a man who was scarcely ever a day out of office from 1848 to 1892, thirty-
si.x years, yet he was never known to electioneer for any position he filled,
a record almost, if not c|uite unparelleled in the histor_\- of the county. His
long official career, without any apparent effort on his behalf to secure it,
speaks volumes for the man. He was indeed a worthy successor to Judge
Otto. Perhaps no man was ever on the bench who was more loved and
respected b}' both bar and litigants. So popular was he upon the bench that
it was not unusual for a wliole term of court to pass without calling upon a jury
to try a single civil suit. The Hon. Thomas ^^^ Gil^son said of him :
"He never decided a case that he did not convince him he was right, even
i
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 297
when the decision was against himself." In conclusion it may be said of him
that he discharged every official trust reposed in him with distinguished
ability and fidelity.
Judge John S. Davis was not a great jurist, yet he was a very formidable
competitor at the bar. He possessed a large fund of common sense and was
an excellent judge of human nature. He exercised a wonderful influence
over men with whom he came in contact. In this regard, had he been more
fortunate in his political aspirations, he may have rivaled Jesse D. Bright.
In politics he was a Whig until that party passed away. He then became a
Republican, which party i-an him for Congress in i860 against James A.
Cravens, the Democratic nominee in a district Democratic by more than
three thousand majority, and he came within about three hundred votes of
being elected. This race demonstrated his power before the people. Had
he remained in the Republican party he doubtless would have attained great
political eminence, because his \\onderful race for Congress in the strong-
hold of Democracy gave him a commanding position in his party, but during
the War of the Rebellion he joined his fortune with the Democratic party,
and soug'ht the nomination for Congress in its convention, in 1870, 1872,
1874 and 1876, and was defeated each time and for no other reasons than
many Democrats had not forgotten the race he had previously made against
them as a Republican. But in his own county, Fknd, where he came in
dailv contact with the people, he absolutely dominated the Democracy from
the time he came into the party until his death. Anything his county could
give him he could get. In 1874 Floyd county elected him to the Lower
House of the Legislature, where in 1875, in the memorable race for the L^nited
States Senate, between Joseph E. McDonald and Benjamin Harrison, at a
time when the Democracy lacked one vote of a majority on joint ballot and at
a time when the Republicans were highly elated with the prospects of success,
and the Democrats correspondingly depressed. In this emergency the last
expiring hope of Democracy was centered in John S. Davis. Davis's man-
agement secured the needed vote and McDonald was elected to the United
.States Senate.
The situation at the time was such that no other man than Davis could
have secured the \()te that gave tliat importrmt \ictiiry to the Indiana Democ-
racy ; hence it is fitting that Davis should be held in greateful remembrance by
the Democracy of the slate of Indiana and of Floyd county as well, for
giving to the state the only man that could have done the work.
Simeon \\'. Wolfe served but a few months as Judge of the Clark Circuit
Court, but long enough to show that he possessed great capacity for the busi-
ness. Mr. \\'olfe was born in Harrison county, about 1822, and was edu-
cated in the schools of his native county. He married at the age of twenty-
one years and settled in Georgetown, Floyd county. Indiana. He engaged
298 BAIR])'.S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
in making shoes and reading law until 1849. \vlieii he entered the law scIkmI
of the Indiana State University in Bloomington, Indiana, and was graduated
from that university in one term. He then moved to Corydon, the county
seat of Harrison county, and commenced to edit a newspaper and to practice
law; In 1852 he was Democratic Presidential elector for his district and
can\assed the same with abilii\. In i860 he was a delegate to the Demo-
cratic National Convention at Charlestown, South Carolina. In 1862 and
1864 he represented Harrison county in the State Senate. In 1872 he was
elected to Congress from his district and served with distinction. In 1882
he was appointed Judge of the District, composed of the counties of Clark
and Floyd. After that he practiced law in New Albany, until his death in about
1889. Of all the distinguished men that that magnificent county has given to
the state, not one surpasses Simeon ^^^ Wolfe in breadth and strength of
intellect. If his magnetism and social qualities had been ecjual to his ability,
history would place him high up in the ranks of the great men of our state.
He was not an attractive speaker, but as a logician and debater he ranked with
the very best we had in the state. In the campaigns of 1866, 1868, 1870 antl
1872, I thought he made the ablest and most instructve speeches that were
made. With the severest logic he always went to the very bottom of every
subject he discussed.
Judge Charles P. Ferguson, whose name deserves to be held bv the peo-
ple of Clark county in grateful remembrance, for if there ever was a faithful
servant of the people Charles P. Ferguson was one. It might have been
truly said of him as Robert Ingersoll said of his brother, that if ever}- person
to whom he had done little acts of kindness were to put a rose upon his grave.
he would sleep under a world of flowers. Who can remember the poor people
to whom in his long life he has given legal advice without money, and with-
out price, who can number the men he has saved from vexations and fruitless
law-suits by giving sound advice? Of the sixty years he lived, after reach-
ing mature manhood, thirty-six years were spent in the perfonnance of ot^n-
cial duties imposed upon him l:)y the partiality of the people.
Mr. Ferguson was born in 1824 in Clark county, near Charlestown,
Indiana. He was educated in Charlestown at the time wdien it was celebrated
for the proficiency of its schools. At an early age he entered the oftice of the
Clerk of the Circuit Court, as Deputy Clerk and as such served from 1844
to 1852, and in 1852 he w'as elected Clerk of said court for a term of four
years. In 1856 he was elected for a further term of four years. In i860 be
began to practice law, and during the same year he was elected to the State
Senate for four years. He then practiced law until 1872, when he was elected
Judge of the Common Pleas Circuit Court and served until the court was
abolished four years later. He then practiced law until 1882, when he was
elected Judge of the Clark Circuit Court for six years. In 1888 he was re-
i
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 299
elected for six years more, and served until 1894. After that he practiced
law until within about three years of his death. As a Judge he was able,
faithful and conscientious. He performed every trust reposed in him with
distinguished ability, fidelity and with an eye to the public welfare.
While in the strength and vigor of his days Judge Ferguson probabh'
exercised more influence over the people of Clark county than any other man.
Judge Ferguson was well grounded in the principles (if the law and
always took care of his clients, and was a remarkably shrewd and able prac-
titioner. Socially he was one of the most agreeable and pleasant companions,
and generous hearted to a fault. In person he was about five feet and seven
inches in height and weighed about one hundred and thirty-five pounds. He
had a large and well formed head, with light hair, high and broad forehead,
a pleasant expression and an intellectual cast of features indicating firmness
and will power.
Patrick H. Je\\ett was a native of Georgia and came to Indiana ahiuit
the year 1849 and settled in Lexington, Scott county, and commenced the
practice of law and soon came into prominence at the bar. In the year 1854
lie was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District, com-
posed of eight counties. He made an active, energetic prosecutor and dis-
charged the duties of the office with commendable ability. In 1864 he was
elected Judge of the common Pleas Court, the circuit being then composed of
the counties of Clark, Floyd, Washington and Scott. In 1868 he was re-
elected and filled the office, in all, eight years. He performed the duties of
the office well and made a proficient judge. As a lawyer he was able, energetic
and resourceful, and in the earlier days of his life, before ill health had
impaired his native vigor, he was a formidable competitor at the bar and one
cf the most companionable of men.
Amos Lovering was the first Judge who presided over the Clark Common
Pleas Circuit Court. He was a native of Massachusetts, was graduated in
one of its colleges. He came to Indiana and settled in Jeffersonville in 1840.
He was well grounded in the general principles of law, but never liked to
practice it, consec|uently had but few clients. He had a great taste for litera-
ture and avoided the drudgery the law imposed upon him. He was elected
Judge of the court in 1852 and served until 1862, when he resigned before
the expiration of his third term. He made an excellent and able Judge, and
seldom were any of his decisions reversed. He was popular with the people
and the bar, and could have retained the office much longer had he so desired.
In person he was six feet tall and weighed about one hundred and fifty pounds.
He had a large, well shaped head, black hair and symmetrical and handsome
features. He died in Louisville about 1877, and will long be remembered
as a faithful public servant.
Melville C. Hester, who was appointed to fill out the unexpired term of
300 BAIRU S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
Judge Levering, served about two years. He made a good Judge, and was
an able lawyer. He was a native of Clark county and was educated at the
Asbury University, Greencastle, Indiana. He belonged to a family noted
for its scholarly attainments, and was a brother of several distinguished
Methodist preachers, formerly of Southern Indiana. About 1881 Mr.
Hester left Charlestown, where he was then living, and went to California,
where he now resides. He was a worthy successor to Judge Lovering upon
the bench.
Cyrus L. Dunham \yas born in Thompson county. New York, the i6th
day of June, 18 17. He was educated and studied law in that state, and came
to Indiana and located at Salem in Washington county, in 1841, being then
in the twenty-fourth year of his age, and commenced the practice of law,
and soon ranked with the best attorneys at that bar. In 1844, at the age of
twenty-seven, he took the stump and canvassed his district for James K.
Polk for President. In that canvass he demonstrated his ability to success-
fully cope with any of his opponents. In 1845, at the age of twent\'-eight, he
was elected Prosecuting Attorney for his circuit and at once established the
reputation of an able criminal lawyer. Pie appeared at the bar of the Clark
Circuit at its first session after he was elected Prosecutor, rather shabbily
dressed and being a stranger in that locality he made an unfavorable impres-
sion upon the people, all of which disappeared before the end of the first day
of the session. On the docket for trial that day was a certain criminal case
in which the prosecuting witness, after looking at Dunham, came to the con-
clusion that he had better hire another lawyer to help prosecute the case,
plucked Dunham to one side and said, "Young man, had I better employ
another lawyer to assist you in the prosecution of this case?" Dunham
answered : "My friend, you can do as you please about that, but I tell you
that I can prosecute that man as hard as he ought to be prosecuted." \\'hich
fact was subsequently verified to the complete satisfaction of the prosecuting
witness. In 1846 !Mr. Dimham was elected to the Legislature from Washing-
ton county and re-elected two years afterwards. In 1848 he was a presidential
elector and stumped the state for Cass and Butler, the Democratic nominees
for President. In 1849, at the age of thirty-two years, he made the race
for Congress and defeated William McKee Dunn. In 1853 he was re-elcted
to Congress over Rodger Martin. In 1852 he defeated Joseph G. Marshall,
the "Sleeping Lion," for Congress. In 1859 he made the race for Congress
and was defeated by George C. Dunn. This was the end of his Congressional
career, which was most brilliant. Thus, before he had completed his thirty-
fifth year, he had served two years as Prosecuting Attorney, four years in
the Legislature and six years in Congress. In 1859 he was Secretary of State
under the appointment of Governor Willard, to fill out the unexpired term
of Daniel McClure. resigned. In i860 he was a candidate before the Demo-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND. 3OI
cratic Convention for Governor, and all the southern part of the state was
for hini. The northern part was for Hendricks and Dunham withdrew in
favor of Hendricks and moved to make his nomination unanimous. In 1861
he raised the Fiftieth Indiana Remigent and was commissioned its colonel and
went into the war, served for about one year with distinction, when ill health
forced him to resign. In 1871 he was elected Judge of the Floyd and Clark
Criminal Court Circuit. He then removed to Jeffersonville, where he lived
until his death, November 21, 1877. At a meeting of the JelYersonville bar,
over which Jonas G. Howard presided, the following resolutions were
adopted :
Rcsok'cd : That in the death of Colonel Dunham, our profession has lost
a member possessed of imminent personal and rare legal attainments, guided
always by a sense of duty, justice and right. His firmness and perseverance
and independence in maintaining his convictions, won the confidence of all who
knew him, either in professional, public or private life.
Unfortunately for Air. Dunham's fame, that in 1854 after he served his six
years in Congress, that he did not open a law office and return to the practice
of law, for which he was so well ecjuipped and admirably adapted, instead of
spending the best years of life on a big thousand acre farm in \\'hite river
bottoms, raising corn and hogs, a business in which he had had no experience.
Mr. Dunham, in strength and breadth of intellect, was a great man and
could combat successfully with any adversarv at the bar, or on the stump.
Mr. Dunham was one of the few of our distinguished men of Indiana who
combined the great persuasive power of eloquence with the crushing power
of logic. As a rule these two elements are not found in a great degree in the
same individual, as notable exceptions we will name Joseph G. Marshall and
Jason B. Brown. 'Sir. Dunham was more than what is usually termed an ad-
vocate. He was intellectually capable of grapling successfully with the most
difficult subjects the human mind is called upon to solve. Mr. Dunham, be-
fore he reached the meridian of manhood, had contracted irregular habits,
which finally, long before his death sapped his intelluctual vigor and those who
only knew him after he came out of the war, have but a faint conception of
his intellectual power. Long before his death he was conscious of his waning
strength and loss of inlluence. In a conversation with him in 1868. wlien
he resided in New Albany, he complained that when Thomas A. Flendricks
and Joseph E. McDonald visited his town, they never called on him ; that
when he went to their town he ne\-er failed to see them. In that conversation,
the writer replied to him: "Dunham, if you would just hold up and be your-
self again, you would have no trouble with Hendricks and McDonald. They
would be glad to meet you. but I fear that you are too excitable to control
yourself." He said : "Yes, I am too excitable." This ended the conversa-
tion on that subject and I afterwards felt that I ought not to have said what
302 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., iKD.
I had to him. About two months after that conversation I recefv^d a note,
a few Hnes, of which I yet ha\e in my possession, which reads as foHows,
after tlie address: "Dear Sir: — I have conckided to take your advice and
have cut off all supplies forever. Will soon be myself again, age and loss
of time only excepted. Yours truly, C. L. Dunham."
In 1864, in the Indiana Legislature, ilr. Dunham was by odds the
ablest debater in that body, as well as the most eloquent speaker, though this
was some }'ears after his powers began to wane. He appeared at his best
in 1852 and 1854, in making his races for Congress with those two intel-
lectual giants, Joseph G. ]\Iarshall and George D. Dunn. Once, while making
a speech in the Legislature, he was advising against the habit of drinking,
some member cried out: "Do you practice that?" Instantly came the
answer: "Does the guide Ixjard point the way any less because it does not
travel it? In the Mexican war there was an Irish gunner named Riley, in
General Taylor's command, who deserted and joined the Mexican army.
Afterwards, in 1854, during "Know Nothing Times," Dunham, in making
a speech, was eulogizing the patriotism of the Irish and Germans, when some
one in the audience called out, "Who was Riley." Instantly came the re-
ply: "Riley was an Irishman and Benedict Arnold w^as an American." Dun-
liam was one of the most gifted men and by nature designed for a better
fate.
The names of the principal local attorneys who practiced law at the bar
of Clark county, state of Indiana, from 185 1 until the year 1900, to-wit:
Charles Dew-ey, Thomas \Y. Gibson. John D. Ferguson. John F. Read,
Charles Dewey, Jr., John Borden, Jonas G. Howard, Simeon S. Johnson,
James B. Meriweather, Cyrus L. Dunham, Patrick H. Jewett, George H. D.
Gibson. Henry A. Burtt, James E. Taggart, Jacob Buchannan, Thomas J.
Gillian, M. Z. Stannard, Matthew Clegg, Park Dewey, Charles P. Fer-
guson, Melville C. Hester, James K. Marsh, James A. Ingram, George H.
Voigt, Edgar A. Howard, James W. Fortune, Ward H. Watson, Edward C.
Hughes, L. A. Douglas, F.'W. Carr, F. M. Mayfield, T. J. Brock, Harry C.
Montgomery, Frank B. Burke, H. W. Phipps and B. C. Lutz
The names of non-resident attorneys, who for many years during said
period appeared at the Clark county bar, are as follows, to-wit : William
T. Otto, Joseph G. Marshall, Randall Crawford, Alexander Dowling. John
H. Stotsenburg, Thomas M. Brown, D. C. Anthony and George V. Howk.
The bar of Clark county, between the years 1852 and 1862, was stronger
tlian it has ever Ijeen since. At the close of that period it lost three of the
greatest jurists, lawyers and intellectual giants that ever appeared in a court
of justice, namely Charles Dewey, William T. Otto and Joseph G. Marshall,
three men that in legal attainments and in intellectual grasp and power have
never been surpassed and neither of whom has ever had an ecpial upon the
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IND. 303
bench of the Supreme Court of the United State since the davs of John
Marshall.
Dewey was born in Massachusetts in 1784, and was graduated at Wil-
liams College in that state, with first honors of his class. He studied law
and came to Indiana in 1816 and located in Paoli, Orange count)', and en-
tered into the practice of law, but did not confine himself in the practice to
a single county. His great ability brought him rapidly to the front and soon
the field of his practice extended to the boundaries of the state. As most
lawyers do, Mr. Dewey soon took to politics, and in 182 1 was elected to the
Indiana Legislature and served with such distinction as to attract the attention
of the people throughcjut the state, and the next year the people of bis district
demanded that he should run for Congress. His district at that time com-
prised more than one-thn-d of the state. He was a Whig in politics; his
district was strongly Democratic, and he was beaten in the race. Two years
after that, in 1824, he moved to Charlestown in Clark count}-, where he lived
until his death, which occurred April 25, 1862, at the age of seventy-six years.
At Charlestown he devoted himself assidiously to the practice of law and
had the reputation of being the ablest lawyer in the state of Indiana. In
1852 he made the race for Congress against John Carr and was defeated,
after which he never ran for an elective oflice. In 1856 he was appointed by
the Go\-ernor, Judge of the Supreme Court of the state, which lie occupied
for eleven years, and honored it as few have done, and b}' universal consent
was placed in the very front rank ul Indiana's greatest jurists. Judge
Dewey's associates on the bench were Judge Blackford and Jeremiah Sulli-
van, and it is universally conceded that at no time since the organization of
the court has it stood so high as when Dewey, Blackford and Sullivan were
its judges, but in strength of intellect and ability to grasp legal questions,
Dewey was far superior to either of his distinguished associates. In 1886
Judge William T. Otto said that Judge Dewey was the equal of Daniel
Webster, that he had never met a man that in strength of intellect and ability
to grasp a legal proposition, was Judge Dewey's equal. That no man
on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, except David Davis,
of Illinois, approximated him. It will Ije remembered that when Judge Otto
made this statement, that it was after Dewey had practiced for twelve years
in the circuit of which Otto was Judge and after Otto had served eight years
as Assistant Secretarv of the Interior under Lincoln's and Johnson's admin-
istrations, and had served ten vears as Reporter of Decisions of the United
States Supreme Court, and several years traveling in Europe, visiting in the
courts of England, France, Germany and other countries.
In person Judge Dewey was large and commanding. He was si.x feet
high and weighed about two hundred pounds, his head was large, his fore-
head high and broad, his hair was black, his complexion dark, his face was
304 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
large, liis features irregular but wonderfully suggestive of intelligence,
strength and will power. Judge Dewey was a great admirer of Clay and
Webster, but he hated Andrew Jackson. He always condemned the American
practice of deserving and selecting military chieftains for civil offices of
government, instead of statesmen. He believed that statesmen for the forum
and chieftains for the field were the safest for a republic. In 1861. on the
day the news reached here that Fort Sumpter had been fired on, Judge Dewey
came into the court-house at Charlestown, took a seat by the stove to await
the opening of the court. It was a chilly April morning, and he sat there
with bowed head and gloomy and apparent distress pictured on his counte-
nance, surrounded by a small group of lawyers all still not a word being
spoken, suddenly he raised his crutch, which he held in his hand and broke
the silence by exclaiming, "I wish old Jackson could be brought up out of
purgatory just long enough to put down this rebellion, but then I would
want him sent right straight back there again." Judge Dewey died on the
25th of April, 1862, and was buried at Charlestown in the town cemetery.
It was said of Marshall that in breadth and strength of intellect Indiana
never had a superior and in ability to stir the passions and sway the feeling
of the people he never had an equal. He was called the "Sleeping Lion" and
fully aroused he was a lion indeed. On such occasions his oratory was like
the hurricane that sweeps everything before it. Ordinarily this power was
dormant, but when engaged in a case that enlisted his feelings and conscience
his words were like hot shot from the cannon's mouth.
In his sketches of Indiana men Oliver H. Smith says of Mr. Marshall,
".As a lawyer Mr. Marshall stood among the very first in the state. His great
fort as an advocate was in the power in which he handles facts before the
jury. At times I have thought him unsurpassed by any man I ever heard, in
impassioned eloquence." It should be remembered that Mr. Smith had sat in
the Senate of the United States and heard speeches from Clay, Webster and
Calhoun. Colonel Abraham W. Hendricks, who for many years had prac-
ticed law at the Madison bar with Mr. Marshall in a recent address said of
him, "He was the most transcendentally powerful advocate that ever figured
at the Indiana bar in Indiana." His intellect was colossal. He seemed to
know the lowly intuition ; his logic was surrounded by a glowing atmosphere
of passion. He could sweep through his subject like a tempest or crash
through it like an avalanche. He was sometimes called the Webster of
Indiana.
John L. King, of Chicago, once said in a letter that Mr. Marshall was
by odds the greatest man Indiana ever produced, but Mr. Marshall himself
and Judge Otto both believed that in breadth and strength of intellect that
the honor belonged to Judge Dewey, but both men were too great to be
envious of each other's fame. Marshall was large, raw-lx)ned, over six feet
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 305
high and weighed about two hundred [xiunds. He had a large head and
face and sandy hair. His countenance indicated strength, power and deter-
mination.
Josepli G. Marshall was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, on Janu-
ary 18. 1800. He was graduated from the university in 1823. He read
law in Kentucky. In 1828 he came to Indiana and settled at Madison, where
he remained until his death in a town noted for strength of its bar. He soon
obtained a lucrative practice and rose to eminence at the bar. Two years later
after his arrival in the town he was elected Probate Judge, which office he
filled with ability. In 1836, 1840 and 1844 he was on the Whig electoral
ticket and each time made an active canvass of state. In 1846 he made the
race for Governor and was beaten by James Whitcomb. In 1849 President
Taylor appointed him Goernor of Oregon, but he declined the place. In 1850
he was elected Senator from his county and served the legal term. In 1842
he was nominated for Congress in his district, but was beaten by Cyrus Dun-
ham. In addition to the offices nameil he represented his countv several
times in the lower branch of the State Legislature. Mr. Marshall had an
ambition to go to the United States Senate, but his ambition was never
gratified. In the Legislature in 1844 the Whigs had the majority on joint
ballot. They nominated him for the Senate but the Democrats refused to
go into the election. Each party had twenty-five votes in the Senate, and
Jesse D. Bright, then Lieutenant Governor, gave the casting vote against
going into the election. In 1854 the People's party had a maj<.^rity of fourteen
on joint ballot, but the Democrats had the majority in the Senate and refused
to go into an election. Mr. Marshall was the nominee chosen of the Repub-
lican party and had the election been held he would have been chosen, thus
it seems that he was twice prevented from going to the Senate by the refusal
of the Democrats to go into an election.
John D. Ferguson was a native of Clark county, Indiana. He was b(irn
near Charlestown in 1822. His parents were Virginians, and came to Indi-
ana earlv in the nineteenth century. He read law and was admitted to
practice in the Clark Circuit Court at the age of twenty-one. In 185 1, at the
early age of twenty-nine, he had ac(|uired a large and lucrative practice and
was regarded the best lawyer of his age in Southern Indiana. At the time
of his death, at the age of thirty-six, he was one of the leading lawyers of
the countv and at that time had the largest practice of any man in the county.
He died in 1858, on the 25th day of April, with consumption. Had he
lived until he was fifty years of age he would scarcely have had a superior at
the bar in the state. He was a man of the very finest intellect, resourceful,
with a wonderful capacity for work, and capable of grappling successfully
with the most abtruse questions of law. He was not only a good lawyer, but
he was well grounded in national politics. He studied thoroughly the writ-
20
306 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
ings of Jefferson. Madison, Hamilton. John Adams, Calhonn. Benton, Clay,
"W'eljster and other distinguished writers on pohtical econom\- ; hence he was
well equipped at the time of his death for the leadership of his party, which
leadership he had enjoyed for the ten years before his death. Absolute leader-
ship was conceded to him by all the leaders of the W'liig part}- in the county.
The leaders of the Whig party in Jeffersonville and elsewhere in the county
did not know, nor care to know, any other leader than John D. Ferguson.
Willard never had a more absolute control over the Democracy of Floyd
county than had John D. Ferguson over the Whig party of Clark county
from 1850 until that party ceased to exist. He died soon after the Repub-
lican party was organized. Had he lived he doubtless would have cast his lot
with that party, in fact the great majority of his old Whig friends went into
the Republican party after the demise of the Whig party. Although he had
never been a candidate for an office, yet no man in Southern Indiana was
better equipped for the political arena than he, consequently he had a bright
future before him, had his life been spared. He was a distinguished looking
man, over six feet high and slender, but symmetrically made, would weigh
about one hundred and sixty pounds when in health. He had a large head,
a high broad forehead and a long, slim, well proportioned face, light hair,
slightly sandy. In speech he had a good voice and an easy flow of language;
in argument he was logical, convincing and persuasive: in temperament he
was mild and genial. He reminded one of William McKinley in this, he
made no enemies. Politically he was popular with both parties. He once
said that at one time he had been an admirer of Hamilton, but that upon
further investigation his mind had undergone a change and that he had
reached the conclusion that Jefferson was the greatest statesman the age had
produced.
Captain Thomas W. Gibson was educated at the ^Military Academy at
West Point. He first studied medicine, then law. He came to Charlestown
when quite a young man and engaged in the practice of law and soon rose to
distinction. He was with General Scutt in th.e war with Mexico. In 1851 he
was elected to the Indiana State Senate. He was appointed l:)y that body as
one of a special committee to revise the code of practice and td make a new
code of laws under our new constituiion. These duties were discharged
v.-ith honor to himself and credit to the state. In 1853 he opened a law office
in the city of Louisville, but still retained his residence at Charlestown and
attended the sessions of the court of that place in connection with his Louis-
ville practice. His repniation had preceded him and he was employed soon
after he arrived there in the prosecution of Mat Ward for killing Butler, a
noted case that shook Kentucky from center to circumference, and well nigh
turned Louisville upside down. Ward's father was a wealthy Louisville
merchant. He was tried in Hardin county and acquitted. This so incensed
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 307
the people of Louisville that a mob arose and stoned the father's residence,
and the residences of some of the attorneys engaged in the defense of de-
fendant. Upon the trial of the cause many able speeches were made on both
sides. I read them all and reached the conclusion that Captain Gibson's speech
was the ablest delivered on that occasion. Captain Gil)son always ranked in
strength and intellect with the ablest lawyers of our state. Captain Gibson
differed from nmst lawyers of the present dav in this, that outside of his pro-
fession he was full of valuable information upon almost an}- subject that might
be broached. Joseph G. Marshall had great admiration for Captain Gibson,
when he came to Louisville in 1850 to arrange to fight a duel with Senator
Jesse D. Bright, he turned his back on all the other numerous friends of his
in Lidiana and came to Charlestown and took Captain Gibson with him to act
as his second, but while the belligerents were getting ready for the conflict
James Guthrie, Judge Pirtle, William O. Butler and other friends of both
parties settled the matter so far as the fight was concerned, but the parties
never spoke to each other afterward. In person Captain Gibson was a sturdy
liuilt man, about five feet, ten inches high and would weigh about one hun-
dred and eighty pounds. He had a large head and face, with regular fea-
tures, and light hair and complexion. His countenance indicated a man that
would brook no insult nor quail before a foe. Li 1846 and 1847 ^^ served as
captain of a company in the war with Mexico and with distinction. In 1833 '^^
served Clark county in the Senate of the state and was chairman of the
committee who made Indiana's code of practice under the constitution.
Captain Gibson in breadth and strength of intellect ranked with the very
ablest men of Indiana.
John F. Read was born in the county of Davis in the state of Indiana,
in 1822. He was a son of James G. Read, a prominent politician of Indiana.
Mr. Read came to Indiana with his parents about 1833. He was graduated
at Hanover College in 1843, and then read law with Maj. Henry Hurst in Jef-
fersonville, and was admitted to the bar in 1845, and commenced practicing
law in Jefifersonville. In 1853 be was elected to the Legislature and served
one term. In 1833 he was appointed receiver of the land office located at
Jeffersonville, and he filled that office for several years. After that he served
several years as City Attorney. In 1866 Mr. Read and I formed a partner-
ship for the practice of law and for certain enterprises in which we were en-
gaged. Mr. Read was the most valuable man to the city of Jeffersonville
that ever lived in it. Yes, he has done enough for the city of Jeffersonville
without money and without price, to entitle him to a monument that would
transmit his name in story and in song to the most distant posterity. He
always contributed to every enterprise calculated to promote the general wel-
fare, freelv. The following are some of the enterprises he aided to promote
and put his money in to aid in the advancement of the city of Jeffersonville,
308 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
to-wit : In 1859 he insisted that for the interest of Jeffersonville a turnpike
road should be built to the county seat at Charlestown. He aided in the
organization and building of the Charlestown pike. In 1864 he insisted on
building the Hamburg turnpike, with a view of inviting the trade of our
county lying north of Silver creek, which had been going to New Albany
to come to Jeffersonville. He helped organize the company and built that road.
In 1867 he organized the Ohio Falls Hydraulic Company with the view of
developing the water power of the Falls of the Ohio, which resulted in the
building of the big flour mill at the Falls. About 1865 and for several years
previous the shipyards had been building in Jeffersonville, about twenty-five
steamboats a year, the machinery of all were furnished by New Albany found-
ries. Mr. Read insisted that Jeffersonville should have a foundry and have that
work done at home and he organized a company for that purpose, with a capital
stock of seventy-five thousand dollars, to which he subscribed ten thousand dol-
lars. He got Dillar Ricketts, then president of the Jeffersonville, Madison &
Indianapolis Railroad Company, and several Louisville capitalists interested in
the enterprise, but the company failed in getting a competent man to run the
business and the scheme was abandoned. Mr. Read then turned his attention
to the Sweeney boys, who had started a small foundry on Pearl street, and en-
couraged them to enlarge their business and aided in raising money to buy
machinery. He also encouraged and aided Plumadore in raising money to
start his wagon and buggy factory on Pearl street. He assisted Henry Same
to raise money to start and run his flour mill on Walnut street. In 1870 he
helped organize and put in operation the Ohio Falls Wagon Company, with
a capital stock of seventy-five thousand dollars, to which he subscribed five
thousand dollars. He also got Belknaps and Avery, of Louisville, interested
in the enterprise, and each put into it five thousand dollars, which company
gave employment to about seventy-five men for about three years and when
the panic of 1873 swept the country like a besom of destruction the company
had shipped south several hundred of its wagons to be sold on commission
from which it never received any returns. It. together with over twenty-five
thousand similar enterprises, went to the wall. Among those that failed was
the great Ohio Falls Car & Locomotive Company, capitalized at one million
dollars, and the other car company operated in the Indiana State Prison. South.
After the former had gone into bankruptcy a bid was offered to the company
to buy and remove the plant from Jeffersonville to a neightoring city, and
after Mr. Sprague, its president, had labored in \ain for more than three
months with the people of Jeft'ersonville to raise the money to re-organize the
company and save it to Jeffersonville, and had given up all hope, and had con-
cluded that it be sold and removed to New Albany, at this critical period Mr.
Read sent for ]\Ir. Sprague and told him that rather than have the works taken
away from this place he would take the responsibility of raising the required
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
309
amount of money to prevent its removal. In two daj's after that interview
with Air. Sprague the money was raised, the company re-organized and plans
were being made for the resumption of business. This was thirty-five years
ago and from that day to this that company has employed from fifteen hun-
dred to three thousand men almost continuously until about one year ago.
Again in 1876, in the hope of reanimating Jefifersonville, he organized the
Jeff^ersonville Plate Glass Company, with a capital stock of one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars, in which company he invested over sixty thousand dol-
lars. He was president of the company, and at the same time was president
of the Citizens National Bank. The company employed two hundred and
twenty-five men for nine }'ears. forty of them were experts who received four
dollars per day for their labor. The men were paid off every Saturday night,
and every glass was sold as fast as it was made. It made the largest plate
glass made in the United States. For nine years the company brought into
Jeffersonville twenty-five thousand dollars a month. Again when Mr. Bar-
more's big shipyard sawmill was burned and his shipyard business was lying
prostrate and Mr. Barmore was contemplating a location elsewhere. Mr. Read
sent for him and told him that he must not leave this city, that his mill must
be rebuilt and that he would assist him to raise the money to do it. and he did.
In all these enterprises through all these years Mr. Read wa^ so quiet, so un-
assuming, so unostentatious, so undemonstrative, that the public seldom knew
whence the power came. But this is not all, 'Sir. Read went more poor men's
security and helped more men out of financial difficulties tlian all the other
men in Jeft'ersonville, beside, for years he was on every Falls pilots bond, on
the official bond of nearly every officer of the city, township and county. He
never withheld help from the needy nor refused aid to the sufi^ering. Through
his management and skill the government building was secured to Jefiferson-
ville. He brought on the fight for the re-location of the county seat from
Charlestown and lead the fight for three long vears and in it Jeft'ersonville
had met such giants at bar as Judge Alexander Dowling, Jason B. Brown
and John S. Davis. Jefifersonville had two lawyers besides Mr. Read. Mr.
Brown said on several occasions that tliev would have won in the fight had
it not been for that Ic.ng head of John F. Reafl. Be that as it may, certain it
is that Jeffersonville would not have won without him. In 1884 it was Read
who had the men sent to \\'ashington to get the appropriation to build the
levee, Air. Read was endowed with a great intellect and had he given one
half the attention to the law that he bestowed upon these other affairs he
would have been equal to the very best. In the thirty-fi\e years that Mr.
Read and I were associated together he spent iii these dift'erent enterprises
not less than (ine hundred thuusand dollars, beside all these services in every
public enterprise was given withtiut compensation. In conclusion I will say
that Jeft'ersonville is indebted to him for the government building, for the
countv seat, for the Car \\'orks, for the levee and for the Bie Four bridge.
310 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
In person Mr. Read was about five feet and ten inches high, and would
weigh about one hundred and forty pounds ; his body was symetrically
formed, his head was large, his face well shaped with regular features, his
hair was black, his temperament was cool and calculating. Nothing seemed
to excite him. He never flew into passion nor used an oath.- In speech he
was rapid, with a good flow of language. His speeches were earnest, con-
vincing and logical and always directly to the point. In logical power I be-
live he was unsurpassed.
Frank B. Burke was born in Jefifersonville, Indiana, December 26, 1856.
He was a son of the late James and Cornelia Burke, of Jeffersonville. His
father was a native of Ireland, and came to the United States in 1848. His
mother was a native of Louisiana; her ancestors were French. Mr. Burke
was educated at Nazareth, Kentucky. In 1876 he began to make speeches in
the Presidential campaign of that year, being then in the twentieth year of
his age. He studied law in Jeffersonville and attended law lectures at the
Law University in Louisville. He was admitted to the bar in 1878. In 1880
he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of the district composed of counties
of Clark and Floyd. In 1882 he was re-elected; from 1886 to 1890 he rep-
resented Clark county in the state Senate. In 1893 he was appointed, under
Cleveland's second administration, United States District Attorney for the
United States, District of Indiana. While in that office he distinguished him-
self and established the reputation of being a strong and able lawyer. In 1900
he was a candidate before the Democratic convention for Governor and was
defeated by John Kern. In the same year he was nominated for Congress by
the Democrats of the Indianapolis District and was beaten by his Republican
opponent. Burke was a great thinker, but he never spent much time with the
books. He did not like the drudgeiy the practice of law imposed upon him.
He liked to examine great questions and discuss them from his own stand-
point. He disliked the idea of having to obtain the meaning of the question
from the conflicting opinions of a dozen or more different judges and then
figure up which side had the majority. He possessed a wonderful capacity for
learning and an astonishing ability to grasp the controlling points in a case.
His power to arouse the passions and stir the feelings of an audience was
almost unecjualed. I think in that line he would have rivalled Joseph G. Mar-
shall, the "Sleeping Lion." Once many years ago while he was making a
speech to a jury in the prosecution of a man charged with murder in which the
sympathies of the audience were with the defendant, at a time when he was
coming down heavily upon him, the audience hissed him. He instantly turned
to them and said, as no other man could have said it, "More than eighteen
hundred years ago the multitude cried out, surrender unto us Barabas." It
is said for ten seconds the silence was so intense that you could almost hear
every person in the audience breath. Burke possessed great logical power as
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
2ii
well as the gift of eloquence. In this he differed from many of our popular
orators. As a rule the two elements are not in a marked degree combined in
the same person. I claim that Joseph G. Marshall and Burke were exceptions
to this mle, that Burke and Marshall's logical powers enabled them to
grapple successfully, with any subject, however obtruse, with the ablest advo-
cates in this country. This could not be said of the Henry S. Lane or the Ed.
Hanigan type of orators. Cyrus L. Dunham was another of our distinguished
men, who combined great logical and oratorical powers. In person Mr. Burke
was commanding; he was six feet high and would weigh about one hundred
and eighty pounds. He was stout built and symmetrically formed, his head
and face were large, his features regular and his hair was black. In temper-
ament he was cool, reserved and undemonstrative, and ncjthing seemed to excite
him. In speech he had an easy flow of language and a voice that I am unable
to describe. It differed from the voice of any other I ever heard ; and all
that I can say about it is that I have seen the passions and feelings of an
audience swayed by it as I never witnessed from any other human voice.
Simecn Stephens Johnson was a nati\'e of Vermont. He was born at
Athens, Windham county, July 22, 1836. He was educated at Newbury Sem-
inai"y, and prepared for Yale College. His father's death changed his plans
and he came to Jeffersonville in 1856, where his elder brother, Jonathan,
was then located. He taught school for a year, clerked iov a while in his
brother's drug store and then entered the law office of the Hon. Jonas G.
Howard, to read law. Mr. Johnson was admitted to the practice of his pro-
fession in 1859 and immediately entered into partnership with Mr. Howard.
He later dissolved this connection and began to practice for himself. Under
his instruction several young men of Jeffersonville, who have made their mark,
read law, one of them being the Hon. George H. Voigt, one of the most
prominent attorneys at the bar of the Clark Circuit Court. In politics Mr.
Johnson was a staunch Democrat of the old school, and although he was not
an office seeker, he served as City Attorney from 1863 to i86g and from
1885 to 1887. From i88g to 1891 he was a member of the City Council from
the Second Ward. His services to the city of Jeft'ersonville were pitched on
a high plane of civic and professional pride.
His paramount inclination was toward equity, fair dealing, kindness and
charity. Simple and unostentatious he was recognized by all as a man of
the most sterling character. In his professional character he was trusted
because of his ability and strict adherence to the line of right. In his private
relations his life was pure and unsullied.
In 1866 he entered Masonry, being initiated into Clark Lodge, No. 40,
Free and Accepted Masons, of Jeffersonville. From this time until his death
his whole life was wrapped in the study and practice of the principles of the
institution. He was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason in May,
312 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
1866, and served as worshipful master for ten years, and as grand master
in 1898-99. He received the Capitular degree in Horeb Chapter, Royal Arch
Masons in 1867; served as high priest in 1872-74 and as grand high priest in
1878.
In Jefiferscnville Council. Royal and Select Masters, he served as illustri-
ous master thirty-seven } ears, and as illustrious grand master in 1894. He
was knighted in New .Mljany Conimandery. Knights Templar, in 1867. and
served as eminent commander of Jeffersonville Conimandery in 1875-76-80-86.
He was right eminent grand commander in 1883.
He received the Scottish Rite grades, including the thirty-second degree
in the \'alley of Indianapolis in May, 1867, in the class with Hazelrigg,
Howk and others. In .\ncient Craft Masonry lie was particularlv wed
versed. He served on the committee on correspondence in the Grand Lodge
of Indiana for four terms, from 1886 to 1890. and had the happy faculty
to condense a report so that the average Mason could find time to read it. This
epitome of Brother Johnson's Masonic record gives but a faint idea of his
services for the good of ]\Iasonry for nearly half a century. His zeal and
work did not abate in the least on retiring from official position, and he
attended regularly all the bodies in which he held membership and cheerfull\-
assisted in every way to promote the best interests of all of them. His
thorough knowledge of the jurisprudence of Masonry made him a wise and
safe counsellor at all times, both in the grand and subordinate bodies. His
Masonic record, which has been duplicated in but few cases throughout the
United States, indicates to what extent Masonry had entered into his life and
to what extent it was appreciated by the craft.
His death in January, 1909, was a loss to Masonry, to the bar of Clark
county, and to the city of Jeffersonville.
Sketches of the Judge of the Clark Circuit Court and his two prede-
cessors will be found in the biographical part of this volume. Judge Mont-
gonierv". Judge Marsh and Judge Giljson have maintained the high standard
of service, character and attainments, which was set in earlier days, but as
the scope of this chapter is not intended to include the present membership of
the bar of Clark county, a future historian must record their acts. However,
one exception may be made to this determination. The Hon. Jonas G. How-
ard, the dean of the profession, for nearly sixty years a member of the bar.
since 1850 prominently connected with nearly every great public movement
in the county, and at present a vigorous and enthusiastic leader in public
questions, deser\-es special mention. Jonas G. Howard was educated at Green-
castle, read law with John F. Read and was admitted to the bar in 1852. In
i860 he and Simeon S. Johnson practiced together. In 1866 Air. Howard and
John F. Read formed a partnership for the practice of law and for certain
enteriirises in which they were both engaged. To recount the various enter-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
313
prises in which he and Mr. Read became interested would be to recount the
history of Jeffersonville for the last half centur_\ . One of the most impor-
tant undertakings with which he was connected was the movement to span
the river with a bridge. Against overwhelming odds the promoters of this
enterprise had to contend : every river man on the Ohio river fought it ; the
ferry company and other transportation companies controlled the testimony
of pilots and other employes, and this, together with affidavits and deposi-
tions of connected interests, presented a front well-nigh insumiountable
opposition. The Big Four bridge stands today as a monument to the effective-
ness of the work done by its promoters.
As a lawyer Mr. Howard will always hold a high place in the history of
the Clark County Bar. He was especially noted for his fidelity to his clients,
and even after an adverse verdict he was usually found redoubling his en-
ergies in endeavoring' to secure a new trial. He was never known to give
up a legal battle that he felt should be won. His arguments of questions
of law were usually based on fundamental principles rather than on case
law, and in his arginnents before the jury he was particularly effective, often-
times in an extended argument when warmed up he would take off his coat
and continue his speech in his shirt sleeves. He hatl great success in de-
fending criminal cases, but would never prosecute one. In the great contro-
versy concerning the removal of the county seat from Charlestown to Jeffer-
sonville in the seventies he was one of the leading lawyers on the winning side.
In the practice of law the success of his case was his first consideration, the
matter of fees being a minor and secondary matter. During the time he
practiced law he was extensively engaged in farming, and even at the age
of eighty-three he would frequently ride to his farm on horseback, as erect
as a cavalryman, where during the harvest season he would be in the field
helping to stack his hay. He retired from the practice of law several years
ago, but still takes an active interest in politics. He has always been a strong
and uncompromising Democrat, and during the third Bryan campaign was
one of the most energetic men on the stump ni the state, although in his
eighty-third year. He still keeps posted on the political issues of the day,
and at his present age there is not a better informed man on political affairs
in the state. He sen-ed in Congress for four years as the Representative from
the Third Indiana district, and has held other minor offices in Clark county.
Mr. Howard is public spirited and is interested in all the public enterprises
which are for the advancement of the interests of Clark county or of Jeffer-
sonville. Personally he is a most agreeable companion, very sociable and
always with a good story to tell. His supply in this line seems to be inex-
haustible, and his excellent memory never fails to furnish him with scenes
and incidents of the early history of the county and state, especially of lawyers
and public men. Physically Mr. Howard is of medium build, a fine specimen
314 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
of manhood, well preserved and claiming that the last twenty-five years of
his life were the healthiest.
(Note: Sketches of all the present members of the bench and bar of
Clark county will be found elsewhere in this volume.)
CHAPTER XXX.
BANKS AND BANKING IN CLARK COUNTY.
The first bank in Clark county was a private bank in Jeffersonville in
1817, called the Exchange Bank of Indiana. It was owned by Beach & Bige-
low, but the location has been lost. The currency which they issued was a
great convenience to the people and the institution was considered a substan-
tial one. It continued in business for several years, but was discontinued
shortly after the canal project of the early 'twenties fell through, and strange
as it may appear, redeemed all bills that were presented, and some came in
many years later. It is said that r passenger on one of the ferries incjuired of a
boatman if a ten dollar note he held on that bank was good. He was informed
that he would do well to inquire of one of the original members of the firm,
and on presenting it it was cashed without hesitation.
Jeffersonville suffered through the unlimited cnxulation of "wild cat"
money for many years. But the history of these institutions is too well known
to need repetition here. Their day is long past, and it is devoutly to be hoped
that the time may never again come when such a system will be allowed to
exist.
A few years after this bank ceased to exist a private bank was estab-
lished by James Keigwin, Sr.. Peter Myres and Judge Davis. James Keigwin
was the president, and the banking room was the present ferry office on
Front street. This bank ran with varying degrees of success until early in the
forties, when it collapsed.
The next banking venture was the Bank of Jeffersonville, promoted by
Samuel Judah, of Vincennes. George Savitz was the secretary of this bank,
and the business was carried on in the room on Front street which had been
used by the Keigwin bank. Felix Lewis, Levi Sparks, John Fry, Jacob and
George Swartz were strick holders, and the institution was considered a sound
one. After this bank went out of business their room was rented by the city
of Jeffersonville for a treasurer's office on account of the vault which the
management of the old Keigwin bank had built there. At this time it was
the only vault in the city.
A branch of the Bank of State of Indiana was organized in Jeffersonville
in 1855. This was one of many branches of the Bank of the State of In-
diana which were being established throughout the state about that time.
The Board of Directors of the branch of the Bank of the State of Indiana
3l6 BAIR[)'s HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
were ^Messrs. Charles Howard, president : George F. Savitz. secretary and
treasurer; \\'. F. CoIIum, Simon Bottorff and Thomas L. Smith. After the
office of cashier was created, \\'ilham H. Fogg became the first incumbent.
The capital stock was $100,000.00 and it was subscribed by Alaybury, Pile
& Company. James G. Read, James Mitchell Simon BottorfY, William F. Col-
lum. George F. Savitz. A. S. Crothers, Levi Sparks, W. L. McCampbell and
others.
The bank began business in a brick building on Spring street at what
is now 316, and continued here until the institution was nationalized and be-
came the Citizens' National Bank of Jefifersonville. The Citizens' National
Bank of Jefifersonville was chartered March 14, 1865, with a capital stock
of $150,000.00. It remained in the same location until 1868, when it moved
to 219 Spring street. The first Board of Directors was James L. Bradley,
president; John Adams, cashier; Dillard Ricketts, James G. Read, Samuel
H. Patterson and Andrew J. Hay. This bank is wholly commercial and its
sound management has made it the foremost institution of its kind in Clark
county. A savings department offers an opportunity for those of small means
to profit by patronizing the Citizens' Bank, and its success has shown the wis-
dom of the directors.
In March, 1907, the Citizens' Trust Company was organized with a
capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars. John C. Zulauf is president.
Charles Poinde.xter, vice-president, and John D. Driscoll secretarj' and
treasurer. The directors are H. M. Frank, Ed. J. Howard. Charles Poin-
dexter, John C. Zulauf, M. Z. Stannard and John C. Rauschenberger. The
capital stock was paid up by a special dividend from the Citizens' National
Bank. The shareholders of the Citizens' Trust Company are the same as
those of the Citizens' National Bank. The Trust company does a trust busi-
ness exclusively and their building at the corner of Spring street and Cmn-t
avenue is fitted with the finest vault in the city, and with safety vault boxes
for those who wish them. The building was erected in 1908, and with its
furnishings cost over twenty thousand dollars.
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF JEFFF;RS0NVILLE.
The First National Bank of Jefferson\ille was organized and began
business January 30, 1865, with a paid-up capital of one hundred thousand
dollars. The organ.izers were James H. IMcCampbel'. president : \\'oods ^la-
bury, \\'illiam L. McCampbell, Hiram Mabury, George ^^'. Ewing, Peter
Myers. Levi Silberman. John F. W^illey, William W. Gilliland. Gabriel Poin-
dexter and William H. Fogg, the latter leaving the Branch State Bank, where
he was cashier, to become cashier of the new institution. All the directors
were from Jeft'erson\-ille except ^^'illiam AlcCami^bell. who was a resident
of Louisville.
"BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 3I7
The first place of business was on the west side of Spring street, two
doors north of the alley between Front and Market streets, and the vault
built for their use still remains in this room. The first bank building was
purchased from the Lentz estate for the sum of nine thousand dollars. The
banking hours were from lo a. m. to 2 p. m., except Sundays and holidays.
In 1887 the capital was increased fifty thousand dollars, or to one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, as it still remains. Air. Fogg resigned as cashier
in 1882, and since that time H. E. Heaton has held that position.
The present location of the First National Bank at Spring and Market
streets is a handsome brick and stone building erected about 1870 at a cost
of over thirty thousand dollars. The present capital and surplus is over two
hundred and twenty thousand dollars. This bank has always operated as a
staunch and conservative institution, extending its influence along lines of
safety and to the betterment of all classes in the city iuid county. It is legally
known as a bank of discount and deposit, and has lately added a department
for savings with liberal interest rates added as accrued.
THE BANK OF CHARLESTOWN.
The Bank of Charlestown was chartered August 15, 1891, and opened
for business September 9, 1891, in the room on the corner of Main and Mar-
ket streets. Its capital stock is twenty-five thousand dollars, divided into two
hundred and fifty shares of one hundred dollars each. The stock holders
were M. B. Cole, J. D. Sharp. Ward H. \\'atson and eleven others. Mordecai
B. Cole was the first president, \\'ilfred M. Green, vice-president, and A. M.
Guernsey, cashier. The Board of Directors were M. B. Cole, W. M. Green,
Rev. J. F. Baird, J. D. Sharp and W. H. Watson.
This bank does a general banking business and has increased its business
with the growth of banking elsewhere in the county. In 1898 the bank
moved into its new location on the northwest side of the court-house square.
This building, constructed to meet the needs of the business, has a handsome
Hall vault, of a design similar to that in the Citizens' National Bank of Jeffer-
sonville, and is equipped with safety vault boxes for the use of patrons.
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF CHARLESTOWN.
The First National Bank of Charlestown was chartered September 11,
1903, and started in business in October of the same year at the comer of
Main and Market streets. Its capital stock is twenty-five thousand dollars.
The first Board of Directors was John C. Zulauf, McD. Reeves, J. S. Robert-
son, J. F. McCulloch and George W. Lewman, and the board remains the
same now with the exception that George H. Gibson has succeeded Mr. Lew-
3l8 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
man. This bank does a general banking business, and is in a very prosperous
condition, paying six per cent, dividends. The deposits amount to si.xty-five
tlionsand dollars, and at present there is an undivided surplus of four thousand
five hundred dollars on hand.
THE HENRYVILLE STATE BANK.
The Henryville State Bank was organized Febn.i;;ry ii, 1904, and began
business March 17, 1904. Hardin Wilson, of Louisville; E. L. Elrod. George
Bollinger, John Scholl, Charles Genner, John Hamm, Zach Taylor, and many
others were interested in its organization. The capital stock is twenty-five
thousand dollars, and its present surplus and undivided profits are five thou-
sand dollars. The first president was Edward L. Elrod, George Bollinger,
vice-president and W. Wayne W^ilson. cashier. The principal stockholders
are Hardin \Mlson, John J. McHeniw, John W. Hamm, Edward L. Elrod.
John S. Scholl, H. R. Hamacher, Henry C. Hamm, Elizabeth Corbett,
Charles Genner, Zach Taylor and George Bollinger.
THE BORDEN STATE BANK.
The next bank organized in Clark county is located in the town of
Borden, and was chartered by the State of Indiana. The Borden State
Bank was organized October 20, 1905, with Samuel H. Karnes as president;
G. M. Johnson, vice-president, and Murray S. Wilson, cashier, commencing
business March 3, 1906. Opening with deposits the first day which showed
the confidence of the public in the officers, the business of the l)ank has steadily
grown into one of the strongest state banks in not only Southern Indiana,
but, according to two of the state bank examiners, in the state. It has a capi-
tal stock of twenty-five thousand dollars.
During the first year of business the net earnings of the bank amounted
to eight per cent, of the capital. The stockholders were paid a dividend of
four per cent, and the remainder of the earnings carried to the surplus, it being
the intention of the officers to put the institution on a sound basis independent
of the stockholders' liability. At the close of business the second year the net
earnings showed almost eleven per cent., of which amount an eight per cent,
dividend was paid to the stockholders and the balance carried to the surplus.
After six months of the third year it appeared that the earnings for the year
would eclipse previous records. During the thirty months in operation not
a single note has been accepted which has not been good for one hundred
cents on the dollar. During the panic, so-called, of the fall of 1907 and the
spring of 1908 the Borden State Bank did not suffer in the least from loss
of confidence of the public, paying in full even- check presented by a customer
or friend.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 3I9
At the beginning of the second year of business Charles E. McKinley
was elected president to succeed Mr. Karnes, and Mr. McKinley has since
retained the position. For four months in 1907 Mr. Wilson was absent from
' his post as cashier, the position being filled during that time by H. C. Woolf.
With average deposits of sixty-five thousand dollars, the bank in excel-
lent conditions, is managed by the following officials : Charles E. McKinley,
president; G. M. Johnson vice-president; Murray S. Wilson, cashier, J. M.
Shoemaker, assistant cashier. The directors are Charles E. McKinley, G. M.
Johnson, J. H. McKinley, H. B. Payne, George McKinley, Hardin Wilson,
Nelson Morris, Sylvanus McKinley and Ben Hanka. Jr.
The Clark County Sentinel, of Borden, says of the Borden State Bank:
"One of the excellent banking institutions of Clark county is the Borden State
bank, which was established last spring. Its September statement shows strength
and it is destined to become one of the leading financial institutions of the
county." The officers of the bank seem to be very popular and to have the
confidence of the people of Borden and vicinity. It has been a great con-
venience to the berry growers. Mr. Wilson, the cashier, reports that nearly
fifty thousand dollars of beriy money passed through the bank during the
season of IQ07, several thousand dollars' worth of small change having been
paid out. It is estimated that ninety per cent, of the checks were under ten
dollars, meaning that approximately eight thousand berry checks have been
cashed at the bank without any expense to the grower. Wlien this record is
compared with that of the balmy days when it was a case of the odd cents ofif
for cash, the grower can fig^ure out what has been saved. That this bank is
anxious to sen'e its customers is shown bv it keeping open from six to seven
in the evening to accommodate the berry growers who arrive too late for
regular banking hours.
THE NEW WASHINGTON STATE liANK.
Early in igo8 the movement for organizing a state bank at Xew \\'ash-
ington took definite form, the articles of incorporation being as follows :
For the purpose of organizing an association to carry on the business of
a bank of discount and deposit under the provisions of an act of the General
Assembly of the state of Indiana approved February 7, 1873, and of the sev-
eral acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, the undersigned
subscribe for the stock of said association to enter into the following articles
of association :
Article I. — The name of the Association shall be New Washington
State Bank.
Article 2. — The place where the business of the bank is to be carried on
is the town of New Washington, Clark county, Indiana.
3^0 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.j IND.
Article 3. — Amount of Capital Stock of said bank shall be twenty-live
thousand dollars, to consist of two hundred and fifty shares of one hundred
dollars each.
Article 4. — Xames and places of residence of stiareholders and number
of shares held by each is as follows, to-wit : N. H. Linthicum, New Wash-
ington, five : J. H. Dickey, Louisville, Kentucky, ten : J. L. Magruder, New
Washington, thirty, and many others.
In Witness Whereof, \\'e. the undersigned, subscribe our names, this
3d day of March, 1908.
Signed by —
Henry Schowe, Marysville, Indiana, seven shares.
A. M. Fisher, New Washington, Indiana, ten shares.
S. K. Peck, Nabb, Indiana, five shares.
A. R. Miles, Bethlehem, Indiana, ten shares.
N. H. Linthicum, New Washington, Indiana, five shares.
R. S. Taggart, New Washington, Indiana, five shares.
J. C. Bower, Charlestown, Indiana, seven shares.
T. N. Manaugh, New W^ashington, Indiana, five shares.
T. R. Stevens, Bethlehem, Indiana, five shares; and others.
Henry F. Schowe was elected president and J. L. Magruder, cashier.
Twelve thousand, five hundred dollars of the capital stock was paid in, being
fifty per cent, of the total.
THE SELLERSBURG STATE BANK.
The last financial institution in Clark county was organized and the
articles of incorporation sworn to November 2"^, 1908. It was organized
under the name of "The Sellersburg State Bank. Its capital stock is twenty-
five thousand dollars, consisting of two hundred and fifty shares at one hun-
dred dollars each.
A directory of nine members guide the destinies of the bank. A partial
list of the stockholders is as follows :
Ed C. Hughes, Charlestown, Indiana, thirty shares.
Oscar F. Lutz, Charlestown, Indiana, five shares.
Thomas T. Combs, Charlestown. Indiana, ten shares.
Samuel Lutz, Charlestown, Indiana, ten shares.
C. A. Prather, Memphis, Indiana, five shares.
Chris Weidner, Sellersburg, Indiana, five shares.
John T. Ross, Charlestown, Indiana, five shares.
Lemuel G. Bottorfif, five shares.
T. A. Pass was elected president and Otis W. Scott, cashier. One-half
of the capital stock has been subscribed and paid for.
STEAMER lAMES HOWARD.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE RIVER.
STEAMBOAT BUILDING AND STEAMBOATING FLAT-BOATING .\XU FALLS
PILOTING HARBOR IMPRO\'EMENTS AND THE NINE-FOOT STAGE.
The frontage of Clark cnunt}- upon the river, and the intimate relations
between the people of the river towns and the commerce of that great natural
highway, have brought boat building up to a high position in the business life
of the county.
Jeffersonville, from her location at the head of the Falls, and from the
fact that she possesses the best and deepest harbor between Pittsburg and
New Orleans, has been a place for water craft construction from veiy early
times. The history of her boat-building plants and her output of water craft,
beginning with the launching of the steamer United States here in 1819,
would be incomplete without a description of the forerunners (if our present
floating palaces, the keel-ljoat and tlie flat-boat. To this subject may naturally
be added that of Falls piloting for Falls piloting was peculiarly a Jeffersonville
business, and Jeffersonville the home and headquarters of falls pilots.
In the latter part of the seventeenth, and the early part of the eighteenth
centuries, the Falls of the Ohio, and the region around about, was a center of
attraction ; alluring to explorers, travelers, traders and emigrants ; including
agents for capitalists, surveyors, engineers and scientists. These visitors left
copious notes of their obser\'ations, and some vivid predictions respecting the
future growth and prosperity of the settlements. The predictions then made
are now fully verified in the present numerous population, great wealth and
prosperity of the three Falls Cities. For had it not been for the Falls there
would now be no Louisville, no Jeffersonville, no New Albany.
As early as June, 1765, a Colonel Crogan, who was in the employ of an
English Indian agent, came down the river in small boats, called batteaux, to
the head of the Falls, where the boats were lightened and passed over. These
batteaux were small row-boats, and the navigators of them were sometimes
called batteau-men. Later on boats on the river were called keel-boats. Gen.
George Rodgers Clark in his memoirs mentions loading stores and ammu-
nition, and embarking one hundred and fifty volunteers at Pittsburg, and
coming down the river to the head of the Falls, where his command encamped
on an island near the Kentucky shore, and that they left the island on June
21
322 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
24, 1778, and ran about a mile up the river in order to gain the main channel
and slioot the Falls. The boats mentioned by him must have been keel-boats,
modeled for rowing against the current, or they could not have run up a mile
to gain the main channel.
In Dillon's History of Indiana is a mention that in the summer of 1786
provisions and stores were loaded in keel-boats at Louisville and Clarksville
for the army at Post Vincennes. Obviously these keel-boats were partly load-
ed above the Falls, and stores which had been taken by the portage route on
the Indiana side to Clarksville were added to the cargo there, after passage
of the Falls.
For many years after these events, keel-boating was the only mode for
taking cargoes down the river. They were built with a keel, sharp bow and
stern, modeled somewhat like a canal-boat, but lighter. They floated dmvn
with the current to destination, and were cordelled liack. Getting back was
the laborious part of the trip. In cordelling a part of the crew w-ould walk
up the shore, pulling the boat up stream with a long line attached to its bow,
while others of the crew on the boat wotdd help over obstacles and keep it
ofif shore with long poles. In this way keel-boats were brought back from
New Orleans to the Falls and points above: consuming sometimes the better
part of the year to make the round trip.
Mr. James Flint, a Scotchman, was here in 1819. On Alay 19th of that
^•ear he wrote as follows : "The steamboat. Western Engineer, and a numljer
of keel-boats descended the Falls today." So it is in evidence that keel-boats
were still numerous on the river at that date. And he ought to be good
authority for he appears to have been a close obser-.'er. He also wrote that
there "were si.xty-five houses, thirteen stores and two taverns in the town,
and a steamboat on the stocks, measuring one hundred and eighty feet long,
forty feet broad, estimated to carry seven hundred tons."
Living in Jeffersonville during the era of keel-boating was a roving,
tumultuous character, named Marble Stone, or Rolling Rock, as he called
himself when in his cups, ^^'hen relating his river experiences in his sober
hours, he always claimed that he had made thirteen trips on keel-boats to
New Orleans and walked back, sometimes helping to cordelle the boats, and
sometimes taking the shortest trail homewards. On one of these trips, the
boat arrived at New Orleans soon after the battle had Ijeen fought and won
bv fieneral Jackson, but in time for the crew to participate in the prevailing
enthusiasm, and gather incidents of the fighting. While footing it home by
a trail leading through Nashville, the party made up a song, replete with
humor, laudatory to General Jackson and the Americans, and belittling to
Lord Packingham and the P)ritish. On arriving at Nashville Stone tank-ed
up to a hilarious condition, celebrating the occasion of his arrival b}- singing
the song on the streets, and attracting unusual attention. As Tennessee was
iNn.
323
largely represented in that battle, the song naturally created much enthusiasm
as well as amusement. The Legislature being then in session. Stone was
brought to an informal meeting of the members, the sole object being to hear
the song repeated. Stone's version of his reception was that he captured
the whole crowd tooth and toe-nail, and was feasted and treated and sent
home to his wife Polly in a stage coach. And he ever afterward asserted
that he was the only keel-lioatman ever entertained by a state Legislature.
As time rolled on Indians disappeared from the shores, or became
friendly. Traffic on the river increased, flatboats, sometimes called broad-
horns, succeeded keel-boats, because they were more economical. They were
built for the down trip only, and in such a manner that they might be taken
apart and sold with the cargo. The flatljoat was a square bowed, square
sterned box, like a scow, from twenty to eighty feet long. In its construction
large timl>ers were used for gunwales, one for each side, curved upwards
on the ends, and fastened together with strong cross timbers. The bottom
was made by fastening heavy planks across from gunwale to gunwale, and
tightly caulking the seams to prevent leaking. On this solid part of the boat
or hull, a light freight house was built, in which to store the cargo. Upon
the roof the oars were hung on iron oar pins, ready for use in landing,
avoiding sandbars or the banks in short bends. In these flatboats the hay,
grain, potatoes, salt pork and the like, produced in the upper country, so
called, were floated to New Orleans, or peddled along the coast of the
lower Mississippi river. Coal and salt boats were built in like manner, but
with heavier timbers, and without housing or roofing. The early day coal-
boats were from eighty to one hundred feet long, twenty feet wide and eight
feet deep inside, with perpendicular sides and ends, drawing when loaded about
si.x feet of water. They floated in pairs, lashed together and were kept in
the channel with ten oars, three on each side called sweeps, two on the stem
ends, one on each boat, called steering oars, two on the bows called gougers.
These double boats required a crew of eighteen men, which was increased to
twenty-one in passing the Falls. Single boats in passing the Falls required
thirteen hands including the pilot and assistants. Later on coal boats were
enlarged to one hundred and eighty feet long, twenty-four to twenty-six feet
wide and ten feet deep, drawing when loaded eight feet of water, leaving only
two feet above water all around. They held twenty-five thousand or more
bushels of bituminous coal, of nearly nine hundred tons weig'ht. Conse-
quently they were unwieldy and difficult to handle. During high stages of
water they were taken safely over the Falls in pairs, but on scant coal-boat
water were taken singly. But coal fleets generally came down the river on
the crest of high water and such as were destined for markets below were
rushed over with the least possible delay. One pilot, H. S. Barnaby, is
reputed to have taken over twelve pairs in one day, earning fees amounting-
3^4 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
to one hundred and twenty dollars. This record, however, was made at a
favorable time in June, 1855. There was plenty of water, but falling fast. A
large fleet of all kinds of flat bottom boats was passing, and so anxious were
boat owners to get over while the Falls water lasted that they crowded into
the channel, following the leaders so closely that, at times, it looked to ob-
servers, like inviting destruction, but good luck was with them and the day
passed without accident. A gentleman now living here drove Mr. Barnaby's
buggy to Clarksville to meet him, from daylight until dark that day. He
says that Mr. Barnaby would jump into the buggy at Clarksville, take the
whip and lines and drive back at a furious pace to catch another pair of
boats opp<5site the town, making the round trip in less than an hour. At
this rate his day's work netted him ten dollars an hour.
The number of boats of all kinds going over the Falls, and the necessity
of capable men piloting them gave the business a more than ordinary im-
portance. River talk in those days was on every tongue. The interesting
topics discussed were prospective rises, falls, water, character and efficiency
of pilots, the treacherous currents and eddies, obstructions in the Falls, like
Ruble rock, Aleck rock, \\'ave rock. Willow Point rock and Old Enoch.
Ruble rock was considered the most dangerous : it was dreaded by owners,
pilots and crew at certain stag'es of water. It lay under the surface, almost
in the middle of the channel, a little below where the Louisville Railroad
bridge now crosses to Fourteenth street. It could not be located accurately
when the river was low by the waves and eddies caused by the resistance to
the current. A generally credited report says that a Mr. Ruble was the owner
of the first boat wrecked by striking it, hence the name of Ruble rock. It is
also said that the names Aleck and Enoch rocks were attained for like causes.
Aleck rock lay some five hundred feet below Ruble, on the left of the channel,
projecting out into the chute, but not dangerous in low water as the channel
then receded from it. Wave rock, about half a mile below, reached out some
five hundred feet from the backbone side, causing the channel to turn sharply
to the right, and creating the upper part of the Whirlpool bend. Willow
Point rock, just below Wave rock, reached out from the Indiana side, about
one hundred yards beyond the point of Wave rock, causing the channel to
turn again sharply to the left, thus completing the Whirlpool bend. Some
distance below this Enoch rock lay on the left of the channel. All of these
then dangerous rocks have been removed under the supervision of the United
States engineers.
In order to understand just how a flatboat passed through the Falls, you
should imagine yourself in a position to follow one over with the eye. The
boat is turned out into the channel from the harbor above, pilot, steersman,
and oarsmen are aboard, the pilot assumes command and stations himself on
deck in full view of the steersman and crew, and facing the head of the chute ;
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 325
from there he indicates to the steersman the cotu'se to liokl the boat with his
rig'ht and left hands. The propeUing oars are stoutly manned and vigorously
plied to give the boat steering momentum. As she approaches the head of
the chute she is held for the deepest water, which is m the left of the channel.
She enters the chute speeding along with a ten or thirteen mile current, and,
bearing a little to the left, with lively help of the oars, safely passes the danger-
ous Ruble rock, then bearing a little to the rig'ht she avoids Aleck rock, then
a little to the left again to avoid the Little Eddy, she glides swiftly down
\\'hirlpool point, where the current turns sharply to the right and carries her
on past the point of Wave rock into the \Miirlpool bend, where with active
help she swings around the point and heads toward the Kentucky shore, now
bearing up to the left to keep off Willow Point rocks which reached out from
the Indiana side, she rushes past these and swings sharply around to the right
again and is carried down into the Big Eddy, and into serene waters nearly
opposite to old Clarksville, where the Falls crew leave her after a successful
run of nearly a mile and a half.
Long before keel-boating had been relegated to the limbo of the past
steamboats had become common. The earliest steam-boats came from Pitts-
burg. The first steamboat to navigate the Ohio was one named the "New
Orleans" and upon her first trip down the river she passed by Utica, between
nine and ten o'clock at night, in October. 1811, creating much alarm. After
she had passed, the reality appeared more like a dream. On her arrival off.
Louisville, about 12 o'clock, the boat in letting off steam brought many
people from their beds to witness the novel sight. The general impression
was that a comet had fallen from the heavens into the Ohio. This boat
made two trips between Louisville and Pittsburg, and then went south to stay.
The New Orleans was built by Robert Fulton and Robert Livingstone, at
Pittsburg. She had low pressure engines and was a little over three hundred
tons. The next steamboat to pass down the river was the Comet. She was a
stem-wheel boat of forty-five tons, built at Pittsburg by Daniel French. She
was equipped with his patent vibrating cylinder and was considered a wonder.
She made the voyage to Louisville in the summer of 18 13 and to New Orleans
in the spring of 1814. After this she made two voyages to Natchez, and was
then sold.
The third steamboat to pass down the river was named the "Vesuvius."
She was a boat of about three hundred and ninety tons and was built at Pitts-
burg. She passed down the river in 1814, bound for New Orleans. The
fourth steamboat was the Enterprise, a boat of forty-five tons, built at Bridge-
port, on the Monongahela river by Daniel French. • She made tw^o voyages
to the Falls of the Ohio in the summer of 1814. On May 6, 181 5, she left
Pittsburg and reached Shippingsport May 30th (the same year), making the
unprecedented time of twenty-five days. She was the first steamboat to come
326 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
from New Orleans to tlie Falls of the Ohio. The fifth steamboat to visit our
shores was the Aetna, three hundred and sixty tons, one hundred and fifty-
three and one-half feet long, twenty-eight feet beam and 9 feet hokl. She
was built at Pittsburg by Fulton and Livingstone and came down the river
in 1 81 5. The sixth steamboat was the Dispatch, twenty-five tons; the sev-
enth was the Buffalo, three hundred tons ; the eighth was the James Alonroe,
ninety tons; the ninth was the Washington, four hundred tons. The W'ash-
ington was the first boat to have her boilers on the main deck instead of in
the hold.
The success of these boats and the advantages of Jeffersonville as a boat-
building location led to the establishment of a yard here as early as 1819.
The first steamboat built here was the United States, and she was launched
this same year. She was owned by a ilr. Hart and others and was reported
as being undoubtedly the "finest merchant steamboat in the universe." She
had two separate engines which were built in England and drew but little
water but was capable of carn-ing three thousand bales of cotton. She was
one hundred and eighty feet long, forty foot beam and of seven hundred tons.
In this same year another yard was established in Clarksville, and four boats
were building there boats of from sixty to two hundred tons. ^Ipst of the
timber for these craft was cut from the banks of upper Silver Creek and
floated down by freshets.
As all steamboats burned wood in those days the establishment and main-
tenance of wood yards along the river was a necessity and. until the adoption
of coal as a fuel the wood business was a large and important industry.
One of the early boat-builders of Clark county was Barzillai A\'illey, who
lived near Silver Creek near Memphis. He was one of the earliest settlers
there and was a great mill builder. He built a sixty-foot boat on his farm
in 1813 or 1814 and floated her to the river on a freshet where he sold her.
In 1824 he furnished a great deal of whip-sawed lumber to build a boat then
on the stocks near the mouth of Silver creek. This boat was being constructed
by a genius who conceived the idea that he could propel her by means of lay-
ing a steam pipe over her stern and allowing the steam to escape through it
into the water. The three French brothers, William, George and Henry, en-
gaged in boat building in Jeffersonville in 1829, and turned out several ver>'
fine boats, among which were the Diana, a side-wheeler, the Edward Shippen,
a side-wheeler, the Louisiana and several others. Their yard was below the
present Howard plant. The French plant was in existence for a number of
years, and these boat builders ranked veiy high in steamboat construction.
William was the genius ©f the family.
In 183 1 or 1832 Robert C. Green had a small yard at the upper end of
the citv, where he made a few boats, but did not continue the business long.
Green started a foundry where the glass works were in the eighties, and paid
more attention to making engines and machinery than to boat building.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 327
The methods of work in those days were in great contrast to tlie methods
now. Where a great deal of the timber used in the construction of steam-
boats is transported by rail from a distance at present, all that used in the
early days of steamboat building was rafted down the Ohio. For many years
Alex Hanley and his sons furnished rafted timber to the How'ard yards, and
it is a matter of interest to know that the timber received from the earliest
days to the present time has all come from the same iocalit\- — the Big Sandy,
the Guyandotte rivers, and Twelve Pole creek. The logs were taken from the
river and sawed into lumber by the most primitive methods. Whipsaw'ing,
as it was called, consisted of cutting the timber b}- hand power, using a long
saw with a double handle on each end. The log was rolled mer a pit where
one man below^ and one above drew the saw up and down until it was reduced
to timber of the dimensions needed.
Henry French and Peter Myers engaged in the lioat building business in
1847, and turned out considerable good w^ork in the live years they were as-
sociated. Air. French attended to the ship-yard while Afr. Alyers had charge
of the saw-mill. The business was finally divided, Air. Alyers retaining the
saw-mill, which he rented to French, Stratton and Logan, and some years
later it burned. Logan, wdio was connected with the saw-mill, died and Strat-
ton sold it to David S. Barmore in 1S64. The French yard turned out about
twenty boats, but a complete list of names (ir dimensions is impossible to
secure. Previous to the purchase of the lower boat plant by Barmore, Samuel
King had come into control, but he retained it less thnn two years.
As the construction of water craft in Jeffersonville continued and in-
creased the importance of falls piloting likewise grew. To a person standing
on the river bank any balmy day in the fifties, when the river was up to full
boating stage, the scene was intensely interesting. More tlian two miles of
the channel was in plain view, produce boats, high hay boats, low salt boats,
and family scows, following each other in a long line leading into the Indiana
chute. On every boat was alertness and activitv, along the shore pilots,
steersmen and hands were hustling for trips, skiffs with crews were plying be-
tween the line of boats and the shore, horses with boy riders and light wagons
were hiu'rying to and from the landings to bring pilots and crews back for
other trips. These activities, together with the eager crowds of onlookers,
completed a panorama-like picture not soon to be forgotten by the eye witness.
At such times when the river was full of boats, and all the pilots were
busy, a few restless owners would turn out into the channel and follow boats
known to be in charge of licensed pilots. It is probable that more would have
done so, had their inclination to take the chance nnt been held in check by a
clause in the cargo insurance policy, which required the presence of a licensed
pilot on board. For some years the Jeffersonville Insurance Company issued
policies for Falls risks. James Keigwin, Althanasius Wathen and
328 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Other prominent citizens of the town, were the officers and owners of the
stock. Its business office was in the building now occupied as the office of
the superintendent of the Ferr}' Company, on Front street.
Dangerous as the Falls were considered to be, few hves were lost by acci-
dents to descending flatboats, only one is now recalled. In 1837 Leonard
Bowman, while steering- for pilot William Bowman. \Aas thrown overboard
and drowned. He was standing by the steering oar, the blade of which was
caught in an eddy or strong undercurrent. He was a highly respected young
man, and it is said that his was the largest attended funeral seen in the town
up to that time.
A much-talked-of incident occurred some years later. A coal-boat in go-
ing over the Falls, struck Ruble rock and tore a hole in the bottom from bow
to stern, letting the coal out and the water in. Cyrus \\^right was steer-
ing. When he saw the coal disappearing, he realized that the boat could not
float many minutes, so he unshipped his oar to have something to float on.
After the boat disappeared he found only himself and Isaac Gaither on the
oar. Mr. Gaither was a very pious man, a loud and stirring exhorter at Meth-
odist revivals, and a tirm believer in the efficacy of prayer. He at once threw
up his hands and began to call loudly on the Lord to save them. Mr. Wright
was a very different character, he was a resolute man of action, and evidently
thought that safety lay in their own exertions, and at once commenced pad-
dling vigorously with both hands. On discovering that his companion was
making no effort e.xcept to make his prayer heard above the roar of the Falls
he became enraged and shouted to him to paddle. "Paddle, Gaither, paddle,
damn you, paddle and pray afterwards." ^^'hen Gaither's fright somewhat
subsided and the true situation dawned on him, he did paddle as vigorously as
he had prayed, and the oar was run safely to shore. People who were in-
timately acquainted with Mr. Wright credited him with language much more
forcible than that here attributed to him. The others of the crew clung to
floating planks and oars, and were rescued by fishermen who put out from
the shore in skiffs. It was a very cold day in winter and their clothes froze
on them soon after reaching the shore, and some of the weaker ones, being
exhausted, were about to succumb to the cold, but Mr. Wright again arose
to the occasion, and by vigorous swearing at them and pounding them in the
back, kept them going, and they all reached town. His service as collector
on the ferry boats for many years made him widely acquainted, and his free
and unlimited use of adjectives on all occasions was alarming to the pious.
It is obvious that the law making powers were at an early date called
upon to regulate falls navigation by statute. The first act was passed by the
Kentucky Legislature in 1707. The next act found on record is the territorial
law adopted by the Governor and two judges of the territory of Indiana.
September 24, 1803.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IXD. 329
Davis Floyd and John Owens, citizens of Clarksville, were appointed falls
pilots December 14, 1803. nearly three months after Ihe adoption of that law.
Charles and Reuben Sleade, brothers, were appointed at a later date — they
were known to be falls pilots in 18 10.
The first state law was enacted by the General Assembly and approved
February 7. 1825. By this act the number of pilots authorized was increased
to four, who were required to each execute a bond in the sum of five thousand
dollars. The pilotage fees were fixed at three dollars for a flatboat. except
for family boats under thirty feet in length, for which two dollars should be
charged. It provided for a fine of ten dollars for lefusal by an authorized
pilot to take a boat over on tender to'him of the lawful fee. and a fine of twenty
dollars for taking a boat over by an unauthorized person, except he be the
owner. The pilots commissioned under this law. so far as ascertained, were
Charles Sleade. Andrew Fite. Alexander \^'elch and John ^\'eathers.
Later on another general law concerning falls piloting was passed — see
revised statutes 1843. By this act the number of pilots authorized was in-
creased to six. The fees were slightly changed, the same character of bond
was required, the same forfeitures and penalties for violation of the law were
re-enacted: also an additional clause that provided for forfeiture or license
for wilfull neglect of duty, or removal from the vicinity of the Falls, and for
demanding a greater fee than that fixed by law.
\\'illiam Bowman, Charles Sleade. William Patrick. John Morgan. Thom-
as Powell, Samuel Cash, Angel Gill and Moody Dustin are remembered as
Falls pilots acting under that law.
Another general law on the subject passed the General Assembly on June
15, 1852. By this act the Governor was authorized to appoint eight falls pilots
for terms of four years each, and it provided that the fees for pilotage should
be fixed by the Board of Clark County Commissioners.
A complete list of the pilots appointed under the act of 1852 is as follows:
Aaron P. Sleade. April 28. 1853: John Lanceskes. April 28. 1853. re-appoint-
ed March 25. 1861 : Charles Friend. April 28, 1853. re-appointed November
13- 1857. and June 9. 1863: Angel Gill. April 28. 1853. re-appointed October
20. 1857: David M. Dryden. April 28. 1853. re-appointed May 7. 1859. and
June 9, 1863; H. S. Barnaby, April 28. 1853. re-appointed May 7. 1857: M.
W. Veach. April 28. 1853: Moody Dustin. April 28. 1853. re-appointed May
7, 1857 and June 9. 1863 : Samuel Cash. March 6, 1854: Joslan Reeder. April
30. 1857; Thomas Patterson,. April 30. 1857: John Gibbs. October 20. 1837:
George W. Lampton. ]March 5. 1858. reiappointed Alarch 6. 1862: Thomas
Grey. !March 5. 1859: John Lefevre. April 16. 1861. re-appointed November
30. 1865: CalVin Cook. March 4. 1862: W. H. H. Taylor. Alarch 3. 1863:
Solomon Partlow. April 30, 1865 : \\'. B. Cox and Samuel Knight in i86g.
Fountain Harness in 1873. Pern.- Gaither in 1873 ^""^ ^^/^ ^'""^ 1882: John
330 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Onion, ]\larch i, 1874: Levi Reeder, March. 1874. and ?\Iarcli 8. 1878: W.
B. Carter in 1874 and John H. Hoffman in 1874.
The conditions are now so changed that any state law concerning falls
piloting is absolutely useless. No more flatboats are passed over the Falls by
pilots licensed by the state. Powerful towboats, owned by capitalized com-
binations, now handle all the coal boats and barges and other heavy products,
over the Falls or through the canal, guided by the towboats' pilots, who obtain
license from inspectors who are authorized to issue in accordance with laws
of Congress. And the produce that in times past floated to Southern markets
has been diverted from the river to the railroads, or is carried by steamboats.
The old Falls pilots were a sturdy lot of men, and their occupation was one
that called for a high class of efficiency, and the value of the cargoes and lives
entrusted to their care bespeaks for them a reputation in their wurk the
peer of any.
THE HOWARD SHIP YARDS.
The history of steamboat construction in Clark county is to a great extent
the Iiistory of the Howard yards. James Howard, the founder of this great
industry, was born near Manchester, England, September i. 1814, and emi-
grated with his father, mother and brother. Daniel, to the New World, in
1819, landing in Brooklyn. In 1820 the family tra\eled overland to W'hed-
ing, West Virginia, where they embarked on a flatboat for the city of Cincin-
nati, arriving there late that year. James worked for his father in wool-card-
ing and cloth-dressing until he was fifteen years old. and then for a short
time in the ship-yard of William Gordon. He was afterward apprenticed to
\\illiam Hartshorn, a steamboat builder, to learn the trade of ship carpenter,
and applied himself with such assiduity to his work that he was able to draft
a boat when he was only nineteen vears of age. After spending four vears
with his master he came to Louisville and succeeded in getting a contract to
build a boat. Jeffersonville offering- the most available location to meet his
needs he established his yard on a small tract of land at the foot of Mechanic
street. Here he laid the keel for his first boat and she was finished in 1S34.
She was named the "Hyperion," and was built to run on the Chattahoochee
river in Alabama. She was a side-wheeler, one hundred and seven feet long,
eighteen feet beam and eight feet hold, Captain Leonard. At that time and in
fact for many years afterwards, the hull was the only part built by the con-
tractor, the upper work and engines being separate contracts. During the
years 1834 and 1835 he built two more boats — the "Black Locust." a center-
wheel ferry Ixiat, for the Jeffersonville & Louisville Ferry Company, and the
"Tecumseh." a side-wheel boat one hundred and fifteen feet long, sixteen feet
beam and five feet hold for the Arkansas river trade. Tn 1836 he moved his
plant to Madison, where he built sixteen boats, but he discontinued the busi-
!'
HOWARD
VARUS.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
331
ness there in 1844, and ran on the river until 1846. The boats which he built
at Madison are as follows :
Iixington — a side-wheeler, built for Captain Brown.
Livingstone — a side-wheeler.
Hard Times — a barge one hundred and ten feet long, nineteen feet beam
and six feet hold.
Natchez — a barge, same size as Hard Times.
Argo — a side-wheel steamboat for Kentucky river trade.
Robert Fulton — a side-wheel steamboat of two hundred and fiftv tons
burden, very fast.
Montezuma — a side-wheel steamboat, one hundred and fifty feet long,
twenty-eight feet beam and six and one-half feet hold, and nine others whose
names are lost.
In 1846 he established a yard at Shippingsport, but met with such loss
in the great flood of 1847 that he moved his plant to the upper end of Louis-
ville. While at Shippingsport he built six boats as follows :
Courier — a side-wheel steamboat.
Mobile — a steamboat.
Major Barber — a steamboat.
General Jessup — a side-wheel steamboat, for the United States Govern-
ment, one hundred and fifty feet long.
Lavaca — a side-wheel snag boat one hundred and thirty feet long.
James Hewett, a side-wheel steamboat two hundred feet long.
His yard in the upper end of Louisville was about opposite Spring street,
in Jeffersonville, and has held in partnership with John Enos. Enos
died within four or five months and James Howard returned to Jeffersonville,
the scene of his first venture and success, sixteen years previously. Daniel,
his brother, had become interested with him at this time, and was left on the
"Point" to finish such boats as were on the stocks, and saw up such timber
as might remain, while James took charge of the new work being started in
Jeffersonville. The work on the "Point," all told, consisted of seven or eight
boats for southern rivers and wdien they were completed the yards there
were discontinued.
The location of his new yard in Jeffersonville is still the scene of active
and progressive boat building, and with the exception of about two years at
the beginning of the War of the Rebellion, has added its yearly quota of
■water craft to the great rivers of the \Vest. In 1848. his first year at his
new location, he built five boats as follows :
Emperor, a side-wheel steamboat, two hundred and forty feet long, thir-
ty-one feet beam and seven feet hold.
Louisiana, a steamboat two hundred and forty feet long, thirty-one feet
beam and seven feet hold, for Captain Cannon.
^T)2 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Mary Foley, a steamboat two hundred feet long, thirty-one feet beam
and seven feet hold.
Prairie Bird, a ferry boat one hundred feet long, thirty feet beam and
four feet, six inches hold.
A dredge boat to be used in the canal.
In 1849. Daniel Howard became a member of the firm, and during that
year the following boats were built :
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
St. Charles 230 ft. o in. 3 1 ft. / in. 7 ft. o in.
Isabella 175 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in. 7 ft. o in.
Falcon 220 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
Fanny Smith 220 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
Lexington 220 ft. o in. 32 ft o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
In 1850 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Empress (L.) igo ft. o in. 29 fi. o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
Helen (L.) 180 ft. o in. 26 ft. o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
Cuba (L.) 180 ft o in. 29 ft. o in. 7 ft. o in.
Music (L.) 175 ft- o in. 29 ft. o in. 7 ft. o in.
Blue Wing 150 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
John Simpson 180 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
Wade Allen (L.) i75 ft- o in. 24 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Terre Bonne (L.) 120 ft. o in. 24 ft o in. 4 ft. 6 in.
S. W. Downs (L.) I75 ft- o in. 28 ft. 6 in. 6 ft. 6 in.
Swan 170 ft. o in. 28 ft. o in. 7 ft. o in.
L'nited States Survey No. i.
United States Sun^ey No. 2.
During this year the last of the boats contracted for under the old partner-
ship with John Enos were finished, those marked "L." in the above list
having been constructed in Louisville. In i8qi the following boats were built :
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Lucy McConnell 100 ft. o in. 28 ft. o in. 4 ft. 6 in.
Glendy Burk 245 ft. o in. 33 ft. o in. 8 ft. o in.
Southern Belle 240 ft. o in. 31 ft. o in. 8 ft. o in.
Frank Lvon 200 ft. o in. 31 ft- o in. 8 ft. o in.
Peter Dalman 200 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in. 7 ft. 6 in.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD.
W. B. Clifton 225 ft. o in. ^t, ft. o in.
Trinity 1/5 ft. o in. 28 ft. o in.
Doctor Smith 120 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in.
Kate Sweeney 100 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in.
In 1852 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam.
Brunett 180 ft. o in. 29 ft. 6 in.
Octavia 180 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in.
Sallie San 180 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in.
Jennie Beale 185 ft. o in. 31 ft. o in.
Magnolia 180 ft. o in. 31 ft. o in.
H. yi. Wright 210 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in.
Messenger 180 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in.
Sam Dale 210 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in.
Athey Watchen, c'ter- wheel 150 ft. o in. 40 ft. o in.
Francis 1 50 ft- o in. 28 ft. o in.
Empress 280 ft. o in. 34 ft. o in.
W. P. Sweeney 170 ft. o in. 29 ft. o in.
In 1853 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam.
Geo. A\\ Jones 1 10 ft. o in. 29 ft. o in.
S. S. Prentice 180 ft. o in. 29 ft. o in.
Southerner 240 ft. o in. 34 ft. o in.
Gopher 1 10 ft. o in. 29 ft. o in.
C. B. Junior 200 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in.
Runaway, stem-wheel 125 ft. o in. 26 ft. o in.
Alice W. Glaze 140 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in.
Josiah H. Bell 180 ft. o in. 36 ft. o in.
Lucv Belle 180 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in.
Ceres 185 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in.
Atakapas 180 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in.
James H. Lucas 230 ft. o in. 35 ft. o in.
In 1854 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam.
Fanny Bullitt 245 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in.
Rainbow 235 ft. o in. 35 ft. o in.
333
6 ft. 6 in.
6 ft. o in.
5 ft. o in.
6 ft. 6 in.
Hold.
6 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
7 ft.
6 in.
8 ft.
in.
7 ft.
ni.
7 ft.
6 in.
5 ft.
6 in.
5 ft.
6 in.
7 ft.
6 in.
6 ft.
in.
Hold.
6 ft. 6 in.
7 ft. o in.
6 ft. o in.
6 ft. 6 in.
7 ft. 6 in.
5 ft. o in.
7 ft. O in.
7 ft. 6 in.
6 ft. o in.
7 ft. o in.
7 ft. o in.
7 ft. o in.
Hold.
7 ft. o in.
7 ft. O in.
o in.
40 ft.
in.
7 ft.
6 in
o in.
35 ft-
in.
8 ft.
in
o in.
30 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in
o m.
30 ft.
m.
5 ft-
m
o m.
32 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in
334 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND.
Ben Franklin 300 ft.
Capital 235 ft.
National 170 ft.
Marion 130 ft.
David Tatum 230 ft.
In 1855 the following boats were bnilt:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length
P. C. Wallis 160 ft. Gin.
Barge 130 ft. o in.
John Tompson, stern-wheel 160 ft. o in.
Victoria 140 ft. o in.
R. S. Cobb 160 ft. o in.
R. M. Patton, stern- wheel. . 160 ft. o in.
Carrier 200 ft. o in.
Scotland 225 ft. o in.
Diamond, stern-wheel 155 ft. o in.
In 1856 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length.
W. J. Eaton 220 ft. o in.
John Warner 220 ft. o in.
Dove 1 50 ft. o in.
Princess, stern-wheel ^55 ft o '"-
Pete Whetstone 225 ft. o in.
Kate Howard 235 ft. o in.
Woodford 250 ft. o in.
Governor Pease 160 ft. o in.
Tom Peacock 120 ft. o in.
W^ R. Douglass 145 ft. o in.
Col. Edwards 1 55 ft- o in.
Silver Heels 180 ft. o in.
The Kate Howard was built for Captain Moses Hilliard for the Missis-
sippi river trade, and was named after the youngest daughter of her designer
and builder, James Howard.
In 1S57 the following bnats -were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Joe G. Smith 90 ft. o in. 28 ft. o in. 4 ft. 6 in.
Twilight 215 ft. o in. 33 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Beam.
Hold.
32 ft.
in.
5 ft-
6 in
26 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
36 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in
30 ft.
in.
5 ft.
6 in
30 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
30 ft.
m.
5 ft-
6 in.
33 ft-
in.
6 ft.
in.
35 ft-
in.
7 ft-
6 in.
40 ft.
in.
5 ft-
6 in.
Be;
m.
■ Hold.
35 ft-
in.
6 ft.
6 in.
36 ft.
in.
6 ft.
6 in.
30 ft.
in.
5 ft-
6 in.
30 ft.
in.
3 ft-
6 in.
38 ft.
in.
7 ft-
6 in.
36 ft.
in.
6 ft.
6 in.
35 ft-
in.
6 ft.
6 in.
32 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
30 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
30 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
31ft.
in.
6 ft.
6 in.
29 ft.
in.
5 ft-
6 in.
J
BAIRD S HISTOKV OF CLARK CO., IND.
335
Barge 150 ft.
Barge 150 ft.
Alonzo Child 236 ft.
Southwester 220 ft.
New Orleans, center wheel. 120 ft.
JefifersGn, center wheel. ... 120 ft.
Diana 275 ft.
Music 190 ft.
Platte Valley 226 ft.
John D. Perry 220 ft.
m.
26 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
in.
26 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
in.
38 ft.
in.
7 ft.
in.
m.
36 ft.
in.
6 ft.
6 in.
m.
20 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
in.
30 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
in.
37 ft.
in.
7 ft.
6 in.
m.
35 ft.
in.
7 ft.
in.
in.
33 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
in.
32 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
In 1858 the following boats were bnilt:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam.
St. Francis 160 ft. o in. 29 ft. o in.
Rescue (stern wheel) 100 ft. o in. 24 ft. o in.
Aline (center wheel) 120 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in.
Judge Porter 140 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in.
Grand Duke 205 ft. o in. 38 ft. o in.
In 1859 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam.
D. F. Kenner 215 ft. o in. 37 ft. o in.
Laurel Hill 200 ft. o in. 38 ft. o in.
Lafourche 185 ft. in. 34 ft. o in.
Bayou City 165 ft, o in. 28 ft. o in.
John M. Sharp ^55 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in.
J. D. Swain 150 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in.
James ^^'ood 257 ft. o in. ^y ft. o in.
In i860 the following boats were built:
Hold.
6 ft. o in.
4 ft. o in.
6 ft. o in.
6 ft. o in.
8 ft. o in.
Hold.
8 ft. o in.
8 ft. o in.
7 ft. 6 in.
5 ft. o in.
5 ft. 6 in.
6 ft. o in.
7 ft. o in.
Boat — Side-wheel. Length.
Isaac Bowman 160 ft. o in.
Mary T 185 ft. o in.
Little Sallie (stern wheel) .. too ft. o in.
Memphis 260 ft. O in.
Arcadia 188 ft. O in.
J. F. Paragould 234 ft. o in.
Robert Campbell 236 ft. o in.
John A. Cotton 248 ft. o in.
Beam.
Ho
lid.
3Q ft.
in.
5 ft.
6 in.
34 ft.
in.
8 ft.
in
23 ft.
in.
3 ft.
6 in.
38 ft.
in.
7 ft.
in
35 ft.
in.
7 ft.
m.
38 ft.
in.
8 ft.
in.
41 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
48 ft.
in.
8 ft.
in.
;i;^6 baird's history of clark co.^ ind.
In 1 86 1 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side- wheel. Length. Beam.
Major Anderson 245 ft. o in. 36 ft. o in.
In 1862 the following boats were built :
Hold.
S ft. 6 in.
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
General Buell 248 ft. o in. 36 ft. o in. 5 ft. 6 in.
Wren 150 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in. 5 ft. 6 in.
Ruth 273 ft. o in. ■ 46 ft. o in. 8 ft. o in.
James Thompson I55 ft. o in. 3,7 ^i- o in. 5 ft. o in.
In 1863 the following boats were built :
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Julia 241 ft. o in. 41 ft. o in. 7 ft. o in.
Olive Branch 283 ft. o in. 42 ft. o in. 8 ft. o in.
Bostona No. 3 240 ft. o in. 36 ft. o in. 5 ft. 6 in.
Tarascon 249 ft. o in. 36 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Blue Wing No. 3 150 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in. 5 ft. 6 in.
In 1864 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Ida Handy 258 ft. o in. 45 ft. o in. 8 ft. o in.
Morning Star 250 ft. o in. 36 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Ruth No. 2 300 ft. o in. 49 ft. o in. 9 ft. 6 in.
Wharf Boat 200 ft. o in. 50 ft. o in. 5 ft. o in.
This wharf boat is still used in 1909 as a landing place for the Cincin-
nati and LouisN'ille packet boats at the foot of Fourth avenue in Louisville.
In 1865 James Howard took into the firm with him his younger brother,
John C. Howard, and his son, Edmund J., as partners, the firm becoming
James Howard & Co. This year there were built :
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Virginia 226 ft. o in. 42 ft. o in. 7 ft. o in.
North Missouri 160 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in. 5 ft. 6 in.
In 1866 the following boats w'ere built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Stonewall 224 ft. o in. 42 ft. o in. 7 ft. o in.
Galveston (a barge) 120 ft. o in. .25 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Belle of Memphis 260 ft. o in. 40 ft. 6 in. 7 ft. o in.
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
337
Birdie Brent (center \vheel).ii2 ft. o in.
William Dwyer (a barge) 126 ft. o in.
W'm. R. Johnson (a barge). 126 ft. o in.
Jessie (center wheel) .... 132 ft. o in.
H. M. Shreve 198 ft. o in.
35 ft. o in.
25 ft. o in.
25 ft. o in.
35ft. Gin.
35 ft. o in.
In 1867 the following boats were built:
4 ft. 6 in.
6 ft. o in.
6 ft. o in.
5 ft. o in.
5 ft. 6 in.
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Dove No. 2 (stern wheel) .. 1 16 ft. o in. 26 ft. o in. 4 ft. 6 in.
Governor Allen 217 ft. o in. 40 ft. o in. 8 ft. o in.
Early Bird 125 ft. o in. 23 ft. 6 in. 4 ft. 6 in.
Frank Paragould 255 ft. o in. 41 ft. o in. 9 ft. o in.
In 1865 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Belle of Alton 227 ft. o in. 35 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
E. St. Louis (center-wheel). 175 ft. o in. 53 ft- o in. 6 ft. o in.
Thomas M. Bagley 166 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
Trade Palace (screw prop.). 150 ft. o in. 30 ft. o in. 5 ft. 6 in.
St. Frances No. 3 172 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
In 1869 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Ben Franklin, No 2 255 ft. o in. ^j ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Gladiola (stern-wheel) ....136 ft. o in. 34 ft. o in. 4 ft. 6 in.
La Belle 176 ft. o in. 35 ft. o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
Texas (stern-wheel) 135 ft. o in. 35 ft- o in. 6 ft. o in.
Trenton (stern-wheel) ....130 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in. 4 ft. o in.
Big Sunflower (stem) ....125 ft. o in. 28 ft. o in. 4 ft. o in.
Texarkana (stern) 135 ft. o in. 33 ft. o in. 5 ft. 6 in.
In 1870 the followins: boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Idlewild 214 ft. o in. 35 ft. o in. 5 ft. 6 in.
Grand Tower (stern) 265 ft. o in. 42 ft. o in. 8 ft. o in.
Ch.erokee (stern) 131 ft. o in. 32 ft. o in. 4 ft. o in.
City of Vicksburg 265 ft. o in. 42 ft. o in. 8 ft. o in.
Diana 165 ft. o in. t,- ft- o in. 6 ft. o in.
22
338 BAIRd's history of CLARK CO., IND.
City of Chester 241 ft. o in. 38 ft. o in. 7 ft. o in.
Jessie Taylor (stern) 156 ft. o in. 37^^- o in. 7 ft. o in.
Howard ( a barge) 125 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
The James Howard was a side-wheel steamboat, three hundred eighteen
feet in length with fifty-four feet beam and ten feet hold. This magnifi-
cent creation was one of the wonders of her day. She was the largest in-
land steamboat ever built up to or since her time. The steamer James
Howard was a boat of three thousand four hundred tons. To the
un-'nitiated in the mysteries of tonnage these figures may mean but little. l>ut
when we learn that the Cit}- of Louisville and the City of Cincinnati, the
present mail boats between Louisville and Cincinnati, are less than one tlmu-
sand tons, the size of the James Howard may be better understood. She was
launched on October 8. 1870, and when finished ran in the New Orleans and
St. Louis trade. The total cost of this boat and her equipment was one
hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The launching of the James
Howard was viewed by thousands of spectators, all drawn to the yards to
witness the plunge of this leviathan into the bosom of the Ohio.
The contrast between this vessel and those of earlier times, which were
in every particular frail and inferior boats, was like that which exists between
the ocean greyhounds of today and the ships of forty or fifty years ago. The
genius of a McKay, a Steers, a Cramp and a Webb invoked the change which
is seen on the ocean ; and the talents of a Howard have worked a like trans-
fonnation on our mighty inland rivers. If by the first our foreign commerce
has been enlarged and enriched, so by the second our domestic commercial
interchanges have been promoted and made of increased value. The steamer,
James Howard, still stands as the highest type of steam boat construction, and
it was fitting that she should bear the name of the master-builder of western
waters. During this year the following additional boats were built :
Boat — Side-wheel. Length Beam. Hold.
John Howard ' 170 ft. o in.' 40 ft. o in. 6 ft. 6 in.
Bayou City (a barge) .... 125 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Paul (a barge) 90 ft. o in. 24 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
James Wathen (center) .... 150 ft. o in. 37 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
bi.xie (a barge) 125 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Li 1871 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length. Beam. Hold.
Houston, a barge 125 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Otter, a barge 125 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Ferrv, a barge 125 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
Beaver, a barge 125 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in. 6 ft. o in.
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
339
Lee, a barge 125 ft. o in.
Rush, a barge 125 ft. o in.
Grey Eagle, a barge §5 ft- o in.
Tarascon, a barge 85 ft. o in.
Grey Eagle, side-wheel .... 238 ft. o in.
Wharf boat 225 ft. o in.
Lizzie, side-wheel 165 ft. o in.
City of Helena, side-wheel 266 ft. o in.
Rlaiy. stern-wheel 146 ft. o in.
John Howard, stern-wheel. . 181 ft. o in.
Barge 100 ft. o in.
In 1872 the following boats were built:
25 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
25 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
18 ft.
in.
4 ft-
in.
18 ft.
in.
4 ft.
in.
38 ft-
in.
6 ft.
in.
45 ft-
m.
5 ft.
oin.
35 ft.
in.
5 ft.
0' in.
42 ft.
in.
8 ft.
in.
34 ft-
in.
6 ft.
in.
36 ft.
in.
6 ft.
6 in.
20 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
Boat — Side-wheel. Length.
Concordia 86 ft. o in.
Barge 120 ft. o in.
Wharf Boat 150 ft. o in.
Barge 210 ft. o in.
Barge 2 10 ft. o in.
R. T. Brierly, stern-wheel 150ft. oin.
Wharf Boat 1 50 ft. o in.
James S. Bramsford, stern. . 150 ft. oin.
Longfellow, stern 1 12 ft. o in.
Little Fayette, a barge 130 ft. o in.
In 1873 the following boats were built:
Boat — Side-wheel. Length.
Atlanta, a barge 160 ft. o in.
Dolphin, stern-wheel 135 ft. o in.
Barge No. i 90 ft. o in.
Barge No. 2 90 ft. o in.
Barge No. 3 90 ft. o in.
Three States, center 150 ft. o in.
Pump Boat 45 ft- o in.
Arch P. Green, stern-wheel no ft. oin.
Barge No. 49 213 ft. o in.
Barge No. 50 213 ft. o in.
Z. M. Sherley, side-wheel. . 153 ft. oin.
H. S. McComb. side-wheel.. 195 ft. oin.
Little Nell, a barge 1 35 ft- o in.
Beam.
Hold.
25 ft.
in.
4 ft.
m.
20 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
36 ft.
in.
4 ft.
in.
40 ft.
in.
8 ft.
m.
40 ft.
in.
8 ft.
in.
33 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
36 ft.
in.
4 ft.
ni.
30 ft.
m.
4 ft.
m.
20 ft.
m.
4 ft.
m.
24 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
Beam.
Hold.
35 ft.
in.
5 ft.
m.
23 ft.
m.
4 ft.
m.
18 ft.
in.
4 ft.
in.
18 ft.
in.
4 ft.
in.
18 ft.
in.
4 ft.
in.
35 ft.
in.
4 ft.
in.
12 ft.
m.
3 ft.
m.
22 ft
.0 in.
3 ft.
in.
40 ft.
in.
8 ft.
in.
40 ft.
. in.
8 ft.
. Gin
36 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
45 ft.
in.
7 ft.
in.
28 ft.
in.
5 ft.
6 in.
340
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Red Cloud, stem-wheel. ... 176 ft. o in.
John Howard, No. 3 barge. 137 ft. o in.
B. H. Cook, stem-wheel. .. 151 ft. o in.
Ida, screw propeller 71 ft. o in.
In 1874 the following boats were built ;
34 ft.
in.
.sft.
in.
27 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
30 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in.
14 ft.
in.
/ft.
6 in.
Boat. Length. Beam.
Barge 75 ft. o in. 16 ft. o in.
Barge 75 ft. o in. 16 ft. o in.
Barge 95 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in.
Fawn, a stern-wheel 180 ft. o in. 34 ft. o in.
In 1875 the following boats were built:
Boat. Length.
Porter White, a barge 135 ft. o in.
Barge i35 ft. o in.
Chicago, a barge I75 ft. o in.
Barge I35 ft- o in.
Barge 135 ft. o in.
Barge 135 ft. o in.
Barge 135 ft. o in.
Jas. S. Morgan, side-wheel. 195 ft. o in.
Bonnie Lee, stern 165 ft. o in.
Rene McCready, side 140 ft. o in.
Timmie Baker, stem 100 ft. o in.
Assumption, stern 1 50 ft. o in.
Kate Fisher, center 80 ft. o in.
Barge 1 17 ft. o in.
In 1876 were built the following boats:
Boat. Length. Beam.
Climax, stem-wheel 140 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in.
\\'alker ^Morris, stern 96 ft. o in. 19 ft. o in.
Robert E. Lee, side 306 ft. o in. 48 ft. o in.
Yazoo Valley, stern 180 ft. o in. 36 ft. o in.
C. W. Anderson, stem 160 ft. o in. 31ft. o in.
Alberta 1 16 ft. o in. 25 ft. o in.
E. B. Stahlman stem i45 ft. o in. 27 ft. o in.
Hold.
4 ft. O in.
4 ft. o in.
7 ft. o in.
5 ft. o in.
Beam.
Hold.
27 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
27 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
^7 ft.
in.
6 ft.
in.
28 ft.
in.
5 ft.
in.
28 ft.
in.
5 ft.
in.
28 ft.
in.
5 ft.
in.
28 ft.
in.
5 ft.
in.
4.5 ft.
in.
7 ft.
m.
30 ft.
in.
4 ft.
m.
29 ft.
in.
4 ft.
6 in,
21 ft.
in.
3 ft.
m.
36 ft.
in.
6 ft.
6 in.
18 ft.
in.
3 ft.
in.
28 ft.
in.
4 ft.
in,
Hold.
3 ft. o in.
4 ft. o in.
10 ft. o in.
6 ft. 6 in.
4 ft. 6 in.
3 ft. 6 in.
3 ft. o in.
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 341
On October 14. 1876, James Howard was drowned by his buggy backing
off of the ferry boat. The ship yards were continued by his son and brother
until 1888, when John C. Howard retired, leaving E. J. Howard in control
of the industry'. The yards have continued to add their yearly quota of
water craft to the great rivers of the West. Several contracts have been
completed for boats in Central and South America, and the first large steam
boats upon the Yukon river in Alaska were constructed at Howard's,
knocked down and shipped to Dutch Harbor, where they were built and
launched for the trade up that great river.
The following is a list of steamboats built at the Howard ship yard
since 1877:
1877.
Headlight, steamer 140x24x35^
Delner, steamer 136x26x4
J. G. Fletcher, steamer 120x24x31/2
Louis Hite, barge 100x20x4 1/4
Allan Hite, barge 100x20x41/2
Mattie Belle Hays, steamer 100x20x3!/^
J. Gumby Jordan, steamer 120x25x3,^/4
Dora Cablar, steamer 155x30x4^4
Fashion, steamer 220x36x5
James Howard, schooner 1 10x263^x14
Four barges. No. i, 2, 3, 4 iooxi8x3>4
. wharf boat 100x20x5
Barge 100x20x414
Winnie, steamer 1 10x24x3^4
James Guthrie, steamer 240.X36X6
The schooner, James Howard, was built for the gulf trade and was a
seaworthy, satisfactory vessel.
1878.
John W. Cannon, steamer 252x43x9^^
New Shallcross, steamer, ferry , . . 1 58x37x6
Laura Lee, steamer 206X37.X7
Jewel, steamer 174x33x5
B. S. Rhea, steamer 162x36x4^4
Barges, No. 5 and 6 85x20x3^4
Ed Richardson, steamer 300x49x1 1
1879.
City of Greenville, steamer 281x46x954
Barge for Gulf, light, Victor 11 5x27x7
342 BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
C. N. Davis, steamer 140x27x3
City of Yazoo, steamer 20x38x7
Rainbow, steamer 263x40x6
William Fagin, steamer 165x35x5
Charmer, steamer 185x34x6
Jesse K. Bell, steamer 218x40x8
Wash Gray, tug 87xi8x6>4
WHiarf boat 1 50x36x5
1880.
Milwaukee, steamer 135x30x5
Ferr}- boat, steamer 70x53x5
Gus Fowler, steamer 160x29x5
City of Providence, steamer 270x44x8 J4
Concordia, steamer 90x25x5
Joseph Henry, steamer 180x32x6
Barge 165x32x7
Alberta, steamer 1 50x28x4
Barge 165x32x7
Clyde, steamer 180x32x5
Thomas D. Fite, steamer 150x29x4
Belle of Memphis, steamer 265x42x8 J%
Barge 195x32x6
1881.
W. Butler Duncan, steamer 200x45x7
Jeff, ferry clock 1 12x22x4 J/^
Ella, steamer 150x28x3
S. P. Ewald, steamer ' 1 50x30x4 J/^
City of Vicksburg, steamer 270x44x8^
J. P. Drouillard, steamer 165x31x5
City of New Orleans 285x48x9
City of Baton Rouge 285x48x9
Barge . . . .- 100x20x5^/2
Barge 1 10x20x5 J^
Derrick boat 60x30x35^
Crane boat (2 of these) 60x30x40
City of Nashville, steamer 149x31x414
Barge 203x36x554
1882.
City of Cairo, steamer 278x44x814
Barge (2 of these) 135x27x6
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 343
Charlie Depauw 125x23x4
Landing- barge 95x18x5
J. H. Hillman, steamer 149x29x3^/2
Arkansas City, steamer 271x45x83/2
J. G. Parker, steamer 140x28x4
Two barges 1 35x26x6
One barge 208x36x53/2
S. H. Parrisot, steamer 225x41x7 2-3
W. C. Hite, ferry boat 156x36x634
W. H. Cherry, steamer 168x32x5
Gulf Lighter 140x26x6
Samuel J. Keith, steamer 160x32x5
City of St. Louis, steamer 297x49x9
Four barges 100x25x5
1883.
Alto, steamer 165x35x5
Barge 100x25x5
Eight pile drivers 80x20x4
General GiloKire, steamer 140x28x4
Barge 1 36x27x6
Three barges 1 20x30x6
Two barges 135x27x63/2
Henry Sackman, steamer 220x46x6
C. C. Greeley, ferry boat 160x46x6
Barge '. 135x27x6
Oceola, steamer 133x24x4
Barge 135x27x6 .
W. F. Nesbit, steamer 200x35x6
Benton McMillan, steamer I55^33^'.S
W. H. Osborn, transfer boat 285x45x7
Lime boat 80x17x5
1884.
Barge • • ••. .• •• • ■ .200x24x5
Pargoud, steamer 242x42x8
Four barges , 140x277x6
Alberta No 2, steamer 145x28x4
Wharfboat.
\l
^j-
City of Natchez, steamer 296x48x10
John Smith, steamer 70x14x23/^
344 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Ferry boat, steamer 170x48x6^/4
H. K. Bedford, steamer 148x27x4
Alert, steamer 135x24x4
Pump boat 50x14x3
City of Owensboro, steamer 240x38x6
Grace V., steamer 80x18x4
Milton H. Smith, steamer 1 10x24x4
Steamboat 52x22x2^4
Steamboat 1 55x28x4^4
Steamboat 130x26x5
1886.
Two barges 165x32x8
Steamboat 125x25x5
William Porter, steamer 1 50x28x4 J4
B. F. Rhea, steamer 162x30x4^2
Oliver Bierne. steamer 260x44x8
John J. Brown, steamer 1 10x25x5
Fanny Fern, steamer 135x31x5
Wharf boat 1 50x32x5
John Fowler, steamer 149x27x4
Teche. steamer 190x38x6
Blanche Cornwall, steamer 140x28x4
1887.
Coal float 140x28x2,1/4
Mat F. Allen, steamer 160x28x4
New South, steamer 254x42x7
J. L. Stephens, steamer 102x28x4
Roy Lynds. steamer 85x25x4
Crystal City, steamer 230x40x7
Pearl, steamer 140x22x31/2
E. G. Ragon, steamer 165x3 1x4 i/S
Barge 170x32x8
City of Monroe, steamer 270x44x8
Hallette, steamer 160x30x4 V2
1 888.
Barge 1 19x24x5
Barge 1 55x30x6
Crane boat 75x26x3 1/
Sunshine, ferry boat 170x36x5
BUAT LAUNCH AT HOWARD'S SHIP YARD.
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 345
Two theater boats 150x35x5
Three barges 1 20x28x7
Wharf boat 1 50x25x4
L. T. Armstrong 154x30x4
Joe Fowler 180x32x5
La Fourche. steamer 165x38x7
Garland, steamer 160x30x43/
Two barges 1 25x20x4
Paul Tulane, steamer 210x40x7
New Idea 125x26x4
Matt F. Dortch. steamer 160x30x3
Barge 1 70x33x8
1889.
Boat Club House (Louisville) 100x30x4
Florence, steamer 130x34x5
Aid, tug 5 1 x 1 2x6
Tell City, steamer 190x35x5
Kate Adams, steamer 240x34x7
Three barges 135x27x5
Cook boat 120x21x3
Coal float 55x20x4
Rush, steamer 1 1 5x36x4 J^
Lady Lee, steamer 165x35x5
E. B. ^^'heelock, steamer 160x30x43/
Two barges 1 20x20x4
C. E. Satterlie, steamer 150x30x4
City of Savannah, steamer 190x32x53/
Three barges 120x20x4
Valley Queen 190x35x53/
Joe Trudeau, steamer 160x30x43/
1890.
Janie Rea, steamer 1 10x23x3
City of Hickman 285x44x9^^
Two barges 225x36x9
Wharf boat 250x50x6
Two barges 285x35x6^^
Rowena Lee, steamer 165x35x4 3/1
Ouchita, steamer i85x38x6>^<
City of Sheffield, steamer 180x35x5
John W. Hart, steamer 165x28x4
346 baird's history of clark co., ind.
Barge 120x28x6
Josie, steamer 80x25x9
Alex Perry, steamer 1 50x28x5 >/<
Emily, steamer 90x32x3
Barge 1 35x27x6
Ora Lee, steamer 140x36x7
Mabel Comeaux, steamer 178x36x6
Natchez, steamer 225x40.^
)xe
■2
1891.
H. L. Clarke, steamer 170x48x61/2
Delta, steamer 226x45x7
City of Jeffersonville, steamer 150x34^^x6
City of Paducah, steamer 190x33x53/2
George ]\Iedill, steamer 265x45x7
Dolphin, steamer 1 50x30x4^/2
Two barges 190x35x63-!
Santa Fe, steamer 65x16x3
T. P. Leathers, steamer 220x40x6^
Two barges 40x12x21/2
Colbert, steamer 125x24x3
Two barges 165x30x4
1892.
Grey Eagle, steamer 250x40x6
Parlor City, steamer 125x26x4
City of Peoria, steamer 130x26x4!/!
Columbia, steamer 170x35x6
Madison, steamer 1 50x44x6
Landing Dock.
Two coal floats 87x2 1x7
W. K. Phillips, steamer 165x30x4
Thomas Pickles, steamer 130x65x7
Two coal floats 1 50x26x3
City of New Albany , 225x35x6
Ashland City, steamer 1 20x20x4
Two coal floats 140x2 1x2 V2
Barge , 240x22x5
1893-
Two barges 1 30x32x5 ^X
Huntsville, steamer 125x24x4
A. C. Church, steamer 120x49x6
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 347
Crane boat 90x36x3
Coal float 140x22x3
City of Camden, steamer 1/5^35-^5
Thirty-four barges 100x25x51/^
Help, tug 60x18x5
Dredge boat
City of Little Rock, steamer 145x28x4
John Howard, steamer 180x37x6
Shawnee, steamer 35x8x3
P. D. Staggs, steamer 160x30x3
Six barges.
Four quarter-barges.
1894.
City of Louisville, steamer 300x42x7
General Barrios 90x20x4
Snag boat, steamer 1 16x24x3
E. 'R. Andrews, steamer 165x32x5
Barge 100x22x4
Clyde, steamer i75>^33^5
Ue Koven, steamer 220x36x6
Four barges 200x3 1x6
Imperial, steamer 210x40x7
Four barges 135x28x5
Fritz, steamer 120x26x4
Four barges , 80x18x31/2
1895-
City of Warsaw, steamer ........,.,...,.,..., . 100x24x3
Three barges ,,,.........,...,.,.......... 1 10x22x4
Two scows.
Three barges 200x37x7
One dump scow 75x20x5
Rose Hite, steamer 150x28x3^
General H. L. Abbott, steamer 170x32x5
Will J. Cummings, steamer 160x30x4
Four barges 135x28x5
W. T. Scovell, steamer • 160x3 1 X3
Two barges 100x20x4
Patrol, steamer 130x30x5
Charlie Kerlin, steamer 87x18x31%
Barge .... .,. ....... .250x42x8
348 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Wash Gray, tug- 90x18x8
Two barges 1 10x24x31^
Tarascon, steamer 190x35x5
1896.
Verapas, steamer 90x18x3
Two barges 85x18x2^
Barge.
Major ]\IcKenzie, steamer 125x25x4^
El Peta, steamer 90x20x4
Two barges 65x18x21/^
Steamer (tow-boat) 100x20x4
Lookout, steamer 1 10x25x3
Ollie, steamer 125x30x45^
Two barges 90x20x4
Istrouma, steamer 150x30x5
H. W. Buttorff, steamer 160x30x4
Bluff City, steamer 225x42x6
Eliza, steamer 1 10x25x3
Dredge boat.
1897.
Jim T. Duffy, Jr.. steamer 120x26x4
Colonel Gillespie, steamer 1 10x25x3
Henry Haarstick. tug 1 15x22x10
Dolphin No. 3, steamer 1 56x36x6^^
W. C. Hite, steamer 1 56x36x6j/^
Barge 230x28x7
Andrew Christy 176x48x7^/
Bob Dudley • ' 157x28x31^
Barge 120x40x4
Chiska, steamer 160x30x5
Robert E Lee, steamer 245x43x6^4
Tennessee, steamer 170x32x5
Two scows.
Two steel dredges i6ox40x6i/<
Electra. steamer IZS^^.SS-'^S
Sun Rise, steamer 180x36x5
John ^^^ Thomas, steamer 160x26x3^/2
James Lee, steamer 230x43x6^
1898.
Belle of the Bends, steamer 210x32x6
Cumberland, steamer 130x26x4
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 349
Georgia Lee, steamer 2 10x43x6
Julian Poydras, steamer 160x30x5
City of Memphis, steamer 200x36x6
Henry Harley, steamer 160x29x4
Gem, steamer 135x28x4
Two barges 100x20x3
Kate Adams, steamer 240x40x7
Arthur Hider, steamer 160x30x5
America, steamer 200x38x7
Richardson, steamer 165x30x4
Greenwood, steamer 130x28x4
Mary, steamer 177x32x43/2
Boat House 70
Landing Dock.
1899.
City of Cincinnati, steamer 307x41 x654
Ouichita, steamer 140x32x4^4
Red River, steamer 155x28x4
Wharf boat 165x35x4
Mary, steamer 100x24x3^4
William R King, steamer 190x40x5
Three steamboats (Government) i, 2, 3 100x24x4
Two barges 1 60X32X
J
Two barges 100x20x7
Six barges 200x33x6
Peters Lee, steamer 220x42x6
Rees Lee, steamer 220x42x6
Bayless Lee, steamer 190x38x6
Rowena Lee, steamer 190x38x6
1900.
Three barges.
Lidiana, steamer 285x42x6
Col. A. McKenzie, steamer 160x32x5
Two barges 108x18x4
M. W. Kelly, steamer 150x32x4
Alma, steamer 1 55x32x4
Two barges 1 10x22x4
One barge 240x22x5
E. T. Slider, steamer 1 10x24x33^
Six barges.
Landing dock 60x20x3
35° BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
I9OI.
Tow boat 120x26x4
Morning Star, steamer 22^x38x6
J S., steamer 175-^37x5
McClelland, steamer 150x38x41/!
Barge 126x20x3^4
Dredge boat 80x30x7
Gold Dust, steamer 170x34x5
Barge 175^-35^3
Vega 104x18x314
Steel Queen, steamer 125x28x4
A. D. Allen, steamer 125x27x31/^
H. M. Carter, steamer 155x28x4
G. W. Thomas, steamer 150x28x4
Senator Cordill, steamer 170x34x5
Sadie Lee, steamer 140x31x5
1902.
Boat House ' g2x22K2 ^4
Landing dock.
Stacher Lee. steamer 225x45x6
City of Savannah, steamer 200x38x6
Four barges 120x28x6
Shiloh, steamer 190x30x6
Life Saving Station.
Beauregard, steamer 128x30x4
Barge.
Sand Digger.
St. Genevieve, steamer 215x45x8
Ferry boat 120x37x7
1903.
Derrick boat.
Guntennlle. steamer 150x30x4
Five barges 130x30x7
Coal float.
Steamboat 130x27x4
Dredge boat.
Lida, steamer 122x24x4
John, steamer 90x20x3
Henry, steamer 90x20x3
Two derrick boats.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO.^ IND. .351
Two mud SCOWS.
Six barges.
Columbia for (N. O.) steamer 170x30x4^4
Barge 1 10x26x6
Roberta, steamer 135x27x4
Bob Blanks, steamer 175x35x5
Handy, steamer 1 10x22x3
Frank Hayne, steamer 130x26x4
Ciiarlie Jutte, steamer 1 50x27x4 1^
1904.
Two barges 1 50x30x5
Derrick boat 140x40x5
Barge 100x20x4
H. St. L. Coffee, steamer 140x30x6
Two barges 100x30x7
Barge 120x28x6
Barge 80x20x6
Two barges 100x25x6
Kentucky 175x33x41/$
Saltillo, steamer 200x36x6
M E. Rea, steamer 40x10x3
Steam ferr}- boat 100x27x4
Barge 1 10x24x3
Bowling Green, steamer 123x32x6
Nugent, steamer 120x24x4
A. Baldwin, steamer 125x30x7
Three States, steamer 150x30x4^
Derrick boat 100x26x4
1905.
Scimitar, steamer 135x26x4
L. H. Morero, steamer 1 19x30x7
Jennie Barber, steamer 1 10x28x4
\Miite Oak, steamer 90x18x3
J. W. Thompson, steamer 125x30x5^4
Barge 130x26x41/2
Dredge boat.
Five barges : 130x30x7
One barge 70x16x4
1906.
Alton, steamer 240x38x6
J. O. Cole, steamer 130x26x454
352 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
J. O. Cole, Steamer 130x26x41/2
Edenborn, steamer 145x31x5
Two barges 120x28x6
One dredge 130x30x6
One barge 100x20x4
One gasoline boat 75x18x3
One pile driver 80x36x3
Concordia, steamer 150x30x5
Mary Anderson, steamer 100x28x3^
John A. Patton 165x32x4^
Barge 1 30x30x7
\Miarf boat 1 50x40x6
1907.
Two snag boats, steamers. United States.
Humphrey and Randall 137x32x5
One coal float 1 50x26x214
Wharf boat 1 50x40x5
John Quill, steamer 170x35x4
Two barges 135x34x6
One steel dredge 125x34x6
'2
]\Ierrill, steamer 1 15x22x3
Kentucky, steamer 185x34x5
Barge 225x36x7
1908.
City of Muskogee, steamer 125x28x33/2
Derrick boat 1 20x30x6
Northern, steamer 125x25^^x4
Mammoth Cave (U. S. snag boat) 140x34x5
Hiwasse, steamer 100x20x3
Chilhowee, steamer 100x20x3
Four barges 160x34x6
Fuel flat 100x20x6
Thomas Bigbee, steamer 100x28x5
R. C. McCalla, steamer 100x28x5
Two mat barges 135x34x5
This record of steamboat building is not equalled by any plant on the
western rivers of the continent. The Howard boats, both as to construction
and finish, have made the yards at Jeffersonville the peer of any inland plant
in the world, and the reputation of the Howard boats for beauty, design and
THE JAMES LEE.
LAUNCH OF THE ROBERT E. LEE IN 1876.
VIEWS AT HOWARD'S SHIP YARD.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
353
general satisfaction is known from Pittsburg to Xew Orleans and on tribu-
tary rivers. The impetus, which the personality and technical skill of James
Howard gave the business, and which John C. and Daniel so thoroughly main-
tained, is still felt. Ed. J. Howard, the present head of the concern, is one
of the best ecpipped and most thoroughly competent steamboat builders of
the day. He is now^ president of the company, which includes shipyards or
marine ways at Cincinnati, Madison, JetYersonville, Mound City and Padu-
cah. Clyde Howard is the secretary and treasurer of the company and James
Howard the vice-president. James Armstrong, a nephew of Capt. E. J. How-
ard, is in charge of the books of the concern. The prospects of a 9-foot stage
of water will, no doubt, give an impetus to boat building at all points along the
river, and the Howard yards will be given many opportunities to furnish water
craft to meet the new and larger demands upon the traffic which will result.
The ultimate control of the river, and possibly its sources of supply, will !iot
only have the effect of affording a steady boating stage, but will tend t(_i a re-
duction of the dangers of the great floods which in the past have attained the
following stages :
February 19, 1832, reached 45.4 feet
December 18, 1847, reached 40.8 feet
February 23. 1850, reached 34.0 feet
January 24. 1862, reached 33.0 feet
ilarch 7, 1865, reached 33.0 feet
March 16, 1867, reached 37.0 feet
January 20, 1870. reached 34.0 feet
August 6, 1875. reached 32.5 feet
February 22, 1882, reached 37.5 feet
February 16, 1883, reached 43.8 feet
February 16. 1884, reached 46.7 feet
April 10. 1886, reached },2.'j feet
February 6, 1887, reached 32.5 feet
^larch 28, 1890. reached 35.6 feet
Februaiy 27, 1891, reached 32.4 feet
February 28, 1897. reached 35.3 feet
March 30, 1898, reached 36.3 feet
March 10, 1899, reached 32.8 feet
April 28, 1901, reached 33.2 feet
Beside the Howard yards in Jeffersonville, the Barmore yard, owned by
David S. Barmore, turned out a number of verv fine boats from 1869 until
1885.
David S. Barmore was engaged in the business with Samuel King in
1856, and in the firm of Stuart & Barmore in 1864. In 1869 Mr. Barmore
23
354 BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
bought Stuart's interest, and continued the business alone until 1S85, when his
plant was destroyed by fire. He had a considerable yard and turned out many
fine boats. During the war he built a number of boats for the Government.
When first in business alone he built four boats, the Coosa Belle, Julia, Swan
and Jesse K. Bell. Since that time he built the following steamers, some
being side-wheel, stern and others center-wheel boats:
Lilly, Warren Belle, Sam Nicholas, Atlantic, Dexter, Belle Lee. Jolm
Lumsden, Mary Houston, Lizzie Campbell, W. S. Pike. Grand Era, Belle
Yazoo, Seminole, Bradish Johnson, ^^'ade Hampton, "SI J. \\'icks, C. B.
Church, A. J. \Miite, Lightest, Southwestern, Lucy Kevin. Ouichita Belle,
Katie, Capitol City, Fannie Lewis, Emma C. Elliott. Maria Louise, Carrie A.
Thorne, Sabine, Business, Silverthorn, Fowler, Fannie Keener, Marv, W. J.
Behan, Yazoo, Ozark Belle, ^^^ J. Lewis, Mattie, Belle St. Louis, May Bryon,
Mary Lewis, Sunflower Belle, Lilly, Tensas, Tallahatchie, Baton Rouge, Bara-
taria. Osceola Belle, Calhoun, Yellowstone, Southern Belle, Gold Dust, Little
Eagle, J. Don Cameron, General Sherman, John Wilson, Alvin, Carrie Ho-
gan, Mary Elizabeth, Little Bob B., New Mary Houston, \\'hisper, John H.
Johnson, E. C. Carroll, Jr., Sunflower, Leflore, Deer Creek, St. John, Maggie
F. Burke, Shields, "W. P. Halliday, General Barnard, Richard Ford, Kwasind.
E. H. Barmore. Napoleon, E. W. Cole, J. Bertram, Jack Frost, John F. Lin-
coln, City of St. Louis, lohn. Belle Crooks, Fanny Freeze, Polar \\'ave.
Besides the above. ]\Ir. Barmore l)uilt the fnllnwing wharf-bnats. b'lrges,
coal boats, etc:
Wharf-boat, Hettie, Mary, Essetelle ; flatboat, Eva ; coal float, ^Missouri
No. I, Missouri No. 2, Charlie Hill, Saline No. i, No name. Little Eagle No.
2, No. 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66. Lime barge. Nos. 57, 58, 59, Engineer No,
I, Engineer No. 2, Khedive, Egypt, Saline No. 2, No. 67, 68, 69, 70. 71, ~2.
73- 74- 75- 76. 77. 78, Saline No. 3: barges No. 26, 37, 36, 79. 80. Si,
82, 83. 84. 85, Saline No. 4 : barges 86. 87, landing barge, four grading boats,
eight pile dri\'ers for the Government.
The value of the great water highway which passes Clark county is not
fully appreciated by the larger part of those who live here. One of the noblest
streams in the world, or as ]\IcMurtrie describes it in his History of Louisville,
"By far the noblest river in the universe," it presents to the eye an everchanging
panorama of beauty. The north side of the river in Clark county is as diversified
as it is beautiful From the lower end of the Illinois grant ojjposite the Falls
where cluster the historic memories of George Rogers Clark, the banks are
high and the land beyond le\-el : offering an uninterrupted \-iew nf the country
beyon<i and the knobs in the far distance. The blufTs and hills of L^tica and
the tableland opposite. Twelve Mile island, remind one of some scenes along
the Columbia, while the precipitous clifi^s and rugged hills in the vicinity of
Fourteen Mile creek present a scene of grandeur not excelled on the Hud-
son. But the practical utility of the stream is its most interesting feature.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 355
From the Falls of the Ohio to Madison, fifty miles above, the harbor is of in-
estimable value to the surrounding territory. With an ample depth of water
at all seasons of the year it affords a harbor capable of floating the assembled
water craft of the whole IMississippi valley. Along the Indiana side of the
river is found the deepest water and the best harbor. Immediately below
Six Mile Island is the famous Pumpkin Patch harbor for coal boats, while
from the town of Port Fulton to Four Mile Springs the vast coal fleets find
safe anchorage, and millions of bushels of coal are kept here in reserve. Along
the front of Jefifersonville a depth of water sufficient for the launching or
landing of the largest Mississippi steamers is found, a deeper and safer natural
harbor than is found along the Kentucky side. The Falls, however, have ever
been the great obstacle to navigation, and from early times have been one of
the problems which has called for the deepest study and the expenditure of
vast sums of money for its solution.
In 1820 Congress made an appropriation for a survey of the Ohio river
from Louisville to the Mississippi river and down that river to its mouth. This
sur\-ey was made in 1821 by Captains Young and Poussin, of the topograph-
ical engineers, and Lieutenant Tuttle of the engineers. In 1824 an appropria-
ation of $75,000 was made for the improvement of certain sand bars in the
Ohio and for the removal of snags from the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
The plans for the improvement of the Falls of the Ohio include straight-
ening and deepening the channel, and cuntrolling the water flow in the Indiana
chute.
This is the main channel of the river Ijy which commerce passes over the
Falls when the stage of water is such as to permit navigation via that route.
Originally it was very crooked, with swift currents and whirls, filled with dan-
gerous rocky points projecting from the sides and bottom, and it could be
navigated only at stages of eleven feet or more, upper canal gauge.
The Federal Government has undertaken a plan which requires the ex-
penditure of over $1,760,000 for improving the Indiana chute, the Louisville
canal and the harbor above.
The Falls of the Ohio are formed by a mass of limestone rock extending
across the river bed creating a fall of twenty-seven feet in two and one-half
miles of the river.
The control of the water rushing over the obstruction is to be made by
the erection of dams at the head of the chutes.
The dams constructed here and to be constructed are of the general type
which will be employed throughout the river improvement scheme.
The types used are commonly known as the Boule and Chanoine dams.
The Boule dam consists of an iron framework on levers, which are attached to
a concrete base on the bed of the river. This framework is raised into a ver-
tical position by steamboats built especially for this purpose. Owing to the
2^56 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
fact tliat the water above the dam will flow freely through the framework the
power required to raise them will not be of great volume. When in position
the framework is filled in with wooden wickets or doors which, when in po-
sition, form a solid wall and hold back the water.
The Chanoine dam is somewhat similar but instead of presenting a verti-
cal front to the water slants down stream. It consists of a series of heavy
wooden wickets or doors, which are raised separately by steam power fur-
nished by the type of boat referred to alxive. These wickets are attached to
a concrete base fixed to the solid rock of the river bed and are raised by means
of levers. When the stage of the river becomes sufficiently high so that the
dam is no longer needed, the wickets are tripped by an ingenious arrangement
and automatically fall back into place, affording a free passage way.
The appropriation made by Congress is being used in the construction of
500 feet of Boule dam in Middle Chute. 648 feet of Chanoine dam in Indiana
Chute, and about 600 linear feet of concrete dam between Indiana Chute and
the north bank of the river. These sections of dam constitute additions to
the former projects, and are to have their crests at elevation -{-9 feet, upper
canal gauge (412.004 feet above sea level). This height is such as will afford
a minimum depth of 9 feet upstream to Madison. Ind., and a minimum depth
of six feet on the lower miter sill at Lock No. i, Kentucky river.
CHAPTER XXXII.
HOSPITALS AND HOMES.
THE JEFFERSONVILLE ORPHAN HOME.
In the fall of 1876 a supper was given by the Masons of the city, and at
the close of the evening's entertainment it was found that quite an amount of
eataljles and some money were still in the hands of the committee. This was
distributed to the widows and orphans. From this Mrs. S. H. Patterson, Mrs.
Caldwell, and Mrs. McClure became interested in caring for the orphans of
the place. A meeting was held at the home of Mrs. Patterson, where she was
chosen president, Mrs. McClure secretary, and Mrs. Caldwell treasurer. In
this manner was perfected the organization of the orphan asylum. The self-
appointed officers rented a house on Front street for a term of three years, and
opened the institution with a little foundling. In two weeks two more children
were received, and during the three years of this lease quite a number of chil-
dren had been assisted. At the expiration of the three years' lease sixteen
children were inmates of the home. A noble-hearted lady. Mrs. Zulauf, do-
nated to the cause three building lots, and on this a two-story brick house was
built. This property consisting of the roomy and comfortable house and a
large yard and playground is located at 832 Meigs avenue. The yard is about
half an acre in extent. The institution is private, but it is supported by board-
ing the wards of Clark county. Its capacity is forty-five, but the present time
there are onl\- thirty-two wards being cared for. There are five i>ersons em-
ployed at the home. During the history of the institution there has been five
matrons, the secord inie, Mrs. Eliza Harrington, sen'ing for twenty-five years.
The present matron is Mrs. Julia Twomey.
THE JEFFERSONVILLE HOSPITAL.
In July, 1892, a meeting was called at the city hall, in Jeffersonville, to
discuss the advisability of erecting a hospital in Jefifersonville. On July 26th
of this year a second meeting was held at the residence of Mrs. Sarah Caldwell
and the following directors were elected :
Mrs. David McClure, president ; Mrs. Lucy Armstrong, vice-president ;
Mrs. Sarah Caldwell, treasurer: Aliss Clara J. Loomis, secretary: Miss Hannah
Zulauf, assistant secretary : Mrs. Ed Morris, Mrs. Barney Coll, Mrs. Herman
358 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
Preefer, Mrs. N. H. Myers, Mrs. John Rauchenberger, Mrs. Mary Gottwaller,
Mrs. Martha Cook, Mrs. Charles Neeley, Miss Lizzie Hertzsch, Mrs. George
Pfau, Sr., Mrs. Anna Shafer and Mrs. Al. Thias.
The institution was incorporated December 3, 1892, as the Jeffersonville
Infirmary. On August 27, 1892, the old Myers home, at 415 East Front
street, was purchased for four thousand and fifty dollars. Since then improve-
ments to the amount of five thousand dollars have been added until the property
is now worth about ten thousand dollars. The ladies who served on the first
board deserve all the credit for making this institution a possibility, as it was
only by their hard and unceasing labors that it lived through its first few
years. Arthur Loomis, the architect, furnished all the plans and super-
vision for the improvements free of charge. The following furnished rooms
and donated them to the hospital. Clark Lodge of Masons, Daughters of
Rebekah, Mrs. A. T. Hert, Mrs. William W. Borden. Epworth League,
Knights of Pythias, the Aid Society, and the old board of directors. The
equipment is modern and complete, and the location is ideal, facing the river
as it does and offering a view of ever changing interest to the patients who are
able to occupy the spacious sun parlor across the front of the building.
The hospital was under the management of the deaconess of the Meth-
odist church for several years and was carefully and efiicientlv conducted. The
men of the city have taken charge in the last few years, one representative
from each church being on the board of managers. The president is J.
Howard Fitch.
MERCY HOSPITAL, JEFFERSONVILLE.
On Thanksgiving day, 1897, the Sisters of Mercy opened their first
hospital in Jeffersonville,. on upper Chestnut street. It was located in a small
six room cottage at No. 623, East Chestnut, rented to them at fifteen dollars
per month. Here under adverse conditions and with this poor and meager
beginning was begun the institution which now crowns the hill at Twelfth
and Missouri avenues.
Sister Maiy Regina, the Mother Superior, and one sister were the only
ones to shoulder the necessarily hard work of the organization and start the
hospital, but their efforts were rewarded and in just one year and two weeks,
on December 8, 1898, their new hospital building, at the corner of Twelfth
and Missouri avenues, was occupied. This building is a substantial frame,
formerly the residence of Mrs. Charles Rogers.
In less than three years, on September 30, 1901, the sisters had completed
the sanitarium, a handsome brick building, located to the east of the hospital.
The hospital is equipped for the care of the sick, medical and surgical cases;
the sanitarium for the care of nervous and mental diseases. The latter build-
ing is a most substantial one, having all the inside walls of brick, with grani-
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 359
toid floors in basement, hard wood floors throughout the rest of the building,
and heated with steam heal. This was erected whoUy without outside aid and
stands as a monument to tlie business sagacity of the Mother Superior.
At present this institution owns one whole city block between Twelfth
and Thirteenth streets and Missouri avenue, an excellent site. It is owned
by the Sisters of Mercy and is the headquarters of the sisterhood in
the diocese of Indianapolis. Neither support nor direction is received from
any outside authority, and it is self-supporting. The hospital at Columlnis,
Indiana, is a branch.
The plant, is assessed at about forty-hve thousand dollars, and with the
growth of the city northward and the completion of extensive improvements
and additions in the future ]Mercy Hospital bids fair to occupy a prominent
place among the institutions of its kind in Southern Indiana. There are five
sisters now ministering in the hospital and sanitarium. The former has a
capacity of twelve, the latter of fifty. The institution is in a prosperous and
substantial condition, and shows a healthy growth.
THE OLD ladies' HOME.
On January 2, 1905. a meeting was held at the residence of Mrs. George
Pfau, Jr., for the purpose of forming and perfecting plans for founding a
home for persons who were without the means of providing themselves with the
necessities and comforts of life. The first name selected for the institution
was "Home for the Aged," but as this included both sexes, a condition con-
trary to law, the name was changed to "The Old Ladies' Home." Solicitors
were appointed to see what amount could be raised, and they met with such
success that at the next meeting a committee was appointed to draft a consti-
tution, by-laws, and rules, i. e., Henry Burtt, Mrs. Sarah Ransom, Miss
Clara J. Loomis and Miss Rose Beck.
A board of directors to serve one year was elected as follows : Mrs.
George Pfau, Jr., president; Mrs. Sarah Ransom, first vice-president; Mrs.
Agnes Zulauf, second vice-president; Miss Clara J. Loomis. secretary; Miss
Rose Beck, treasurer ; Miss Ada Bruner, Mrs. John Loomis Mrs. Ed. Weber,
Mrs. Daisy Kehoe, Mrs. C. E. Asbury, Mrs. William LewMs, Mrs. Jessie
Bishop, Mrs. John Geinger, Mrs. I. F. Whitesides, and Mrs. William Seibert.
The following gentlemen were appointed on the first advisory board : George
H. Voight, A. A. Schwartz. W. B. Lewis, S. E. Mullings, John Best, George
Holzborg, James H. Amistrong. George Pfau, Sr.. Henry Burtt aiul John C.
Zulauf.
In November, 1905, the Ward property at the northwest corner of Mar-
ket street and Ohio avenue, was rented and prepared for the admission of appli-
cants. Eight ladies were cared for in this home until late in 1906. In Octo-
360 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
ber. 1906, the property at 330 W'est Market street was purchased from
Georg;e Pfan, Sr.. and the ladies were moved to the new building in April.
1907.
In the purchase of this new property Mrs. Sarah Ransom donated one
thousand dollars and Mrs. Jennie S. Cobb, the sister of the late William
Stratton, of Colorado Springs, donated a like amount. The rest of the neces-
sary amount was made up of small subscriptions.
Eleven ladies have been cared for in the new home. The institution is
supported by hard work on the part of the ladies who manage its affairs, and
on the generosity of friends. An aid society has been formed, and it affords
much assistance to the managers in the matter of supplies and money. The
present board is Mrs. Sarah Ransom, president; Miss Rose Beck, first vice-
president : Airs. John C. Loomis, second vice-president ; Mrs. Daisy Kehoe,
third vice-president ; Miss Clara J. Loomis, secretary ; Mrs. William Seibert,
treasurer. The home has done much good in Jeffersonville and the ladies
managing it deserve unstinted praise for their perseverance and success.
THE HAUSS SANITARIUM^SELLERSBURG.
In 1907 Dr. I. Robert Hauss, A. M., established a privte hospital at
Sellersburg, Indiana, and its need was immediately manifest. The building
is one of nine rooms, but is entirely inadequate. A larger and much more
modern building is being planned at this time, which when completed will
afford accommodations for more patients and for more conveniences possible
in the present building. Doctor Hauss does a general practice, but his hospital
work is largely surgical. All of the surgical cases at the sanitarium are drawn
from the private practice of Doctor Hauss, and as this practice is one of the
largest in the county the operations are numerous enough to testify to the
need of an institution such as this in its locality. The operating room is one
of the best in the county and the whole plant, in neatness and in keeping, is
excellent. A head nurse is on duty at the institution all the time, extra nurses
being called in as needed.
Doctor Hauss is a graduate of the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincin-
nati, Ohio, had two years clinical instruction in the Cincinnati Hospital and
had a special private course under the late Professor McDermott.
THE POOR FARM.
For many years the paupers of Clark county had been receiving almost
as good care as some of the animals on farms surrounding the poor house, but
public sentiment was aroused and public officials who had been guilty of this
neglect finallv undertook the task of building a new asylum. Amos \\'. Butler,
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO.^ IXD. 361
secretan- of the Indiana State Board of Charities, was responsible for the
sanitary lines upon which the new building was constructed. \Mien completed
the building cost the county twenty-three thousand six hundred and sixty-nine
dollars. The contractor was Clarence E. Howard and he turned it over to
the county commissioners November 20, 1907.
The new asylum is complete in every detad and is two stories high. It
fronts to the north and there is an east and west wing, each of which has a
large porch. There are thirty-three rooms in the building, exclusive of the
bathrooms, halls and clothing closets. The apartments to be occupied by the
superintendent and his family are nicely finished and contain many modern
conveniences, including bathrooms, kitchen and dining-room. The house
throughout has hardwood floors made of Canada maple. The heat is supplied
by steam and two large tanks in the attic furnish a supply of water for the
building. The bedrooms are large, and there are lounging-rooms for the
charges, many of whom have seen better days.
The structure is of brick. None of the inside walls have been plastered,
but instead have been painted. This was done for the sake of keeping the
place sanitary. There are broad stairways, and each step is so arranged that
it can easily be cleaned. In this new liuilding the sexes will be entirely sep-
arated, and will not even come face to face at meal times, each having dif-
ferent dining-rooms. The furniture will be plain, but good, all of the bed-
steads being of iron, with good springs, besides which there will be a straw
tick. The normal capacity of the building is sixty, but with little trouble one
hundred could be easily accommodated.
It was only after several years of planning that the county finally secured
the new asylum, there having been considerable opposition to building it. The
County Council finally appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars for the build-
ing, and when bids were asked for putting up the structure the contract was
given to Clarence E. Howard, who ofifered to do the work for twenty-three
thousand six hundred and sixty-nine dollars. R. L. Plaskett, of New Wash-
ington, was appointed superintendent of the work and he saw that the con-
tract was carried out in every detail. The building is looked upon as the
best in the state of Indiana for the price. It is substantial from end to end and
has been built with a view of service more than of beauty.
In appearance, howe\'er, it presents rather an imposing front. It is in
full view of travelers to and from Charlestown on the interurban and no citizen
of Clark countv need be ashamed of this institution.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
PUBLIC UTILITIES OF CLARK COUNTY.
R.\ILROADS TRACTION LINES ELECTRIC LIGHTS GAS WATER FERRIES
TELEPHONES.
THE JEFFERSONVILLE WATER SUPPLY COMPANY.
The Jeffersonville Water Supply Company began to lay their mains and
erect the pumping station in 1887. The pumping station is located above Port
Fulton on the river bank and is a powerful and complete plant. The stand pipe
is located just within the eastern limits of Port Fulton near the end of Mar-
ket street. It is one hundred and fifty feet high, fifteen feet in diameter and
has a capacity of a quarter of a million gallons.
The water works, as accepted December 14, 1888, had a total of ten miles
of water mains, about one hundred and fifty subscribers, and represented on
investment of about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
At the present time there are about fifteen miles of water mains, with about
nine hundred subscribers. There are no mains smaller than six inches and
none larger than fourteen inches. One hundred and thirty-four fire plugs
located in all parts of the city furnish ample free fire protection, and the normal
pressure of seventy-five pounds is sufficient for all ordinary fires. In extra-
ordinary cases the pressure can be raised to one hundred and ten pounds in
five minutes.
In 1906 this company began digging wells east of Fulton street and
north of Tenth street, sii^king thirty-two and striking copious flows of soft
freestone water. The pumping station near the wells was erected at a cost
of about thirty thousand dollars, and it is from this station that most of the
water supply of Jeitersonville is derived. The daily consumption of water in
Jeffersonville is one and one-half million gallons.
David Allen, the superintendent, has been connected with the Jeffer-
sonville Water Supply Company from the first. \\'ith a larger pumping plant
at the wells pumping station Jeffersonville will be supplied with as pure water
as any city in the state of Indiana.
THE UNITED GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY.
The first gas plant in Clark county was built in Jeft'ersonville, in 1855,
the franchise being granted by the Council on February 7th of that year, to
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 363
furnish gas at two dollars per thousand. J. M. Cooper and J. C. Belman were
granted exclusive rights for twenty years and the company was known as
the Jeffersonville Gas Company. At the end of this period, in 1875, the con-
tract was renewed for ten years under the same name. On January 28, 1880,
it was renewed again, and on January 3, 1882, the name was changed to the
Electric Lighting, Gas Heating & Illuminating Company. The company at
this time was composed of Simon Goldbach, John C. Howard, S. S. Johnson,
E. W. McKenna, Felix R. Lewis and their associates.
In 1889 the name was changed to the Electric Lighting, Gas Heating &
Coke Company. An electric plant was installed on Maple street between
Spring and Wall streets, in 1890. It consisted of two fifty light arc machines
for street lighting, one alternating machine for incandescent lighting, two one
hundred horse power boilers and two one hundred horse power engines, and
it was operated until 1900. In this year Charles S. Knight was at the head
of a company which entered the field to develop the business in Jeffersonville.
This company was called the JeflFersonville Light & ^^'ater Company, and
they were granted the contract for city lighting, in February. 1900, with an
understanding with the powers then at the head of aft'airs of the city that
Jeffersonville would take over the property in time and would run it under
municipal control. However, a change in the political complexion changed
this plan and the unloading failed to materialize. The plant was erected at
Sixth street and Kentucky avenue, and consisted of one two hundred and
twenty-five horse power engine, one one hundred and seventy-five horse power
engine, two eighty light arc machines, two two hundred and fiftj' horse power
boilers, one three thousand light and one thousand light generator for alter-
nating incandescent lights. This company furnished arc lights to the city at
forty dollars per year. The Jeffersonville Light & Water Compau)^ went
under within a short time and finally Frank Willey was appointed re-
ceiver. At this time the receipts from the commercial lighting would hardly
pay the coal bills of the concern. The plant had deteriorated badly by the
time the United Gas & Electric Company organized and bought it in 1900.
This new company also absorbed the Electric Lighting, Gas Heating &
Coke Company, which owned the gas plant at Sixth street and ^Michigan
avenue, in 1900.
The gas plant now occupies ground on Sixth street and Michigan avenue,
one hundred and fifteen feet by three hundred and fifty feet, and consists of a
retort house sixty feet by thirty feet, a meter and exhauster room twenty-
three feet by eighteen feet, and the condensing house thirty-six feet by twenty-
eight feet, all of these buildings being of brick construction with slate roofs.
There is also a separate brick structure twenty feet by twelve feet, contain-
ing the oxide room, a coal storage shed with metal roof one hundred and four
feet by thirty-one feet, and a coke crushing plant. The gas holder is built in
364 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
a brick tank fifty-four feet in diameter, having a storage capacity of twenty-
seven thousand cubic feet. This plant, technically known as a three bench coal
gas plant, is equipped for a daily output of rme hundred and fifty thousand cubic
feet of gas. the maximum output now being one hundred cubic feet. It com-
pares favorably with plants in cities larger than Jeffersonville, and the charge
of one dollar per thousand cubic feet for gas seems reasonable.
The electric plant at Sixth and Kentucky avenue is now operated as a
distributing and rotar}' converter substation, supplying an alternating current
series, arc and commercial lighting and power service to JefifersonVille,
Howard Park, Port Fultcn and Clarksville, and distributing railway current
to the Touisville & Northern Railway & Lighting Compau}', the Louisville &
Southern Interurban Traction Company, and the local city lines. Besides
the above named equipment at this station there is also a twelve hundred
amphere fifty-five volt general electric booster, used in connection with a stor-
age battery, which is located in an adjoining building. The battery consists
of two hundred and sixty-four cells, chloride accumulators, with a capacity of
six hundred amphere hours at the one hour rate of discharge. These storage
batteries are charged from the main generation station and are used to boost
over the hard pull of the day from five to seven o'clock p. m.
The change in the gas and electric light business in the last six or eight
years has been phenomenal. In 1902 there were only five hundred gas cus-
tomers in Jeffersonville, and only one hundred and fifty gas stoves.
In 1909 there are over one thousand five hundred customers for gas
lighting; there are one thousand two hundred and sixty gas stoves, sixty
water heaters, one hundred and twenty-five gas heaters (small stoves), and
fifteen miles of gas mains.
In 1902 there were practically no incandescent subscribers, and unsatis-
factory street arc lamps. In 1909 there are one hundred and sixty-five in-
closed street arc lamps of the General Incandescent Company make, eight
hundred subscribers to incandescent light, ten thousand two hundred and two
sixteen candle power lamps for commercial lighting, six hundred and thirty-
eight horse power motors, one hundred desk fans, twenty-five ceiling fans,
twenty-three electric signs and two hundred and seventy-seven commercial
arc light lamps, over two hundred of which are in the Car Works. This
growth has all been made in less than seven years.
The Charlestown Lighting plant is small l)ut efficient It is owned by
the Louisville & Northern Railway and Lighting Company, and has about
seventy-five customers for incandescent lights and about thirty-six street
arc lamps. This plant contains one forty kilo watt two hundred and fifty
volt generator, belted to a sixty horse power high speed Atlas engine, one'
eighty horse power tubular ' boiler, and one one hundred and twenty horse
power five hundred volt motor. The apparatus Is so arranged that the gener-
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 365
ator can be engine driven or motor driven, as conditions may warrant. It
was installed in 1904, by Clarence Hay.
In 1888 the Car Works installed four electric machines for lighting their
shops, and they were continued in use until 1902. when the power began
to be supplied by the United Gas & Electric Company. In 1893 Belknap
Cement Mills, at Sellersburg, installed an electric lighting plant and have been
operating' it ever since.
Capt. Ed. J. Howard installed an eight hundred light electric plant for
his ship yards and residence in 1894. and it is still in operation.
In 1894 Sweeney's Foundry installed an electric machine of their own
make for lighting their shops. It is now used as a nickel plating system.
In 1901 Prof, W. W. Borden, of Borden, installed an electric plant,
consisting of one ten horse power gasoline engine, one ninety light generator
supplying four arc lamps of twelve hundred candle power and fifty-two six-
teen candle power incandescent lamps.
John F. and Joseph Spieth installed an eight hundred light plant in
their building at Chestnut and Spring streets for furnishing incandescent
lights from Court avenue to the river. This plant was operated for three
years.
In 1902 the Market street mule car line was cimverted into an electric
line by Ham Duffy and was operated for two years as such, when it was
purchased by the Louisville & Southern Indiana Traction Company.
In 1904 the Claggett Saddle Tree Company, at Market and Broadway,
installed one fifty light electric machine for lighting their shops.
In 1905 a plant was installed at Speed's cement mill.
The Reformatoi-y plant was installed about 1900.
In 1909 a two hundred light machine was installed by J. L. Pease & Com-
pany, of Howard Park.
THE LOUISVILLE & SOUTHERN INDIANA TRACTION COMPANY.
This company, which operates between Jeffersonville, Xew Albany and
Louisville, also owns and operates the city railway in Jeffersonville. The
equipment of this road is one of the best in the state of Indiana and the
service of a thirty minute schedule between Jeffersonville and New Albany,
and a fifteen minute schedule between Jeft'ersonville and Louisville is adequate
for the travel, if not for the comfort of the passengers. From the county line
at Silver Creek and Gleenwood Park the interurban line traverses a section
destined to be an important and desirable residence location. The city lines
on Spring street. Court avenue, Chestnut street to the upper end of Port
Fulton, Market street west of Spring, Missouri avenue and Sixth street
practically cover the entire city and furnish rapid and convenient transpor-
tation.
366 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
The approach to the Big Four bridge in Jeffersonville was completed in
September, 1905, and electric inter-communication begun. This approach and
bridge not only offer access to Louisville for the Louisville & Southern In-
diana Traction Company, but the Louisville & Northern, and the Lidian-
apolis & Louisville traction cars also.
The Louisville & Northern Railway and Lighting Company control and
operate the lines from Jeffersonville to Charlestown and from AVatson to
Sellersburg. The Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Company operates the
lines north of Sellersburg. Over this system of lines from Indianapolis run
the local and limited cars to Louisville. An hourly schedule of trains from
6:30 a. m. to 8:30 p. m., with four limited flyers called the Hoosier Fh^er and
Dixie Flyer, offer exceptional facilities for rapid transit both local and through.
The construction and equipment of these lines show a close adherence to the
best standards of modern interurban railway work. Girder rails of ninety
pounds Lcraine section and T rails of seventy-five and seventy-se\'en and a
half pound Carnegie sections are used, the ties being selected white oak. A
deep filling of crushed stone ballast insures the stability of the roadbed, which
is built in accordance with standard steam railroad specifications. The trolley
circuits consist of double 3-0 grooved wires and the feeder system of five hun-
dred thousand c. m. insulated cable. Span constiiiction is used throughout
with thirty and thirty-five foot eight inch top poles. Numerous convenient
waiting stations along the thirteen and twenty-six hundredths miles fiom Jeffer-
sonville to Charlestown, three miles from Jeffersonville to Glenwood, four and
thirteen hundredths miles from Watson to Sellersburg, and fourteen and sixty-
three hundredths miles from Sellersburg to Underwood, mark the stopping
places of the cars, and a large suburban, interurban and rural population is
served.
Fifty-seven trains daily arrive from Louisville.
Thirty-five trains daily arrive from New Albany.
Eleven trains daily arrive from Indianapolis.
Eleven trains daily arrive from Charlestown.
The rolling stock of the Louisville & Southern Interurban Traction and
the Louisville & Northern Railway and Lighting Company consist of forty-
one interurban motor cars, trailers and express cars, one electric mogul car,
repair cars, freight cars, express cars and sprinklers, besides the city cars.
This equipment is all in excellent condition, and the interurban cars, built by
the St. Louis Car Company and the American Car & Foundry Company, are
of the latest design and construction, the motor cars being equipped with four
fifty horse power G. E. motors. In Jeffersonville a commodious barn is
located, where the cars are housed when not in service.
At Watson is located the sub-station. It is equipped with a three hundred
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 367
kilo watt general electric rotary com-ertor, three sixty cycle one hundred ten
kilo watt step down transformers and a two panel switch board. Current
is taken from a four thousand volt transmission line, as in the case of the
Jefifersonville sub-station, and after passing through the transforming and
converting apparatus it reaches the direct current railway feeders at a pressure
of about six hundred volts. This station is an excellent example of the latest
engineering practice in railway sub-station construction.
THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILRO.AD.
Pittsburg. Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company. The old
Jefifersonville, Madison & Indianapolis railroad was a consolidation of two
roads, the Jefifersonville and the older Madison & Indianapolis, taking the
combined name. The former was originally the Ohio & Indianapolis Rail-
road, chartered by the Legislature of Indiana, January 20, 1846, and changed
to the Jefifersonville Railroad three years after — January 15, 1849. It was
first in full operation February i, 1853. The other was chartered in June,
1842, and set in operation in October, 1847. It was afterwards sold under
foreclosure, and reorganized March 28, 1862. as the Indianapolis & Madi-
son Railroad Company. Mav i. 1866, the companies became one. and merged
their lines into a single one, from Jefiferson to Indianapolis. January i,
1873, the road became part of die Pennsylvania system.
The road from Jeftersonville, commonly called the Dinky line, was
built in 1865 and a schedule of regular trains started.
The Pennsylvania Railroad has twenty-eight and nine hundredths miles
of main line track in Clark county ; nineteen and forty-one hundredths miles
of siding, and two and six hundredths miles of second main track. The yards
in Jefifersonville are the largest in the county ; in them all north bound freight
trains from Louisville and Jefifersonville are made up.
The Pennsylvania bridge across the river just below the city of Jefifer-
sonville, although not wholly one of the public utilities of Clark county, is a
part of the railway which bears the same name, and adds materially to the
importance of the city. On February 19. 1862, the Kentucky Legislature
passed an act "to incorporate the Louisville Bridge Company." Much time was
consumed in settling the legal difficulties which arose, but finally the contracts
were let. The piers were finished and the superstructure begun in May, 1868.
After many accidents and delays the first connection of superstructure between
the shares was made February i, 1870: the railway track was laid and the
first train passed over on the 12th of this same month. The bridge had cost,
to the close of 1870. two million three thousand six hundred and ninety-six
dollars and twenty-seven cents, including one hundred fourteen thousand five
hundred and sixty-two dollars interest on the capital stock, and all other ex-
368 BAIRd's history of CLARK CO., IND.
penses. The construction account alone was one million six hundred forty-
one thousand six hundred and eighteen dollars and seventy cents, reaching
not greatly beyond the estimate of the chief engineer, January i, 1868, which
was one million five hundred thousand dollars. The partial year of operation
in 1870 yielded the company a gross income of one hundred twenty-one
thousand two hundred and sixty-seven dollars and fifty-five cents — eighty-
four thousand six hundred and five dollars and ninety-eight cents tolls from
railway freights, thirty-five thousand five hundred and fifteen dollars and
ninety-seven cents from railway passengers, and one thousand one hundred
and forty-five dollars and sixty cents tolls on the foot-walks The operating
expenses were ninety-one thousand twenty-three dollars and seventy-seven
cents.
It has a single railroad track, and its total length between abutments is
five thousand two hundred and eighteen and two-thirds feet. The spans com-
mencing at the abutment on the Indiana, or north, shore are as follows :
99, 149.6, 180, 180, 180, 398-)4 (Indiana Chute), 245'/, 245^, 2455^,
245^, 245!/^, 245^, 370 (Middle Chute), 227, 227, 210, 210, 180, 180,
149.58, 149.58, 149.58, 149.58, 132, 132 (draw over canal), 50, 50. These
dimensions are from center to center of piers, and they are greater by the
half-widths of two piers than the clear waterway. The trusses themselves are
of the two styles patented by Albert Fink, the chief engineer of the
bridge. The two channel-spaces are spanned by Fink triangular trusses, and
all the others except the draw by Fink trussed girders. The approach to
this bridge on the Indiana shore consists of a long and high enbankment.
This, however, does not properly belong to the bridge, and in accordance with
the rule adopted for other bridges, we consider that we have reached the end
of a bridge when we come to earth-work. Under this rule this bridge has no
approaches, the entire space from abutment to abutment being waterway.
This bridge originally had a six foot side walk for the use of pedestrians, but
they were torn ofif in late years.
THE BIG FOUR BRIDGE.
This colossal structtire, which is Jefifersonville's chief outlet to the south,
was completed in August, 1895, seven years having been occupied in its con-
struction. It is a single track railroad bridge and is used by the Big Four
Railroad, the Louisville & Southern Interurban Traction Company, the Louis-
ville & Northern Railway and Lighting Company, and the Indianapolis &
Louisville Traction Company, for their interurban traffic. The length of the
spans, beginning on the Indiana side, is as follows: One of 210 feet, two
of 550 feet each, one of 553 feet, and two of 341 feet each. The piers are
five hundred and fifty feet apart and the bridge is one thousand two hundred
THE BIG FOUR BRIDGE.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IXD. 369
and twenty-four feet long between shore piers. Length of bridge proper is
two thousand five hundred and forty-five feet, and with approaches is over
nine thousand feet long. The clearance over the channel is fifty-three feet above
high water. In round numbers the bridge cost five million dollars, of which
one million eight hundred thousand dollars was spent in construction and
three million two hundred thousand dollars for property on either side of the
river for approaches.
For some years Jeffersonville and Louisville capitalists had endea\'ored to
form a company to build a bridge between the cities, but in 1881 capitalists in
New Albany formed a company to build the bridge there and the Jefferson-
ville scheme suffered a setback.
In 1885 began the long fight for the new bridge which finally resulted in
the Big Four bridge. The fight that the river interests made against the
construction of this work reflects no honor and little credit on the men who
were in it either as river capitalists or river employes. In a small pamphlet
published by the War Department the sworn statements of these river men
appear and they are a sad commentaiy on the veracity as well as the intelli-
gence of the men making them.
Every imaginable obstacle was thrown in the way of the scheme from
the very beginning, in 18S5. Senators and Representatives from every state
bordering upon the river flung themselves into the fight to protect the interests
of the ri\'er men. The promotors had prepared for this and had consulted all
the leading pilots before settling on their plans, notably Pink Varble, a
well known pilot, who nevertheless came in with an aftidavit that the location
of the bridge would ruin navigation.
After a long fight the plan went through and the building begun. Even
then a snap vote was secured in Congress in the absence of Congressman
Howard, stopping the work, but at last the opposition was overcome. In
December, 1892, after several spans had been erected, a half span with the
traveler fell into the river, carrying down a score of workmen to death. Later
that night a complete span fell. Three years before this two accidents in
the caissons when the piers were being constructed resulted in the death of
sixteen men.
The scheme to build this bridge originated with James W. Baird. The
first work was done October 10, 1888. After the loss of the span and a half
amounting to over sixty thousand dollars, the bridge was thrown into the
hands of the Big Four. It was completed and thrown open for business in
September, 1895.
The Big Four Railroad owns no property in Clark county except the
bridge and a yard. This yard, just in the rear of the United States govern-
ment building, is one of the largest railroad yards around the Falls and
contains about nine miles of track in its switches. The freight depot and
24
37^ BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
switch at Spring street and the bridge crossing completes the property. The
approach for the traction cars in Jeffersonville was constructed in 1905.
THE BALTIMORE & OHIO SOUTHWESTERN.
This road was originally the Ohio «& Mississippi, the present Jefferson-
ville branch from Watson being the main line, as the New Albany extension
was not built until February, 1888. It was chartered by Indiana February
12, 1848; Ohio, March 15, 1849; and Illinois, February 12, 1851. It was
built by two separate corporations, and completed in 1867. with a six-foot
gauge, which has since been changed to standard. Since November 21, 1867,
it has been operated under one management, two divisions. An act of the
Indiana Legislature, March 3, 1865, provided for the branch from North
Vernon, through Clark and other counties in that state, to Louisville, which
was opened in 1868 and has since been successfully operated
When the extension to New Albany from Watson was made it was
known as the New Albany & Eastern. This extension constitutes the main
line into Louisville now, the trains entering that city from New .Albany over
the Kentucky and Indiana bridge.
The Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern has about twenty-five miles of
track in Clark county, and in Jeffersonville, at Market and Broadway, have
yards of about one hundred cars capacity. The tracks of this road, from the
limits of Jeffersonville northward, are used by the Big Four Railroad.
The business handled by the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern in late years
has been small and from present indications will never be much larger.
THE MONON RAILROAD.
The Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Company. This road
has twelve and eighty-two hundredths miles of main line track in Clark
county. It passes through the extreme western end of the county, touching
Borden in Wood township.
THE FERRY COMPANY.
All the ferries in early times were owned and managed by Jeffersonville
men. On October 12, 1802, Marston Green Clark was granted a license to
operate a ferry by William Henry Harrison, Governor of Indiana. This ferry
was put in operation by Clark and was continued by him until ]\Iarch 4, 181 5,
when he sold his rights to James Lemon. Lemon ran the ferry, which until
that time and for some years afterward was but a small row boat aft'air, until
October 9, 1822, when he sold out to Robert Fray. Fray sold to George
White on December 19, 1822.
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 37I
George White had previously bought from Samuel Meriwether another
ferr}' right, which had been confirmed by the Indiana Legislature to White,
in December. 1820. At this time \Miite owned two ferries and he continued
to operate them until July 3. 1826, when he sold a half interest in both ferries
to Charles Stead.
On the same day George \\'hite sold the remaining halves of the two
ferries to Eliphalet Pearson, who on the same day sold his holdings in these
ferries to Ephraim Gilmore. On July 3, 1826, Stead sold his undivided inter-
est in the two ferries to Athanasius \\'athen for six hundred dollars. Gilmore
and Wathen continued to hold and operate the two ferries until July 22, 1835,
when Gilmore sold his undivided half interest to John Shallcross, Charles M.
Strader and James Thompson.
]\Ieanwhile the ferrj- privilege had attracted other men and on July 2,
1807, Governor Harrison issued a license to Joseph Bowman. This ferry
was to run from the foot of Spring street to the public road at the mouth of
Bear Grass creek, in Louisville, this road being about where the foot of Sec-
ond street is located now. Bowman operated this ferry until February i,
181 7. when he died, unmarried, and left his ferry rights to his brothers. Leon-
ard and William, and sisters, Elizabeth and Susan. On December 10. 1825,
James Fisler and his wife. Susan (Bowman's sister), sold their one-fourth
share to Athanasius Wathen. On July 26, 1829, William Bowman sold his
interest to A. \\'athen. In ]\Iay, 1821, Leonard Bowman died, leaving nine
children, one of whom, Elizabeth, was the wife of Athanasius \A'athen.
(The fact that Athanasius \\'athen became insane before he died may be
attributed to his efforts to figure out just how much of each ferry he did own.)
Wathen purchased the interests of the other eight of Leonard Bowman's
children late in 182 1 and became the owner of another one- fourth.
On May 13. 1823, John Wealthers and his wife Elizabeh (Bowman's
sister) sold their one-fourth interest in the ferr}' to James Nesmith, and on
July 4, 1825. Xesmith sold this one-fourth interest to Ephraim Gilmore. On
July 22, 1829, Gilmore sold this one-fourth interest to John Shallcross,
Charles M. Strader and James Thompson, who then became owners of one-
half interest in all the ferries, Athanasius Wathen owning the other one-half
interest in the three ferries.
In 1831 the old hand power ferry boats were discontinued and the first
steam ferry boat began to run. In 1832 the boiler of this boat blew up. kill-
ing seven men, but a new and better boat was built and the business con-
tinued.
The ferry boats at this time ran from the foot of Spring street to a
place called Keiger's landing, opposite, the island not having attained its pres-
ent size at that time.
The name of this first ferrv boat is lost, but the one which succeeded her
^J2. BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
was named the Black Locust. She was a double hull boat, with a center
wheel. She had engines on each side and was about one hundred and fifty-five
feet long. Long before the Black Locust had worn out the A. Wathen was
built and put in the trade. The two baats for many years ran on different
routes, one of them running across the river, as stated above, to Clay street,
the other to a landing about the foot of Second street. This double service
continued until the severe winter of 1866-67. This winter was so cold that
the river froze up early and the coal supply gave out and people suffered for
the want of fuel. \\'hat little there was went to sixty cents per bushel. The
famine became so serious that Phil Tommpert, who was then Mayor of
Louisville, had the boats which ran to Clay street stop running so that the
fuel they were consuming could be distributed to the sufferers. As this boat
was not paying it was taken ofi' and since that day there has never been a ferry
to Clay street.
In 1862 the James Thompson was built by the Howards for the ferry
trade and ran but a short time when she was sold to the United States govern-
ment. She was bought back again at the close of the war and put on the
Clay street ferry until the hard winter of 66-67. She was a boat of one hun-
dred and fifty-five feet in length, thirty-seven feet beam and five feet hold.
The old A. Wathen continued in the ferry to First street.
The Shellcross was built soon after the War of the Rebellion by Daniel
Richards on the Louisville side, just below the island. She had her engine
and boiler out on her guards, but afterwards they were moved in on the hull.
The Z. M. Sherley was built by the Howards in 1873. She was a side
wheel boat, constructed to carry wagons on both ends, her cabin being up-
stairs. She was one hundred and fifty-three by thirty-six by six feet.
The new Shallcross was built in 1878 by the Howards and she was
similar in construction to the Sherley. Her dimensions were one hundred
fifty-eight by thirty-seven by six feet.
The W. C. Hite was built in 1882 and diiYered materially from her prede-
cessors. Wagons were carried only on the forecastle, the after end being
utilized for a cabin on the main deck. This boat was rebuilt in 1897 and a
new hull substituted. She was one hundred fifty-six by thirty-six by six and
one-half feet.
In 1888 the Sunshine, an excursion steamer, was launched at Howard's.
She was one hundred seventy by thirty-six by five feet, and was built for the
purposes of carrying excursions to Fern Grove, at the mouth of Fourteen Mile
creek. The Columbia, another excursion steamer, one hundred seventy by
thirty-five by six feet, was built at Howard's in 1892, for the same purposes.
A new ferry boat, the City of Jefifersonville, was built in 1891, and to-
gether with the Hite, still runs between the two cities. The Sunshine was sold
in 1907.
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 373
The present ferry company, the Louisville and Jeffersonville, was char-
tered March i6, 1869, by the state of Kentucky, for a term of fifty years.
Two hundred thousand shares of stock at one hundred dollars per share were
subscribed, and this charter empowered them to purchase all other ferry
privileges. In 1865 the North and South Ferry Company was chartered but
it never began business.
THE HOME TELEPHONE.
In 1902 the Sellersburg Independent Telephone Company established an
exchange at Sellersburg, with a few subscribers, and in 1903 the Louisville
Home Telephone Company, of Louisville, acquired control of it.
This company has since that time extended its lines to Charlestown,
Xabbs and Underwood, where they have pay stations, but no exchange. It
has lines to St. Joe and for sixteen miles on the knobs beyond. Borden is in
connection with New Albany. The Stromberg Carlson instruments are used,
as in Louisville, and the service, though small at present, is excellent. The
Sellersburg exchange has about one hundred subscribers.
Throughout the county there are several independent farmer's lines con-
nected with the Home system.
THE CUMBERLAND TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
The history of the development of the telephone utility in Clark county
dates back to 1883, when the Ohio \'alley Telephone Company, the Bell licencee
operating in the Louisville district, then under the management of H. N.
Gififord, extended its lines from New Alljany. where it !iad just opened an ex-
change.
The first exchange in Jeffersonville was in the rear room, first floor of
215 Spring street, and remained there until it was washed out by the flood of
1884. It found temporary quarters in the second story of a building further
north on the east side of Spring street, while a permanent office was being
arranged for it on the second floor of 355 Spring street, now Franks' diy
goods store. The room had a bay window overlooking the street, which was
of great convenience to the operator in spying out persons who were wanted
at the 'phone. The exchange closed at 6 :oo p. m. It remained here until it
was moved into quarters which were part of its present home.
Miss Leilla Houston was the first operator in Clark county, and she was
assisted by her sister. Later Miss Nannie Burke, a well known and very
popular young lady of Jeffersonville, succeeded Miss Houston and she had
sole management of the company's business for many years, until the Cum-
berland Telephone & Telegraph Company absorbed the Ohio Valley Company,
374 BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
and put men in charge of its smaller exchanges. The service spread out very
slowly in Clark county ; the lines were extended to Sellersburg and Utica on
account of the lime and cement industry in those places, and a line was built
to Charlestown and finally to Aladison. In 1897 the joint wisdom of the
Ohio Valley Company in offering, and the citizens of Jeffersonville in ac-
cepting, good service at fair rates, with a single system saved the city from
the sad and expensive experience of telephone duplication. Up to this time
it had been a day service and the subscribers numbered fifty, but the business
was extended and the equipment was modernized and the subscriptions rapidly
increased.
Exchanges were soon built at Charlestown, Sellersburg, and Henryville,
in 1900, and later at Utica and New Washington.
Generally speaking Clark county is well developed in a telephone way.
All the towns in the county have 'phones and the farmers have considered it
second only in importance to the railroads.
The Jeffersonville exchange, under the management of Charles Cas-
perke, has ten operators and the free service extends all over the county,
except Borden. The service to New Albany is free and these attractive condi-
tions exist throughout the county. Quick, efficient and satisfactory service has
brought the whole county together as nothing else could do. At present the
Jeffersonville exchange has one thousand four hundred subscribers, Charles-
town two hundred and thirty-one, Borden sixteen, Henryville one hundred
and forty-two, Sellersburg, one hundred and fourteen, Utica sixty-five, New
Washington, one hundred and fifteen, and Bethlehem four.
IXDIAXA REFORMATORY EXTRAXCE.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE INDIANA REFORMATORY AND THE AMERICAN CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY.
THE INDIANA REFORMATORY.
In the fall of 1821 the first state prison in the state of Indiana was estab-
lished on the northeast corner of Ohio avenue and Market street, in the town
of Jeffersonville. Previous to the opening of the prison, prisoners were pun-
ished at the whipping post. The law was so changed that all persons who com-
mitted a crime for which they should receive not to exceed thirty-nines lashes,
should be sent to prison for a term not to exceed three years. W'iiere formerly
the punishment was one hundred stripes, a term not to exceed seven years
was imposed. The old prison was a primitive affair built of logs at a cost of
about three thousand dollars, the greater part of which had been subscribed
by Jeffersonville people. It had fifteen cells in a row, made of logs ten inches
square, dove-tailed at the ends. The doors were four inches thick covered
with strap iron. There was no light or ventilation except what came through
a space of about four inches at the top of the door. The roof was of heavy
planks cut from the surrounding forest, and dressed by hand. The cell-house
was surrounded by a stockade made of logs, and to get into this inclosui'e one
had to pass through a massive door swung on hinges and strong enough to
resist a battering ram. The office, guardroom and other apartments were
in a two-story log house outside the stockade, and within the guard room
was an ample supply of flint-lock guns and pistols. These were strewn around
on tables and desks and some of them were hung on tlie walls in accessible
places. Rawhides were used on the convicts then without mercy, and one
dose was usually enough. The first lessee was Capt. Seymour W'estover.
The first convict ever received was named Friend, and it is a singular co-
incidence that the oldest inmate at present in the Indiana Reformatory bears
the same name. Captain Westover went 1o Texas in 1826 and was killed
with Crockett in the Alamo. He was succeeded by James Keigwin, the father
of the late Col. James Keigwin.
The prisons of Indiana have been conducted on three different principles.
The first adopted at their inception and above referred to, was suited to the
days when but a small number of persons were convicted, or confined, and may
be designated as the boarding system. During its continuance the keeping of
every prisoner was at the direct cost of the state, without any return and with-
3/6 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
out any sufficient check upon the dishonesty and rapacity of keepers, wlio could
abuse the men committed to tlieir charge by semi-starvation and rither
measures of "economy."
So soon as tiie numl)er of convictions in the state had so far increased as
to warrant the change, prisons were erected at the cost of the people. In these
the convicts were confined, building, prisoners and all, leased to private in-
dividuals who fed. clothed and maintained the prisoners, and paid a certain
gross annual sum in addition for such labor as they could extract from them.
The third system adopted by the state consisted of renting the labor of
the convicts to contractors, who paid a certain per diem for each man em-
ployed, while the discipline, control and personal care of the men was in the
hands of a warden and other officials representing the state. This was com-
monly designated as the contract system. The curse of idleness was removed
by the lessee system, but only to give place to abuses so horrible that it is a
matter of congratulation that Indiana abandoned it as soon as she did. Under
the lease system a warden was oppointed by the state for each prison, whose
duty it was to see that the contract of the lessee was lived up to, but the con-
victs were body and soul in the hands of the contractors, and the warden had
little power and too often less inclination to restrain those whose interest often
led them to commit the greatest cruelties. The one aim of most of the lessees
was to obtain from the convicts under their control the greatest possible
amount of labor at the least expenditure for maintenance. Men were ill-fed,
ill-clothed, punished by the lash with the utmost severity, for trivial derelic-
tions, or for a failure to perform in full the daily allotment of labor, often
when sickness and infirmity made it an impossibility to fulfill the requirement.
The sick and disabled were neg'lected as if the consideration of life weighed
lightly in the balance against the few cents daily necessary for their mainte-
nance. The cells and corridors were foul, damp and unwholesome ; swarms
of vermin infested every corner, and thus overwork, cruelty, starvation, filth,
the pistol and lash of the guard, all contributed to a wholesale murder of the
weak, and to brutalizing the strong beyond the hope of redemption here or
hereafter. The horrors of the prison systems before the lessee ceased to be
the guardian of convicts were such as to better befit the days of the Spanish
Inquisition than the enlightenment of the nineteenth century.
One great argument against the contract system was the fact that it
worked in opposition to free labor.
The histor\- of the old Prison South is one of many phases, and unfor-
tunately the stories of cruelty and neglect were often true. The modern ideas
of reformation and the square deal to the unfortunates incarcerated had not
developed to a degree that resulted in' any great benefit to them, ^^'ith ad-
vanced ideas and improvements in every line of business and science, it was
but natural that the students of criminology should advance likewise, and the
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 2i77
metamorphosis of the old stockade of the Prison South into the present won-
derful institution of the Indiana Reformatory bears testimony that Indiana
is the peer of any state in handhng' such questions.
The growth of the number of inmates from 182 1 until the present year
is as follows :
For the year ending Daily Average.
November 30. 1822 3
November 30, 1823 6
November 30, 1824 19
November 30, 1825 25
November 30, 1826 38
November 30, 1827 27
November 30. 1828 24
November 30, 1829 t^j
November 30, 1830 29
November 30, 183 1 32
November 30, 1832 46
November 30, 1833 44
November 30, 1834 43
November 30, 1835 41
November 30, 1836 53
November 30, 1837 ^J
November 30. 1838 35
November 30. 1839 61
November 30. 1840 74
November 30. 1841 100
November 30, 1842 "/"j
November 30, 1843 57
November 30, 1844 81
November 30, 1845 91
November 30, 1846 98
November 30, 1847 122
November 30. 1848 129
November 30, 1849 120
November 30, 1850 122
November 30, 1851 150
November 30, 1852 212
November 30. 1853 --3
November 30, 1854 259
November 30, 1855 260
November 30, 1856 277
378
BAIRDS HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
Nov-ember
November
November
November
November
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
October 3
30-
30.
30,
30.
30-
15.
15.
13-
1857
1858
1859
i860
1861
1862
1863
1864
IS-
15.
1866
1867
1868
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
187s
1876
1877 •■
1878 .,
1879 ..
1880 ..
1881 .,
1882 ..
1883 ..
1884 .,
1885 ..
1886 .
1887 .,
1888 . .
1889 ..
1890 . .
1891 ..
1892 . .
1893 ..
1894 . ,
1895 ..
1896 ..
1897 ..
1898 ..
304
397
484
410
281
202
214
24s
IS- 1865 247
399
420
387
IS. 1869 393
380
381
399
395
388
4S6
531
553
626
624
600
524
564
578
570
572
573
510
557
549
569
592
594
63 s
708
81 S
827
811
909
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IXD. 379
October 3 1 , 1899 940
October 31, 1 900 887
October 31, 1901 895
October 3 1 , 1902 . ...., .9^2
October 31, 1903 932
October 31, 1904 976
October 31, 1905 1,044
October 31. 1906 1,095
September 30. 1907 I.I45
September 30, 1908 1,212
Hardly a year has passed since the present location was selected that im-
provements of some kind have not been made. In 1882 a large cell house
was built at a cost of fifty thousand dollars, but the greatest number of im-
provements have been made since the institution became the Indiana Reforma-
tory.
In April, 1897, an exchange of inmates was made between the Indiana
Reformatoiy and the jMichigan City penitentiary, to carry out the provisions
of the new law which provided that all life-time men and those over thirty
years of age should be confined in the latter place. At that time three hundred
and sixty men were taken north and two hundred and ninety-seven men were
received here. A. T. Hert, wdio was the last warden, became the first super-
intendent, and he remained as such for two years, to be followed by W. H.
Whittaker. Among the many modern improvements which have been made
at the new institution may be mentioned the new C cell house, constructed in
1901, from plans drawn b}^ Arthur Loomis. of Jefifersonville. This cell
house is one of the most modem in the United States. It is sixty cells long
and five cells high, making a double stand of three hundred cells on each side
of the center of the cell house. Each cell is about six feet wide by eight feet
high, by ten feet deep and is equipped w'ith running water, toilet and wash-
stand, electric light, wire spring bed, shelf and chair. The total cell capacity
is six hundred for C cell house ; one hundred sixty-eight for B cell house, and
two hundred for A cell house, making a total of nine hundred sixty-eight.
The present entrance was reconstructed during the wardenship of Mr.
Patton, just preceding Mr. Hert. The foundi^y was built and burned in 1908 ;
the hospital was built in 1898; the trade school building in 1895: the new
laundry and bath house were built under Mr. Whittaker's superintendency,
and the large drill ground was walled in in 1907. In 1909 about eight ad-
ditional acres of land were obtained through condemnation proceedings. The
roof garden for the hospital is one of the most valuable features in the whole
plant. Here the men in the grasp of the white plague are made to sleep and
exercise, and the results of this treatment have been excellent. The building
380 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
containing the office of Mr. Barnard, tiie assistant superintendent, also con-
tains the solitary cells. The last report speaks as follows of this feature :
"Our methods of discipline are humane. At no time is a man thrown
into a dungeon or into a dark or poorly ventilated cell ; but. whenever neces-
sary to confine a prisoner for discipline, it is done in a well-lighted and well-
ventilated cell, and for the first offense he is given two full meals a dav while
in punishment. We find we get just as good results from this method as we
did from the old method of giving a man only eight ounces of bread per day
and all the water he could drink while in punishment.
"I find that the best method of handling men of this character is to give
them at all times fair treatment, and in no case should punishment be meted
out to the offender unless he has wilfully violated some rule of the institution.
In adhering closely to this rule and in giving to each fellow a "square deal."
I find that far better results can be attained than by the old method of vin-
dictive punishment, and w^here careful investigations were not always made
before a prisoner was placed in punishment."
There are no dungeons at the reformatory now. The solitary cells are
about eight feet by ten feet by twelve feet deep and are airy, clean and
well lighted, eveiy cell having an outside opening.
The librar}' is of great benefit in oft'ering good, clean instruction and pas-
time to the inmates and at the same time in furthering the reform idea. The
library was burned on February 8. 1908. and three thousand and seventeen
books out of a total of four thousand six hundred twenty-seven were destroyed.
Since that time new liooks have been added until there are now si.x; thousand,
five hundred forty-nine. This libran- has an average monthly circulation of
fifteen thousand seven hundred fifty-one volumes, or a total circulation of one
hundred eighty-nine thousand and fourteen for the year.
On the second floor above the library is the chapel, with a seating ca-
pacity of one thousand fifty. Here ever}' Sunday morning the inmates and
officers gather for divine ser\-ice. and the fact that the inmates contributed
one thousand two hundred dollars towards the purchase of a pipe organ for
this chapel indicates to what extent they are interested.
Among the minor features of the refoiTnatory may be mentioned an ex-
cellent brass band of twenty-eight pieces, and also a newspaper, called the
"Reflector," which each inmate finds in his cell every evening. For physical
exercise, besides the daily w'ork of the trade schools, the military idea has
been adopted, and a drill for each day is held if possible. Under the instruc-
tions of Lieutenant Harrell. of the Indiana National Guard, the men have
received excellent training in the sitting-up exercise and marching, as well
as in discipline.
The central idea in the reformatory being reform, education is naturally
used as the best means of accomplishing this result. The trade schools are
BAIRD S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND. 381
not only teaching trades to the men but are a source of revenue to the institu-
tion. They are on an excellent basis. Instruction is given the men in the
following trade schools: chain-making, shirt-making, foundry department,
shoe-making, tinsmithing, blacksmithing. brickmasonry, broom and brush-
making, cabinet-making, carpentering, tailoring, laundering, painting and
printing-.
The various other institutions in the state such as the insane asylums,
etc., etc., are supplied with furniture, clothing, shoes, etc.. from the reforma-
tory and the receipts from this source reduce considerably the expense on the
taxpayers for maintaining this institution. The shirt department clears about
forty-five thousand dollars per year. In 1908 the institution C(_ist one hundred
ninety-six thousand eight hundred fifty-seven dollars and thirty-nine cents for
maintenance in all departments including schools, library, parole and discharge
of prisoners, supervision of paroled prisoners, salaries, food, clothing, fuel,
etc.. yet the trades schools made one hundred seventeen thousand three hun-
dred twenty-one dollars and forty-four cents, leaving a very small remainder
for the taxpayers to contribute towards the support of nearly one thousand
three hundred of their delincjuent citizens at less than eighteen cents per
capita, when we remember, too, that over two hundred boys are kept in
school under competent teachers more than nine months in the year. The
fact that competent instructors are provided in all trades schools, and the
fact that inmates are given military drill and moral instruction to help them
physically and mentally, and the further fact that no contractor has a word
to say as to the amount of work a boy must perfomi makes the system almo.st
ideal. The trades schools are now furnishing all of the chairs, beds, mat-
tresses, tinware and furniture for the new Southeastern Hospital for the In-
sane, being constructed at Madison.
In the educational department the men are given good practical instruc-
tion. If they are illiterate they are placed in the kindergarten department,
where they are taught reading, writing, spelling and number work. In the
next or primary' department the men are taught reading, elementary language,
arithmetic, history and geography. In the intermediate department, literature,
grammar, physiology, civil-government, geography and arithmetic are taught.
In the advanced department, arithmetic, English grammar, and ten lessons
in algebraic equations.
There is also another department for weak minded boys, and also one
for foreigners, another department of mechanical drawing, and a correspond-
ence school, whereby the men may study in their cells. At present the school
is able to offer arithmetic only by correspondence, but the demand for this
work has been so large and the results so commendable that this course is to
be made to include the other subjects.
The system as adopted in the reformatory is certainly a success, and
382 BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND.
each succeeding year demonstrates its value. Its idea is to correct rather than
to punish. Although there is a complete lack of clap-trap sentimentality, there
is no unswerving rigor in enforcing the regulations. The instructions are
of practical benefit and the output is of practical benefit to some one. The ul-
timate intention is to produce everything required by the other state institu-
tions. The system of paroling men has stood the test of time and its unques-
tioned \-alue proven. The wonderful results evident in the management of
the Indiana Reformatory could never have been produced with politics the
sole qualitication for service. The sixty-five to seventy officers and instructors
are doing what the average politician could never do. W. H. W'hittaker
and M. Barnard, the superintendent and assistant superintendent, have
given the state an exceptionally efficient ser\'ice. ]\Ir. Barnard came to the
reformatory from the Michigan City penitentiary after eight years' service
there as assistant superintendent. The other officers of the institution without
an exception are imbued with an esprit de corps which argues well for the
present and future management of the plant.
THE AMERICAN CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY.
June 1,1864, the Ohio Falls Car and Locomotive Company was organized
with a capital stock of three hundred thousand dollars, afterwards increased
to four hundred and twenty-eight thousand five hundred dollars. The follow-
ing were the first officers of the company: President, D. Rickets: secretary
and general manager, Hiram Aldridge : treasurer, Jacob L. Smyser. Its first
directors were D. Rickets, A. A. Hammond, J. L. Smyser, W. P. Wood and
H. Aldridge.
On October i, 1866, i\Ir. Joseph ^^'. Sprague took charge of the works
as president and general manager. The business of the company was not
then of the best, its credit was questionable, and its stock selling far below par.
Under Mr. Sprague's judicious administration a great change was wrought,
the company was pressed with orders, the stock was brought up to par, and
there was every prospect for a continued and increased prosperity.
So matters stood when one day in 1872 the works caught fire, and be-
fore anything could be done to prevent such a result, were completely swept
out of existence. Fortunately a heavy insurance was carried, and the build-
ing of the present magnificent system of fire proof and isolated structures was
commenced. These were still incompleted and the business of the company
barely resumed, when came the panic of 1873, which, with the long period of
financial depression that followed, completely paralyzed the building and
equipment of railroads in the United States, and compelled the company to
suspend, and ultimately to dissolve and offer its property for sale to cover its
indebtedness.
THE AMERICAX CAk AXD I-731'XDRY COMl'AXY.
BAIRD's history of CLARK CO., IND. 383
On the 7th day of August, 1876, was organized the Ohio Falls Car
Company, with Joseph W. Sprague as president and general manager, and R.
M. Hartwell secretary and treasurer. Its directors were J. W. Sprague, S.
A. Hartwell, J. L. Smyser, J. H. McCampbell, and S. Goldbach, and its
capital stock of eighty-eight thousand three hundred dollars, later increased to
four hundred thousand dollars. The officers remained the same, with the ex-
ception of the appointment of R. S. Ramsey as general manager, made Sep-
tember 27, 1 88 1, to relieve Mr. Sprague from overwork. The company pur-
chased the lands, buildings, machinery, stock and tools of the old corpora-
tion, and at once began operations, first in a comparatively small wa}^ grad-
ually increasing to enormous proportions. The new company was made up
of nearly the same stockholders as the old, and any losses made by the former
failure were retrieved tenfold. The success of the institution was largely
due to the enterprise and business tact of its managers, but not a little to nat-
ural advantages of location. The works are located about five hundred feet
from the Ohio, and. being outside the city limits, a low rate of taxation is
permanently secured.
The Ohio river affords the cheapest class of transportation for iron, coal,
lumber and other supplies. The Pennsylvania Railroad. Baltimore & Ohio
Southwestern, and the Louisville & Southern Indiana Traction Company
enter the premises by switches. By means of the railroad bridge over the
Ohio river, located half a mile below the works, immediate connection is made
at Louisville with the southern network of railroads. \\'ithin a very small
radius an ample supply of the quality of white oak, white ash, yellow poplar
and black walnut used in construction can be obtained at reasonable prices.
Empty cars returning from the South insure very low rates of freight on
yellow pine, and the various brands of irons made from the rich ores of Ala-
bama. Considering the convenience of receiving supplies and of the distri-
bution of products, this location can hardly be surpassed for almost any
branch of manufacture.
The real estate upon which the extensive institution is located embraces
a large territory. The buildings which were first built are situated upon
outlot No. 34. of Clarksville, containing an area of about nineteen and two-
thirds acres. Part of outlot No. 23 containing about five and a half acres im-
mediately west of outlot No. 34 is used as a lumber yard.
The river slip containing about thirteen thousand eight hundred square
feet lies opposite the works upon the river bank. On this was located the en-
gine house and pump for furnishing the water supply. This was before the
installation of the water works system by the city of Jeffersonville. since which
the company has used water from this source. Automatic sprinklers were in-
troduced in all the shops, and fire hydrants were erected at a cost of over
twenty thousand dollars. Lot No. 9, Jeffersonville, containing about five thou-
384 BAIRU'S HISTORY OF CLARK CO., IND.
sand sixty square feet, secures a connection witli the Baltimore & Ohio South-
western Raih'oad. Blocks No. 18, 19, 49 and 80, situated on the west side
of Missouri avenue, were purchased by the company upon which to erect new
shops. The beautiful residence for the superintendent was erected on the
river bank in 1900. The buildings of the company, numbering over fifty, are
all substantial and in good condition. With the exception of the office, the
pattern lofts and cupola they are one story high. They are constructed of
brick and the roofs are covered with the best quality of slate. These build-
ings are arranged with high gables, with ample spaces between them and are
substantially fireproof. They are all thoroughly lighted and most of them
are amply provided with skylights of heavy plate glass. The machine shops
in the freight and iron department are provided with gas from the city mains
of Jeffersonville, and are wired for the necessary electric currents. Mr.
Sprague took charge of the institution in September, 1866, and labored faith-
fully for the interests of the company until about October, 1888, when he re-
tired, selling his large stock interests to his associates. This was during the
financial tlepression which commenced in T884, and continued until the fall of
1889. Upon the resignation of Mr. Sprague, Jacdb L. Smyser, of Louisville,
Kentucky, was elected president. For about fifteen months during 1888 and
1889 the works were closed for lack of orders. General business was 
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