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VAWTER MEMORIAL. FRANKLIN

History of Johnson County, Indiana

Elba L. Branigin

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HISTORY

JOHNSON COUNTY

ELBA L. BRANIGIN.

A. M.

•

ILLUSTRATED :

1913

B. F. BOWEN & CO..

INC.

INDIANAPOLIS

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THB NEW YOnK

PUBLIC imm

37163J38A

» • • «-

* • •• • •

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DEDICATION.
This work is respectfully dedicated to

THE PIONEERS^

long since departed. May the memory of those who laid down their burdens
by the wayside ever be fragrant as the breath of summer
flowers, for their toils and sacrifices have made
Johnson Cotmty a garden of sun-
shine and delights.

ft-

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PREFACE

All life and achievement is evolution; present wisdom comes from past
experience, and present commercial prosperity has come only from past exer-
tion and suflfering. The deeds and motives of the men that have gone before
have been instrumental in shaping the destinies of later communities and
states. The development of a new country was at once a task and a privi-
lege. It required great courage, sacrifice and privation. Compare the pres-
ent conditions of the people of Johnson county, Indiana, with what they
were one hundred years ago. From a trackless wilderness and virgin land,
it has come to be a center of prosperity and civilization, with millions of
wealth, systems of railways, grand educational institutions, splendid indus-
tries and immense agricultural productions. Can any thinking person be
insensible to the fascination of the study which discloses the aspirations and
efforts of the early pioneers who so strongly laid the foundation upon which
has been reared the magnificent prosperity of later days? To perpetuate the
story of these people and to trace and record th6 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 perpetuation, and which unite the present to the past, is the
motive for the present publication. A specially valuable and interesting de-
partment is that one devoted to the sketches of representative citizens of this
county whose records deserve preservation because of their worth, effort and
accomplishment. The publishers desire to extend their thanks to the gentle-
men who have so faithfully labored to this end. Thanks are also due to the
citizens of Johnson county for the uniform kindness with which they have
regarded this undertaking and for their many services rendered in the gain-
ing of necessary information.

In placing the "History of Johnson County, Indiana,"* before the
citizens, the publishers can conscientiously claim that they have carried out
the plan as outlined in the prospectus. Every biographical sketch in the
work has been submitted to the party interested, for correction, and therefore
any error of fact, if there be any, is solely due to the person for whom the
sketch was prepared. Confident that our effort to please will fully meet the
approbation of the public, we are,

Respectfully,

THE PUBLISHERS.

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER I— INDIANA HISTORY— A FOREWORD 25

The Mound Builders — Isolation of Johnson County Territory in Elarly Days —
Indian Occupation — Original Ownership and Cession of Territory — First Gov-
ei'nment — First Constitution — ^EJarly Ejections — Later Ones — Changes in the
Statute Law — Political and Moral Reforms — Indiana's Rank Among Her
Sister States.

CHAPTER II— ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY— GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY 34
Early Boundary Lines— Early Trails— "Whetzel's Trace'*— The Great Gulf —
The Indian Trail — County Organization — ^The Tide of Immigration — George
King — Bill Creating Johnson County — Drainage — G«ology — Climate — Agricul-
ture.

CHAPTER III— TOWNSHIPS AND THEIR OFFICERS 55

Civil and School Townships — Township Trustee — Poor Relief — Advisory
Boards — Township Assessors — Road Supervisors — Justices of the Peace — Con-
stables— Township Boundaries — Township Oflacers.

CHAPTER IV— COUNTY BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS 65

First Court House— First Term of Court— The Second Court House — Third
Court House — Destruction by BMre — Present Building — County Jail — Poor
Asylum — Orphan Asylum — Fair Grounds — County Fairs — County Seminary —
Soldiers' Home Cottage.

CHAPTER V— COUNTY OFFICERS 86

Constitutional Provisions — Public Accounting Law — County Commissioners —
County Council — Auditor— Treasurer — Clerk of Court — Sheriff — Recorder —
Coroner — Surveyor — Assessor — Superintendent of Schools — Other Officers.

CHAPTER VI— BENCH AND BAR 125

Judges of Circuit Court— Early Criminal Cases— Judge William W. Wick-
Personal Mention of Later Judges — Associate Justices — Probate Judges — Com-
mon Pleas Court — Johnson County Lawyers — Present Roster of the Bar —
Prosecuting Attorneys.

CHAPTER VII— EARLY SETTLERS AND INCIDENTS 162

An Early Description of Franklin — Condition of the Roads — Blue River Town-
ship— Nineveh Township — Franklin Township — White River Township — Pleas-
ant Township — Hensley Township — Union Township — Clark Township.

CHAPTEIR VIII— E;ARLY LIFE AND CUSTOMS 199

First Log Cabins — Neighborly Spirit Among the Pioneers — Difficulties and
Hardships — Wild Animals — Hunting — First Orchards — Labor in the Home —
Early Farming Implements — Pioneer Diversions.

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CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX— Ea)UCATIONAL INTERESTS 215

Provisions of Ordinance of 1787 — Local Provisions — School Law of 1831 —
Public Sentiment in Relation to Free Schools — Sketches of Elarly Schools —
First Schools in Indiana and in Johnson County — Elarly Customs — Qualifica-
tions of Pioneer Teachers — ^Early Text Books — "Barring Out" the Teacher —
Libraries — ^Franklin Public Library — ^Academies and Seminaries — Hopewell
Academy — Township High Schools — Franklin Township High School — Teach-
ers and Graduates — Hensley Township Graded School — Union Township High
School — Clark Township Graded High School — White River Township Graded
School — Franklin Schools — Colored School — School Officers — ^Franklin Col-
lege— A Long and Creditable History — College Organizations — College Officers
. and President — Professors — Indiana Baptist Manual Labor Institute.

CHAPTEIR X— CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS HISTORY 304

First Religious Services — First Sunday School — Early Planting of Churches-
Franklin Presbyterian Church — Greenwood Presbyterian Church — Address of
Rev. P. S. Cleland— Hopewell Presbyterian Church— Bethany, Shlloh, Bdin-
burg and New Pisgah Churches — Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church —
First Baptist Church of Franklin — Baptist Churches at Greenwood, Amity,
Trafalgar, Franklin Township, Mt. Pleasant, Hurricane, Beech Grove, Lick
Springs, Whiteland — Primitive Baptists at Bethel, Bethlehem, Union Town-
ship— Christian Churches at Franklin, Edinburg, Williamsburg, Greenwood,
Trafalgar, Nineveh Township, Clarksburg, Mt. Carmel, Samaria, Union
Village, Bluff Creek, Bargersville. Union Township, White River Township, Mt.
Pleasant, Young's Creek — Franklin Methodist Episcopal Church — Edinburg,
Williamsburg, Glade, Greenwood, Whiteland, Fairview, Mt. Auburn, Trafalgar,
Wesley Chapel, Friendship, Salem, Rock Lane and African Churches — Jollity
Methodist Protestant Church, and the Societies at Mt. Zion and Pleasant
Hill — United Brethren Churches — The Catholic Church — Christian Scientists.

CHAPTER XI— LODGES AND FRATERNAL ORDESIS 381

Free and Accepted Masons — Knights of Pythias — Independent Order of Odd
Fellows — Modern Woodmen of America — Improved Order of Red Men.

CHAPTER XII— BANKS AND BANKING 393

Indiana Farmers Bank, the First in the County — ^Franklin National Bank —
Citizens National Bank — Union Trust Compay — Farmers Trust Company —
A. C. Thompson & Co., Edinburg — First National Bank, Greenwood — Citizens
National Bank — ^Whiteland National Bank — Farmers National Bank, Trafal-
gar— Farmers State Bank, Bargersville — Mutual Building and Loan Associa-
tion— ^Franklin Building and Loan Association.

CHAPTER XIII— JOURNALISM IN JOHNSON COUNTY 411

First Attempt — Franklin Examiner, the Pioneer Newspaper— ^-Patriotic Litera-
ture— ^War-time Incidents — Subsequent Newspapers.

CHAPTER XIV— JOHNSON COUNTY AND THE CIVIL WAR 420

An Honorable Record — Diaries and Letters of Samuel W. Van Nuys, of Com-
pany F, Seventh Indiana Regiment — Account of His Death — A Vivid Recital
of Incidents and Events at "the Front."

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CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV— PHYSICIANS AND MEDICAL PRACTICE 486

Origin of First Settlers Here — ^Health Conditions — Epidemic and Prevalent
Diseases — Medical Treatment Among the Pioneers — Superstition — EJarly Phy-
sicians— Their Difficulties, Treatment and Remuneration — Personal Mention.

CHAPTER XVI— HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION 517

Early Traveling Inconveniences — Tolls — First Bridges — Stage Coach Route —
Plank Roads — Gravel Roads — The First Railroad — Later Roads — The Inter-
urban Line — Telegraph and Telephone Lines — ^Assessed Mileage.

CHAPTER XVII— CITIES AND TOWNS 524

County Seat Location — George King's First Visit to Franklin — ^First Settlers
at BYanklin — ^Enumerations — Incorporation — Public Improvements — ^EJdlnburg
— ^E^arly Merchants — ^Incorporation — Officers — Schools — Greenwood — ^Incorpora-
tion and Officers — Public Utilities — Schools — Whiteland — Trafalgar^-Other
Towns.

APPENDIX 634

Officers of City of Franklin — Population Statistics — ^Johnson County Business
Directory — City and Town Plats — Official Vote Democratic Primary Elections,
1900 to 1912.

BIOGRAPHICAL : 559

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HISTORICAL INDEX

Academies and Seminaries 249

Accounting Law 86

Admission as a State 27

Advisory Board 58

Agriculture 54

Amity Baptist Church 344

Amity Business Directory 544

Amity Plats 549

Appendix 534

Assessed Mileage 523

Assessors 59

Associate Judges 144

Auditor 93

Ballot Laws 29

Banks and Banking 393

Banta, Judge David D. 139

Baptist Churches 340

Bargersville Business Directory 543

Bargersville Plats 549

Beech Grove Baptist Church 347

Beecli Grove Christian Church 365

Bench and Bar 125

Bethany Presbyterian Church 337

Bethel Prim. Baptist Church 349

Bethel U. B. Church 378

Bethlehem Prim. Baptist Church.... 350

Blue River Township 168

Bluff Creek Christian Church 364

Board of Charities 122

Boundaries of State 27

Boundaries of Townships 60

Bridges, Early 517

Business Directory 538

Candle-making 201

Catholic Church 379

Charities, Board of 122

Christian Churches 351

Christian Science Church 380

Church History 304

Circuit Judges 125

Circuit Riding Lawyers 130

Cities and Towns : 524

Citizens National Bank, Franklin 396

Citizens National Bank, Greenwood . . 402

City and Town Plats 544

Civil Townships 65

Clark Township 195

Clark Township High School 265

Clarksburg Christian Church 362

Clarksburg Plat 549

Clerk of Circuit Court 99

Climate 53

College Organizations 298

Colored Schools 275

Commissioners 87

Common Pleas Court 145

Condition of Roads 165

Constables 60

Constitutional Convention 27

Coroner 112

Counties, Original 28

County Assessor ' 117

County Attorney 123

County Auditor 93

County Buildings 65

County Commissioners 87

County Council /. . . . 91

County Officers ./ 85

County Organization / 43

County Physician 122

County Recorder 110

County Seat Location 524

County Seminary 83

County Superintendent 119

County Surveyor 113

County Treasurer 95

Court House Destroyed 69

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HISTORICAL INDEX.

Court Houses 65

Court Reporter 122

Crops 54

Democratic Primary Vote.. ..... 551

Destruction of Court House 69

Domestic Animals 54

Drainage 49

Earliest Baptist Church 307

E^rly Bridges 517

Early Doctors 507

Early Psxm Implements 212

Early Lawyers 135

EJarly Life and Customs 199

Early Railroads 520

Edlnburg Baptist Church, Colored. . 348

Edinburg Business Directory. 540

Edinburg Catholic Church 379

Edinburg Christian Church 367

Edinburg, Growth of 529

Edinburg M. E. Church 367

Edinburg, Officers of 530

Edinburg Plats 546

E3dinburg Presbyterian Church 338

Edinburg, Public Utilities 530

Eklinburg Schools 531

Educational Interests 215

Edwards Plat , 550

Election Laws 29

Elections, Presidential 28

Electric Lines 521

Epidemics, Early 487

Fair Grounds 76

Fairs 76

Fairview M. E. Church 371

Far West Plat 550

Farmers National Bank, Trafalgar. . 404

Farmers State Bank, Bargersville. . . 406

Farmers Trust Company 398

Finch, Judge Fabius M 136

First Churches 304

First Court House 65

First National Bank, Greenwood... 401

First Newspaper 411

First Schools in Indiana 226

First Sunday School 304

First Territorial Governor 27

Flax 207

Flemingsburg Plats 550

Foreword 25

Franklin A. M. B. Church 376

Franklin Baptist Church 340

Franklin Baptist Church, Colored 348

Franklin Building & Loan Assn 408

Franklin Business Directory 538

Franklin Christian Church 351

Franklin, City Assessor 535

Franklin, City Attorneys 535

Franklin, City Clerks 534

Franklin, City Marshals 534

^Frivnklin, City Officers 534

Franklin, City Treasurers 534

Franklin College 279

Franklin, Councilmen 535

Franklin, Early Incidents 162

Franklin, Enumeration . . . .* 526

Franklin, First Lot Sale 525

Franklin, Firs^ Settlers 526

Franklin. Incorporation 526

Franklin, Mayors 534

Franklin M. K. Church 366

Franklin National Bank 394

Franklin Plats 544

Franklin Presbyterian Church 308

Franklin, Public Improvement 527

Franklin Public Library 248

Franklin School Officers 275

Franklin Schools 266

Franklin Township 175

Franklin Township High School 255

Fraternal Orders 381

Free and Accepted Masons 381

Friendship M. E. Church 374

Geological Features 52

Glade M. E. Church 369

Gravel Roads 519

Great Gulf 37

Greek-letter Fraternities 300

Greenwood Baptist Church 343

Greenwood Business Directory 541

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HISTORICAL INDEX.

Greenwood Christian Church 359

Greenwood, Incorporation 531

Greenwood M. EL Church 369

Greenwood, Officers 531

Greenwood Plats 547

Greenwood Presbyterian Church 311

Greenwood, Public Improvements. . . 531

Greenwood Schools 532

Hagersville Church 364

Hardin, Franklin 37

Hensley Township 188

Hensley Township Graded School... 261

Hicks, GUderoy 149

Highways 517

Honey Creek U. B. Church 378

Hopewell Academy 250

Hopewell High School 256

Hopewell Presbyterian Church 336

Hunter, Anderson B. 152

Huricane Baptist Churches 346

Implements, Early Farm 212

Improved Order of Red Men 392

Independent Order of Odd Fellows. . 388

Indian Occupation ; 26

Indian Trail 40

Indiana Boundaries 27

Indiana Farmers Bank 393

Indiana's Rank 33

Interurban Lines 521

Jail 70

Johnson County and the War 420

Johnson County Fairs 76

Johnson County Seminary 249

Johnson County Statistics 537

Jollity M. E. Church 375

Journalism 411

Judges, Associate 144

Judges of Circuit Court..' 125

Judges of Probate Court 145

Jury Commissioners 122

Justice of Peace 59

Kentucky Indian Trail 40

King, George 43, 524

Knights of Pythias 386

Lancaster Plat 550

Lawyers, Roster of Present 160

Libraries 246

Lick Springs Baptist Church 348

Lodges 381

Log Houses, Building of 199

Log School House 220

Loper's Cabin 38

Masonic Order 381

Mauxferry Road 28

Medical History 486

Methodist E^plscopal Churches 366

Military Record 420

Modem Woodmen of America 391

Mound Builders 25

Mt. Auburn M. B. Church 371

Mt Carmel Christian Church 362

Mt. Pleasant Baptist Churches 845

Mt. Pleasant Christian Church 365

Mt. ZlQu Baptist Church 345

Mt. Zion M. B. Church 376

Mutual Building & Loan Assn 407

Natural Features 49

Needham Business Directory 543

Needham Plat 550

New Bargersville Plats 549

Newburg Plats 549

New Hope Christian Church 365

New Pisgah Presbyterian Church. . . 339

Newspapers 411

Nineveh Business Directory 543

Nineveh Township 172

Odd Fellows 388

Officers, County 85

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HISTORICAL INDEX.

Ofllcers of Township 55

Olive Branch U. B. Church 379

Ordinance of 1787 26

Organization of County 43

Original Counties 28

Orphan Asylum 75

Overstreet. Gabriel M 151

Overstreet, Jesse 159

Oyler, Samuel P 138

Physicians 486

Plank Roads 518

Plats, City and Town 544

Plattsburg Plat 550

Pleasant Hill M. E. Church 377

Pleasant Township 185

Poor Asylum 72

Population Statistics 537

Poultry *. 54

Presbyterian Churches 308

Presidential Elections 28

Press, The 411

Primary Vote, Democratic 551

Probate Judges 145

Prosecuting Attorneys 161

Public Utilities Law 31

Railroads 520

Recorder 110

Religious History 304

Road Improvements 519

Road Supervisors 59

Roads, Condition of 165

Rocklane Business Directory 544

Rocklane M. E. Church 374

Salem M. EL Church 374

Samaria Christian Church 363

Samaria Plats 549

School Enumeration 272

School History 215

School Law of 1831 217

School Townships 55

Seminary, County 83

ShertfT 106

Shiloh Cumb. Prea. Church 340

Shiloh Presbyterian Church 337

Slater, John 150

Soldiers' Home Cottage 84

South Stott's Creek Churches. ..350, 351

Stage Coach Route 617

State Boundaries 27

StaUsUcs 537

Streams 49

Superintendent, County 119

Supervisors 59

Teachers, Early 134

Telegraph Lines 522

Temperance Movements 32

Temperature 53

Territorial Government 26

Thompson & Co. Bank 400

Toll Roads 519

Town Plats 544

Township Assessors 59

Township Boundaries 60

Township High Schools 253

Township History 55

Township Organization 55

Trafalgar 532

Trafalgar Business Directory 542

Trafalgar Christian Church 360

Trafalgar M. E. Church 372

Trafalgar Plats 548

Transportation 517

Truant Ofllcer 123

Trustee. Township 56

Union Christian Church 361

Union Township 191

Union Township High School 263

Union Trust Company 397

Union Village Church 363

Union Village Plats 549

United Brethren Churches 378

Unusual Laws 30

Urmeyvllle Plat 550

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HISTORICAL INDEX.

Van Nuys, Samuel W 420

Virginia's Claim 26

Vote, Democratic Primaries 551

Wesley Chapel M. R Church 373

West Whiteland Business Directory. 542

Whetzel, Jacob 34

Whetzel's Trace 34

White River Township 178

White River Township Graded School 265

Whiteland 632

Whiteland Baptist Church 349

Whiteland Business Directory 542

Whiteland M. E. Church 370

Whiteland National Bank 403

Whiteland Plats 648

Wick, Judge W. W 125

Wild Animals 204

Williamsburg Christian Church 359

Williamsburg M. B. Church 368

Williamsburg Plats 649

Woollen, Judge Thomas W 1^47

Young's Creek Christian Church 366

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BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX

Adcock, William 616

AlkenB, W. W 700

Alexander, Robert A •. . 559

Barlow, Heman 776

Beatty, J. J 73b

Bohall, Everett R. 639

Boone, Charles J 857

Bowden, Isaac W 772

Branigin, Elba L 568

Brewer, Daniel A 703

Brewer, Edgar D 813

Brewer, Edward G 724

Brewer, Samuel E. 760

Bridges, Harry 582

Bridges, William A., Sr 642

Brown, I. Newt 716

Brunnemer, Albert T 730

Brunnemer, William J 732

Byers, Arch W 765

Byers, Henry S., Sr. 767

Calvin, John W. ...'. 632

Cames, Mrs. Eliza Polk 670r

Cames, Zachariah 671

Chenoweth, E^phraim B 740

Clary, J. J 781

Cobb. BSdward E. 640

Cook, Camilus B ..678

Covert, Albert N 802

Covert, James G 644

Covert, William D 664

Craven, Thomas W 660

Crawford, J. P 621

Crecraft, Albert N 61%

Curry, Scott 744

Cutsinger, Martin 728

Deer, F. L. 861

Deitch, Samuel 686

Deupree, William E .- 661

Devore, Chester T 806

Dickson, John B 763

Dickson, Mlno 763

Dltmars, Cornelius L. 792

Dltmars, Garrett 820

Dltmars. John T 720

Dltmars, John W 712

Dltmars. Richard V 666

Dltmars, William S 806

Donnell, Rebecca Dltmars 720

Dorrell, Daniel D 723

Dorrell, Jacob G 759

Dorrell, Thomas 742

Drybread, Ivory J 664

Dunn,. Oren C 647

Durham, C. M 752

E
E2arnest, Elmore T 770

F^themgUl, William 608

Fendley, James A 696

Fisher, William M 786

Fllnn, William 808

Foxworthy, John 726

Fulmer, John 757

Gllmore, James T 682

Graham, John N 674

Griffith, James L 764

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BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.

Hall, Columbus H 589

Hanley, Elijah A 600

Harrell, WUllam H 714

Heck, George W 762

Held, Christian 783

Henderson. Gilbert 800

Hicks, Alvin G 808

Hill, Edward 812

Hughes, George 704

Jennings, William B 688

Johnson, Grafton 570

Johnson, J. Albert 602

Johnson, Joseph 685

KeUy, J. H. 652

Kerlin, George W 721

LaGrange, Peter D 815

Ust, Albert 816

Lochry, Henry R 850

McCartney, WUliam D. 668

McCaslin, John A 780

McCaslin, WlUiam B. 775

McClain, John C 683

McClain, Squire H 692

McClanahan, William H 658

McClellan, Samuel J 751

McQuinn, Thomas W 778

Mathes, Miss Ellen S 618

Mathes, William J 616

Miller, Fremont 650

Miller, Robert M 701

Mitchell, Samuel M 790

Moormann, George A 610

Mozingo, Milford 680

Mullendore, Frank R. 656

Mullendore, Lewis 634

Mullendore, William 633

Neible, W. L 747

Noble, Thomas B 859

Norton, T. Edward 706

Oliver, John 745

Oliver, William Q 605

Overstreet, John T 773

Owen, A. W 645

Owens, Fred R. 638

Owens, George, Sr 789

Owens, Walter 717

Owens, William 798

Payne, Philander W 580

Polk, James T 69:^

Powell, Chauncey J 661

Pritchard, Henry R. 648

Province, Clarence 636

Province, Oran A 626

Province, William M 795

Ransdell, George W 630

Records, John N 618

Runkle, J. W 738

Russell, William A 768

Service, Robert A. 784

Sharp, O. B 622

Sheek. D. W 708

Sheetz, William J 852

Shephard, Harry B 818

Short, Luther 564

Short, Milton 565

Sibert, William F. 693

Simon, EJd 853

Simon, George W 849

Slack, Elisha 0 577

Slack, L. Ert 576

Springer, W. O 567

Stott, William T 596

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BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.

Tarlton, John EL 674

Terhune, RuTus W 824

Thompson, A. C 585

Thompson, J. A 584

Threlkeld. WiUiam P 718

Tracy, Mathew J 749

Tucker, Wellboume S -. 635

Tyner, Richard H 614

Vandivier, Elmer 787

Vandivier, Ira EI 809

Vandivier, OUs M 821

Vandivier, Ozais B 695

Van Dyke, John H 595

Van Nuys, Watson M. 796

Vau^t, Barney M 794

Voris, M. J 733

Voris, W. R. 607

Webb, David R 676

Webb, Jesse C 586

Weddle, John C 710

Whitaker, James W 766

White, George 1 810

White, Henry B 623

White, W. H 628

White, WUliam W 736

Wild, George W 672

Williams, H. G 855

Wilson, Daulton 624

Winterberg, Francis 663

Wood, Henry C 670

Wooley, John H 698

Wyrick, Ephraim W 690

Wyrick, Geprge W 690

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HISTORICAL

CHAPTER I.

INDIANA HISTORY A FOREWORD.

With the history of the Mound Builders in prehistoric times, Johnson
county history has little, if any, connection. Judge Banta, the leading au-
thority in our annals, suggests that two mounds are to be found on Sugar
creek, two miles above its mouth, and two low mounds in White River town-
ship may be evidence of their work in this connection. The ones first re-
ferred to lie just south of the Runkle graveyard. No excavations have ever
been made, and it is only a surmise that they are the handiwork of the Mound
Builders.

Nor can it be said that the history of the early French missionaries,
La Salle and his Jesuit brethren, is interwoven with the story of our county.
Their track lay far to the north and west. The first white inhabitant settling
on the Wabash and Maumee rivers had no intercourse with the soutji, even
after Daniel Boone opened up Kentucky to settlement. Their communication
was by way of Detroit and the St. Lawrence.

The struggle between the English and the French for the control of the
Mississippi, and the later contest between the United States and England, cul-
minating in the brilliant campaign of George Rogers Clark around Vincennes
and Kaskaskia, was fought on soil far to the west and south of us. Far re-
moved from the principal waterways of the state, the comparatively level
strip of land lying between the west fork of White river and Sugar creek was
untrodden by the foot of white men when Indiana was admitted to the
Union of states in 1816.

Covered with a heavy growth of oak, poplar, ash, maple, sycamore,
beech, walnut, elm and hickory, with spice brush and grape vines and under-
growth forming an almost impenetrable tangle, this wilderness was unknown
even to the Indians except for occasional straggling bands of hunters or war

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26 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

parties bound from the villages on the upper Wabash to the Kentucky river
country.

Evidences of Indian occupation of the county are rare. From the testi-
mony of the first white settlers, and more from arrowheads and relics found
near the deer licks, we come to the conclusion that hunting parties of the
Miamis came to the Bluffs of White river, to the headwaters of Young's creek
and to the site later chosen for the county seat. As will be seen in another
connection, Judge Franklin Hardin was of the opinion that there was once a
large Indian village on the west side of White river in the extreme northeast
section of the county, and John Tipton, in his "J^^^'^'" ^^ his first trip to
locate a new state capital in 1820, repeats a tradition to the effect that French
missionaries were stationed at that village many years before that time, —
even so, Indian occupation played no part worthy of extended notice in the
history of our county.

In 1818 the United States by treaty with the Delawares came into the
possession of the White river country, and within three years all had been
removed to their new homes beyond the Mississippi. Within the next three
or four years bands of hunters from the tribes came into the country at
sugar-making time and in the fall hunting season. The first white settlers,
who had pushed northward into the newly ceded lands, came in contact with
a few of these hunting parties, but no friction arose, and long before the
thirties even the Indian hunters withdrew, never to return.

Two small streams in the county, both bearing the name of Indian
creek, one in Hensley township, the other emptying into Young's creek sixty
rods north of the Hopewell road and now prosaically called the Canary ditch,
are the only geographical names on the map of our county recalling Indian
habitation. This, in itself, is significant proof that the Indian was only a
sojourner for brief visits to our hunting grounds.

Virginia claimed all of the Northwest territory as a part of her original
domain under the charter granted to the London Company in 1600. Her
claim was strengthened by the conquest of Vincennes in 1779, by Gen. George
Rogers Qark, one of her soldiers. After the Revolution, Virginia ceded all
of her lands north of the Ohio to the United States, and three years later
the great charter of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wis-
consin, the Ordinance of I787, was passed by the Congress of the United
States. It provided for a governor, to be chosen by Congress for a term of
three years, for a secretary and a common law court of three judges.

Major-Gen. Arthur St. Clair was appointed by Congress to be the first

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 2^

governor of the Northwest territory, and the seat of governipent was fixed
at Marietta, Ohio, where the first court met in 1788. Two years later the
court first met at Vincennes and in 1798 the first elections were held to select
five members of a law-making council. The first General Assembly con-
vened at Cincinnati in September, 1799. Meanwhile settlers were coming
rapidly into the new country from Virginia, the Carolinas and the central
Eastern states, generally by way of the Ohio river, and Congress was soon
impelled to divide the great territory. On May 7, 1800, the President ap-
proved the act of Congress dividing the territory, Ohio being set off apart and
the remainder designated as Indiana territory.

Indiana territory, still under the law of the great charter, had as its
first governor William Henry Harrison, appointed May 13, 1800. The seat
of government was fixed at Vincennes, and here the first general court met on
March 3, 1801. Until 1805, when the first Legislative Council was con-
vened, the territory was under a code of laws "published" by the general
court. For a year ( 1804- 1805) Indiana territory not only included its former
area, but was enlarged by the addition of all of the Louisiana territory north
of latitude thirty-three.

In 1805 the territory of Michigan was detached, and on the ist day of
May, 1809, the territory of Illinois was organized, leaving Indiana with its
boimdaries on its present lines. In 1^81 1 the capital of Indiana territory was
changed to Corydon, in Harrison county, and there, in 1813, the Legislature
convened, with Thomas Posey as governor. Governor Posey was the second
and last of the territorial governors, serving until the admission of Indiana
into the Union as a state.

On the 19th day of April, 1 816, an enabling act was passed by the Con-
gress of the United States directing an election to be held in Indiana terri-
tory to select delegates to a constitutional (Convention. Pursuant to that act
delegates were elected on May 13th following, and the convention met at
Corydon on June loth. Forty-two delegates, with Jonathan Jennings as
president and William Hendricks as secretary, drafted the first Constitution in
less than three weeks, holding most of their sessions under the "Constitution-
al Elm," a tree still standing in the old state house grounds.

The Constitution thus drafted met with the approval of Congress, and
on December 11, 1816, Indiana became a sovereign state. As there had been
thirteen original colonies in the formation of the Union, so, as it happened,
there were thirteen counties in the new state. Knox, Posey, Gibson, Warrick,
Perry, Washington, Harrison, Qark, Jefferson, Switzerland, Dearborn,

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28 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Franklin and Wayne were the ''thirteen original counties," nearly all bor-
dering on the Ohio and lower Wabash. Of these counties the most populous,
and hence entitled to the largest representation in the constitutional con-
vention, were Knox, with a population of 8,068 centered about the old settle-
ments at Vincennes; Clark, with a poptdation of 7,150, Franklin, with a popu-
lation of 7,370, and Harrison, with a population of 6,975, all centering about
the great Falls of the Ohio. Here the adventurous homeseekers were com-
pelled to abandon their flat boats and by the route of the Indian trails make
their way to the north.

About the year 1807 Frederick Mouck, of Virginia, had come to a cabin
on the Ohio, where Mouckport now stands, and established a ferry. This
easy crossing of the river drew settlers by way of Corydon and Salem toward
the White river country. One of our oldest highways, the Mauxferry road,
variously spelled "Mauksferry" and "Mocksferry," was the avenue of travel
for many of the early settlers from Kentucky. And by this and other roads
leading from the river northward, immigrants pushed their way into the
wilderness, and while Johnson county was organized by a legislature sitting
at Corydon, within a year thereafter a new state capital was selected, and
Indianapolis was agreed upon as the site, although the seat of government
was not removed until 1825.

When Johnson county came into b^ing Jonathan Jennings, the first gov-
ernor of the state, was still in office, and the entire state had a population of
147,178. James Monroe was President of the United States, receiving five
electoral votes from this state for his second term. James Noble and Waller
Taylor were still serving as United States senators, and when Governor
Jennings resigned to accept congressional honors, he was the first candidate
to receive the suffrages of Johnson county for member of Congress in the
election of 1824.

Partisan politics played little part in the election of local officers in John-
son county until the later thirties. But in the national elections, beginning
with Jackson's first term, party lines were closely drawn, and the majority of
the early settlers of the county coming from the South, the county was then,
as it has always remained, a supporter of the Democratic party.

In the first presidential elections, record of which is yet preserved,
Jackson received 221 votes, Adams 118, not counting Blue River township,
the returns for which are lost. In 1832 Jackson electors received 261 votes,
Qay 120, the returns from Franklin township being lost. In 1836 Van
Buren received 559 votes, Harrison 438, Union township not recorded. In

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 2<)

1840 the same candidates received 998 and 631 votes, respectively, all town-
ships reported. In 1844 Polk electors received 992 votes, Clay 581, while
the Free Soil party had 15 votes (Nineveh township not included). Zachary
Taylor received 675, the Democratic candidate 1,114, and the Free Soilers 12,
in the election of 1848. In 1852 Pierce received 1,333, Scott 896, Hale 20.
In 1856 Buchanan got 1,608, Fremont (first Republican candidate) 1,095,
while the Free Soil vote increased to 153.

When the great issue that divided the North and South was submitted
to the voters of Johnson county, Douglas received 1,392 votes, Lincoln 1,303,
Breckenridge 336 and Bell 60. Four years later McClellan received 1,713
votes, Lincoln 1,532. In 1872 the Greeley electors received 2,109, Grant
1,700. In 1876 Tilden received 2,363 votes, Hayes 1,860, Cooper 304. In
1880 Hancock received 2,461 votes, Garfield 2,020, Weaver 287. In 1884
Qeveland received 2,515, Blaine 2,020, Butler 179, St. John 17. In 1888
the Democrats polled 2,594 votes. Republicans 2,168, Prohibitionists 66, Un-
ion Labor 162.

Since 1892 the vote for the head of the ticket at national elections has
been as follows:

1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912

Democrat 2,606 3,083 3,088 2,882 3,219 2,890

Republican 2,082 2,288 2,345 2,574 2,519 924

Prohibition 157 29 157 300 37 211

Peoples 243 21 24 2

In the last election Roosevelt, Progressive, received 1,408 votes, and
Debs, Socialist, 49. Independent local tickets have not met with great favor.
In 1890 a "Citizens" county ticket was placed before the people and received
1,963 votes. The Grangers and the Populists were never formidable, the
latter party going over to the support of Bryan in 1896.

The Australian ballot law of 1889 ^^'^^ a much-needed reform. Thereto-
fore, the voter prepared his ballot outside the polls and the "floater" was led
to the voting window and the sale of his vote made certain. Since 1890 the
voting is done in secret and with all proper restrictions thrown around the
preparation of the ballots and the casting and counting of the same, there has
never been occasion to repeat the cry of fraud made in 1864 and in 1870.

At the November election of 1908 voting machines were used for the
first time. An Empire machine was used in the city of Franklin that year
and proved so successful that, two years later, fourteen machines were pur-
chased for use throughout the county at an expense of ten thousand five

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30 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

hundred dollars. They are found to be accurate and one election board can
handle three times as many votes as when the ballots were stamped with a
stencil or marked with a pencil. A regular election, using the voting ma-
chines, costs the county a little less than one thousand five hundred dollars,
about five hundred dollars less than under the old method of voting.

Many other changes in the fundamental and statute law of the state
have followed the changes in the political, social and moral conditions of our
society. Among these changes are, first, a tendency toward uniformity of
laws. Under the first Constitution, special laws conferring special privileges
or making special requirements in certain counties filled the pages of the
acts of the Legislature. Under such laws the county felt as free as the indi-
.vidual to follow its own devices. In 1850 the state Legislature found it nec-
essary to reprimand our county by enacting "that the board of commissioners
of Johnson county shall not be at liberty to dispense with a road tax on real
and personal property, but the same shall be annually levied under the pro-
visions of the act to which this is an amendment."

Some of these special laws were so unusual as to provoke ridicule. For
example, the Legislature of 1850 passed the following bill :

"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, that all
laws or parts of laws now in force requiring a person first to obtain a license
to vend ardent spirits in less quantity than a quart at a time and make the
same punishable by indictment or fine, in case the same is sold without a
license, be and the same are hereby repealed ; provided, however that nothing
in this act shall be so construed as to eflfect any indictment now pending in
the Hancock circuit court, except the indictment pending in said court against
William A. Franklin, an unfortunate man who was -shot so as to render
him unable to support himself by labor, and as to such indictments as are now
against him this act and the benefits thereof shall be extended." (Acts 1850,
page 218.)

All the liquor tax laws of a great state repealed to help one poor "boot-
legger" out of trouble!

The new Constitution of 1851 required all laws to be general and of
uniform application throughout the state. The supreme court has construed
this clause to mean that it is only necessary that laws shall operate in all parts
of the state in a similar manner "under the same circumstances and condi-
tions," a construction which may be used to defeat the plain intention of the
Constitution. Fortunately, however, in recent years, the General Assembly
have rightly interpreted this salutary provision, and a sincere effort has been
made to pass laws which are general and uniform. This has led to the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 3 1

codification of our municipal laws, the highway laws and of the criminal
code in 1905; the uniform school text-book law of 1889; and to the fee and
salary laws of 1895.

In the second place the state, in response to public opinion, has passed
many laws to improve the conditions of the laboring classes. Regulations are
now in force as to the employment of women and children in factories; to
the safeguarding of the operatives in mines and manufactories; to the con-
struction of tenement houses ; and a commission is now at work under the act
of 191 3 investigating the subject of workingmen's compensation for personal
injuries.

The Public Utilities law of 191 3 marks a new era in this state, giving
to the state the right of fixing service charges for all public utilities. What
the railroad commission of Indiana, created under the act of 1905, was
authorized to do in the regulation of rates and prescribing conditions of
service to the public, by the railroads, the public service commission is au-
thorized by the act of 191 3 to do and prescribe as to all corporations furnish-
ing puWic utilities. Every railroad, street railroad, interurban railroad, every
plant for the conveyance of telegraph and telephone messages or for the pro-
duction, transmission, delivery or furnishing of heat, light, water or power
service, or for the furnishing of elevator or warehouse service to the public
is under the supervision and control of this commission. In general, the work
of the commission is to secure to the people of the state adequate service and
facilities at reasonable rates and under fair regulations.

Again, in the path of political reform, the state has in recent years taken
advanced steps. Under the Corrupt Practices act of 191 1 candidates for pub-
lic office are required to publish a sworn statement of all moneys con-
tributed or expended to aid and promote their nomination or election, and are
prohibited from expenditure of money to such end except through a treasurer
or political agent of a political organization. Political organizations may not
expend money except for "certain legitimate expenses" defined by statute.
Corporations are prohibited from making contributions to any party or can-
didate.

The act of March 4, 191 1, providing for the registration of voters at all
general elections, is another salutary measure intended to purify the ballot.
This legislation is not new to the state, for as early as 1867 the General As-
sembly passed an act providing for the registry of voters, and under that
statute a board of registry in each township, consisting of one Democrat, one
Republican and the township trustee, was appointed at the June term, 1867,
of the board of commissioners* court in this county.

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32 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Many other measures have been placed on the statute books in recent
years to secure honest weights and measures, and providing for state inspec-
tion of foods and drugs. All packing houses, canneries, dairies, hotels, res-
taurants, groceries and all other stores and factories, where articles of food
are manufactured, stored or exposed for sale, are subject to a rigid inspection
by state authorities.

The temperance sentiment of the state began to show a rising tide again
about the year 1890. In November, 1834, on the petition of a majority of the
freeholders resident in the town of Edinburg, it was "ordered that there be no
more grocery licenses granted to residents of said town/' As early as 1848
Johnson county had voted on the question of license or no license to the
retail saloon. In that year Franklin, Pleasant and Blue River voted "dry,"
other townships voted "wet.'* In 1852 Franklin, Nineveh, Blue River and
Pleasant voted against license, Union voting for license. In the next year
Franklin, Blue River, Clark and Pleasant voted "dry," while Nineveh, Hens-
ley, Union and White River voted "wet."

In the year 1895 the General Assembly passed the Nicholson law, by
means of which a majority of the legal voters of any township or city ward,
by signing a remonstrance, could prevent the issuance of a license to sell
liquors. At the December term, 1895, the voters of the first ward of the city
of Franklin successfully resisted the application of William Anstis. At the
December term, 1896, of the commissioners' court, remonstrahces were suc-
cessfully made in all three wards of the city of Franklin, but their sufficiency
was overruled at the March term, 1897, and licenses were granted.

The fight was successfully renewed against saloons in the first ward of
the city in February, 1902. At the August term, 1903, remonstrances in the
city of Franklin were overruled, but on appeal and a change of venue to
Bartholomew county the remonstrances were upheld. Again, at the June
term, 1904, remonstrances in the first ward were sustained.

Under the County Ix>cal Option law of 1908 an election was held in
Johnson county on April 25, 1910, the vote being: No license, 3,477; for li-
cense, 1,344. Under the Township Local Option law of 1911 but one election
has been held in the county. In Blue River township an election was held
on March 26. 191 2, which resulted in a victory for the "wets" on the face of
the returns. The "drys" instituted contest proceedings before the board
of commissioners and it being found that in the tenth precinct more votes
were counted from the ballot box than there were voters registered on the
poll books, the vote of the entire precinct was rejected, and the board found
that there were legally cast ''against license" 152 votes, "for license" 118

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 33

votes. After a spirited fight on appeal, after change of venue, Judge Remster,
of Indianapolis, upheld the finding of the board of commissioners and pro-
hibited the sale of liquors in that township for two years succeeding the date
of the election.

The city of Franklin remains "dry*' as the result of successful remon-
strances under the Moore law, an amendment to the Nicholson law, filed with
the county auditor on February 5, 1912. The county has not a saloon within
its borders, and, 'what is of equal importance, the officers of the law have suc-
cessfully fought the maintenance of "blind tigers'' and "dry beer joints."
Public sentiment in the county has sustained the action of our representatives
in helping place temperance laws upon the books, and has been active in the
aid of the officers of the law charged with the duty of their enforcement.

The most hopeful feature of recent legislation is that the state no longer
relies upon punishment of a broken law as the best means of effecting political,
social and moral reforms, but has followed a constructive policy which lends
encouragement and uplift to the most enlightened and progressive citizenship.

Indiana ranks only thirty-fifth, territorially, but has advanced to the ninth
place in population. According to the census of 1910, the state ranks fifth in
the production of corn, only Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska outranking
her ; in the production of wheat, Indiana stands fourth, being led by Minne-
sota, Kansas and South Dakota; in the production of oats, our state ranks
fifth, with Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Ohio leading. When it is remembered
that Illinois and Iowa are fifty per cent, larger in area, Missouri almost twice
as large, and Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota are each more than twice the
size of our state, the record of the Indiana farmer is a proud one.

Indiana now has 7,420 miles of railroads, ranking thirteenth in this
respect. There are nearly a half million telephones in Indiana, and more than
6o,ocx) miles of telegraph lines. Its electric railway lines, radiating in every
direction, make Indianapolis the greatest interurban railroad center in the
world. The term "Hoosier" is no longer a reproach. It is a far cry from the
days when Jacob Hozier and his brother, Abram Hozier,* brought their wolf
scalps from the borders of "The Great Gulf" to claim the bounty due them at
the county seat.

To attempt to show what part Johnson county and her citizens have
played in this onward march and to help to trace the road by which they have
come is the excuse for this county history.

*Note. — Jacob P. Dunn has suggested that the nickname *'Hoosier" may have been
derived from the family name "Hosier** or "Hozier.'*

(3)

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CHAPTER II.

ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY AND ITS GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY.

When Indiana was admitted into the Union in 1816, the white settlers
occupied only a small section of the southern part of the state. The boundary
line separating their territory from the Indian lands ran from a point on the
Wabash river nearly due west of Rockville in Parke county, in a south-
easterly direction to a point on White river about half way between Seymour
and Brownstown, then northeast to the southeast corner of Decatur county,
then east of north to P'ort Recovery, in Mercer county, Ohio. If another
line be drawn from the place of beginning to Fort Recovery, the triangle thus
formed would embrace the tract of land then claimed by the Delaware tribe.

On the 3rd day of October, 181 8, a treaty was concluded with the Dela-
wares at the St. Mary's Falls in Ohio, by Jonathan Jennings, then governor
of Indiana, General Cass and Benjamin Parke, acting under appointment of
President Monroe, and the Delaware lands were ceded to the United States.
The new territory acquired the name of the **New Purchase,*' a name fre-
quently used in the early records to identify land descriptions. The Indians
were granted the right to occupy their lands for three years, but in 1820 large
numbers of them left for the Arkansas country and in the following year all
were removed. The New Purchase became the mecca of home-seekers from
the East and South, and the Indians had scarcely signed the convention until
the white settler invaded his domain.

Into that part of the New Purchase later formed into Johnson county,
three trails or traces became the highways of travel into our county. The
first one marked and traveled by white men was that known as "Whetzel's
Trace,'' laid out by Jacob Whetzel in 181 8. It crossed Sugar creek near
'The Red Mill" about one mile north of Boggstown, and ran west almost
upon the present line of the Worthsville road to the bluffs at White river.
The story of its making, told by Judge Banta in his "Historical Sketch of
Johnson County*' (1881), is worth preserving in this form.

"Some time during the latter part of 181 7, Jacob Whetzel, then living
in Franklin county, in this state, bought a tract of land in Harrison's Pur-
chase, near the mouth of Eel river in Greene county. The usually traveled

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JOHNSON COUNTY,, INDIANA. 35

route from the White Water country, where Whetzel lived, to the Purchase,
was by way of the Ohio and Wabash rivers, or from the Falls at Louisville,
overland to that place. Jacob Whetzel was a born and trained woodsman.
He had been hunting wild beasts and fighting Indians all his life. He had
served as a spy and scout with the armies of St. Clair and Harrison, and,
now that a pathless woods lay between him and his purchase, he determined
to cut through rather than go around.

"The Delaware Indians were at that time in the undisturbed possession
of the White River country, and Jacob Whetzel, early in the summer of 1818,
applied to the Delaware chief, Anderson, at his village on White river, where
Andersontown (Anderson) has since been located, and obtained his permission
to cut a road through from neaf Brookville to the Bluffs of White river. In
the month of July, in company with his son Cyrus, a youth eighteen years
of age, and four good, stout axmen, Thomas Howe, Thomas Rush, Richard
Rush and Walter Banks, he set out for the nearest point on White river, in-
tending to work from thence back to the settlements. Taking one of the men,
Thomas Rush, with him, he went in advance, blazing the proposed road,
while young Cyrus, with the rest of the men, followed after, carrying their
axes and nine days* provisions. These had not entered the wilderness very
far, when, one evening late, they met a party of Indians, whose actions, not-
withstanding their protestations of friendship, excited suspicion. The two
parties passed each other, but the white men, without arms, kept a more
vigilant watch that night than was common even in that day. The night set
in cloudy, and rain soon began falling, but the hours passed quietly on, until
the camp-fire burned low, when the man on watch discovered Indians lurk-
ing in the vicinity. Quietly waking his sleeping companions, they as quietly
abandoned their camp, and, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, fol-
lowed the trace of Jacob Whetzel and his associates by feeling of the notches
and blazes cut in the trees. Whatever motive led the red-men to prowl around
their camp-fire at night, nothing more was seen of them on that journey.

"Meeting with no other hindrances save such as were incident to the
trackless wilderness, Cyrus Whetzel and his comrades journeyed on, cross-
ing Flat Rock about seven miles below the present site of Rushville; Blue
river, four miles above Shelby ville, and Sugar creek, a little north of Boggs-
town. On reaching a water course, a few miles east of White river, a nest
of honey bees was discovered in the hollow limb of a walnut tree, which
yielded a large supply of honey; but being too bitter to be eaten, because made
from a bitter, honey-bearing bloom, it was reluctantly thrown away ; never-

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36 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

theless, from this circumstance originated the name of *'Honey creek/* the
first creek within the borders of this county to receive a name at the hands
of white men.

**White river was struck at a place Jacob Whetzel called the Bluffs, and
we may well imagine that the scene which met the gaze of these pioneers was
such as they little expected to behold. Jacob Whetzel had set out to reach by
a short cut a prospective home at the mouth of the Eel ; but standing on the
Bluffs, in those July days, he looked out over a wide, deep and rapidly flow-
ing river, through whose clear depths 'the eye could penetrate to the white
pebbles that lay on the bottom far below, whose waters swarmed with fish,
and whose level bottoms and rolling uplands were covered with great forests
that grew from a soil of wonderful richness, and there, on the banks of the
Waw-pe-kom-i-ca of the Miami red men, he resolved should be his future
home.

"Jacob Whetzel went on down the river alone, while young Cyrus and
the axmen turned back and began the work of cutting out what was long
known as Whetzel's Trace. Their progress was slow. A path had to be
cut of a width sufficient to admit the passage of a team. After passing the
rolling lands extending a few miles back from the river, the country through
which they went was level, and at that season of the year was almost an end-
less swamp. Their first day's work took them to an old beaver dam near the
present east boundary line of Pleasant township. It was built across the
outlet of a swamp, and made a pond of water a half-mile long and several
yards in width at the narrowest places; but at that time it had apparently
been long deserted.

"Presently, they reached the Hurricane, and there they established their
camp, and as this stream afforded the only running water between Sugar creek
and Honey creek, it was surmised that here would be a noted camping ground
in the future, and the stream they named Camp creek; and subsequent events
proved the surmise to have been well-founded. Slowly hewing their way
through the woods, the axmen came at length to a deep swamp, some two
miles west of the present east boundary line of the county, which was known
in the early day as the Great Gulf. This was a mile in width and two miles
in length. Two streams, Flat creek and Leatherwood, entered the Gulf at
the north end, and their combined waters made Little Sugar creek. Sugar
creek was already named when the Whetzels came. It was noted for the
large forests of sugar trees that grew at intervals on its banks, and to this
circumstance it is supposed that its name is due. The entire distance to

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 37

Sugar creek, after passing the skirt of rolling lands lying back from the river,
is said to have been a continuous swamp. The axmen were often mid-sides
in water while cutting their way, and at night they cut brush and made heaps
on which to sleep.

**Arriving at the Brandywine late one evening, the party encamped, when
Jacob Whetzel rejoined them. After their scanty meal had been eaten, Jacob
produced a bottle of peach brandy which he had obtained in Owen county, and
over this the party pledged the memory of the wives and sweethearts at home.
To the inspiration due to that bottle are the people of Shelby county indebted
for the name of one of the prettiest streams, Brandywine. The name was
given on that night. The provisions giving out, the party was soon after
compelled to push on to the settlement, and leave the work unfinished ; but in
a short time, Whetzel returned and finished it. '

*'This work proved of great importance in the settlement of Marion,
Johnson, Morgan and Shelby counties. It was known as. Whetzel's Trace,
and hundreds of the early settlers of central Indiana traveled along it in
search of their wilderness homes.''

Over this trace, Franklin Hardin, when a lad of fifteen, came with his
mother in the last week of October, 1825. They stopped at Lewis Morgan's
home in the northwest part of Shelby county. Morgan's house was the last
chance for a lodging on the Trace until they should reach Nathaniel Bell's
hcrnie, at the crossing of the Whetzel and the Berry trails, twenty miles to the
westward.

Of this trip. Judge Hardin writes: "The next morning was Sunday,
and having bidden good-bye to our kind friend (Morgan), under his direc-
tion we were sent around the north end of the Great Gulf, as it was usually
called, thus leaving Whetzel's Trace at Morgan's, and going up Sugar creek,
first on one side and then crossing at Huflf's Mill, and traveling up the west
bank till our northing amounted to two or three miles, thence westward, near
where Madison Morgan long after resided, and crossing Flat creek and
Leatherwood, at the north end of the gulf, and thence south along the west
side of the gulf to a point directly west of Lewis Morgan's to the Whetzel
Trace, at a point called at the time Loper's Cabin, but long before known
and named Camp Creek by the Whetzels. When Whetzel marked out his
trace in the summer of 1818, the weather being exceedingly dry, the waters
of the Great Gulf had disappeared, and he ran straight across it from Mor-
gan's to Camp Creek.* The Great Gulf is as yet (1880) an unsolved prob-

♦NoTE — This croasinf: must have been at McOonnell's Ford. — Author.

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38 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

lem. It is a depression of two or three miles west of Sugar Creek, being
three or four miles in length, and having the same direction and about the
same capacity as the present valley of Sugar Creek. Whether that stream
once occupied that basin, but was forced by driftwood and the agency of
beavers to cut another channel, might yet be determined by a careful exam-
ination. Two small creeks entered at the north end, but soon lost their
channels and then mingled their waters and covered the basin generally
throughout the year. It sustained a growth of heavy timber of such kinds as
would grow in it. It was, during long years after I saw it first, the home of
bears, wolves, catamounts, panthers and other wild animals. A volume
could be written of the exploits of two brothers named Hosier, who settled
near its north border, and who by traps, guns and dogs, made sad havoc of
wolf cubs, catamounts and other game. A more dismal place I never saw,
and as we rode around it for six miles or more — an old woman and a boy — I
trembled with fear. Added to the gloom of the dismal place, away to the
north was an Indian encampment, making the most of their privilege to
hunt here. They seemed to be making a drive of their game to the south-
ward, the direction we were traveling to Loper's Cabin on Camp creek. The
constant crack of the rifle, the crash of the brushwood caused by the troops
of the flying, frightened deer as they rushed thundering on with branching
horns and tails erect, widespread, grandly leaping high above the shrubbery,
with heads and eyes averted as if to see the distant foe, and the widely scat-
tered flock of wild turkeys, as they sped on with long, outstretched necks,
half on foot, half on wing, far as the eye could reach, was altogether a
sight, one never to be forgotten by an old lady and a boy unused to such wild
display.

'*In our approach to Loper\s Cabin, at the camping grounds on Camp
creek, the wolf paths leading to the encampment along the side of the road
were as continuous and well l)eaten in the soft soil as hog paths about a
farm, and great plantigrade foot-prints over the muddy grounds showed that
bruin often quitted his secret hiding place in the gulf and roamed abroad.
Camp creek afforded good water, and from the time the Whetzels first erect-
ed their camp here until the trace ceased to be used as a highway, here was
the emigrants' hotel. In the morning as they moved on, the wolves entered
to devour the dead animals and the garbage left in the encampment. Daniel
Loper was a wild man. I could never learn whence he came, nor yet where
he went when he left Johnson county. The first we knew of him was in
October of 1820. Then he had erected a hut at the crossing of the Whetzel

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 39

and Berry traces, on the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of sec-
tion 7, township 13 north, range 4 east, lately owned by the Bracketts. He
kept a sort of entertainment there, — that is, a man felt that he was not quite
out of doors when he stayed in his cabin.

^'Nathaniel Bell came from Ohio in 1821 along the Whetzel trace,
destined for the Eel river country, in search of some eligible situation for
himself and family. He rode on horseback with a sack undei- him, in which
he carried his provisions. His horse carried a bell around his neck, which
was kept silent by day, but when night came. Bell made a camp, unloosed the
bell, hobbled the horse, turned him out to graze, and then lay down to sleep.
Bell, having explored the Eel river lands, and not liking them, returned and.
called at the cabin of John Doty, who had located a camp on the school
section, near the center of the present White River township, on the 8th of
May, 1 82 1. Here Bell disclosed his purpose, and that was to get a descrip-
tion of the land at the crossing of the traces, and enter them at Brookville
on his way home, and then settle there, and keep a tavern, and build a
horse-mill and a distillery for whisky.

"Applying to Peter Doty, son of John Doty, for aid in getting a
description of the land, Peter agreed to furnish it for one dollar, but Bell
declared he had no money beyond the sum necessary to enter the land.
Finally, Peter agreed to accept the bell on the horse, and the desired infor-
mation was thus obtained. Bell forthwith ordered Daniel Loper to leave
his cabin, as the land was now his. Thus, under a threat of expulsion and a
claim of ownership falsely made, Loper was driven out, and retired to
Whetzel's old camp (at Hurricane creek, near Robert Fitzpatrick's lands)
and there erected another hut, and occupied it for one or two years. Here
Loper continued to reside for a time, and give such aid and lodging as he
could to emigrants.

"Loper, when he first came to the county, had a man living with him by
the name of John Varner. Varner made several trips to White Water with
an old wagon and a yoke of oxen belonging to Loper, and in exchange for
the fruits of the chase received and brought back provisions and occasionally
a few gallons of bad whisky. Whether from the unhealthiness of Camp
creek, on the borders of the gulf, or some other cause, John Varner took
sick and suddenly died. By some means, Loper got -word to John Doty to
come and assist in his burial. John Doty and his son Peter responded at
once, taking with them a shovel for digging the grave. When they arrived,
Loper, despairing of assistance, had gone to work with a garden hoe, the

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40 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

only implement for digging he had, throwing out the earth with his hands.
The grave was soon ready. But there was no coffin, nothing except a large
trough. Into this they put his body, and covered the trough with a rude
slab, split from a log, and thus was John Varner buried at Camp creek, * * *

"Bidding adieu to Camp creek, with its strange associations and inci-
dents, we continued on the Whetzel trail westward, meeting five or six men,
who were off for a bear hunt on the borders of the gulf. We were alarmed
at the sight of these men as they approached, thinking they were Indians,
They were exceedingly rough, large men, with uncouth apparel, dressed in
buckskin pants, bearskin caps, each with a large fire-lock on his shoulder,
while six or eight great, ugly wolf dogs were in company. These men were
a party of RelFs. then a power in the land. They treated us kindly, and
directed us in our travels. Seven miles from Camp creek, in the midst of a
dismal forest of trees, briars and brush-wood, there broke suddenly on our
view Bell's horse mill and its surroundings. It was a quiet Sabbath evening,
but the mill was in full clatter, with its unequalled hundrum produced by its
loose machinery. Twenty or thirty men stood around in clusters in friendly
chat, and forty to fifty horses in working trim were hitched in every direc-
tion. The mill was far behind in its grinding, and was running night and
day without halting for Sunday. The men were waiting for their several
turns to grind, for the mill ground in order of their arrival, and if a man
was absent when his turn came, the next succeeded to his rights. At this
point we left Whetzel's Trace in a northerly direction, and in a couple of hours
found ourselves at the end of our journey, in the midst of our near friends.''

It is worthy of note that the Great Gulf has come to be in our day one
of the finest bodies of land in the two counties, and the way from McCon-
nell's Ford to the Hurricane road leads through farm lands of endless
fertility.

THE INDIAN TRAIL.

This trail, sometimes known as the ancient river trail, followed the line
of a prehistoric glacial river southward through Johnson county, toward the
Falls of the Ohio, at Louisville. It crossed Driftwood at the "upper falls,"
ran northwesterly thence to Sugar creek, finding a ford at the place later
called Collier's L'ord, and then probably with the line of the Mauxferry road,
two-thirds of the way to Franklin, when it swerved more to the left, passing
the farm now owned by Milo Canary, then with the ridge to the Big Springs
at Hopewell, then nearly north with the line of present highway running

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 4I

through the center of the west half of that row of sections, to the Marion
county Hne, and onward to the Indian village on the Wabash near the pres-
ent site of Lafayette. Below Driftwood the trail divided, one leading to the
Kentucky river trail, the other to the Falls at Louisville.

The Kentucky River Indian trail led by way of Vernon to Madison.
Along this trail must have come John Vawter, whose route the writer has
attempted to follow on the maps of today with indifferent success. To give
the reader a like opportunity, Vawter's letter to the Madison Republican of
February 2y, 1819, is herewith reprinted:

"Vernon, Feb'y. 16, 18 19.

"Gentlemen: — Capt. Campbeel and myself have just returned from an
excursion into the Delaware lands, and should you consider the following
sketch worth an insertion in your paper for the amusement of your readers,
and the information of. emigrants and persons wishing to explore these
lands, it will gratify some of your readers.

"We traveled the new cut road from this place to Geneva (on Sandy)
a new town laid out on the old Indiana boundary line, about eight miles from
this place in a N. W. direction. We then took a new cut road (opened to
Flat Rock sufficient for waggons), which bears nearly N. 45 W. The first
stream we crossed after leaving Person's Mill on Sandy, is called Little
Sandy; the second Leatherw^ood ; the third, Fallen Timber Creek (all ap-
propriate names). We next passed a remarkable beaver dam, in which the
ingenuity of these animals is wonderfully exhibited. The 4th stream is
Flat Creek, the 5th Deer Creek, the 6th Crooked Creek; all of which streams
will answer for light machinery, and run to the S. W., the bottoms gen-
erally gravelly and water very clear. We next came to a stream by the
name of Clifty, sufficient for any kind of water works, and about ten miles
distant in the new purchase. I think, without exaggeration, that every
quarter section that may be laid out in this ten miles, will be fit for cultiva-
tion and will be settled. The lands are of a black, sandy quality, timbered
with beech and black ash principally. The general face of the country is
rather inclined to a plain, with hollows rather wet. The lands on Clifty are
very rich and well timbered on both sides of the stream with blue ash,
walnut, sugar tree, honey locust, beech, etc.

"After crossing this stream we came to a most beautiful walnut ridge
about one and one-half miles north of Qifty. We next crossed Middle
Creek, then Grassy Creek, then Tough Creek, Stillwater and Pleasant Run,
all of which are small mill streams running to the S. W., some of which

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42 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

have very muddy bottoms, and lie between Clifty and Flat Rock at the dis-
tance of seven miles. In this seven miles, the lands are principally very
rich and level, the valleys rather wet, and timbered principally with oak,
black ash, walnut, sugar tree, poplar, hickory, etc., until we came to the
lands immediately upon Flat Rock. These lands exhibit a scenery I never
expected to see in Indiana. They resemble the rich lands on the two Elk-
horns in Kentucky, for richness and timber, and to appearance, abound on
both sides of the stream, which has a gravel bottom and is about 80 yards
wide.

**On the north side of this creek we found only one stream until we
arrived at Driftwood, about eight miles in a S. W. (N. W.) direction from
where we crossed Flat Rock. The lands between these two streams are
level and very dry, timbered with white oak, black oak, walnut, honey locust,
underbrush, dog wood and hazel. We found beautifully rich and level
lands on both sides of Driftwood, and well timbered. The river (by count-
ing the horses' steps) was 180 yards wide where we crossed it. I think
' there are very few springs in this country, but believe water may be had
with very little labor. To sum up my views on the subject, I am of the
opinion that if Jefferson county would make a good highway in the direc-
tion to this place, that Madison would be the key on the Ohio River to one
of the best tracts of country I have seen in this state: and a delay will
speedily bring forward some other point as the country is now settling. We
met two families and teams on the road to this Eden.

"Yours with esteem,

"John Vawter."

In the same year of Vawter's trip, one Richard Berry established a
ferry at the crossing of the Kentucky River Trail and Driftwood, and
blazed the trail north and south of his home, and hence that part of the old
Indian trail running through Johnson county became known as Berry's
Trace. As noticed elsewhere, the Madison and Indianapolis state road laid
out near the line of the Kentucky River Trail, and the road leading to the
Falls of the Ohio near the route of the Ancient River Trail, furnished the
principal routes of commerce and immigration in the first days of the
county. Joining the latter road near Seymour was another highway lead-
ing by way of Brownstown, Vallonia, Salem and Corydon (then capital of
the state) to Mouck's Port on the Ohio river.

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GEORGE KING

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THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOH, L£NOX AND

TlLDSSti FOUNDATIONS

H L

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 43

COUNTY ORGANIZATION.

Upon the old stone marking the grave of Eleanor King in the old
Franklin cemetery, near the confluence of Hurricane and Youngs creeks, is
this inscription : "Eleanor, wife of George King, First Proprietor of Frank-
lin, died April 8, 1831, aged 50 years." George King was not only **First
Proprietor of Franklin," but to his efforts Johnson county owes its organi-
zation.

At the time of the adoption of the Constitution of 181 6, out of the
territory south of the old Indian boundary line, only the following counties
had been organized: Wayne, Franklin, Dearborn, Switzerland, Clark, Jef-
ferson, Harrison, Washington, Knox, Gibson, Warrick, Posey and Perry.
Of these, the most populous and hence entitled to the largest representation
in the convention were Harrison, where the state capital was located;
Clark, near the Falls of the Ohio; and Knox, embracing the old settlements
about Vincennes.

One can trace the tide of immigration into the New Purchase in the
organization of new coui^esv^^: At^^f^rstr'tlie ^m^ was slow. Pike, Jen-

nings, Monroe, Orange a|idt $ulUym c-on^ing nn the same year the new state
was formed. In the next year, Davies, Dubois and Scott were organized.
With the signing of the treaty at..S.t. Mafy'^, another inrush of settlers
came, and in 181 8 Crawf^cd^r.L^w^^WGe^* Martin, Morgan, Owen, Randolph,
Ripley, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Vigo /counties came into being. Then
came a three-year period of inaction, Floyd county, which was cut oflf from
the territory of Jeflferson and Harrison, being the only new county formed.

With the opening of the land office at Brookville, the tide again flowed
strongly to the north and in 182 1 Bartholomew, Decatur, Green, Henry,
Marion, Parke, Putnam, Rush, Shelby and Union were organized.

Such was the situation when George King came to this section in the
autumn of 1822. He had been here twice before. With a party of his Ken-
tucky neighbors, including Simon Covert, Samuel Demaree, Cornelius De-
maree, Peter A. Banta, William Porter, James Shannon, Wallace Shannon
and Prettyman Burton, all residents of Henry and Shelby counties, Ken-
tucky, he came by way of Madison, thence eastward to Versailles, turning
then to the left by way of the forks of Flat Rock, w^here he and his com-
panions took up the Kentucky River Trail. Passing through Johnson coun-
ty by way of Berry's Trace, they continued the journey northward as far as
the home of William Conner, on White river, some sixteen miles beyond the

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44 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

present capital. At this place Conner had established a trading post with the
Indians as early as 1806, and had made himself a comfortable home with no
white neighbors nearer than sixty miles. It was at Conner's home that the
commissioners appointed by Governor Jennings met on May 22, 1820, to
select the site of a new state capital.

King and his companions then turned backward, passing Indianapolis,
then without a name and with only four small cabins to mark the place of
the present metropolis, and came to the Bluflfs of White river. There they
took Whetzers Trace out to Loper's Cabin on the Berry Trail, whence they
traveled southward by the Big Springs and Berry's Ford, on the old Ken-
tucky River trail homeward.

In the next year King and his brother-in-law, Simon Covert, with
William Shannon, a neighbor, again passed through the county on the way
to the new capital site to attend the first sale of lots in the new town. They
then continued on toward the Wabash country, returning to Kentucky
through the western route.

The rest of the story of the county organization we \\\\l tell in the
words of Judge Banta, who had it from the lips of the principal actor in
those stirring scenes :

''In the fall of 1822 George King, Garrett C. Bergen and Simon Covert
came from Kentucky to look at the lands in this part of the New Purchase.
The capital of the state had l)een laid out that summer, and thin streams of
immigration w^ere pouring into the New Purchase from the east and the
south. Not all of the counties of central Indiana were then organized, as at
present, but wSuch unorganized territory, including that of Johnson, was at-
tached to Delaware county. These land hunters had an eye to the partition
of the New Purchase into counties in the near future, and when they reached
the Blue River settlement King inquired of Samuel Herriott for an eligible
site for the location of a town, and was cited to the tract lying between
Young's creek and Camp creek. The place was visited, and it was found
to be covered by a fine growth of beech, sugar tree, ash, walnut and poplar
timber, while a tangled thicket of enormous spice brush grew up beneath.
Along Young's creek, a great hurricane had passed some years before, as was
plainly to be seen from the great swaths of timber cast along its bottoms.
The storm had evidently come from the west, and at the mouth of Camp
creek it had changed its course and, following the course of this stream, had
plowed a great, wide furrow, extending for miles in the dense groves of
timber which grew along its bottoms. Just above the mouth of Camp creek,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 45

on the north side of Young's creek, was a tract of boggy ground, and at the
upper margin a sulphur spring burst forth. Here was a deer Hck, and the
numerous paths worn through the dense brush, converging from every quar-
ter of the compass, not only testified to the place being a favorite resort of
the deer, but to their great abundance. The men were pleased with the
prospect, and. King, selecting the eighty-acre tract on which the town of
Franklin was afterward located, Covert took the eighty lying to the east,
and Bergen that on the north. But, when they reached the land office, it
w^as ascertained that Daniel Pritchard, on the 25th of September before, had
entered Kings tract; King entered the tract lying to the west of it, while
the others purchased as they had originally intended. King sought out
Pritchard at once and bought his eighty acres by paying him two hundred dol-
lars as an advance of the original cost. The Legislature was expected to meet
soon, and, for some reason not well understood now% quite a stir was among
the people in some localities as to the probable action to be taken with refer-
ence to new counties. Those of the White River neighborhood entertained
a lofty idea of the Bluffs as a future shipping port. The commissioners for
the location of the capital building visited the spot, and, it is said, that a
minority favored the place. But the capital had gone elsewhere, and the
White River people now set about the organization of a county with such
territorial boundaries as would enable the BlufTs to compete for a county
seat location. With county lines so firmly established as they are today, and
central Indiana so handsomely platted into counties as it is, it is difficult to
appreciate the claims that must have been put forth; but let it be borne in
mind that central Indiana was at that time a great wilderness, with here and
there a little settlement, and that the Bluffs was one of the noted places in
the land.

"There were those in the Blue River settlement aspiring in behalf of
their new town of Edinburg; but, while the White River people organized
and employed a lawyer to attend the Legislature and look after their inter-
est, those of Blue River seem to have taken no active part in the matteV.

"George King took upon himself the burden of seeing that the territory
lying between Shelby and Morgan counties was duly organized, and to that
end a petition was duly prepared, and was circulated by John Smiley. Ac-
cording to contemporaneous memory, Smiley seems to have brought to his
aid a zeal that insured a numerously signed paper. All the men and all the
boys in the Sugar Creek settlement, on both sides the Shelby line, and the
larger majority of those living in Blue River, signed that petition, in person

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46 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

or by proxy, and Col. James Gregory, a senator from Shelby county, as the
friend of the new enterprise, claimed that it contained the names of all who
had died and of some who had never lived in the country. That petition
was never submitted to a legislative committee; but Mr. Smiley went into
Washington county, where he had formerly lived, and there he procured
signers to a petition which was used.

*'Armed with his petitions. King, on his way home to Kentucky, turned
aside and stopped at Corydon, where the Legislature was in session, and
the battle was soon on. Harvey Gregg, a shrewd lawyer and an active poli-
tician, winning in manner and popular in his address, who had lately moved
to the new capital from Kentucky, was there as the representative of the
White River interest. King feared Gregg and his winning ways, and, had
it not been for geographical position, the lawyer would most likely have
carried off the prize, and the Bluffs have been a county town.

**A Mr, Johnson, from some point still lower down White river, also
appeared on the scene, and, as the sequel will show, lacked little of securing
the prize to himself, in spite of all others. His plan, as also the plan of
Gregg, is not now remembered, and, but for the testimony of some who
took part in these scenes, it would be difficult to believe that any legislator
could seriously have thought of disturbing the harmony of counties already
organized.

"King and Gregory, finding their interests identical, pulled together.
The Sugar Creek and Blue River petition was destroyed, on the advice of
the latter, but a bill was prepared, and the Washington county petition kept
in the field.

"In the House of Representatives the King bill was passed at once;
but in the Senate trouble began. King was acquainted with but two mem-
bers in that body, one of whom was Marston G. Clarke, the member from
Washington, and a nephew of the celebrated George Rogers Clarke. He was
a stern, dignified man, "barely able," says Oliver H. Smith, "to read a
chapter in the Bible, and wrote his name as large as John Hancock's in the
Declaration of Independence." His sense of justice was acute, his mental
force great, and his influence in the Senate almost unbounded. A man of
his character and temperament, King thought it not safe to attempt to in-
fluence in behalf of his bill, lest he should be suspected of mercenary mo-
tives and a prejudice spring up in the mind of the legislator against him and
his measure.

"For two weeks Gregg and King were making their best endeavors to

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 47

carry their respective measures to a triumphant issue. In the House, Gregg
was powerless ; and in the Senate so was King. In the House every measure
antagonistic to the King bill was voted down, while in the Senate no action
was taken.

**There was but one map of the state at the time, accessible to mem-
bers of the Legislature, and it not infrequently happened that while one
committee was using it another wanted it. In the belief that a map placed
before the Senate committee on the organization of counties at the proper
time might be in his favor. King procured paper and the necessary instru-
ments, and, occupying the better part of a night in the work, he traced out a
rude map of the state.

**In a few days the Senate committee on the organization of counties
was to meet, and Johnson asked for the use of King's map for that com-
mittee. General Clarke, w^ho was a member of the committee, was not
present during the early part of the meeting, nor was Harvey Gregg; and
Johnson, who was a fluent talker and an importunate man, had it all his
own way. The committee, as a compromise measure doubtless, agreed to
report in favor of his plan; but before the session adjourned, Clarke came
in and inquired what had been done. Being told, he studied the map at-
tentively for some moments, and then burst out with : 'That fellow,' pointing
to Johnson, *or some friend of his, owns land on which he expects the
county seat of this new county to be located,' and, at this sally, Johnson in-
dignantly left the room.

"Then King approached the table on which the map lay and pointed
out, as well as he could, the reasons why the House bill organizing Johnson
county should become a law ; and, after considering the matter carefully,
General Clarke said: 'You shall have it, sir!' and, before the committee ad-
journed, it was agreed to report in favor of the House bill.

*'The next day the report was accordingly made and concurred in, the
bill was passed, and, on the last day of December, 1822, it received the
Governor's signature and became a law of the land. It is in the following
words :

** 'Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of
Indiana, That from and after the first Monday in May next,, all that part of
the county of Delaware contained in the following boundaries, to-wit : Be-
ginning at the southwest corner of section thirty-four, in township eleven
tiorth, of range five east, the same being the southwest comer of Shelby
county; thence running north with -the line of said county to the southeast

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48 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

corner of Marion county; thence west to the nortlieast corner of Morgan
county; thence south on the line of said county to the township line dividing
townships ten and eleven; thence east to said line to the place of beginning,
shall constitute and form a new county, which shall be called and designated
by the name of Johnson.

** *Sec. 2. That John Parr, of the county of Washington; Adam Mil-
ler, of the county of Jackson; John W. Lee, of the county of Monroe; James
Gregory, of the county of Shelby, and Archibald McEwing, of the county
of Bartholomew, be and they are hereby appointed commissioners for the
purpose of fixing the permanent seat of justice for said county, agreeably to
the provisions of an act entitled, "An act for fixing of seats of justice in all
new counties that may be laid off." The commissioners above named or a
majority of them shall meet at the house of John Smiley in said new county,
on the first Monday in May, and proceed to the duties assigned them by the
law.

** *Sec. 3. That the said county shall enjoy all the rights, privileges
and jurisdictions, which, to a separate county, do or may properly belong.

" *Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the sheriff of Bartholomew county to
notify the commissioners above named, either in person or by written notice,
of their said appointment, and the county commissioners of the county of
Johnson shall allow him such compensation therefor as they shall deem just
and reasonable, to be paid out of the county treasury of said county.

** *Sec. 5. The circuit court and all other courts of said county of John-
son shall meet and be holden at the house of John Smiley, or at any other
place the said court shall adjourn to, until suitable accommodations can be
provided at the permanent seat of justice of said county; and so soon as the
said courts are satisfied of that fact, they shall adjourn thereto, after which
they shall meet and be permanently held at such seat of justice.

*' *Sec. 6. The agent who shall be appointed to superintend the sales of
lots at the said seat of justice shall reserve ten per centum out of the proceeds
thereof, and also of all donations made to said county, which he shall pay
over to such person or persons as may be appointed by law to receive the
same, for the use of a library for said county.

" *Sec. 7. The board of county commissioners of said county of John-
son shall, within twelve months after the permanent seat of justice ^hall
have been selected, proceed to erect necessary public buildings therein.

" *Sec. 8. The same powers, privileged and authorized, that are granted
to the qualified voters of the county of DuBois and other counties named in

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 49

an act entitled, "An act incorporating a county library in the counties therein
named,*' approved January 28, 181 9, to organize, conduct and support a
county library, are hereby granted to the qualified voters of the county of
Johnson, and the same power and authority therein granted to, and the same
duties therein required of, the several officers and the person or persons
elected by the qualified voters of DuBois county and the other counties in
the said act nanied, for carrying into effect the provisions of the act en-
titled, **An act incorporating a county library in the county of DuBois," and
the counties therein named, according to the true interest and meaning
thereof, are hereby extended to and required of the officers and other per-
sons elected by the qualified voters of the county of Johnson.

" *Sec. 9. This act to be in force from and after its passage.

" 'G. W. Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
" 'Ratliff Boon, President Assembly.

"'Approved December 31, 1822.

" ^William Hendricks.'

••Oliver H. Smith was, at the time, a member of the Legislature, and
he proposed for the new county the name of Johnson, in memory of John
Johnson, one of the judges of the first supreme court of the state. Governor
Hendricks at the same time appointed John Smiley sheriff of the new county
and issued a writ of election directed to him, appointing the 8th of March,
1823, as the day on which the qualified voters of the county were to as-
semble at the house of Hezekiah Davison, on Blue river, and Daniel Boaz, on
White river, and elect two associate judges, one clerk of the circuit court
and one recorder, in manner and form as required by law."

The error in fixing the place of beginning of the boundary at the
southwest corner of section 34, instead of at the southeast corner, persisted
until the revision of the laws of the state in 1843, when it was corrected.
Johnson county, therefore, has an area of three hundred and twenty square
miles, or two hundred and eleven thousand two hundred and six acres, count-
ing the "over-run" shown by the plat surveys.

The county is drained by White river (the west fork), Blue river and
their tributaries. The first named crosses the extreme northwestern part of
the county, cutting off about one thousand acres. Its tributaries, beginning
at the north side of the county, are Pleasant run. Honey creek, Stott's creek
and Indian creek. In pioneer days these creeks were good mill streams,

(4)

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50 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

though not large. Especially were Stott's creek and Indian creek favored as
mill sites, Houghter's and Slaughter's and St. John's mills being located on
Stott's creek, and Barnes' mill and Porter's mill on Indian creek. But these
streams, especially Stott's and Indian creek, draining the rougher sections of
the extreme western and southwestern part of the county, are now, except
in times of freshet, mere rivulets, affording a scant water supply in the
woodland pastures. It is estimated that one-third of the territory of the
county finds its natural drainage into the White river tributaries.

Blue river crosses the extreme southeastern part of the county, cutting
off perhaps fourteen hundred acres. Just within the limits of the county.
Sugar creek unites with it to form Driftwood. Sugar creek and its princi-
pal tributary, Young's creek, receives the drainage of nearly all the rest of
the county. Sugar creek is a fine stream, entering the county one and a half
miles northeast of Needham, passing out of the county for two miles in
the range of Franklin, and then in a general southerly course to its outlet.
Its extreme western channel is near the mouth of Young's creek, about three
miles west of the eastern boundary line of the county.

Sugar creek has always been marked by the purity of its water and its
abundance of fish. In pioneer days its waters were fairly alive with fine
fish, and even today almost every bend of the stream is marked with camp
sites. Numerous fine springs abound along its course, notably at the Yellow
Bluffs west of Edinburg, at the Barnett Bluffs just below the mouth of
Young's creek, at Camp Comfort, and at the Needham railroad bridge.

Along Sugar creek many grist mills were built at a very early day.
Collier's mill was built near the old ford at the foot of Yellow Bluffs, it
being certain that it was built and running in March, 183 1. Two miles
further north, near the center of section 20, William, Simon and James
Shaffer built a saw mill about the year 1832, to which was later added a
grist mill. At the crossing of the Greensburg state road, as early as 1822,
John Smiley, first sheriff of the county, built a mill, probably the first struc-
ture of the kind in this county. About the same time that the Shaffer
brothers built their mill, the McDermed brothers erected a mill near the
center of section 10, in what is now Needham township.

Little Sugar creek is the principal tributary of Sugar creek in the north
half of the county, and affords an outlet for most of the drainage of Qark
township. Near its confluence with Sugar creek John Ogle built a mill, prob-
ably before 1826, and it was still known as Ogle's mill as late as 1830. No
stream of any importance drains into Sugar creek from the east, at any place

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA, SI

within the confines of the county. Herriott's creek is a small stream flowing
into Sugar creek about one mile south of the mouth of Young's creek, deriv-
ing it3 name from Samuel Herriott, who entered the "eighty" where the
streams unite their flow.

Young's creek, the principal tributary of Sugar creek, drains a large
part of the middle section of the county, and flows into Sugar creek near the
west half-mile stone in section 17, in Blue River township, and near the head
of Barnett's Bluff. It was named from Joseph Young, who entered one
hundred and sixty acres in section 8, near its mouth, in 1821. The United
States surveyors who originally surveyed the lands in the county named the
stream Lick creek, because of the numerous and excellent deer licks that
were scattered along its course. According to Judge Banta, **a noted deer
lick was found a few miles north of the Big Spring at Hopewell, while an-
other, equally noted, was at the mouth of the Hurricane. But Young's
Cabin soon came to be known better than the licks, and the first settlers,
caring little for the work of the surveyors in naming the streams, by com-
mon consent changed Lick creek into Young's creek, and time has sanctioned
their act." No county record perpetuates the earlier name.

Young's creek also furnished power for the rude water mills of the
first settlers. John Harter located thereon in the "twenties," and for a few
years ran a mill about a mile below Franklin. "He bought his mill irons
of John Smiley, for which he agreed to pay in com, two bushels to be due
every other week, until the irons were paid for." The late Jefferson D.
Jones used to tell that Harter had no bacon and he no meal, and that by
agreement, he took a half bushel of meal every other week from the mill,
for which he left with the miller its worth in bacon.

About 1827 Levi Moore got a little mill in operation on Young's creek
at the mouth of Moore's creek, and, still later, Cornelius Covert built a
mill on Young's creek about one-fourth of a mile north of the Bluff road.
The mills on Young's creek, however, were, like those built on the smaller
streams in the western part of the county, not successful and by 1850 all
were abandoned.

Flowing into Young's creek from the east and northeast are Grassy
creek, having its headwaters near Greenwood; Indian creek, with its source
near Whiteland ; and Hurricane creek, its biggest feeder on that side. Hur-
ricane creek, sometimes in the early records known as "Harikane creek," was
originally called Camp creek, but the latter name was soon displaced A few
years before the first settlers came to Franklin, a hurricane had passed

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52 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

through this place and had left its devastating mark upon the two valleys
joining here. This incident was sufficient to fasten the name to the stream
in preference to the name given by Whetzel when he located his camp thereon
at an earlier day.

From the west Young's creek receives into its channel Moore's creek at
Hopewell. This creek is named after Levi Moore, who in 1822 located on
the present road leading to Hopewell at the site now occupied by the Mc-
Caslin homesteads, just west of Young's creek. The Burkhart brothers —
David, Lewis, Henry, George and William — came to Franklin township in
1822 by way of the Indian Trail, David building his cabin near the Canary
homestead in section 20 and gave his name to a small stream flowing thence
to Young's creek. His brother Henry stopped further south, as did his
brother George, both entering lands in section 4, on the north side of Nin-
eveh township, and the family name was also given to the creek that enters
Young's creek near the line of Nineveh and Franklin.

One other tributary of Sugar creek deserves mention although it finds
its outlet in the county to the south. Nineveh creek drains quite a large part
of the township of the same name. The tradition as to its name is given by
Judge Banta : "Richard Berry, living at the mouth of Sugar creek with his
son Nineveh, a lad in his 'teens, wandered up the Teatherwood,' as the In-
dians had named it, on a hunting expedition. Espying a deer on the oppo-
site bank of the stream, young Nineveh shot and killed it. Crossing over
for his game, the youth shouldered it and undertook to recross on a log, but
a misstep sent both boy and game into the stream, which was covered by a
thin coating of ice, and he was well-nigh drowned before rescued. Then
the stream came to be known as 'Nineveh's Defeat,' and in the process of
time the surplus word was dropped and 'Nineveh' left to perpetuate the
memory of the lad's misadventure." Mention is made of one mill on the
stream run by Isaac Williams as early as 1832, but it was doubtless a failure
from inadequate water supply, as no later record of this mill is found.

The highest ground in the county constitutes a broad, flattened ridge
or watershed, extending in a north-south direction three or four miles west
of the center of the county, and bending eastward at both its north and
south ends to reach points at or beyond the middle line. One of the most
striking features of the surface, from the geologist's point of view, is the
number of unusually large granitic boulders to be found on the ridge from
Greenwood to Rocklane. The same evidence of glacial action is found over
widespread areas of the county, but in many farms they have been broken up

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

and removed. For many years gravel in abundance and of fine quality was
found along the principal streams of the county, but the supply is no longer
equal to the demand for road building purposes and pit gravel has now come
largely into use in all new work, especially in the western half of the county.

CLIMATE.

The mean temperature and average precipitation at Franklin are given
in the following table :

Mean Average
Month. Temperature. Precipitation.

Degrees F. Inches.

January 29.5 2.91

February 30.0 2.53

March 40.9 3.58

April 52.7 2.44

May 63.5 3.72

June 71.8 3.78

July 76.6 2.52

August 72.0 2.85

September 65.9 3.04

October 53.9 2.50

November 1 41.5 3.48

December 33.0 2.90

Annual 52.6 36.25

MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES AT FRANKLIN.

Highest temperature recorded, 107^ in July, 1901. This record covers
the period from 1887 to 1908, inclusive, but within that time the July records
are missing in the following years: 1889, 1891, 1892, 1894, 1895, 1896,
1897, 1898, 1904, and 1906. Lowest temperature recorded, 17^ below zero,
February, 1905. January and February records are complete for the entire
period of record, 1887 to 1908, inclusive.

The average dates of killing frosts at Franklin are: Last in spring,
April 21 ; first in autumn, October 18.

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54 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

AGRICULTURE.

Of the 206,080 acres in the county, 95.8 per cent., or 197,403 acres, is in
farms varying in size from less than three to over 1,000 acres. As ascer-
tained by the census of 1910, there are 2,025 farms in the county, of which
over one-half include 50 to 175 acres each. The farming land in the county
increased nearly 118 per cent, in value in the ten years from 1900 to 1910,
being listed in the latter year at a total valuation of $19,204,550, or an aver-
age of over $97 per acre for the entire county; while the total valuation of
farm property, including buildings, implements, domestic animals, etc., adds
over $5,000,000 to this amount, making an average valuation of land and
farm property together of about $125 per acre.

The following tables taken from the report of the census of 1910, show
in condensed form the principal crops raised, the acreage, and the yield per
acre; and the number and valuation of the principal kinds of domestic ani-
mals and poultry :

PRINCIPAL CROPS.

Acres. Bushels Tons.

Corn 58,615 2,982,253

Oats ^ , 3480 91,522

Wheat 38,862 640,831

Timothy hay 6,532 9,418

Qover alone 10,275 13,549

Timothy and clover mixed 3,4i6 4,807

Clover seed ^ 6,645

Potatoes 339 33^842

DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND POULTRY ON FARMS.

Number. Value.

Cattle 16,079 $512,923

Horses 9»577 99^,243

Mules 1,124 135430

Swine 4^,335 288,881

Sheep 11,596 5^997

Poultry - 126,381 82,381

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CHAPTER III.

TOWNSHIPS AND THEIR OFFICERS.

The civil township and the school township are separate and distinct
legal entities, although the township trustee is the responsible head of each
corporation. Each may make contracts, sue and be sued, as any other cor-
porate body. We shall confine the present account to the civil township, the
other being left to the chapter on schools.

The origin of the township is quite remote and finds its beginnings in
the prehistoric days of the Anglo-Saxon race. Originally, it was quite demo-
cratic in character, the town meeting being the center of its political activity.
The Indiana township, however, is not modeled after the form which found
expression in the early English township, and which was later imitated by
the New England settlers.

The Indiana township was modeled after the Pennsylvania form, in
this, the county was the distinctive unit of local self-government and was the
unit of representation in the Legislature. The township became a mere sul>-
division of the county, entrusted with certain local duties and powers. Under
the Constitution of 1816 and the laws enacted thereunder the county had
authority to divide its territory into townships. The officers of the town-
ship were an inspector of elections, two fence viewers, two overseers of the
poor, a supervisor of each road district, not more than two justices of the
peace, and as many constables as there were justices.

Up to 1831 these various places (other than the office of justice, which
was elective) were filled annually by the county board. After that year
the township officers named were elected annually at a township election
held in April. At the beginning there were also appointed superintendents
of the several school sections and "listers," or township assessors. The
functions of officers pertaining to the civil township above named were con-
tinued in the inspectors of elections, fence viewers and overseers of the
poor until the revision of the Constitution in 185 1, when they were all com-
bined in the township trustee's office, and this plan still obtains.

The officers of the civil township are a township trustee, three members
of the advisory board, an assessor, justices of the peace, constables and a
supervisor for each road district

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$6 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE.

By the act of February i8, 1859, the General Assembly created the
office of township trustee, vesting in him the powers theretofore entrusted
to three township trustees and those formerly held by the inspector of elec-
tions, the overseers of the poor and the fence viewers. The trustee under the
terms of the act was to be elected annually on the first Monday in April. By
the act in force September 19, 1881, the office was made a two-year office,
and the term was again extended by the act approved March 11, 1889, to a
four-year term. Acts of 1893, page 192, changed the date of holding the
election from April to the general election in November, 1894, and every
four years thereafter; the trustee to take office on the first Monday in August
following his election. By the act of 1901 (Acts 1901, page 415), the trus-
tee and assessor to be elected in November, 1904, should take office January
1st following, and thereafter the terms of such officers should date from
January ist. By a previous statute (Acts 1897, page 64) the election of
trustees and assessors to have been held in 1898, was changed to the gen-
eral election in 1900 and every fourth year thereafter. Again, by the act
approved March 2, 1911, the time of election of trustees and assessors was
changed from the general election in IQ12 to the general election in 1914,
and every four years thereafter. Thus have these important offices been
made the football of partisan politics and brought the office into more or
less disrepute.

The trustee receives two dollars per day for the time actually employed
by him in the transaction of business.

The trustee, under present laws, now has charge of the pecuniary af-
fairs of his township, subject to certain checks on his power to be exercised
by the advisory board and the county board. The county treasurer collects
all taxes due the townships and twice a year, in June and December, makes
settlement with the trustee, except as to the poor fund, which remains in the
custody of the county officers. In the handling of the poor fund the trustee
has authority under the law to extend relief to the poor in his township by
issuing an order for the provisions or medical service rendered, but he makes
no payments in cash. If the relief needed is greater than the sum of fifteen
dollars quarterly will furnish, he must have authority from the county board
to expend an amount in excess thereof. These orders become the basis for
claims filed with the county board, who audit and allow the same and account
is kept with the township of such expenditure.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 57

In times past many abuses crept into the administration of the poor
laws, calling for legislative action. But even yet in the hands of an official
who is using his office for personal or political ends, the system is fraught
with evil results. The board of county commissioners at their March ses-
sion, 1869, passed the following resolution, which ought yet to guide the
county board in auditing these poor accounts :

"Whereas, irregularities in the administration of the poor laws arc
found to exist in almost every township in the county and large sums of
money in consequence thereof are at each term of the board drawn from the
county treasury requiring heavy taxation of the people, much of which the
board is satisfied is improperly and illegally allowed by the various trustees
and by their action placed beyond the control of the commissioners: Now
to remedy these evils, no claim shall be allowed for services or relief to any
pauper except at the proper poor asylum of the county unless it shall be
shown :

*'i. That the pauper or persons for whom such relief is furnished
could not be taken to the poor asylum.

**2. That such services or relief were ordered by the proper trustee
after his personal examination of the party demanding relief and service,
and his or her personal pecuniary condition.

"3. That such services were rendered or relief granted.

"4. That the amount charged for such service is reasonable and in
accordance with contract made therefor by such trustee at the time or before
they were rendered."

Conditions in this respect have vastly improved in our county in recent
years, but examples are not wanting within the past twenty years to call
attention to the possible evils existing under our present system of poor re-
lief, and to emphasize the need of a more careful examination of these claims
at the hands of the county board.

Of the "outside'* poor relief extended by the trustees in Johnson county
in 1 91 2 the following facts are obtained from the Indiana Bulletin of Chari-
ties and Correction of date June, 1913: The total number receiving aid in
the several townships is as follows : Blue River, 54 ; Clark, 8 ; Franklin, 244 ;
Hensley, 24; Needham, 17; Nineveh, 10; Pleasant, 48; Union, 8; White
River, 15. Total in county, 428, among 109 different families. The reasons
assigned as necessitating aid are: Lack of employment, 3; sickness and
burial, 89; old age, 6; widowhood or non-support, 42; insanity, 2; and blind,
deaf or crippled, 8. Of the occupations in which those aided were engaged

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58 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

all but four were laborers. The total value of the aid given was: Blue
River, $408.66; Clark, $215.00; Franklin, $1,972.22; Hensley, $224.03; Need-
ham, $420.11; Nineveh, $264.95; Pleasant, $831.03; Union, 195.36; White
River, $176.20; a total for the county of $4,779.76.

For the next year two townships. Pleasant and White River, make
no "poor levy." The others will collect the following rates: Franklin, 2
cents; Nineveh, i cent; Blue River, 4 cents; Hensley, 10 cents; Clark, 2
cents; Union, 2 cents; and Needham, 2 cents.

The aid given to the poor in this county is large as compared with
many other counties of the same population : Jefferson county, with a popu-
lation of 20,483, gives $1,489.26; Huntington county, population 28,982,
gives $1,831.03; Hendricks county, population 20,840, gives $2,592.56; Har-
rison county, population 20,232, gives $1,129.31; even Delaware county,
with a population of over 51,000, gives $600 less than our county; the same
is true of Elkhart county. Indeed, only two coimties in the state pay as
much per capita for poor aid as does Johnson.

Township trustees are ex officio inspectors of elections in the precinct
in which they reside; they are required to see that public drains are kept
open; they have general oversight of the work of the road supervisors, and
many important duties as trustees of the school township.

ADVISORY BOARD.

The advisory board was created by the General Assembly of 1899
(Acts of 1899, page 150). It consists of three members and bears the same
relation to the office of the township trustee that the county council does to
the board of commissioners. The annual meeting of the advisory board is
held in September, at which time estimates of township expenditure are sub-
mitted by the trustee and appropriations made to cover the same. Upon thfe
basis of these appropriations, the tax levy is made. The trustee may not
incur a debt not included in these estimates and appropriations without the
authority of the advisory board. This board also has the duty of auditing
the annual report of the trustee submitted in January. Its members are al-
lowed only nominal pay, five dollars per year. Members of the advisory
board are usually men of high character, who, like members of the county
council and of the school board, give their time and attention to the discharge
of important public duties without compensation whenever the good of the
community demands them.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 50

TOWNSHIP ASSESSOR.

The township assessor is elected for a term of four years. Each year
he lists all personal property of his township for the purposes of taxation,
and every four years he lists and values all real estate. These returns are
filed with the county auditor and are later verified and corrected by the
board of review. The assessor begins his work on March ist and concludes
the same May 15th, making returns to the auditor of personal lists by May i8th
and of real lists by the first Monday in June. He is allowed pay at
the rate of two dollars and fifty cents per day for the time actually em-
ployed, his deputies two dollars per day. The county council is given the
right to limit the time, but the restriction is difficult of enforcement and the
assessors usually find it necessary to put in all the time allowed.

ROAD SUPERVISORS.

The supervisor of each road district is elected by the voters thereof at
an election on the second Saturday after the first Monday in December, and
serves two years. He has power to call out all able-bodied male persons
(except the insane, idiotic, deaf, dumb and blind) between the ages of twenty-
one and fifty, during not less than two days nor more than four days of
each year, between the first days of May and December. Under his direc-
tion the land owner may work out his road tax and get credit therefor in his
first installment.

Under the provisions of the new law (Acts 1913, page 862), road su-
pervisors are to be elected at the general election in November, 1914, and
serve two years. He is to take charge of, work and keep in good repair the
roads of his district under the supervision of the trustee. All road taxes up
to twenty dollars are worked out, all in excess of twenty dollars must be
paid in cash.

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

Justices of the peace are judicial officers, whose powers and duties have
remained much the same throughout the history of our county. Their juris-
diction is limited both as to territory and as to subject matter. In civil ac-
tions founded on tort or contract where the debt or demand does not exceed
two hundred dollars, they have jurisdiction over persons residing in the
township. In actions for slander, for malicious prosecution, for breach of

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6o JOHNSOK COUNTY, INDIANA.

marriage contract and in cases involving the title to real estate, they have
no jurisdiction whatever. In criminal cases he has jurisdiction to try mis-
demeanors and may punish by fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars, but
may not inflict jail sentence. In the case of a fine the prisoner may be com-
mitted to jail until the fine is paid or stayed. In other criminal cases he has
authority to hold "preliminary trials" and require the defendant to give bond
for his appearance to answer the charge in the circuit court. He may issue
search warrants, writs of attachment and writs of ne exeat and of capias ad
respondendum in certain cases. He presides at examinations in insanity
cases. He has authority to solemnize marriages.

In his court civil cases are tried by a jury of six, which number may be
lessened by agreement of parties. Appeals in civil cases must be perfected
in thirty days and in criminal cases .in ten days. Certain fees are prescribed
by statute as emoluments of his office.

CONSTABLES.

The constable is the sheriff of the justice's court, serving all writs and
processes issuing therefrom, and acting as a conservator of the public peace.
Like the "squire,'' he receives fees fixed by statute.

TOWNSHIP BOUNDARIES.

From the August election returns of the year 1823 it appears that three
townships have been organized: Blue River, Nineveh and White River.
Blue River seems to have been confined to so much of congressional town-
ship II, in range 5, as is in Johnson county. White River extended over all
the territory now included in White River, Pleasant and Clark. All the
remainder of the county constituted Nineveh or Nineve township.

Hensley township was formed March 5, 1827, and its boundaries in-
cluded not only the present territory of that township, but in addition one row
of sections off the west side of what is now Nineveh. Franklin township
was recognized in 1826, but its boundaries are not defined; it probably in-
cluded the territory now occupied by Franklin, Needham and Union, and
one additional row of sections to the north thereof.

At the May term, 1829, of the county board it is ordered "that there be
a new township struck oflF White River bounded as follows : Beginning at
the northwest corner of section 25, township 14 north, range 3 east, thence

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 6l

east on county line to the northeast corner of Johnson county ; thence south
on the county line to southeast corner of section 27, township 13 north, range
5 cast; thence on section line west to southwest comer of section 25, town-
ship 13 north, range 3 east; thence north on section line to place of beginning,
which is called Pleasant township.'' At the same term, it is ordered that one
mile off the south side of Franklin township to Young's creek be attached to
Nineveh township.

Union township was first formed and given a name at the July session,
1830. The bounds were as follows : Commencing at the county line at the
northwest corner of section 31, township 13, range 3, thence east on section
line to range line dividing ranges 3 and 4 ; thence north one mile ; thence east
two miles; thence south to the southeast comer of section 32, in township 12,
range 4; thence west to the county line, thence north of beginning. This
made the east line of the township coincident with the line of the Hopewell
and Whiteland road.

All the township boundaries were changed at the March term, 1832.
Blue River township was bounded as follows: Beginning at the southeast
comer of the county, thence north on the county line to Sugar creek, thence
down Sugar creek and the "east fork of White river'* to the county line,
thence east to beginning. Nineveh was bounded by a line beginning at its
present southwest corner, thence east to '* White river," thence up said river
to the mouth of Sugar creek, thence up Sugar creek to the mouth of Young's
creek, thence up Young's creek to the line dividing sections 8 and 17, thence
west to the range line dividing ranges 4 and 5, thence with its present bound-
ary lines to the beginning. Hensley township was given its present limits.
U'nion was bounded as follows : Beginning at the southwest corner of sec-
tion 31 (its present northwest corner), thence east eight miles, thence south
six miles, thence west to the county line and north to the beginning. White
river began at the northwest comer of the county, ran thence east five miles,
thence south seven miles, thence east one mile, thence south one mile, thence
with the north line of Union to the county line, and north to the place of
beginning. Pleasant township extended from White River township east to
the county line, seven miles north and south and eleven miles east and west.
All the remainder of the county formed Franklin township.

At the May term, 1838, Clark was formed out of Pleasant and given
its present boundaries, the line between Pleasant and White River having
been changed in 1833 to the range line dividing ranges 3 and 4. As bridges
were built over the streams so that voters could easily reach their places of

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62 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

voting, th^ townships became more regular in shape. On the 13th day of
September, 1877, the present bopndary line of Blue River was established,
Sugar Creek and Young's creek being no longer a barrier. Needham town-
ship was formed with its present boundaries on March 16, 1881, and the
boundary lines as now established have Remained unchanged for more than
thirty years.

TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.

We have space only to give the names of those who have served the
various townships as trustee since the law of 1859, giving the office its pres-
ent name and character.

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES.

G. W. Branham, i860, 1861, 1862, 1863; Thomas Williams, 1864; Will-
iam McCasHn, 1865; Nathan M. Schofield, 1866; Jacob Peggs, 1867; A.

D. Whitesides, 1868-1873; S. C. Dunn, 1873-1879; S. C Brown, 1879-1881;
S. C Dunn, 1881 (resigned Nov. 10, 1881); Charles Byfield, 1881-1883;
William S. Young, 1883-1885; W. T. Pritchard, 1885-1890; Robert A.
Brown, 1890-1894; Frank McCollough, 1894-1900; Walter B. Farmer,
1900-1905; William T. Anderson, resigned at once and his son. Homer
Anderson, was appointed in January, 1905, and served until January i, 1909^
Gilbert Henderson, 1909-1915.

BLUE RIVER TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES.

H. N. Pinney, i860, 1861, 1862, 1863; Adam Mutz, 1864; E. K. Hos-
ford, 1865; John C Kelly, 1866; I. M. Thompson, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870;
Adam Mutz, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874; John Ward, 1875, 1876; A. W. Winter-
berg, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880; James M. Carvin, 1880-1882; A. W. Winter-
berg, 1882-1884; T. E. Valentine, 1884-1886; Dillard L. Deming, 1886-
1890; Thomas Stine, 1890-1894; James M. Carvin, 1894-1900; William M.
Perry, 1900-1905; Samuel Haslam, 1905-1909; Thomas A. Gooden, 1909-

NINEVEH TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES.

Ambrose Hibbs, i860, 1861 ; Josiah Ralston, 1862, resigned October 10;
W. J. Mathes, 1862, 1863, 1864; James H. Pudney, 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868;

E. B. Graves, 1869, 1870; G. N. Hughes, 1871, 1872; E. B. Graves, 1873,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 63

1874; D. D. Elliott, 187s, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880; Abner Hardin,
1880-1884; John Calvin, 1884-1888; Joseph Hughes, 1888-1890; Silas A.
White, 1890-1894; Joseph Hughes, 1894-1899 (died September 18, 1899);
Abner Hardin, 1899-1900; John B. Foxworthy, 1900-1905; Thomas W.
Cravens, 1905-1909; Edward E. Cobb, 1909-1915.

HENSLEY TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES.

CJeorge W. Musselraan was elected in i860 and annually thereafter for

eighteen succeeding years, except the years 1874 and 1875 when E. W.

Af organ was elected. He w^as elected again in 1888 and served until 1894;

an altogether remarkable record of twenty-five years of service. Other

trustees were: William H. Jeffries, 1878-1880; Wm. C. H. Coleman, 1880-

188:2; J. K. P. Musselman, 1882-1886; Alonzo M. Ragsdale, 1886-1888;

John T. Paskins, 1895-1900; Henry A. Shank, 1900-1905; George W. Cole-

nian, T905-1909; Sanford A. Richardson, 1909-1915.

UNION TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES.

John Harris, i860, 1861 ; John Kerlin, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1867,
1868, 1869, 1870; John Harris, 1866; Willis Deer, 1871-1877; Jesse T.
Harris, 1877, 1878; Lewis T. Deer, 1878-1882; T. C. M. Perry, 1882-1886;
JeflFerson Vandivier, 1886-1890; Lewis T. Deer, 1890-1895; Eli P. Hay-
maker, 1895-1900; John W. Rivers, 1900-1905; James W. Brown, 1905-
190^ ; Otis M. Vandivier, 1909- 19 15.

WHITE RIVER TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES.

John Fullen, i860, 1861, 1862; E. W. Wyrick, 1863; Henry Presser,
i8S^ ; A. J. Secrest, 1865; E. W. Wyrick, 1866-1869; Jacob B. Dresslar,
186^-1877; James Collins, 1877-1881 ; Gardner Wilks, 1881-1884; William
H. r^addock, 1884-1886; Jesse T. Harris, 1886-1890; John J. Rush, 1890-
18^5 ; John R. Brickert, 1895- 1898 (resigned Feb. 12, 1898) ; John Hardin,
1898-1900; James Collins, 1900-1904 (died July, 1904) ; John W. Richard-
son, 1904-1909; Jacob J. Clary, 1909-1915.

PLEASANT TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES.

John Tracy, 1860-1881; Daulton Wilson, 1881-1884; William H. Bass,
1884-1888; James B. Lyster, 1888-1890; M. J. Duggan, June 6, 1890-1895;

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64 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

William D. McCartney, 1895-1900; I. Newt Brown, 1900-1905; John C
McClain, 1905-1909; John T. Speas, 1909-1911 (died in May, 1911) ; James
W. Whitaker, May 2y, 1911-1915.

CLARK TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES.

James Williams, 1860-1861 ; John McNutt, 1862; George Cutsinger,
1862-1866; John McNutt, 1867; Socrates Carver, 1868- 1869- 1870; James
Williams, 1871-1881 ; Henry Williams, 1881-1884; James H. Banta, 1884-
1886; Andrew J. Huffman, 1886-1888; Samuel Billingsley, 1888-1890;
Presley R. Griffith, 18890-1895; Henry G. Williams, 1895-1900; George
Wilde, 1900-1905; Charles Boone, 1905-1909; John T. Overstreet, 1909-

1915-

NEEDHAM TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES.

William Clark, 1881-1883; W. T. Hougham, 1883; Joseph Kerlin,
1884: James Owens, 1884-1886; William B. Smiley, 1886-1890; David H.
Keay, 1890-1895; Jared V. Salisi^ury, 1895-1900; James H. Pottenger,
1900-1901 (died July 31, 1901) ; -^laboroe Scott, 1901-1905; Barney
Vaught, 1905-1909; William -Mi-Kisher, Sr., 1909-1915.

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JOHNSON COUNTY COURT HOUSE

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CHAPTER IV.

COUNTY BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS.

Of the first court house Judge Banta says (Historical Sketch of John-
son County, page 32) : "It is uncertain when the contract for building a
court house was let, but it is certain that the house was not ready for oc-
cupancy in March, 1824, but was ready in October of the same year. Will-
iam Shaffer, the county recorder, who was by occupation a carpenter, un-
dertook the work, and it is safe to assume that it was begun in the spring
of 1824, but for what price is now unknown. The late Thomas Williams,
however, who was the owner of the only yoke of oxen then in or about the
new town, drew the logs to the building site for one dollar. The new court
house was in keeping with the poverty of the county. It was two stories
high, was built of hewed logs, and a broad wooden outside stair led from
the ground up to the second floor, which was the court room. This was
furnished with a table, two splint-bottomed chairs, one for the judge and one
other for the clerk, with wooden benches without backs for the accommoda-
tion of lawyers, jurymen, litigants and spectators."

The "daubing" of the court house by Adam Lash and Henry Burk-
hart in 1826 was improved upon by "sealing and weatherboarding" the same
the following year.

Johr. L. Jones, who first came to Franklin in 1832 to attend *'muster,"
says that the railing surrounding the bench was made of ironwood saplings
with the bark peeled off. The building stood on the north end of lot 36 of
the original plat north of the present site of the Citizens National Bank.

No court was held in this court house until the March term, 1825 ; one
term having been held at the house of John Smiley, near "Smiley's Mill,"
on October 16, 1823, and one term at the house of George King, in Franklin,
in March, 1824. After 1825 the court met regularly at the court house on
the third Mondays of March and September, and lasted six days if the
business demanded. The board of county justices met at the same place
on the first Monday in January, and of each alternate month thereafter.
But Judge Banta is authority for the statement that the county officers
never had rooms in the old log court house.

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66 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

In the year 1830 a new court house was ordered built At the January
session it is ''ordered that Thomas Williajns, county agent, advertise that
there will be let to the lowest bidder on Tuesday the second day of the next
term of this board, the building and enclosing of a brick house for a court
house forty feet square, two stories high, with two doors to be covered and
a suitable cupola. The foundation to be built one foot with rock." It is
further t^rdered that Isaac Smock, Abraham Lowe and George W. King,
Es(i , be appointed a committee to procure a suitable plan and draft for the
court house. Thomas Williams, county agent, is also ordered to **open a
book and keep the same open for the purpose of receiving donations to
assist in building a court house in Franklin."

Evidently, the first committee did not look after its task, for at the
March session it is ordered that 'Tatrick Cowan, Mahlon Seybold, Abraham
Lowe, Thomas Henderson, Thomas Needham and George W. King be ap-
pointed a committee to attend at the court house on Tuesday, the ninth in-
stant, and let out to the lowest bidder the building of a brick house in the
town of Franklin for a court house to set on the public square to be forty
feet scjuare two stories high. The plan of which house shall be agreed on
by said committee and said committee is hereby authorized to enter into
Articles of Agreement for the building of said house to take good bonds
with approved security for the faithful performance of said contract and
also authorized to contract for the payment in advance of all moneys now
in the hands of the county treasurer or that may be due to the Treasurer
from the Collector for the year 1829, also all moneys due the County Agent
on lots sold and that may become due so fast as the same can be collected
and also promise to make such annual payments as said committee in their
discretion may think the county will be able to make.''

The board also orders the county treasurer and county agent to hand to
George W. King within six days a statement of the amount of moneys in
their hands and the amount due them and not paid. Plans had not been
secured, for on the same day the county agent is directed to procure '*from
Cal Morrow or any other person so soon as possible a plan for the Court
House." Even this resource must have failed, for at the November term,
Abraham Lowe, one of the board, was allowed two dollars for his trip to
Indianapolis to get the plans, and Samuel Morrow, of the same city, was
allowed five dollars for "drawing the draught of the Johnson County Court
House."

Tht contract was let on March 9, 1830, to Samuel Herriott and John

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 67

Herriotl for one thousand four hundred and twenty-seven dollars, and the
board made an advance payment to the contractors of five hundred dollars.
At the May term following the contractors and the board agree "that the
following alteration shall be made in the building of the court house, to-wit,
put but one outside door and that to be in the north side of said house also
to put the offices at the north side and to make the brick wall of the under
story in place of two and a half brick thick but two brick thick and the
upper story but one and a half brick thick and to put a brick cornice to said
house and the ballance of the contract to remain as it was entered into/'
No change in the contract price is noted.

More than a year after the board orders still other changes. The con-
tractors are ordered to put in sufficient timbers "to make the house sufficient
and permanent," extra pay to be given contractors therefor. In July, 1831,
the board further orders that "the contractors for building the Court House
in r'ranklin put no partition wall in said house, and that they put a door in
the south side of the house in addition to the one in the north side, and
that the joists in said house, in the upper story to be but ten inches by three
inches and that the windows be made for twenty-four lights 8 by 10 inches."

William Shaflfer secured the contract for "the inside work" for the sum
of three hundred forty-nine dollars and fifty cents. The building was com-
pleted and accepted by the board on May 8, 1832, under the terms of the
contract. The "finishing touches" on the work were yet to be done. At the
same term, they invite bids on the following work: "Finishing cupola
with Venetian circular shutters, Venetian blinds to be three inches wide;
pedestal to cupola to be finished by ceiling with one and one-half inch pop-
lar plank with block cornice, two of the shutters to the cupola to be hung
on hinges to open and shut, one on the east side, the other on the west side ;
lay the second floor with one and one-fourth inch poplar plank tongued and
grooved; upper loft to be ceiled with five-eighths inch poplar plank, under
side dressed."

"Run upstairs with turned post and scjuare banister; run partitions on
second floor of one and one- fourth inch poplar plank and put panel doors, locks
and keys agreeable to the draft, also the letting out of the painting of
cupola and pedestal, roof of cupola and pedestal to be painted white,
Venetian blinds to cupola to be green and the painting of the outside brick
wall with Venetian red and penciled."

The building cost about two thousand dollars and was quite a fine
structure for that day. The room in the northeast corner of the second

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68 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

floor was assigned to the clerk and recorder. John L. Jones remembers
that there were four fire places in the court room on the second floor, one in
* each corner of the room. The floor of the lower story was of brick. The
judge's bench was made by William Shaflfer at a cost of nine dollars. But
improvement was the order of the day. In 1835, the board found that the
county would have a surplus of five hundred dollars at the end of the year
and took steps to alter the court house plan. They decided to have three
rooms on the first floor, one for the clerk and recorder, and two for jury
rooms, *'to be studded, filled in and plastered,'' and "to take down all peti-
tions upstairs and make one room for the circuit court and make a bench
and bar.-'

The heating plant of the court house as well as of the jail must have
been unsatisfactory, for at the March term, 1837, E. and J. Herriott are
allowed fifty-four dollars and twelve and one-half cents "for stove and pipe
and blank book and stationery furnished the clerk's office and kittle furnished
the jailor to keep fire in the jail."

At the August term, 1848, of the county board, Peter Shuck and Samuel
Eccles were named as a committee to procure plans and specifications for
a new court house. At the December term, bids are invited to be filed in the
clerk's office by January 15th following. At the time fixed, the matter was
continued and new plans ordered. Nothing came of this action, however,
and on May 18, 1849, this second court house was destroyed by fire.

Plans were promptly adopted at the next session of the board for the
third court house to be erected in the county of Johnson, and bids were ad-
vertised for in the Indiana State Sentinel and The Franklin Examiner. At
the time fixed, July 4, 1849, the board met and awarded the contract to
Edwin May, of Indianapolis, for ten thousand and eighty-four dollars. The
new building was to be fifty feet wide by eighty-four feet long, with eighteen-
inch limestone foundation and brick above. G. M. Overstreet, lawyer and
surveyor, located and gave the levels for the foundation. John Elder pre-
pared the plans and his work seems to have been done w^ith great care, as
the contract based on the same is very complete in detail.

At this time quite a controversy arose about the location of the new
building. By the original plat of the public square. Main street was extended
through the same, and the town board, at the instance of many citizens,
ordered the marshal to open up Main street through the square. The
county board was hastily called together to consider the matter, and after
hearing many suggestions as well as certain proposals to locate the court

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 69

house Oil Other lands, a compromise with the town was reached whereby
the new court house was to be erected in the middle of the east half of the
square, the w^est line thereof to be ten feet east of Main street.

In August, 1850, the town of Franklin was authorized to maintain a
market house at the northwest corner of the public square, and at the same
time a new jail was built at the southwest corner. Under these conditions,
the puWic square must have presented a crowded appearance, the effect
heightened somewhat by a board fence surrounding all.

For the first time in the county's history, all the officers are ordered
to keep their rooms in the new court house. Two "cannon coal stoves of
the size used by Mr. Fox" (the treasurer) are ordered for the court room,
and five smaller stoves are ordered for the other offices. And the treasurer
is ordered to procure a car load of coal for use in the same, the first record
we have of the use of this fuel in Johnson county. With all these con-
veniences, officers were slow to move in and the board found it necessary in
June, 1 85 1, to enter an order "to compel Henry Fox to take possession and
use the proper room in the east side of the court house down stairs.*' At
the same term, the clerk is authorized to rent his room in the court house to
Finch & Slater for one year at a rental of forty dollars exclusive of, or fifty
dollars including fuel, but the tenants shall not be allowed to use a wood
stove. It also appears that Hay & Williams rented rooms in the court
house for their printing office in 1852. The court room was frequently
used for church services.

Again, fire brought to destruction the court house. On the evening
of December 12, 1874, fire broke out in the stairway leading to the cupola
and completely destroyed the building and many records and papers. The
only record destroyed which has interfered with present legal titles was the
record then making in the common pleas court. The county has been lucky
in passing through two such fires and suffering no greater loss of records.

In this connection, the writer would call attention tb the lack of care
now taken to preserve the records, especially in the recorder's office. Many
of the general indexes and all of the records are kept in the open room, and
a bad fire in that office would create endless confusion in titles. This is
equally true of many records in the clerk's office. All records having to do
with conveyances of land, partition records, and settlements of estates ought
always to be kept in fire proof vaults.

The next court house was a temporary frame structure built by the
county on the lot where the city building now stands. After much contro-

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70 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

versy, the board of commissioners, on March 26, 1879, resolved to erect a
new house, the fifth structure of the kind. Four months later, they adopted
plans offered by George W. Buenting, architect, and the next day authorized
a bond issue of seventy-five thousand dollars, to pay for the building. The
contract was duly awarded on September 8, 1879, to Farman & Pierce on
their bid of seventy-nine thousand one hundred dollars. The contract was
executed on behalf of the county by Peter Demaree, Robert Jennings and
Joseph Jenkins, on September 22, 1879. James H. Pudney was made super-
intendent of construction. The work of building occupied a little more
than two years. The contractors claimed a loss on the work in a large
amount, and filed with the auditor on December 10, 1881, a statement show-
ing such loss to reach more than twenty thousand dollars, and asking relief
of the board. No record is found that their request was favorably con-
sidered or acted on.

Other items of expenditure for the new structure were : For furniture,.
$6,391.00; for heating plant, $8,299.00; for the clock, $3,070.00; for gas
service, plant, $757.69.

On August 31, 1882, the board entered an order requiring all county
officers to move into the new building by the 5th prox. On the 22nd of
the same month, they ordered a telephone placed in the court room, the
first record I find of this modern utility in use in the offices of the county.
It was ordered installed by the Central Telephone Company. It was not
until 1897 ^^^ ^^ \oQ,2\ company began to give service to the county, the
auditor's office being first favored, but a year later six telephones are con-
tracted for, at a-yearly rental of twenty-four dollars each.

Frank M. Israel was appointed janitor for the court house in 1882
and served many years at a salary of three hundred and sixty-five dollars.
Others who have served in the same capacity are Monroe Forsyth, Ameficus
Wright, John E. Legan and John W. Wishard. The last named will on
September 4, I9i3, have completed fourteen years of service as janitor.
The salary is now fixed at eight hundred dollars.

The repair and maintenance of the court house for the year 1912 cost
the county the sum of four thousand one hundred nine dollars and nineteen
cents.

THE COUNTY JAIL.

The first county jail was erected in the year 1826, under contract with
Samuel Herriott. It was, of course, a rude log structure. At the May-
term of that year, the board of justices orders that the '^contractor for build-

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 7I

ing a jail in Franklin in place of putting but one window in each story seven
inches by three feet put two windows one in each end seven inches by
eighteen inches and in room of making the logs for said jail eighteen feet
long they be seventeen feet and in place of sealing the upper loft with three-
quarters inch poplar plank it be laid down with hewed timber nine inches
thick.*' Nothing is known of the location of the first jail.

Seven years later, the board gives notice that it will let out to the lowest
bidder the moving of the jail "from the site it now occupies to the southeast
comer of lot No. 56, also the fencing off on said lot a stray pen of posts and
rails and putting a good and substantial gate to the same/' This jail re-
mained in use until early in the year 1838, w^hen a prisoner set fire to the
building and it was burned to the ground. It is recalled that the prisoner
was badly burned by the fire of his own setting, but in the excitement inci-
dent to the fire made his escape.

In March, 1838, the board decides to build a new jail on the lot where
the second jail stood, and at the May term of that year let the contract to
James Rivers and John A. Lash at five hundred dollars. Samuel Herriott is
appointed agent to superintend the building. The work was completed by
November, and at that time the board resolves that it wmII issue an order at
the next March term to Lash and Rivers for the contract price.

This jail was a secure log building, the walls of three courses of logs,
the middle course being vertical and the other two horizontal. The *'credit-
ors' jail" occupied the second-story room. In the middle of the floor of the
creditors' cell was a trap-door, through which criminals by way of a ladder
were conducted to their cell on the first floor. The ladder was then re-
moved and the trap-door fastened above them.

At the August term, 1850, the county board decides to build a new-
jail on "the south end of the Public Square west of Main Street," and in
January following let the contract to John Craig and Joseph Paris at four
thousand eight hundred dollars. The jailor's house was to be eighteen by
forty feet, the jail to be eigliteen feet square, outside measurement. The
structure w^as to be of brick, two stories high, heated by a hot air furnace
of brick built into the structure.

From this jail, on the evening of October 31, 1867, the mob of Pleasant
township citizens took John Patterson and Henry Hatchell and hung them
to a beech tree in Lysander Adam's wockIs, an account of which is given
in another connection. After this deed of violence, the grand jury condemned
the jail as unsafe and action was at once taken to build a stronger and safer

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72 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

prison. To this end, the county acquired title to lot 54 of the original plat,
paying J*. O. Martin one thousand six hundred dollars therefor. Isaac
Hodgson was employed to draw plans and specifications and the contract
was duly let to Farman & Company, and B. F. Haugh & Company at the sum
of thirty-nine thousand nine hundred dollars. This building is still in use.
The cost to the county for 191 2 of boarding prisoners in the county
jail was five hundred ninety-six dollars and eighty-five cents; all other jail
expense, four hundred thirty-four dollars and nine cents.

THE POOR ASYLUM.

The problem of the proper care and custody of dependent poor has been
a vexatious one from the beginning of the history of the county. Overseers
of the poor for the various townships were appointed by the board of county
justices as early as 1826, whose duty it was to care for the poor in their
respective jurisdictions. By the act of 183 1, the overseers of the poor were
required to cause all poor persons who were a public charge to be "farmed
out'' on contracts on the first Monday of May annually. Poor children were
apprenticed, males until the age of twenty-one and females until the age of
eighteen. The "Hoosier Schoolmaster" fell in love with a girl apprentice,
whose lot was no more unhappy than many such an one bound out under this
law.

This "farming out" was in most cases done at public auction, a ceremony
much resembling the slave auctions of the South, with this difference, if a
slave was very old and feeble, he sold at a low figure, while a pauper of the
same class sold at a high figure. A characteristic record of the time is the
following :

"Comes now the overseers of the poor of Clark township and files the
following report, to-wit : We, the undersigned overseers of the poor of Clark
Township, in the County of Johnson do certify that on the 13th day of the
present month, May, after due notice having been given, we farmed out Mar-
garet Alvers, a pauper, at public outcry to Andrew J. Parr, he being the lowest
bidder for the sum of thirty-nine (39) cents per week making together the sum
of $20.28 for one year."

In the same month, an insane pauper was farmed out at auction in Blue
River township at one hundred dollars per year. One such record shows a
farming out at the very low figure of eight dollars per year, this pauper evi-
dently being almost able to earn her "keep" ; another, of a mother and child,
at one dollar per week.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 73

The experiment of a county poor farm was tried out at a very early
day, with varying success. At the May session, 1835, the board concludes
"that the county will be able to spare about two hundred dollars next March
to make a payment on a farm and with safety may say that two hundred
dollars a year may be paid after that without raising the rate on polls and
property." The board therefore appoints Joseph Young, John Smiley and
John P. Banta a committee to contract for a suitable farm of not less than
one quarter section at a price not to exceed one thousand three hundred dol-
lars. This committee reports in January following the purchase of the west
half of the southeast quarter and the east half of the southwest quarter in
section 16, in township 12 noith, range 4 east, from David McAlpin for nine
hundred dollars. Of this, Samuel Herriott makes a donation of one hundred
dollars.

John Foster, president of the board, is appointed ^'director'* of the asylum
and is authorized to rent the same to a tenant who will take care of and
maintain any paupers who may become a county charge. William Burkhart
became such tenant and so far as the record discloses took care of but one
pauper, for which he was allowed one hundred and twelve dollars, from which
amount sixty-five dollars was deducted as the rent of the farm due the county,
for the year 1836.

William C. Jones, one of the county commissioners, became superin-
tendent in November, 1837, but the management of the county farm had been
so costly and troublesome that in January, 1838, it was ordered sold. The
farm was sold in May of the same year to James R. Alexander for one thou-
sand two hundred dollars. The old system proving even more burdensome
as the population rapidly increased, it was soon found necessary to establish
a second county farm.

On July 30, 1842, the commissioners purchased ninety-six acres in the
northwest comer of section i about one mile north of Trafalgar on the
Three Notch road, and in March of the following year entered an order re-
quiring all owners of the poor to remove the ''regular paupers" to the county
asylum. Samuel Hall was made superintendent, and Peter Vandiver, Sr., a
director to look after the better discipline on the farm.

The contract made with Mary and James Burkhart at the February term,
1848, is fairly representative of the character of the contracts entered into
as to this farm. They agree to take charge of the farm and keep the three
paupers entrusted to their care for the sum of eighty-seven and one-half cents
each, per week, the farm to be rented free. In the year following, James

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74 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Brady, superintendent, is allowed the following bill : For keeping three
paupers regular, $34.00; for keeping Mrs. L. 13 weeks, $13.00; for building
smoke house, $5.00; for putting up fencing, $10.00, making in all the sum of
$62.00. This farm was sold on June 6, i860.

In the meantime, the county had taken title to the northwest quarter of
section 22, township 12, range 4 east, by deed from Andrew Lewis bearing
date of March 5, 1856, at a consideration of five thousand six hundred dollars.
In 1863, the commissioners sold one hundred ten acres off the west side of
said quarter section to John Keaton for three thousand eight hundred and fifty
dollars. On the 21st day of March, 1876, the county acquired title to 53.37
acres between the Hopewell and Trafalgar roads, at a consideration of $5,070.
The acreage of the present county farm is, therefore, 103.337 acres, represent-
ing an investment of six thousand eight hundred and twenty dollars.

At the March term, 1856, the commissioners let the contract to High &
Compton to erect a poor asylum on their new farm one mile west of Franklin.
The building was to be of brick thirty-six by seventy-two, to cost one thou-
sand five hundred dollars. Many improvements have been added since, but
the buildings are now unfitted for such use. According to a recent report of
the board of state charities, the county ought to provide better means for the
segregation of the sexes, and erect a better dormitory.

Of the superintendents serving during the past thirty years, Capt. Will-
iam A. Owens and David Swift served the longest. Swift served from 1889
to 1899 at an average salary of six hundred and forty dollars, the "running
expense*' amounting to an average of seven hundred and fifty dollars. On
December 8, 1898, the commissioners let the contract to the lowest bidder,
and contracted with John S. Buckner at $240.00. His report for the year
ending March 4, 1901, shows receipts of $326.80 and exi:)enses as follows:
Supplies, $1,669.41; employes, $586.51; repairs, $184.64; and incidentals,
$75.65; a net charge to the county of $2,189.41 ; his last report showed net
charge of $1,179.28.

Jacob Levan was next appointed superintendent, serving from July 3,
1905, to August 7, 191 1, at a salary ranging from seven hundred dollars to
eight hundred dollars. Harvey M. Kephart followed Levan and is the pres-
ent keei)er at a salary of eight hundred dollars, but his resignation is on file
to take effect September i, 19 13, and Mory Verlryck is named as his suc-
cessor at a nine hundred dollar salary.

The total expense for county poor for the year 1912, including main-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 75

tenance, superintendent's salary, medical attendance and repairs, was two
thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars.

THE ORPHAN ASYLUM.

On the petition of Mrs. A. B. Colton, Mrs. George Matthews and Mrs.
John C. Wood, the board of commissioners in 1884 took up the question of a
county institution for orphan children. One and one-half acres of ground
was purchased of W. D. Covert at Hopewell on August 5, 1884, for nine hun-
dred dollars. Emmeline Bridges was appointed matron January 2, 1885,
and was to receive thirty cents per day for each inmate.

She was succeeded on September 12, 1889, ^Y Abby Mozingo, and the
latter by Elizabeth Berryman on February 19, 1891. Upon her death, her
daughter, Mollie Berryman, was chosen matron, but served only three months.
Margaret Bergen was appointed matron, March 24, 1894, at a salary of
forty dollars per month, and served a little more than five years.

Miss Bergen's administration of the aflFairs of the orphans' home was
quite successful, and her final report showing the admission and discharge of
inmates for the five years of her term is a fair index of the w^ork done in the
earlier years at the home. This report shows : Number present, July i, 1894^
eleven; number admitted since, sixty-two; discharged to school for feeble
minded, six ; returned to parents or relatives, sixteen ; placed in homes direct,
twenty ; placed in homes by state agent, eleven ; number now in home, twenty,

Mrs. David B. Riggs followed Miss Bergen, and in turn was succeeded
by Mrs. Carrie Clemmer on October i, 1900. Mrs. Mary Atwood was ap-
pointed matron January 2, 1905, and served until September i, 191 1. Mrs.
Clemmer and Mrs. Atwood conducted the home in a manner most praise-
worthy. Mrs. Royal Logan, the present incuml^ent, served two years, her
term expiring September i, 1913. The salary in recent years has been fixed
at seven hundred dollars. The total expenses for dependent children of the
county for 1912 amounted to two thousand four hundred eighty-four dollars
and twenty-seven cents.

Prior to 1885, these children were kept at the county poor asylum, a most
unfit place for the wards of the county. In the past two or three years, the
work of the state board in placing children in homes has been so active and
successful that the number of inmates has l>een reduced to an average of three
or four. Serious question is now made as to whether the county ought to
continue the home at an expense of two thousand five hundred dollars yearly,
when so few are kept there.

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76 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

While at the home the children have attended the Hopewell schools and
have made good records, and they have always been kindly recognized by
the commmunity.

At the September session, 1913, of the board of commissioners, it was
decided to close the orphans' home, only two children being in the county's
charge at that time. The state board of charities and corrections approve
the step taken, and hereafter dependent children will be cared for under
supervision of the state board.

THE FAIR GROUNDS.

Very early in the history of the county the question of a county fair
was discussed, and at the September session, 1834, the board of justices enter
an order requiring the justices of the peace in the various townships to give
notice **by written advertisement that a meeting of citizens of this county
will be held at the Court House in Franklin on the first Monday in October
next for the purpose of organizing a County Agricultural Society.'* The
meeting was doubtless held and an organization effected, for one year later
the board votes an appropriation of fifty dollars out of the county treasury
to the Johnson County Agricultural Society. This statement differs some-
what from those made by Mr. W. S. Young, hereafter referred to, but we
find authority for them in Commissioners' Record "A," pages 416 and 445.

William S. Young, for many years secretary of the organization con-
ducting the county fair, is the author of the most complete history of the
earlier fairs held in this county. In 1889 the following article by his hand
was published in The Outlook, an advertising sheet edited by the secretary
to "boom" the fair of that year :

JOHNSON COUNTY FAIRS.

The act providing for the organization of Johnson county was passed
by the General Assembly in session at Corydon in the month of December,
1822, and was signed by the governor on the last day of that month.

At that time there were but few families living within the confines of
the county. Its territory was covered with immense forests, and much of it
was so swampy and so dense in woodland and underbrush that in many
places it was almost impenetrable. It is now hard for us to realize the
physical condition of the county in those days. It seems almost like a
dream when we look back over the hardships and toils of the pioneers in

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. JJ

their fierce struggle in the beginning of the opening .of the vast area of the
now valuable farm lands of the county.

We find as they progressed in their arduous work of clearing up the
land and putting it in a tillable condition, the interest in agriculture and an
interchange of sentiment gradually increasing from year to year, until they
began to consider the propriety of coming together to exhibit the best re-
sults obtained from the farm and garden. The first fair, of which we have
but slight account, was held in the woods belonging to Garrett C. Bergen,
located about what is now known as Martin Place in this city, in November,
1838. The entrance to the groimd, which was inclosed, was from the road,
now North Main street, a few rods south of the residence of Mrs. W. B.
Ellis. No admission was charged and no money paid out on account of
premiums. Our friend, James McKinney, though a small boy at that time,
very well remembers an incident of the fair, which is characteristic of some
exhibitions of fairs nowadays. One James Allen had on exhibition some
very fine Merino sheep, and Jim's father, Hezekiah McKinney, being one
of the judges, pulled from one of the sheep a tuft of wool for the purpose
of testing its quality. This aroused Allen to some naughty words to Mc-
Kinney, but when informed that he was one of the judges to pass on the
sheep, Allen apologized and became exceedingly courteous to him as well as
to the other members of the committee. It is needless to say that Allen
carried away the red ribbon.

We find that a "meeting of the farmers and mechanics of the county was
held at the clerk's office in Franklin, October 15, 1851, ifor the purpose of form-
ing a County Agricultural Society." This was the beginning of the first at-
tempt at a permanent organization. At this meeting, on motion of Samuel Her-
riott, George King was made chainnan, and Royal S. Hicks secretary. The
first thing done was to resolve that it w ould be to the interest of the farmers
and others to form an agricultural society. A committee was appointed to
solicit members. The membership fee was fixed at one dollar, which en-
titled the member to a vote in the election of officers. Also, that the board
of directors should be composed of one member from each civil township
of the county. At an adjourned meeting held November ist, the organiza-
tion was completed by the adoption of a constitution and rules for the
government of the society.

The following officers were elected to serve the first year: George
Bridges, president; William Keaton, vice-president; J. P. Banta, treasurer;
Royal S. Hicks, secretary.

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78 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Board of directors representing each township: Melvin Wheat, Frank-
lin; Wilham I. Pritchard, Xineveh; T. Armstrong, Sr., Blue River; Bloom-
field Hensley, Hensley; Abram Good, Clark; George T. Noble, Pleasant;
George \V. Bergen, Union, and William Paddock, White River.

Under this management the first fair proper, in the county, was held
in September, 1852, in a woods pasture, now Martin Place, and south of the
F. F. & M. R. R., this city.

At the annual meeting for the election of officers, held at the court
house, November i, 1852, we find the following: William Keaton, presi-
dent; Barthol Applegate, vice-president; Royal S. Hicks, secretary; Henry
Fox, treasurer.

Board of directors, representing each township : William I. Pritchard,
Franklin; J. P. Forsyth, Nineveh; J. L. Bradley, Blue River; Conrad Mc-
Clain, Clark; Daniel Brewer, Pleasant; Peter Voris, Union; Robert Jen-
nings, White River, and Samuel Green, Hensley.

The second fair was held in the same ground as the first, in September,

1853. At this time the membership of the society numbered two hundred
and forty-seven. This fair was well attended and the future prospects of
the society reported as being decidedly flattering.

It seems, too, that provision was made by the society for an annual
address on agricultural lines at each fair, and that Prof. John S. Houghton,
of Franklin College, was to have delivered the first, but on account of ill-
ness, it was not made, but he was the speaker for the next year, 1853.

The third fair was held on the 28th, 29th and 30th days^of September,

1854, in a woods pasture immediately south of William Suckow's mill, this
city. James L. Bradley was president and John W. Branch secretary during
this year. S. P. Oyler delivered the annual address. "Uncle'* Jack Carter
was gate keeper and an admission fee of twenty-five cents was charged.
The principal attractions at this and at the former fairs were the exhibits
of farm stock, the favorites in the horse list at this third fair being ex-
hibited by C. B. Tarlton and Ephriam Herriott. If any vegetables, grain,
fruits or anything in the line of "woman's work'' were exhibited we have
been unable to get any account of them. No doubt the women could have
made a creditable display of the "working tools" of the household of that
time. Almost every article of wearing apparel and many of the cooking
utensils were home made. If one could, today, see a collection consisting of
the flax-brake, the hackle, the swingle or crutcher, the reel, the small spin-
ner with its distaff attachment, the big spinning wheel, the old-fashioned

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 79

loom and many other kinds of machinery and devices in operation as they
were then, together with the various kinds of articles turned out, and this
work, nearly all done by the mothers in a log cabin home, it would be some-
thing of a novelty to most of us. The needs of the. times wrought out in
them truly skilled mechanics.

In 1854 a tract of land of about sixteen acres was purchased for a per-
manent ground for future fairs, now owned and occupied by the **defunct"
starch works company plant, this city. The membership of the society at
this time was about five hundred. Of this number some two hundred were
certificate members for thirty years, they having advanced the money to
purchase the ground and fix it up for holding the annual fairs. These certif-
icate members were entitled to all the privileges of the fairs without further
pecuniary aid during that time. The exhibits of the products of the soil
were limited to the county. A race track about one-third of a mile in length
was constructed. About this time the horse interest began to loom up and
the track was necessary, not so much for the test of speed in trotting and
pacing races, as for the benefit of contestants in the show ring. However,
trotting and pacing races were a part of the week's entertainment, and the
horse that could trot or pace a mile in three and a half to four minutes was
considered "lightning speed," and received the plaudits of the crowds in
attendance. The principal exhibits during those years were horses, cattle,
sheep and hogs. The grain, vegetable and fruit exhibits and those of the
'Tloral Hair' or woman's department were not nearly so large as now-a-
days.

James L. Bradley was elected president from year to year from 1854
to and including the year 1859, and John T. Vawter served as secretary from
1855 ^o ^^d including the year i860. John Q. Adams, now of New Albany,
Indiana, was vice-president during the year 1859, and Harvey Satterwhite,
treasurer. Mr. Adams also served a number of years as chief marshal of
the society. C. B. Tarlton was elected president and Alexander Halstead
general superintendent for the year i860.

During all these years the fairs gradually grew in interest, in attend-
ance and in popularity with the people of the county, and with the increased
exhibits in all of the departments it was found at the close of one of the
most successful of the fairs, in i860, that the ground was too small for
future fair purposes. Steps were at once taken by the management for the
sale of the land preparatory to the purchase of a new and more commodious
site. A sale was concluded to D. G. Vawter, but on account of the political

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8o JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

excitement and the animosities between citizens, neighbors and friends grow-
ing out of the questions, at that time, lasting up to the war between the
North and the South, and the war coming on in all its fury and frenzy, last-
ing for nearly six years, the mutual agricultural interests of the county sud-
denly ceased and not even a hint of a fair society or association was again
heard of until about the year 1867.

We have not the space to continue further this sketch of the fair so-
cieties of the county and leave the matter from that date for future "write
up." But we desire to give a brief outline of how they were managed and
judging and passing on all stock and articles of the various departments
some of the incidental and special attractions of those years. The manner of
judging and passing on all stocks and articles of the various departments
entered for premiums and making the awards was invariably done by com-
mittees of three persons, each chosen by the proper authority of the society
from among the visitors at the fair.

These committees, in their wisdom of the work in hand, though often
times limited in the knowledge of their work, usually gave satisfaction. How-
ever, in many instances, it would be charged that awards were made on ac-
count of the standing of the exhibitor, rather than on the merit of the ani-
mal or article exhibited. In many of these cases of apparent unfairness and
discrimination there seems to have been good reason for a shade of truth.
Some of them may have, through the lack of knowledge and inefficiency on
the part of the committees, though one thing appeared certain, as is some-
times the case nowadays, that the fellow with but little "fluence" and favor
had to grin and bear it. The premiums offered were small and but little
actual cash was ever paid out in this way. Articles of merchandise and es-
pecially silverware, consisting of pitchers, cups and spoons of different
sizes, being the principal articles used to satisfy the "lucky" exhibitors.
Much of this ware is now in possession of families in the county and highly
prized as souvenirs of those early times. Refreshment stands and gambling
devices were not so numerous then as now, and but little revenue was de-
rived from this source. About all that was sold by these stands was ginger-
cake (in quarter sections) and stick candy, and cider and metheglin for the
drinks. Peanuts, bananas, lemons, "hop ale," chewing gum, hoky poky and
many other articles now seen to tempt the appetite, were in those days un-
known in this part of the country. The favorite special attractions in those
days appears to have been ladies' sidesaddle horseback riding, slow mule
races, sack races, foot races, etc. We find that the special and incidental

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 8r

attraction at the second fair held was a bull fight. Two of the bovines hav-
ing eluded their owners and coming together created consternation for a
while among the visitors, especially the women and children, driving them
to places of safety. The contestants held the "boards,'' breaking down spice
brush, clambering about over logs for quite a while before they were sep-
arated and order restored. The special at the third fair held south of the
mill, was a contest in sidesaddle horseback riding, in which "Aunt" Lydia
Herriott took first prize, and Nancy Young second.

Governor Joseph H. Wright delivered the annual address to the so-
ciety during the week of the fair in 1856. Our friend, Joseph Mozingo, a
pioneer of the county, remembers very well some parts of the address.
Among other things the governor advised in the planting of a new orchard
to set the first row Jennetts, the second row Jennetts, the third row Jen-
netts and so on until as many trees as desired were set. Mr. Mozingo re-
members this from the fact that he about that time was planting a new or-
chard. The governor in the same address, further advised and admonished
the people to be careful in the election of county and township officials, es-
pecially those of county commissioners, also, send good men to the Legisla-
ture, but that it didn't make any difference who was sent to Congress. As
to the latter it would appear from the experience of the past, at least in this
part of the state, the governor's thrust was not an idle one.

The fairs of 1859 ^^^ ^860 were denominated "big fairs," from the
fact that they were largely attended. A large exhibit in all the departments
and while they were permitted to run to some extent on the "wide open
policy plan," they were entertaining and popular with the people. About
this time the competition among the speed horse men began to develop and
the trotter and pacer, although the time with them was slow as compared
with the records of today, were exciting and entertaining features of those
two fairs. The contests were made under the saddle, the sulky and the
bike not having at that time come into use. In the absence of rules strictly
governing the contests of speed, the sporting fraternity had a clear field
and at times considerable money exchanged hands on the "favorites."

We had the pleasure of attending the fair of i860, and very well re-
member some of the incidents of the week. The special attractions that year
consisted of sidesaddle horseback riding, slow mule race, foot races, sack
races and a wheel-barrow race. All of these in their turn were very
amusing and entertaining. In some instances the contests were sharp and
(6)

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82 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

spirited, but all good humored. The contestants in the wheelbarrow race
were blindfolded and required to circle about with their hands to the handles
of the vehicle, the wheel making the pivot of the circle, then in a straight
line wheel to a stake about one hundred feet away. "Uncle'' Jack High,
many will remember him, entered this race and at the time thought it an
easy matter to win the prize. **Uncle" Jack, however, missed his calculation
and instead of going to the winning stake, started off in an opposite direc-
tion, landing down near the southwest corner of the ground. This, of
course, created considerable merriment among the lookers on, but was not
in the least funny for "Uncle'' Jack.

The foot races were divided into two classes, over and under the age
of twenty-one years. The length of the runs were around the rack track,
being one-third of a mile. There were quite a number of entries in each class,
the writer being one of the juniors and winning second prize; Elijah Banta,
first. W. B. Ellis easily won first in the adult class, and Thomas M. Robin-
son second. Richard Blakey, familiarly known about Franklin and vicinity
in those days as Dick Blakey, a colored man, entered the adult class, but im-
mediately a howl went up and a protest was made to the managers. "A
council of war was called,'' and the board deliberated and very soon "sat on
Dick,'' deciding that he belonged to the "animal kingdom" and therefore
was ineligible to enter a race with "white folks" — and thus, on account of
the color of his skin, Dick Blakey was barred from participating in what
seemed at the time an innocent amusement. Dick, however, was permitted
to go against time, without reward, and by several seconds broke all prev-
ious foot race records. About two years later Dick entered the army in
defense of the Union and his country, volunteering in the Twenty-eighth
United States Colored Regiment and was made orderly sergeant of Com-
pany A, of that regiment. During the siege in front of Petersburg, Vir-
ginia, in July, 1864, in a charge on the enemy's works, under command of
General Butler, at the "blowing up of the mines," Dick was taken prisoner
and died in Libby prison, Richmond, Virginia, about three months after-
ward;-having, as we are informed, starved to death.

The present fair ground site was first acquired on December 10, 1867,
by W. S. Webb, W. S. Ragsdale and W. J. Mathes, a committee represent-
ing the stockholders, and they in turn conveyed the same on February 9,
1869, to the Johnson County Joint Stock Agricultural Association. On

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 83

November 24, 1888, a majority of the voters of the county filed a petition
with the county board to purchase the fair grounds under the act of March
18, 1873. The petition was granted, and on December ist following, the
twenty-nine-acre tract now occupied as a fair ground was purchased at a
consideration of three thousand six hundred and twenty-five dollars, and
the same has ever since remained county property.

One week after the county acquired the site, the Johnson County Agri-
cultural, Horticultural and Park Association was formed and a constitution
and by-laws adopted. On the same day the directors met and formed an
organization, electing William M. Province president and William S. Young
secretary. Mr. Young continued to serve as secretary until the annual
meeting in December, 1905. He was succeeded by Charles A. Dungan,
who served one year. Martin Sellers was elected secretary in 1906 and
served until February 18, 191 1, at which time O. J. Shuck, the present sec-
retary, was elected.

In addition to Dr. Province the following have served as president:
S. W. Dungan, 1895-1899; William A. Bridges, 1899-1900; John Tilson,
1900-1905; L. B. Clore, 1905-1907; J. M. Saunders, 1907-1909; I. Newt
Brown, 1909-1910; H. E. Lochry, 1910-1912; Charles A. Brown, 19I2-
1913-

THE COUNTY SEMINARY.

At the May term, 1839, Cornelius Lyster, John Herriott and Lewis
Hendricks, trustees of the Johnson county seminary fund, rejwrt the pur-
chase of certain lands from George King for a public seminar^'. The tract
consisted of one acre on the south side of Jeflferson street, just west of the
Big Four railroad, later owned by Judge Woollen. The funds out of which
the grounds were purchased had accumulated from fines for criminal of-
fenses, but there is no record of the amount. It could not' have been large,
as the bond of Lewis Hendricks, trustee, for the year 1839 was in the sum
of one thousand dollars.

A seminary building was erected late in that year or early in 1840 by
William and John Shaffer, and school was taught in the one room which
was finished for a short period. But it is known that by 1844 the school
was abandoned and aside from furnishing a forum for local debates for a
time, it became a play house for the mischievous boys of the town. The
Legislature of 1852 required all seminary property to be sold and the
proceeds converted into a common school fund, and the property passed

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84 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

into the hands of WiUiam H. Overstreet, who remodeled the building and
occupied it as a residence. It is best remembered by the present generation
as Judge Woollen's homestead.

SOLDIERS^ HOME COTTAGE.

On July 20, 1898, the board of commissioners contracted with Rans-
dell Brothers for the erection of a two-story frame cottage at the Soldiers*
Home at Lafayette, and was accepted by the county in November of the
same year.

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CHAPTER V.

COUNTY OFFICERS.

Under the Constitution of 1816 but two county offices were recognized
as of sufficient importance to demand constitutional guaranties, viz.: the
office of sheriff and of coroner. In the rapid development of the functions
of other county offices, it was deemed wise to extend these guaranties, and so
the Constitution of 1851 recognizes, in addition, the offices of clerk of the
circuit court, auditor, recorder, treasurer, surveyor, and, in a manner, the
board of county commissioners. The present Constitution requires that a
man elected or appointed to a county office must be an elector of the county,
with a residence therein of one year prior to his appointment, which residence
in the cotmty he must maintain during his term of office.

The other county offices, created by the act of the Legislature, may be
abolished at its will, or their functions changed. At one time there was great
confusion in the dates for the beginning of the terms of county officers. But
by the act in force March 11, 1901, it was provided that the term of office
of county auditor, county clerk, county sheriff, county recorder, prosecuting
attorney, county assessor, county coroner, county surveyor and county com-
missioners, in each county of the state, should begin on the first day of
January next following the term of office of the then incumbent.

All county officers are elected by the voters of the entire cotmty, except
the members of the county council from the four districts, who are elected
by districts, and excepting such as are appointed by the circuit court and
the commissioners. Salaries are graded in proportion to population and
character of services performed.

Removals from office may follow conviction for malfeasance, or non-
feasance of the duties devolving upon the officer, for intoxication during
business hours, and any person who is in the habit of becoming intoxicated
or who is convicted of a felony forfeits his office. No Johnson county officer
has ever been removed from office, nor is there record of any defalcation in
office in this county, although one treasurer resigned "under fire," who
afterward made settlement with the county for his alleged mishandling of
county funds.

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86 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

The first examination of public accounts was made in 1853 by Gilderoy
Hicks, G. M. Overstreet and Samuel Herriott, a committee appointed by the
board of commissioners, covering a period of ten years prior thereto. In
1859 Thomas W. Woollen, G. M. Overstreet and David G. Vawter were
appointed a committee to audit the county's finances. In 1877 an investiga-
tion of the books of the county was ordered, and Caleb B. Tarlton, H. H.
Luyster and John S. Pettit, an "expert," were engaged to make the examina-
tion. Their report, showing a detailed account of all county expenditures
between the years 1863 and 1877, is found of record in Commissioners'
Record "H," page 341 et seq.

Since the passage of the Public Accounting law of 1899 ^'1 county
offices have been examined by the state board of accounts. Considering the
lack of uniformity in methods of bookkeeping and in constructions placed
upon the law as to what fees should be charged and what fees properly be-
longed to the officers, the result of this rigid accounting system has been
highly creditable to Johnson county officials. Not a single officer has been
found guilty of peculation or misappropriation of funds. The errors have
all been due to mistakes of bookkeeping or to a failure to charge fees as
required by law.

The total amount collected by the state board of accounts and paid in to
the county treasury, covering an examination of all accounts since 1903, is
$868.82. On the other hand, it has cost Johnson county $5,877.34 to have
these examinations of the county offices made. A somewhat extended in-
vestigation of the working of the new law in this county confirms the follow-
ing criticisms : The examinations ought not to be made annually, but only
at the close of the officer's term ; and secondly, the deputy examiners ought
to be men more familiar with public accounts than some who have been
sent to this county.

It is expected, however, that the new forms prescribed by the state
board and the rules laid down by it as to the amount of fees to be charged
and collected, may lead to more uniformity in methods of business, and
serve as a check on reckless and careless handling of public funds.

We give herewith a list of all county officers who have served the
people of Johnson county, with a brief statement of their official duties, and
some notice of facts connected with their administration. Effort is made
to show the progress and development made by legislative sanction in the
transaction of public business, and to give the taxpayer correct information
as to the cost of local government.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 8/

THE COMMISSIONERS.

The first authentic record of Johnson county affairs bears date of May i,
1826. As will be seen in another chapter, county commissioners had been
elected pursuant to the act of the Legislature in the organization of the
county. At the August election, 1826, John S. Miller and James Ritchey
were again elected to that office, but the records of their proceedings, if any
were kept, has long since been lost.

On May i, 1826, the justices of the peace of the several townships met
at the court house in Franklin and organized as a "Board of Justices doing
county business." There were present Archibald Glenn, president, and
Jacob Woodruff, David Durbin, John Israel, Thomas Lowe, Patrick Cowan
and Spencer Bamett. Their first business was to issue a tavern license to
Thomas Carter upon "the certificate of twenty-five respectable citizens of.
Eddinburgh and vicinity, setting forth that he is a suitable person to keep a
publick house in the Town of Eddinburgh ; that a house of entertainment
necessary in said place for the convenience of travelers; and that he has the
necessary house, room, bedding, stabling, etc."

At the same term Robert and Joseph Brackenridge are authorized to
establish a ferry across Blue river at or near where the Madison state road
crosses the same, and the following rates are fixed : "For each person, 6j4
cents; each, man and horse, 12^ cents; each waggon and two horses, 25
cents; each waggon and four horses, 50 cents/'

The reader of the early records of the county is sometimes puzzled by
the unfamiliar fractional coins of the times. There was very little coin in
the west during the twenties and thirties. Silver dollars were nearly all
Mexican dollars. The four-pence, worth six and a quarter cents, was an
English coin, and the "bit" was a Spanish coin worth twelve and a half
cents. According to Col. W. M. Cockrum (Pioneer History of Indiana,
page 403), "they cut many of these dollars into quarters, and sometimes
into eighths when the transaction called for twelve and a half cents. Then,
as now, some who wanted to get the best of the bargain would cut the
dollar into five pieces, thus making a quarter on each dollar cut up. This
became so common that many county commissioners had a diagram made of
a cut quarter when a dollar was to be cut in equal parts, and when paying
taxes and cut money was used, it had to conform to the diagram or it was
rejected. Storekeepers resorted to the same expedient to detect short quar-
ters. When blacksmithing was needed, if the account amounted to a quarter

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and the customer had a dollar to pay it with, they took the dollar and laid it
on the anvil and the blacksmith, with a cold chisel, cut out a notch of one-
fourth of the dollar for his pay. Sometimes a round bit would be furnished
when the article w-as only six and a fourth cents and it would be cut in the
middle."

At the May term, 1831, the county was divided into districts for the
election of county commissioners, Franklin and Union constituting district
number one; Blue River, Nineveh and Hesley, number two; and White
River and Pleasant, number three. At the August election of that year
James GiUaspy, of Nineveh, James Richey, of White River, and Thomas
Henderson,' of Franklin, were elected to serve one, two and three year*^
respectively. In 1832 Gillaspy was re-elected to serve three years, and in
1833 James Richey was re-elected for a like term. They signed their last
record January 6, 1834.

Pursuant to the act approved February 6, 1834, the justices of the
peace again organized as a board to transact county business, on March 3.

1844, and elected John Foster president. This organization continued until
the May term, 1837, when the county was again divided into districts for
the election of county commissioners, as follows : Number one, Blue River,
Nineveh and Hensley; number two, Union and Franklin; number three,
White River and Pleasant. Archibald Glenn and James Gillaspy qualify
at the September term of that year and Wm. C. Jones at the ensuing Novem-
ber term. The commissioners were in session two days at the September
term, and three days at the November term, and drew a per diem of two
dollars. Since 1837 the office has remained a three-year office, one officer's
term expiring each year. Vacancies are filled by appointment of the remain-
ing members of the board and the auditor. Appointments made to fill
vacancies prior to 1853 were made by the circuit court or the judge of the
common pleas court.

So many changes have occurred in the office by reason of death, resig-
nation and removal, that it is deemed best to set out in some detail the official
list.

FIRST DISTRICT.

James Gillaspy was elected at the August election, 1837, to serve two
years, and was re-elected in 1839 to serve three years. James Wylie was
elected in 1842, but died early in 1845, ^^d James Gillaspy was appointed to
fill out his term at the March session, 1845. Gillaspy was again elected in

1845, a^d served until his death, late in the year 1846. David Forsyth,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 89

great-grandfather of the writer, was appointed to succeed Gillaspy at the
December term, 1846, and was elected for a full term in 1848. Wilson
Allen was elected in 1851, and again in 1854, but removed from the county
in 1856, and at the June term, 1856, George Botsford was appointed to
succeed Allen. Botsford was elected for the term of 1857 to i860, but died
in 1858 and at the December term of that year Reason Slack was appointed
to fill the vacancy. C. R. Ragsdale served two terms, i860 to 1866. George
B. White was then elected for one term, but no successor being elected ir
1868, he held over one year. Nicholas S. Branigin, grandfather of th'
writer, was elected in 1870, but, by reason of White's holding over, served
only two years. Warren Coleman served one term, 1872 to 1875; Ransom
Riggs, one term, 1875 to 1878; Joseph Jenkins, two terms, 1878 to 1884;
Ezekiel W. Morgan served from 1884 until his death, May 21, 1886. Will-
iam A. Bridges was appointed to fill the vacancy on June 7, 1886, and served
one term in addition. G. Nicholas Hughes served from 1890 until his
death, July 24, 1893. Jackson Pruitt was appointed his successor August 21,
1893, and, having been previously elected, continued to serve until 1896.
John M. Cutsinger served from 1896 to 1899, and Francis Marion Coleman
from 1899 t^ ^^s death, early in January, 1901. John D. Ragsdale was
appointed to succeed Coleman on January 12, 1901, and was elected to
serve one term thereafter. John W. Calvin took office January i, 1906, and
served two terms. He was succeeded January i, 1912, by James H. Ken-
nedy, the present incumbent.

SECOND DISTRICT.

In the second district William C. Jones was elected in 1837 ^^^ served
two years. In September, 1839, Daniel Covert qualified and served four
. years, one of which rightfully belonged to the term of his predecessor. Peter
Shuck served from 1843 to 1846, and was followed by Austin Jacobs, who
served only two years. Jacobs' term was filled out by Peter Shuck, who was
elected and qualified in August, 1848, to serve one year. Samuel Magill
was elected in 1849, ^^^ died within a year, to be succeeded in June, 1850,
by Melvin Wheat. Melvin Wheat was twice elected to the office thereafter,
serving in all a little more than eight years. Milton Utter served one term,
1858 to 1861. James M. Alexander was elected to serve two terms, but
resigned September 6, 1865, and was succeeded by Peter Shuck, who for r)
third time became county commissioner. Shuck filled out Alexander's term
and was elected for one term, retiring in 1870. William J. Mathes served

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90 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

one term, 1870 to 1873, ^^^ was followed by John Kerlin, Peter Demarec
William H. Shuck and David S. Gross, each serving the regular term of
three years. William J. Mathes was again elected for the term beginning in
1885, but died October 9, 1886, and it being so near election time no suc-
cessor was appointed. James H. Vandivier was elected in 1886 to fill out
Mathes' term. Strather Herod served from 1888 to 1891 ; Henry Fisher,
1891-1894; William M. Neal, -1894-1900; Harvey M. Kiphart, 1900-1907;
Milford Mozingo, 1907-1913. Thomas E. Norton qualified at the January
term, 1913.

THIRD DISTRICT.

Service in this district has been more regular. None have died and
only one resigned, viz. : Jacob S. Comingore, who resigned in December,
1854. The official list for this district is as follows: Archibald Glenn,
1837-1838; James Richey, 1838-1841; Samuel Eccles, 1841-1851; Jacob S.
Comingore, 1851-1854; Joseph Harmon, 1854-1859; Moses Parr, 1859-
1862; James F. Wiley, 1862-1874; John Clore, 1874-1877; Robert Jennings,
1877-1883; George Cutsinger, 1883-1886; James Collins, 1886-1892; Otho
W. Trugle, 1892-1898; Daniel Britton, 1898-1905; James A. Fendley, 1905-
1908; George Wilde, 1908-1914; Harvey Harrell, 1914 .

The duties of the commissioners' office are numerous and extensive.
They are the most important officers in the administration of the business
affairs of the county; they have many important judicial duties, and a lim-
ited legislative authority. They let contracts and supervise the construction
of all county buildings, and attend to their repair. They let all contracts for
supplies furnished by the county, and pass on all claims to be paid by the
county. They audit all reports and accounts of county officers and the war-
rants of township trustees. They approve official bonds of county officers,
and fill all vacancies in county offices. They may exempt the poor from the
payment of poll tax, refund taxes erroneously charged or paid, and pay
certain bounties. They appoint inspectors of elections, divide the county
into election precincts, and may purchase voting machines. They grant
licenses to retailers of intoxicating liquors, passing on the sufficiency of
remonstrances thereunto, and ordering local option elections. They con-
stitute the county board of health and appoint a secretary thereof. In all
highway and drainage cases they have concurrent jurisdiction with the cir-
cuit court. They now act as a board of free turnpike directors, although
after January ist next this duty will devolve upon the county superintendent

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 9I

of highways. They may afford relief to the poor, build county asylums for
the poor and orphans.

Under the new law for the registration of voters, they appoint the
officers therefor. They establish the boundaries of townships and originally
appointed most of the township officers. They grant franchises for the use
of the highways. They only have authority to borrow money and pledge
the credit of the county for its payment. These are only a few of the respon-
sible duties of this office.

The salary of the office in Johnson county is three hundred dollars. It
has also paid three dollars per day for services as director of free turnpikes and
ten cents per mile for each mile of free gravel road.

THE COUNTY COUNCIL.

Pursuant to tlje act approved March 3, 1899 (Acts of 1899, page 343),
the board of commissioners divided the county into four councilmanic dis-
tricts, as follows: No. i, Franklin township; No. 2, Blue River, Needham
and Qark; No. 3, Pleasant and White River; No. 4, Union, Hensley and
Nineveh. Under the terms of the act the first council was appointed by the
judge of the circuit court and consisted of the following members: First
district, David H. Miller; second district, David G. Webb; third district, J.
Wesley Paddock; fourth district, William M. Province; at large, John A.
Polk, John D. Whitesides, Abner Hardin.

In September, 1900, Silas A. White was appointed to succeed Hardin,
resigned.

The purpose of the act was to create a council with authority to super-
vise and limit the power of the board of county commissioners in borrowing
money and fixing the rate of taxation. The members receive only a nominal
salary, ten dollars yearly, not sufficient to pay their expenses.

The most important meeting of the council is their annual meeting on
the first Monday in September. In August prior thereto, each county officer
is required to file with the auditor for the use of the council a verified esti-
mate, properly itemized, showing the probable cost of his office for the
ensuing year. Township assessors are also required to file a similar state-
ment showing the amount of money needed to make the tax assessments in
their several townships.

In the case of each county officer he must make an estimate showing
the cost of his office in four items, first, his own salary; second, deputy

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92. JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

hire, if payable out of the county treasury; third, office supplies; fourth, all
other expenses authorized by law.

In the same manner the judge must itemize the court expenses, showing
separately the amounts required for bailiff hire, jury fees, witness fees, pay
of special judges, etCi

The board of commissioners are likewise required to file with great
particularity an estimate of all county expenditures paid on their order.
Briefly stated, the classifications are: i, county buildings and repairs; 2,
bridges; 3, repair of bridges; 4, commissioners* court;. 5, county attorney;
6, pauper attorney; 7, board of health; 8, repair of free gravel roads; 9,
elections; 10, bonds and bond interest; 11, judgments and costs; 12, in-
mates of state benevolent institutions; 13, publication of delinquent tax
lists; 14, employees of county; 15, county board of review; 16, all other ex-
pense.

These estimates are submitted to the council and, upon the basis fur-
nished thereby, \ appropriations are made by the council and a tax levied
sufficient to meet the appropriations. The auditor is required to keep sep-
arate account of these appropriations, and no appropriation may be over-
drawn. Any unexpended appropriation at the end of the year reverts to the
general fund.

No county officer can bind the county by any contract beyond the
amount appropriated for a particular purpose. Nor may any warrant be
drawn on the county treasury for any purpose not covered by a special ap-
propriation, except for money due the state of Indiana, the school fund, the
various tc»wnships, and for money collected by the county in construction of
ditches and roads, or for taxes erroneously paid.

The law is a salutary one, but its true purpose may be circumvented by
special meetings called later in the year to make appropriations for special
purposes when those regularly made have been exhausted. And yet emer-
gencies may arise, such as flood damage to highways and bridges, that render
these special meetings imperative.

The following persons have been elected or appointed to the office
since 1900: ,

At Large — ^John Baumgart, 1900-1906; John D. Whitesides, 1900-
1902; William M. Province, 1900-1902 and 1910; John Calvin, 1902-1906;
Milo A. Qore, 1902-1910; W. C. H. Coleman, 1906-1910; EH P. Hay-
maker, 1906-1910; David H. Keay, 1910-' — ; Daniel Campbell, 1910-' — .

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 93

Fir3t District — ^Isaac N. McLaughlin, 1900-1914; Ed. Throckmprton^
1914-'—.

Second District — Michael A. Roth, 1900-1906; Thomas J. Durbin,
1906-19.10.; James L. Griffith, 1910-' — .

Third District — ^John N. Paddock, 1900- 1902; George W. McOellan,.
1902-1906; Thomas N. Rush, 1906-1910; William I. Luper, 1910-' — .

Fourth District — Thomas Cravens, 1900-1902; W. C. H. Coleman, 1902-
1906; George F. Paris, 1906-1910; James A. Foster, 1910-1912; Cecil
Srayser, 19x2-' — .

THE AUDITOR.

The county auditor is the principal financial agent of the county. Upon
his warrant, usually drawn tmder th^ order of the board of commissioners,
the judge of the circuit court, or pursuant to special legislative enactment,
all money is drawn from the county treasury. From the returns pf the
township assessor and additions thereto made by the state board of tax com-
missionersy the coiinty board of equalization and the county assessor, he
prepares the "tax duplicate" for the use of the treasurer. He keeps a com-
plete record of all accounts with the treasurer, and serves as clerk to the
commissioners' court. He loans the school funds entrusted to the county
and enforces payment of the collection thereof by suit on the note or by sale
of the mortgaged premises on the fourth Monday in March. In the event
that the lands mortgaged do not sell at the annual sale for the amount due
to the school fund, the auditor bids the same in on account of the fund, and
after appraisal sells the same.

He receives the enumeration of school children taken annually by the
township trustees, reports the same to the auditor of state, and apportions
the school revenues controlled by the county to the various school corpora-
tions. He is ex-officio a member of the board of review to equalize assess-
ments of property, and since the passage of the Public Depository law of
1907 is ex-officio secretary of the county board of finance.

In the case of a vacancy in the office of township trustee during vaca-
tion of the county board and in case of a vacancy in the office of township
assessor at any time, the office is filled by appointment by the auditor. He
issues licenses to keepers of ferries, to transient merchants, to non-resident
peddlers, to soldiers and sailors for peddling goods, to exhibitors of shows
and circuses, and to liquor dealers licensed by the board of commissioners.

The auditor has authority to take acknowledgments of deeds and

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94 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

mortgages, and administer oaths. He receives and files applications for
mortgage exemptions. All official bonds of township trustees and assessors
are approved by him.

He is elected for a term of four years, but, like the county clerk, is not
eligible to serve more than eight years in any twelve. In our county he
must give bond in the sum of ten thousand dollars, and receives a salary of
two thousand, three hundred dollars. Under section 5967, Bums* R. S. 1908,
authorizing the county council to make an allowance to the county auditor
for the additional work imposed upon his office by the operation of the
statute creating county councils, the auditor is now allowed six hundred
dollars extra salary. For spreading the taxes of the city of Franklin on the
duplicate he is paid one hundred and twenty dollars by the city. For his
services as derk of the board of finance he receives fifty dollars. For mak-
ing the township assessors' books he is allowed one hundred and fifty dol-
lars out of the county treasury, and for his services as member of the board
of review a per diem of three dollars. Under the law he also places on
the duplicate all taxes assessed by the towns of Edinburg, Greenwood and
Whiteland, but for this work he receives no extra compensation. The total
cost of the auditor's office in the way of salaries and office expenses for the
year 191 2 (excluding the per diem allowance named) was $3,946.43.

By a special act of the Legislature, approved January 14, 1846 (Acts of
1846, page 115), the office of county auditor in Johnson county was abol-
ished and the duties of his office imposed upon the county clerk. By the
new state Constitution of 1851 the office of auditor was made a constitutional
office, and by the act of June 16, 1852, fixing the fees for all services of
county officers, the auditor was allowed certain fees and allowances, but was
not entitled to receive more than eight hundred dollars in any one year.

The auditor continued to receive compensation in fees only until the
act of 1879, when all county auditors were placed on a salary, but in addition
were allowed to charge and retain certain special fees. In the year 1891
(Acts 1891, page 424), the Legislature passed a fee and salary bill, provid-
ing definite and fixed compensation for all officers of the state and county,
and all fees collected by county officers were required to be turned into the
county treasury. This salutary measure, cutting ofif almost wholly the
special fees and allowances claimed and retained by county officers, has been
supplemented by the act of 1895 (Acts 1895, P^^g^ 3^9) » 2uid the act of 1907
(Acts 1907, page 330).

Some amusing comments on county affairs are found in the records

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 95

kept by the county auditor. Among them, few are more entertaining than
the reply of E. N. Woollen, auditor, to a report of a committee appointed by
the county board to examine the accounts of his office. He prefaces a very
full defense by the following words: "Believing that great injustice has
been done me in the report of the 'experts* hired by your honors to investi-
gate the county records, I respectfully ask that this, my vindication, may
be placed upon the records of th6 board in order that the antidote may follow
the poison.''

The board of commissioners sometimes neglected their duties, it would
appear, for in 1877, W- C. Bice, then auditor, issued a call for a meeting of
the board in which he takes occasion to recall the commissioners to a sense of
their obligations. He says: "Whereas, as the board of commissioners of
Johnson county, Indiana, have spent much of the time of the regular session
in wrangling and dissension to the neglect of important business, an emer-
gency exists for the convening of said board to complete unfinished business."

The h'st of those who have served the county as auditor is as follows:

Jacob Sibert 1841-1846

Jonathan H. Williams 1851-1855

George W. Allison 1855-1859

Elijah Banta 1859-1863

William H. Barnett 1863-1871

E. Newt. Woollen 1871-1875

William C. Bice 1875-1879

William B. Jennings 1879-1887

Thomas. C. M. Perry 1887-1891

Thomas J. Coyle _- 1891-1895

David A. Forsythe 1895-1899

Ben P. Brown 1899-1904

Oscar V. Nay 1904-1908

William B. Jenning 1908-1912

Herbert L. Knox 1912

The office is an attractive one and conducive to longevity, as there has
never been a vacancy in the office by resignation or death.

COUNTY TREASURER.

Following the English form of county government, brought to us by
way of Virginia, the county revenues were at the beginning collected by the

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96 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

sheriff. (See Fiske's Civil Government in the United States, pp. 51, 63.)
In the collection, he proceeded to the **most usual and best known place
of residence of each person charged with state or county revenue" to make
demand of payment, and where collections were made the same were paid
to the county treasurer, although in this respect many of the earliest financial
transactions of the county business were very irregular. For example, at
the May session, 1826, of the county board of justices, accounts were struck
with the clerk by the following entry: "Samuel Herriott now produces
vouchers for $27.5654 for books, papers, seal, etc., together with $2.44
allow for trouble in procuring the same ballances the thirty dollars re-
ceived by him from John Smiley, collector of revenues.''

The collection must have been accompanied with many difficulties. The
roads were mere Indian trails and paths through the forest. The tax list
was based on specific taxes, not on valuation. But the task was lightened by
the scarcity of taxable property. In the year 1826 John Smiley, sheriff, col-
lected all told $335.25, for which he received a commission of $18.66^.

Robert Gillcrees, acting under appointment of the board of county jus-
tices, served as collector of state and county revenue for th^ year 1827,
under a special statute to that effect. But in the years succeeding, until
1838, the sheriffs acted as such collectors. In May, 1838, Hiram T. Craig
was appointed by the county board the collector of state and county revenues,
and he was succeeded in 1839 by Arthur Mulikin. The office of collector was
abolished in 1839, and its duties conferred upon the county treasurer.

The county treasurers of the earlier days had many difficulties In
handling the various kinds of money then in use. Some money was good,
other money was bad, and frequently notes of banks greatly depreciated in
value. When William C. Jones assumed the office of treasurer in 1842 he
received of county funds "the sum of one hundred and forty-one dollars,
being fifteen in treasury notes of 1841 and eighty in treasury notes of 1842,
and thirty-six dollars in Illinois paper and ten dollars Urbana paper, Ohio."
In 1850 William Bridges, retiring treasurer, was allowed a credit of twenty-
one dollars for "depreciated bank paper remaining in his hands."

I apprehend that at a still earlier day, when money was not to be had,
that taxes were paid in furs, merchandise or products of the farm, for in
1826 the board of justices ordered the county agent "to notify those per-
sons indebted for public property that unless the debts due the county are
paid by the 25th of December next suit will be brought on the same, and
that after that time nothing will be taken but specie."

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 97

Prior to 1843 the county treasurer was appointed yearly by the board
of county justices and commissioners; in that year the office was made
elective, the incumbent to serve thrtt years. In 1851 the office was made a
constitutional office, and the term fixed at two years, where it has since re-
mained. No person is eligible more than four years in any period of six.

Since December i, 1907, under the provisions of the act creating
depositories of public funds (Acts 1907, p. 391, and amendments thereto;
Acts 1909, pp. 182, 324, 437; Acts 191 1, pp. 425, 616; Acts 1913, p. 279),
the county treasurer is required to deposit all county funds and other public
funds in banks and trust companies selected by the county board of finance,
and keep daily balances showing the amount and character of such deposits.
The county thus gets the benefit of interest on all its funds and the treasurer
has now no income from interest on public funds, nor may he convert them
to his own use for any purpose.

The treasurer, upon receipt of the tax duplicate from the auditor, pro-
ceeds to give notice to all persons of the several rates of taxation in the
various townships and municipalities. ,Under our law, taxes for any year are
collected the ensuing year; thus, taxes collected in 19 13 are based upon the
assessments and levies made in 191 2. Taxes are payable in two install-
ments, the first half becoming delinquent after the first Monday in May,
and the second half after the first Monday in November. But all road taxes
piust be paid at the first payment, at which time, if the taxpayer has "worked
out'' his road tax under the direction of the road supervisor, he is allowed
credit tnerefor by the treasurer. Under the recent act of 1913, however,
the taxpayer may work out his road tax only to the amount of twenty dol-
lars, and the excess must be paid to the treasurer in cash.

The county treasurer must also receipt and account for all other money
due the county, including principal and interest of school funds, fees collected
by county officers, proceeds of sale of county bonds, fines and forfeitures, and
many license fees. He makes settlement with the state semi-annually, on the
first days of July and January. He also pays twice a year to the township
trustees the revenues belongfing to the townships. He collects all taxes due
incorporated towns, and makes semi-annual settlement with the town treas-
urers.

Since the act of 1909, abolishing the office of city treasurer in certain
cities of the fifth class, the treasurer of Johnson county has acted as treasurer
of the city of Franklin, collecting all taxes and special assessments and pay-

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98 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

ing out the same on warrant of the city clerk under order of the common
council. He also serves as treasurer of the funds belonging to the Franklin
public library.

The treasurer is ex-officio a member of the county board of review, and
for his services as such receives a per diem of three dollars. The city of
Franklin pays him an annual salary of three hundred dollars as city treas-
urer. His salary as county treasurer is one thousand nine hundred dollars,
and he also receives six per cent, on all delinquent tax collections, which
amount to about three hundred dollars. The total cost of the office to the
county in 19 12 was $2,836.76.

The following named persons have filled the office of county treasurer:

Joseph Young 1823-1827

John Adams 1827-1836

Robert Gillcrees 1836-1841

Madison Vandivier 1841-1842

William C. Jones 1842-1844

William F. John ^—1844-1845

William Bridges 1845-1850

Henry Fox 1850-1853

William H. Jennings 1853-1856

Jacob F. McClellan 1856-1861

John Herriott 1861-1863

Hascall N. Pinney 1863-1865

William S. Ragsdale 1865-1869

George Cutsinger 1869-1874

John W. Ragsdale 1874-1878

George W. Gilchrist 1878-1882

David Swift 1882-1886

James Jacobs 1886-1890

Thomas E. Valentine 1890-1894

William H. Breeding 1894-1896

William B. Jennings 1896-1901

William A. Bridges 1901-1905

George W. Wyrick 1905-1909

Thomas J. Forsyth 1909-1913

Harry Bridges 1913- ' —

John W. Wilson was elected to succeed George Cutsinger in 1872, but

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 99

he died March 2, 1873, before his term of office began, and Cutsinger held
over until after the general election in 1874.

William F. John, the first treasurer elected by the people, qualified
September 4, 1844, and died during his term. His successor, William
Bridges, qualified September i, 1845. See Commissioners' Record, page
169. Bridges resigned January 7, 1850, and his successor, Henry Fox, was
appointed on the next day.

CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT.

The clerk of the circuit court receives and files all pleadings presented
to the court and makes a record of their entry; attends all sessions of the
circuit court and administers oaths to witnesses ; issues all writs and processes
under seal of the court; records all judgments and entries of the court. He
may in vacation of court issue letters of administration upon the estates of
deceased persons and admit wills to probate, as well as issue letters of guard-
ianship over the estate of minors. He collects all money due the county for
fees for services rendered by himself or the sheriff: handles all funds be-
longing to estates for distribution; collects all judgments, and makes quar-
terly settlement with the treasurer for fees of his office collected.

He issues marriage licenses, hunting licenses, and many other special
licenses. In insanity cases, he makes record of the proceedings and applica-
tion for admission to the asylum and furnishes suitable clothing to the in-
mate. He is ex-officio a member of the board of election commissioners,
filing all certificates of nomination, preparing all ballots and supplies, re-
ceives all returns, and keeps a record of the same. He is ex-officio a jury
commissioner, in the filling of the grand and petit jury panels. He certifies
to all transcripts and copies of records in his office.

He is required to keep his office open at the county seat every day in
the year (Sundays and the Fourth of July excepted), between the hours of
nine A. M. ^nd four P. M. He must in our county furnish a bond in the sum
of fifteen thousand dollars, to the approval of the board of commissioners.
He is allowed a salary of two thousand, two hundred dollars', an allowance
of two dollars per day for attendance in court, certain mileage and allow-
ances in election cases, and since the act of 1913 is allowed to retain the fees
charged for transcripts to be used on appeal to the circuit court. The clerk's
salary for 191 2, including all fees and allowances, amounted to $2,836.76.

Samuel Herriott was the first clerk of the circuit court, serving as such
from the first organization of the county until May, 1839, when he resigned

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lOO JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

and the vacancy was filled by the selection of David Allen. Herriott was
one of the first three men to engage in the mercantile business in the city of
Franklin, locating here in 1825. He built the first jail and turned over
the keys therefor to John Smiley, sheriff, in January, 1827. On the 9th day
of March, 1830, he and John Herriott made a contract with a committee,
consisting of Abraham Lowe, Thomas Henderson, Mahlon Saybold and
George W. King, representing the board of county justices, to build a court
house in the town of Franklin. The work on the court house was com-
pleted and final payment was made to the contractors in May, 1833. I^ ^^^
without doubt the largest public contract carried out up to that time, as the
pa)rments made to the contractors indicate a contract price of about one
thousand dollars.

According to Judge Banta the new county-seat town received its name
of Franklin at the sugggestion of Herriott, who had by reading a biography
of Dr. Benjamin Franklin become a sincere admirer of the greatest civilian
of colonial history. Samuel Herriott and Joseph Young, partners in the
mercantile business, erected the first frame building in Franklin tow^nship, a
store room on the northwest corner of the public square. He was a Whig
in politics and the leader of his faction. He was also a leader in financial
aflFajrs, being the organizer and president of the Franklin Insurance Com-
pany. And when the insurance company, in 1856, took the form of a bank-
ing organization, he became the first president of the Indiana Farmers'
Bank at Franklin. He died in Franklin on May i, 1863, at the age of
seventy-two years.

David Allen, the second clerk of the circuit court, serving from 1839 ^^
1844, was also sheriff of the county from 1845 to 1847. During the latter
part of his term as sheriff, he organized a company of soldiers for service in
the Mexican war and was made captain. He died of illness during his service
in the war, in the early part of the year 1847. His name is given by Judge
Banta and others as clerk during the year 1847, but Order Book 4, at page
86, of the records of the circuit court, shows that Isaac Jones died in May,
1847, during his term as cierk and that on the 29th day of May, 1847, Royal
S. Hicks was appointed clerk pro tern, to serve until the August election, at
which time Jacob Sibert was elected to the office.

Of those who filled the of!ice in later years perhaps none was better
known than William H. Bamett. Born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, on
October 10, 1820, he came with his father, Thomas, to Johnson county in
October, 1822. He came to Franklin at the age of thirty-two and became

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. lOI

deputy clerk under Jacob Sibert. From 1855 ^^ 1863 he was clerk and for
the next eight years was auditor. He served one year in the Legislature,
beginning in January, 1881. In 1886 he was elected recorder and served one
term.

One of the interesting episodes connected with the clerk's' office grew
out of the election of Isaac M. Thompson in the year 1870. Mr. Thompson
was the candidate on the Republican ticket, his opponent being Capt. W. A.
Owens. Mr. Thompson, according to the board of canvassers, received
a plurality of one hundred and fifty votes in the county. Mr. Owens con-
tested the election, and the cause was tried before the Hon. Samuel H. Bus-
kirk, a judge of the supreme court of Indiana, who handed down a long
opinion with his findings in the cause. A part of this finding we set out to
show how irregular was the method of voting then in vogue. After setting
forth the agreement of the parties to limit the evidence to be considered to
that concerning the election in Blue River township, the court proceeds : "8.
That the election board in Blue River township was composed of the fol-
lowing persons, namely : Isaac M. Thompson was the trustee of said town-
ship and by virtue of said office he acted as inspector of said election. James
Ward and Adolf Dambert acted as judges, John Ward and William Strawn
acted as clerks. James and John Ward belonged to and acted and voted with
the Democratic party, Adolf Dambert and William Strawn belonged to and
acted and voted with the Republican party. James and John Ward were
opposed to the nomination of William A. Owens as the Democratic candi-
date for clerk, but recognizing their obligation to vote for the nominee of
their party, they voted for Mr. Owens, but they secretly and at heart desired
the election of Mr. Thompson, who was their personal friend but political
opponent. But the evidence does not satisfy my mind that Mr. Thompson
knew of their secret wishes when he selected them to act as judge and clerk
of said election. The said James and John Ward had acted in the same
capacity in the said township for many years prior to said election and on all
of said occasions had been selected by and represented the Democratic
party. * * *

"That between 11 and 12 o'clock on the day of the election the members
of the board at different times went to their homes and got their dinner.
James Ward, Mr. Dambert and Mr. Strawn first went to dinner. They left
Mr. Thompson and John Ward. When they returned Mr. Thompson and
John Ward went to dinner. These different parties were absent from twenty
to thirty minutes. The polls were kept open and votes were received during

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I02 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the time when portions of the board were absent. When the three members
were absent Mr. Thompson received the votes and Mr. John Ward kept
both tally papers; while Messrs. Thompson and John Ward were absent,
Mr. James Ward received the votes and Mr. Strawn kept both tally papers.
There were about forty-seven votes received during the times when portions
of the board were absent. There was no evidence tending to show that any
illegal votes were received or that any legal votes were excluded during the
time when portions of the board were absent or that the ballot box was in
any manner interrupted with.

"That after the polls were closed the ballot box was unlocked and
opened and about twenty-five ballots were counted when the members of
the election board separated and went to supper. Mr. Dambert took with
him the ballots that had been counted and placed on the string. Mr. Thomp-
son locked the ballot box and put the key in his pocket. Mr. James Ward
took the ballot box under his arm and went home with Mr. Thompson for
supper. When they arrived at home at the residence of Mr. Thompson they
went into the family sitting room, where sat Miss Keifer, of Indianapolis, who
was visiting Mr. Thompson. Mr. Ward placed the ballot box on the bureau
in the sitting room and then took a seat and engaged in conversation with
Miss Keifer. Mr. Thompson immediately went into the kitchen. In a
short time he passed through the sitting room and went out and obtained a
beefsteak. On his return he passed through the sitting room without stop-
ping and went to kitchen ; from there he went to his stable ; during the time
Mr. Thompson was absent Mr. Ward and Miss Keifer remained all the
time in the sitting room and were so seated that the ballot box was all the
time in their view. When Mr. Thompson announced that supper was ready
Mr. Ward and Miss Keifer went into the adjoining room, leaving the ballot
box on the bureau, and the door between the two rooms was left open. Just
as the party were sitting down at table, Mr. Thompson remarked that the
ballot box had been left in the sitting room and stepped to the door and
reaching into the room took the ballot box and placed it in a safe in the
room where they were eating their supper, and it remained there until they
were done eating, when Mr. Ward took the box under his arm and in com-
pany with Mr. Thompson returned to the place of holding the election and
passed through the business part of town after being absent from thirty to
forty minutes. From the above facts I am satisfied that the ballot box was
not opened or in any manner interrupted with during the time it was absent
from the place of voting.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. IO3

"The election was held in a room fronting on one of the principal streets
of the town of Edinburg. The room was fifteen by fifteen. There was an
open glass front, which was not closed by shutters. A pane of glass was
taken out, through which the tickets were received. The ballot box was
placed on a stool about two or three feet from the window. During the
night the room was lighted by two oil lamps that gave a very imperfect
light and during the latter part of the night the light was very dim. During
the latter part of the night Mr. Strawn was sick and during a part of the
time Mr. John Ward had to keep up the entries on both tally sheets. Several
times during the counting of the ballots it was ascertained that the tally
sheets did not agree. When this was discovered the counting was stopped
and Mr. Strawn's tally sheet was corrected by Mr. Ward's tally sheet.

"That when the counting was completed and the returns made out, the
tickets and papers that did not have to be returned to the board of can-
vassers at the county seat were placed in the ballot box and, that being
locked, was delivered to Mr. Dambert, who took it to his house, where it re-
mained until the next morning, when he took it to Mr. Thompson's house
and left it with him. The ballot, box was retained by Mr. Thompson until
the Monday succeeding the election, when it was sealed in the presence of the
judge of said election, the contents had been looked at, but no careful ex-
amination having been made thereof, before the sealing.

"That the tally papers of the election in Blue River township shows
that Mr. Thompson received in the said township 383 votes and that Mr.
Owens received 95 votes. The ballot box was produced in open court. It
was admitted in open court that the box produced was the one used at said
election in said township and that it was in the same condition that it was
when produced before the board of canvassers, and the evidence showed that
when produced before the board of canvassers it was in the same condition
that it was when sealed up on the Monday succeeding the election. The
tickets found in the box were taken out and counted in open court, and under
the direction of the court the following facts were ascertained : There were
315 ballots that had the name printed or written the name of Isaac M.
Thompson; there were 35 ballots that had the name thereon *I. M. Thomp-
son,' which were counted Isaac M. Thompson; there were 10 ballots that
had the name William A. Owens printed thereon; a pencil mark had been
drawn across the name of Mr. Owens in such a manner as to mark the
erasure plain and distinct and there was no uniformity in making the eras-
ures. The name or word 'Thompson' in different hand writings and

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t04 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

variously spelled were written with pencil. These ten ballots were counted
for Isaac M. Thompson. There w^as one ballot without any number on it
with the name of Isaac M. Thompson printed thereon, and was properly
counted to contestee; counting all these ballots for Mr. Thompson, they
only make 351, being 32 less than the number counted for him as shown by
tally papers and returns of election board and certificates of the board of
canvassers.

"There were in the ballot box 96 ballots that had the name 'William A.
Owens' on them ; there were 2 ballots that had the name 'Owens' ; there were
5 ballots that had the name 'A. A. Owens' on them ; there was i ballot that
had on it the name 'Wm. Owens' ; there were 23 ballots that had the name
'William A. Owens' printed on them. Across the name of Mr. Owens on
these 23 ballots, a small and delicate mark was drawn with a pencil. The
marking seems to have been done by the same person. There is great uni-
formity in all the marks. The marks are not made in a careless and hurried
manner, but were made with deliberation and precision. The marks seem to
have been made with the deliberate purpose of having the legal effect of de-
stroying the ballots as votes for Mr. Owens, and that the marks should not
be so obvious to the voters that they could readily see it, but that it would
escape their attention and cause them to vote under the honest belief that they
were casting their votes for Mr. Owens who was their choice. The ex-
amination that I have made of these marks in daylight and by gas and with
different shades and reflections of light, the evidence of experts examined on
this trial and experiments that have been made by others in my presence have
satisfied me that these marks were made on these tickets before they were
placed in the ballot box and that the voters who deposited them in the ballot
box intended to and believed that they were voting for Mr. Owens and that
they did not discover the marks, and therefore they honestly and in perfectly
good faith and with the highest regards for truth testified that the name of
Mr. Owens was not marked on the ballots they had deposited. That if the
5, the I, the 2, and the 23 ballots hereuntofore referred to are added to the
96 ballots found in the ballot box for Mr. Owens it would make his vote in
Blue River township 127, which deducted from the ballots found in the box
for Mr. Thompson would leave a majority for the contestee in said township
of 225 votes instead of 288 as certified by the election board.

"That while the persons composing the election board in Blue River
township were guilty of irregularities in receiving votes when a part of the
members thereof were absent, in separating at supper time, in taking the

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JOHNSON COUNTY. INDIANA. IO5

ballot box away from the place of holding the election before the ballots
were all counted, in assorting the ballots and counting by fives instead of
counting them one by one as taken from the ballot box, in leaving the ballot
box containing the ballots and other papers unsealed until the Monday suc-
ceeding the election, and in counting for Mr. Thompson more votes than
there were ballots in the ballot box, there is no evidence from which I can
find that these things were done fraudulently or corruptly.''

"That there is no evidence in this cause that will justify me in finding
that any member of the election board in the said township of Blue River
was guilty of fraudulent or corrupt conduct or in any manner tampered with
the ballot box or the ballots by scratching any ballots or by taking out legal
ballots and putting in illegal or fraudulent ballots, nor that the contestee was
a party to or had any knowledge of the fraud that was practiced on the voters
by marking the name of Mr. Owens in such a manner as to escape observa-
tion.

"Upon the foregoing facts, I find for the defendant.'*

Not a few lawyers got their training in the legal profession in service
as deputy clerks. Fabius M. Finch, one of the early leaders at the bar and
twice honored with a place on the bench, was a deputy under Samuel Her-
riott. Royal S. Hicks and Charles Byfield were admitted to the bar but did
not engage in the practice of the law. Edward F. White began his training
for the profession as deputy under Samuel Harris and David Fitzgibbon, and
was followed in office by Thomas Williams, deputy for three years under
the last named clerk.

Of other deputies in the office whose services to the county deserve
mention are Ferd E. McClellan, deputy under Byfield and Daulton Wilson;
Dollie Van Vleet Burgett, who paved the way for woman's work in the court
house, during her brother's term as clerk; and Edna Flannagan, who has
served in a like capacity under Joseph A. Schmith and the present clerk.

The complete official register of the clerk's office is as follows :

Samuel Herriott 1823-1839

David Allen _• 1839-1844

Isaac Jones 1 1844-1847

Royal S. Hicks .1847-1850

Jacob Sibert 1850-1855

William H. Barnett 1855-1863

John W. Wilson . 1863-1871

Isaac M. Thompson 1871-1879 .

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106 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Thomas Hardin 1879-1883

Samuel Harris 1883-1887

David Fitzgibbon 1887-1891

Charles Byfield 1891-1899

Daulton Wilson 1899-1903

Gilbert B. Van Vleet 1903-1907

Joseph A. Schmith 1907-1911

James T. Gilmore 1911-

COUNTY SHERIFF.

Rawles, in his "Government of the People of the State of Indiana," thus
defines the duty of this office: "The sheriff is elected for a term of two
years, and no person is eligible more than four years in a period of six. The
office of sheriff had its origin in England many centuries ago, when that
country was divided into shires. The reeve was an official of great im-
portance who called the people together in the shire-moot or meeting, presided
over its sessions and executed its decrees ; whence came the name shire-reeve,
or sheriff. The office has been shorn of many of its duties and much of its
dignity; but it is yet the chief executive office of the county and of the
courts." The sheriff is a conservator of the peace. It is his duty to arrest
with or without a warrant persons committing crime or misdemeanor within
his view; and to suppress all breaches of the peace within his knowledge —
having authority to call to his aid the posse comitatus, or the power of the
county. If this force be not sufficient, he may call upon the governor of the
state. If the militia of the state can not put down the disorder, the governor
may call upon the President of the United States, whose duty it is to employ
the national forces to suppress insurrection. The sheriff is also required to
pursue and commit to jails all felons, and for this purpose he may go into
any county in the state. He is charged with the keeping of the jail and the
care of prisoners, and must protect them from mob violence. He attends and
preserves order in the circuit, criminal and superior courts, either in person
or by deputy, and executes -all decrees ; he transfers all prisoners under death
sentence to the state's pris6n for execution. He acts as deputy to the sheriff
of the supreme court. He performs certain duties in relation to elections."

It may be added that he also attends upon and serves the board of com-
missioners' court as he does the circuit court; he attends the sessions of the
county council and executes its orders ; he serves all processes issued on order

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. ID/

of the county board of review. As the clerk is the voice of the court,
speaking its will, so is the sheriff the arm of the court, enforcing its orders
and carrying out its decrees.

When there is neither sheriff nor coroner to attend upon the circuit
court, an elisor may be appointed to serve during the pendency of the matter
in which the regular officer is incapacitated. Prior to 1889, it was the duty
of the sheriff to hang the man upon whom the death penalty was inflicted, but
no legal hanging ever took place within the borders of the county.

The only mob violence ever recorded in the county grew out of the
murder of John Lyons, an old citizen of Pleasant township, in the late sixties.
Lyons had sold two cows at the stock yards in Indianapolis for seventy dol-
lars, and two men by the name of Hatchell and Patterson, who saw him
pocket the money, followed him to his home in this county and, breaking in
the door with a rail, robbed and slew their victim in the presence of Jiis aged
wife. Capt. William A. Owens, then sheriff, took up the clews at hand and
finding the men, who were frequenters of saloons near the stockyards, engaged
in reckless spending of their foully gotten money, arrested them and brought
them to the old jail on the southwest corner of the court house square. On
the way, Hatchell confessed the crime and, his story spreading, the community
took fire. Hastily organizing, a mob of one hundred rode down to the
town on horseback, sending a committee ahead to demand the key to the lock-
up of the sheriff.

At that time, there were three prisoners in the jail, Hatchell and Patter-
son, and Peter Dittman, who was charged with the killing of a wornan at
Edinburg, The lock-up consisted of two cells, one on the first floor for men
and the other on the second floor for women. The door to the cell was
secured by an immense lock, twelve by sixteen inches, with a key a foot long.
About the court house yard was a tight board fence about four feet high and
just outside of that stood a row of posts, with a chain loosely attached thereto
serving as a hitch rack.

As soon as Owens learned of the purpose of the mob, he hastened to the
court house and hid the key to the cell in his office safe. Then sending his
son to arouse the town, he went back to the jail, where he was seized and
bound by the mob, who had followed closely upon their committee. After
searching the premises for the key and failing to get any information from
Owens, the mob sent men to Turner's blacksmith shop, just south of the
square, who soon returned with sledge hammers.

In the meantime, several citizens including G. M. Overstreet, Samuel P.

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I08 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Oyler, T. W. Woollen, all prominent attorneys, had responded to Owen's call,
and attempted to dissuade the mob from their violence. But the lawyers'
speeches were very impatiently listened to and soon rudely interrupted by the
blows of the sledge hammers on the cell lock. It was the work of but a few
minutes to reach the prisoners. Hatchell and Dittman were seized and
hurried away on horseback. The mob had proceeded only a square north on
Main street when they were persuaded by the violent protests of Dittman
of their mistake. One half of their number went back to the jail with EHtt-
man, who was identified by the sheriff, and him they left as they secured
Patterson, who had been cowering in a corner of his cell.

Patterson was brought out to be placed on horseback, but as he was
helped up he leaped over the horse, scaled the west fence, but fell headlong
over the hitch chain. This fall enabled the mob to press him closely and they
at last brought him to the ground in the alley west of Ditmar's store, with a
bullet, in his thigh. The mob then reformed, and proceeded north on the
state road to Lysander Adams' woods, just north of the present corporation
line. There to the wide spreading limb of a beech tree, the victims were
hung. The horses on which the men rode were led under the limb, the ropes
passed over the limb, tied about the body of the tree, and the horses led from
under the dangling bodies. The mob made sure of its work, and waited until
all signs of life were extinct. The bodies were then lowered to the ground
and a rail fence built around them, where they lay until a late hour the next
morning.

No real attempt was made to investigate this violent deed. Too many
prominent men of the north part of the county were involved. And while
Dittman was brought back from the penitentiary as a witness before the
grand jury, he was of course unable to identify any member of the mob and
while the grand jury returned indictments against six or seven men, supposed
to be most deeeply involved, upon a trial of the cause in the circuit court, a ver-
dict of not guilty, in the first case tried, was returned, and the inquiry was
abandoned. But to many yet living the memory of that night is a sad and
terrible one.

Under the common law practice, prior to the adoption of the new state
constitution in 185 1 the sheriff was called upon frequently to make "arrests"
in civil actions. The first action tried before the circuit court of Johnson
county was "an action on the case," in which the plaintiffs allege that the
defendant, William Hunt, by his promissory note in writing, promised to pay
to plaintiffs the sum of seventy-seven dollars, but that "said defendant not

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. . IO9

regarding his said promise and undertaking so by him made in this behalf as
aforesaid, but contriving and fraudulently intending craftily and subtilely to
deceive and defraud the said plaintiff, hath not as yet paid the said sum of
money." Pursuant to this action, "a writ of capias ad respondendum issued
out of the clerk's office directed to the sheriff of the county of Johnson re-
turnable to the first day of the term on the back of which w-rit was an endorse-
ment requiring bail/' The sheriff duly executed the writ by an arrest of the
defendant, but upon giving special bail, he was released pending the action.
On the trial of the case, defendant failed to appear, and judgment was
entered on default. 'Then comes William W. Robison, special bail for the
said William Hunt, and surrenders the body of the said William Hunt in
discharge of his recognizance of special bail, and upon prayer of the said
plaintiff it is ordered that the said William Hunt be committed to and con-
tinue in the capacity of the sheriff until discharged by the payment of the
judgment or otherwise."

Eveiy person imprisoned in a civil action was allowed the privilege of
"prison bounds,'* which were fixed by statute as the limits of the county. H
a man committed to jail on civil process made affidavit that he was unable to
support himself, the party on whose suit he was confined must pay his board
in jail, or the sheriff might discharge him, as the county paid only for "diet-
ing'' the prisoners in criminal action. I observe that by the Revised Statutes
of 1843 ^he sheriff wasj as now, required to keep the jail, but our records
show accounts with Tobias Woods, "Jailor," as late as 1845.

According to Judge Banta (Historical Sketch of Johnson County, page
106), "great confusion seems to have existed from 1844 to 185 1 in the
sheriff's office. He gives the list as follows: Isaac Jones, 1839-1841 ; un-
known, 1841-1842; Austin Jacobs, 1842-1844; Samuel Hall, John Jackson,
Wm. C. Jones, 1844; David Allen, 1844-1845; Robert Johnson, Nixon
Hughes, Wm. Bridges, 1847; Wm. H. Jennings, 1847-1851.

The records of the commissioners' court show that Isaac Jones served
not only in the years above given, but also in 1841, 1842 and until
after the August election in 1843 (See Com. Rec. "B," pp. 400, 416). Austin
Jacobs filled the office until after the June term, 1844. The records at the
September term, 1844, recite : "It appearing that there is no acting sheriff at
this time, Wylie Jones is appointed sheriff pro tem for the present session of
the board." At the ensuing December term, William C. Jones is allowed for
services as sheriff, but there is no record of his appointment. At the March
term, 1845, Samuel Hall, sheriff, is allowed twenty-three dollars thirty-three

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no JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

and one-third cents for his services extra as sheriff for the four months end-
ing the first Monday in March, 1845. ^^^tU continues to serve as sheriff at
the June term, 1845, and until September i, 1845 (see Commissioners' Rec-
ord "B'', p. 179).

David Allen was elected at the August election, 1845. Robert Johnson
was elected at the August election, 1847, ^^^ continued to serve until Aug-
ust 23, 1849. I fij^d no authority for the statement that John Jackson, Nixon
Hughes, or William Bridges served as sheriff at any time during the forties,
under any election or regular appointment.

The following list of those who have served as sheriff, I believe to be
correct: John Smiley, 1823-1827; Joab Woodruff, 1827-1831; John S.
Thompson, 1831-1835; David Allen, 1835-1839; Isaac Jones, 1839-1843;
Austin Jacobs, 1843- 1844; Wylie Jones (pro tem), 1844; Samuel Hall, 1844-
1845; David Allen, 1845-1847; Robert Johnson, 1847-1849; William H.
Jennings, 1849-1853; H. L. McClellan, 1853-1857; Noah Perry, 1857-1859;
Eli Butler, 1859-1863; John W. Higgins, 1863-1867; William A. Owens,
1867-1871; Robert Gillaspy, 1871-1875; James H. Pudney, 1875-1879; Wil-
liam Neal, 1879-1883; George C Stuart, 1883-1887; Jacob Hazelett, 1887-
1889; Preston Maiden, 1889-1890; James Curry, 1890; Jas. K. P. Mussel-
man, 1890-1894; John C. Weddle, 1894-1898; James G. Brown, 1898-1903;
James W. Baldwin, 1903-1907; Hal F. Musselman, 1907-1911; Ozais E.
Vandivier, 191 1.

COUNTY RECORDER.

In the recorder's office are found records of deeds of conveyance of land ;
leases for a longer term than three years; mortgages of real and personal
property and releases thereof; notices of mechanics' liens; deeds of assign-
ment in cases of insolvency; articles of association and certificates of incor-
poration; ditch and highway assessments; plats of all additions to cities and
towns; articles of apprenticeship and descriptions of ear marks and brands,
although these last named have not been found of record within many years
past.

Conveyances of land are recorded in "Deed Records"; mortgages and
liens of a like character in "Mortgage Records'* ; city and town plats in "Plat
Records" ; the other records in "Miscellaneous Records" ; and all are indexed
in alphabetical order, so that it is easy for any one to find a needed record.
For many years, persons were allowed forty-five days in which to file for
record all deeds, mortgages and leases. But the new law (Acts 1913, p. 233)
is of so much importance that it is herewith given in full :

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. Ill

"Every conveyance or mortgage of lands or of any interest therein and
every lease for more than three years shall be recorded in the recorder's office
of the county where such lands shall be situated ; and every conveyance, mort-
gage or lease shall take priority according to the time of the filing thereof;
and such conveyance, mortgage or lease shall be fraudulent and void as against
any subsequent purchaser, lessee or mortgagee in good faith and for a valu-
able consideration, having his deed, mortgage or lease first recorded ; the same
to be in effect on and after January i, 1914."

The first deed record was delivered at the recorder's office on August 14,
1824.

The first deed of record bears date of August 7, 1822, and was executed
by Abraham Lee, of Franklin county, Indiana, to Margaret Hunt, of the same
place. It was not recorded in this county until September 3, 1824. The
lands are described as the west half of the northwest quarter of section 34,
township II north, of range 5 east, in the District of Brookville — referring
to the land office opened at Brookville, Indiana, in 1820, for entry of lands
in the New Purchase. The first deed executed in Johnson county bears date
of August 14, 1823, and conveyed lands in "Nineve" township.

The first mortgage of record was a chattel mortgage executed by Rich-
ard Ship to his brother, John Ship, and bearing date August 7, 1824. The
record is an interesting commentary on the life and letters of the time.
Among the securities offered are the following : "One large bible ; Bigland's
View of the World, five volumes; Buck's Theological Dicksanary, two vol-
umes; Davises sermons, three volumes; Gills explanation on the scripture,
three volumes; Fuller's works, four volumes; Fletchers works, six volumes;
Butterworth's concordence; three volumes of Buck's works; three arith-
matecks; Scott's essays; one volume Tatler's works; four volumes Walker's
Dicksanary ; Edwards on the will, one volume ; Dick on Inspiration ; Weather-
spoon on election, one volume; Souen's Sermons, one volume; Harvey's
Meditations, one volume; Parens Greek Lexicon; twenty volumes of greek
and Latin ; twenty volumes of other books."

William Shaffer, the first recorder, was a carpenter or house-joiner, and
not very adept in the use of the pen. Many of his records were penned by a
deputy. No record is found to show how he secured his election or appoint-
ment in 1823. The first election returns now extant and showing his election
are those for the August election of 1829.

J. R. Qemmer, one of the most popular young men of the county, dur*
ing his second term as recorder, left the town of Franklin on the 22nd day

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112 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

of October, 1884, and was never thereafter heard from. His mysterious
disappearance was the sensation of the time, and his friends have always
believed that murder lay behind the mystery. His brother, George W. Clem-
mer, performed the duties of the office until June 9„ 1885, when James T.
Trout, an appointee of the county board, took up the duties of the office.

The salary of the office now is one thousand four hundred dollars.
Where he collects fees in excess of the amount of his salary, he is allowed
to retain thirty per cent, of the excess as additional compensation. The total
cost of the office to the people of the county for the year 1912 was one thou-
sand» five hundred seventy-seven dollars and thirty-four cents. The official
list follows: William Shaffer, 1823- 1836; Pierson Murphy, 1836- 1843;
Thomas Alexander, 1843-1844; Jacob Peggs, 1844-1859; William S. Rags-
dale, 1859-1863; Willett Tyler, 1863-1867; Jacob Peggs, 1867-1875; George
W. Demaree, 1875- 1879; Jefferson R. Clemmer, 1879- 1885; James T. Trout,
1885-1887; William H. Bamett, 1 887-1 891 ; George W. Clemmer, 1891-
1895; J^'^^ Bt% 1895-1899; Silas W. Trout, 1899-1903; Lewis T. Deer,
1903-1907; William M. Burgett, 1907-1911 ; Chauncey J. Powell, 191 1.

THE CORONER.

Only two county officers were required to be elected under the constitu-
tion of 1816 — ^the sheriff and coroner. The office is one of great antiquity.
Originally the coroner or crowner was appointed by the King and was the
special representative of the King in the county. They held courts of inquiry
over unusual calamities like wrecks, fires and sudden deaths to fix responsi-
bility if possible. In the course of time, the office became elective and the
duties confined to investigation of deaths under any mysterious or suspicious
circumstances.

The coroner in such case holds an inquest w^ith the aid of a jury of
twelve, witnesses are heard, sometimes autopsies made, and if the facts are
sufficient to indicate murder and to implicate the guilty, he may order arrest.
Many think that the office has lost its usefulness, other agencies better adapted
to the investigation of crime now being at hand.

The coroner receives only certain fees, the total cost of the office for
1912 being three hundred sixty-two dollars and forty cents.

Curtis Pritchard was the first coroner, elected in 1823. In 1827, Jeffer-
son D. Jones succeeded him. Below- is a list of those who have served
since 1859: Henry Whitesides, 1859-1863; Lemuel Tilson, 1863-1868; Will-
iam H. Jennings, 1868-1869; Hume Sturgeon, 1869-1872; J. Henry Fuller,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. II3

1872-1873: William S. Ragsdale, 1873-1874; John D. Van Nuys, 1874- 1875;
William S. Ragsdale, 1875-1876; Hume Sturgeon, 1876-1878; John F. Mc-
Clellan, 1878-1882; Howard Thompson, 1882-1885; John F. McClellan,
1885-1886; James T. Jones, 1886-1890; L. L. Whitesides, 1890*1893; James
T. Jones, 1893-1898; Rufus W. Terhune, 1898-1907; Daniel W. Sheek, 1907.

TBfE COUNTY SURVEYOR.

In the pioneer days of Kentucky, the settler selected a tract of land to
his liking, and had a rude survey made, marking the limits of his land by
blazing trees. So difficult was it to identify a survey thus rriade that several
patents would often be issued for the same body of land, and much needless
litigation arose between the contending claimants. In the settlement of the
Northwest territory, this confusion of entries was avoided by the system of
survey suggested by Thomas Jefferson. The Jeffersonian survey, authorized
by the land ordinance of Congress in 1785, called for the location of lines
running north and south to be known as "meridian lines," and of lines run-
ning east and west to be known as "base lines.'' The first principal meridian
is the dividing line between Ohio and Indiana. The second principal meridian
is a line running due north from the mouth of Little Blue river, eighty-nine
miles west of the eastern line of Indiana. On each side of the principal
meridian, there are marked out subordinate meridians, called range lines, six
miles apart, and numbered east and west from their meridian. The west line
of Johnson county is parallel with and twelve miles east of the second prin-
cipal meridian.

This meridian line is intersected at right angles by a line running east
and west called a base line. The only base line running through the state of
Indiana crosses it from east to west in latitude thirty-eight degrees thirty
minutes, leaving the Ohio river about twenty-five miles above Louisville, and
striking the Wabash four miles above the mouth of White river, and inter-
secting the second principal meridian at a point six miles south of Paoli, in
Orange county. The south line of Johnson county is parallel with and sixty
miles north of the base line. On each side of this base line are drawn sub-
ordinate parallels called township lines, six miles apart, and numbered north
and south from the base line.

By these range lines running north and south and the township lines
running cast and west, the whole state is divided into congressional town-
ships, each six miles square. For illustration, Hensley township, in Johnson

(8)

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114 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

county, is in the southwest corner of the county, and is six miles square; it is
therefore in range 3 east and in township 1 1 north ; Union township, which
lies immediately north of Hensley and is also six miles square, lies all in range

3 east, and in township 12 north; while Nineveh township, lying just east of
Hensley and being six miles square, lies all in township 1 1 north and in range

4 east.

Each congressional township, therefore, being six miles square, con-
tains thirty-six square miles of territory, each square mile being called a
section, and bearing its proper number. Section number i is always found
in the northeast corner of the township, thence numbering west to section 6
in the northwest corner of the township ; section 7 is found immediately south
of section 6, and the numbering proceeds thence east to section 12, lying
directly south of section i ; and so the numbering proceeds to section 36 in the
southeast corner of the township.

For further convenience, each section is further divided into quarter
sections, each containing one hundred and sixty acres, and named northeast,
northwest, southwest and southeast, according to their location. The quarter
section is further subdivided into halves, each containing eighty acres, and
into quarters, each containing forty acres. With this checkerboard arrange-
ment, it is possible to number and identify easily all regular plots of ground.
Thus a square ten-acre tract of land in the southeast corner of a section is
called the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter
of that section.

Corner stones or other monuments have been set out and properly marked
at the comers of all sections, and at the half-mile points between them, a rec-
ord of which is kept at the surveyor's office. Additional monuments to mark
the smaller subdivisions of the section are also placed by the surveyor on
proper petition after notice to the land owners interested.

This regular and convenient system of survey not only made it possible
for early settlers to locate and identify their entries without the aid of a sur-
veyor, and save much needless litigation over conflicting boundary lines, but
it had other important tendencies. Square townships are apt to make square
or rectangular counties and the state is also likely to have a more .S3rm-
metrical shape. The counties of Virginia and Kentucky, taking shape from
river or mountain boundaries, are jagged and irregular in outline, while the
counties of Indiana are more likely to be bounded by parallel lines. Our
highways thus come to be laid out in regular and straight lines, giving easy
access in every direction and making the cultivation of the adjoining fields

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. II5

more convenient. Then, too, an eighty-acre tract could be purchased from
the government at the time of entry for one hundred dollars, or a forty-acre
tract for fifty dollars, thus rendering an ''entry of land" a simple and
easy business transaction.

It is often asked, why are the sections on the north and west side of
each congressional township fractional? Some of the half quarter sections
in our county, commonly called "eighties," really contain less than sixty
acres. The question bears a ready solution. The law, while it required the
meridian or township lines to be true north and south lines, also required the
townships to be square — ^an evident impossibility — for all true north and
south lines, by reason of the convexity of the earth's surface, converge to-
ward the poles, thus making the north line of the township shorter than the
south line. This inequality becomes more and more marked, the higher the
latitude of the survey. In the survey of our state, therefore, the lines were
corrected every six miles, the range lines again starting at correct distances
from the principal meridian. The survey being continued from the south
toward the north, the deficiency or excess is thrown to the west and north
sides of the township.

In making these surveys the instruments employed were a solar com-
pass; a surveyor's chain, thirty-three feet long, made up of fifty links;
eleven tally pins ; a telescope, and tools for marking trees and stones. In a
survey through the woods, trees on the line of the survey were marked by
two notches on each side, and sometimes trees near the line were blazed on
two sides quartering toward the line. One of the oldest highways in the
county, yet known as the Three Notch road, got its name from the blazes
used to mark its route. These marks or blazes were to be plainly recognized
for many years, indeed as long as the tree remains standing, for the scar is
never entirely covered in the growth of the tree. But, by reason of the re-
moval of the forest trees, nearly all such monuments have been destroyed, and
surveys are now witnessed by other monuments more durable, or less likely
to be removed.

Nineveh township was surveyed by Abraham Lee in the year 1819. In
June, 1820, that part of Franklin township lying in township 12, of range 5
(now in Needham township), was surveyed by John Hendricks. In August
of the same year that part of Franklin township l)ring in range 4 was sur-
veyed by Thomas Hendricks. In the month of August, 1820, John Hen-
dricks also surveyed all the lands in Blue River township, and after he had

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Il6 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

finished this work he surveyed Union township. Hensley was surveyed at
about the same time by B. Bently, who ako surveyed that part of White River
township lying in township 13. W. B. McLaughlin surveyed all of White
River township in township 14 north. Later in the same year Thomas Hen-
dricks surveyed all the lands in what is now Pleasant township, while John
Hendricks surveyed all the lands contained in the present limits of Clark
township.

Taking into consideration the difficulties in the way of an accurate
survey, the unbroken wilderness, the tangled undergrowth, the unbridged
streams, the almost endless marshes in some sections, it is surprising with
what degree of accuracy this pioneer work of survey was dbne. And had
the fciter records been made and kept with the care and fidelity of the first,
•little trouble would ever have been met in conveyancing or tracing records.
But carelessness crept in, and in many of the deeds and court records, so little
care was used as to render them meaningless to us. For example, one peti-
tion for a highway filled in commissioners' court thus defines its^ course:
''Commencing at the end of a road running from Jacob Peggs, Esq., crossing
the Madison road above David Trout's old stand, in by Littleton Hills to the
three notch line where it makes a sudden halt."

Since the constitution of 185 1 was adopted the county surveyor is
elected f^r a terra of two years. He is charged with the duty of making and
preserving an accurate record of all surveys, and of planning and supervising
the construction of all highways and drains. He prepares plans and specifi-
cations for all bridge work, under direction of the board of commissioners,
and has charge of all repair work on drains. As drainage commissioner he
is entitled to receive as compensation four dollars per day for time actually
employed, but in ordinary field work he is entitled to charge certain fees
specified by statute. The surveyor of Johnson county was paid for his services
to the county in the year 1912 the sum of $1,186.72, but this does not include
private work nor allowances as commissioner in partition cases.

Prior to 1851 the office of surveyor was filled by appointment of the
board of commissioners. Judge Banta says that the following persons filled
the office of surveyor : James H. Wishard, Thomas Williams, Hiram Graves
and G. M. Overstreet. James H. Wishard was appointed county surveyor
March 2, 1846, for a term of three years. Commissioner's Record "B,"
page 43, shows the appointment of John S. "Hougham at the August term,
1848, and the earliest field notes now of record bear date of that year. He
served until the election of Franklin Hardin under the new constitution.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. , II7

The following persons have served as county surveyor since 1851 :

Franklin Hardin i852-'54

John S. Hougham iSs4-'56

Peterson K. Parr i856-'58

John E. Stretcher i858-'6i

W. W. Hubbard i86i-'65

Joseph J. Moore 1865-'67

Peterson K. Parr ___! 1867-^0

W. M. Elliott i870-'72

Wilson T. Hougham l872-'74

Peterson K. Parr , i874-'78

David A. Leach .. i878-'82

Wilson T. Hougham i882-'86

Ben R. Ransdell 1 i886-'90

Floyd S. Owens i890-'92

Ben R. Ransdell ^ 1 i892-'93

Thomas Hardin i893-'94

Wilson T. Hougham i894-*96

Elba L. Branigin J i896-'98

John E. Jolliffe i898-'o4

John B. Duckworth i904-'r4

COUNTY ASSESSOR.

The assessment of real and personal property for the purposes of taxa-
tion has been a vexatious problem in Indiana, and the subject of many legis-
lative experiments. In the beginning the tax levy was a specific listing of
chattels without regard to value, aided by special licenses on various occupa-
tions. The first tax levy of record was made by the board of county justices
in 1826 and reads as follows:

"Ordered, that for the purpose of raising a county revenue for the year
1826, there be levied on each horse, mule or ass over three years old 37 J4 cents ;
on each work oxen, 18^ cents; on each gold watch, $1.00; on each silver
or pinch-back watch, 25 cents; on each white male person over the age of 21
years, 50 cents; on license to retail foreign merchandise, $15.00; on license
for tavern, $5.00; on ferrys, $2.50; on each covering horse, $2.00."

For the year 1827 were added special license fees on retailers of spirit-
nous liquors ; a tax of one dollar on each pleasure carriage and on each brass

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Il8 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

clock, sixty-two and one-half cents. Real estate also comes under the tax
gatherer's eye, the levy being twenty-five cents on each one hundred acres of
first rate land, twenty cents on same acreage of second rate land, and sixteen
cents on third rate land. It cost the same to own four hundred acres of first
rate land as it did to enjoy the luxury of a pleasure carriage. The gold watch
and three hundred acres of the best land had the same value in the eyes of the
tax collector.

In the year 1828 th^re was added a levy of fifty cents per one hundred
dollars in value on each town lot — the first recognition of value as a basis of
taxation. It was not until 1839 that the county board made a levy of taxes
by fixing a rate on valuation, and even then many special license fees were
levied. For state purposes a levy of fifteen cents on the hundred dollars was
levied, as well as a poll tax of fifty cents.. For county purposes the rate was
seven cents, with a poll tax of fifty cents; for road purposes, three cents.
License fees were fixed as follows: On each license to vend clocks, $50;
exhibit shows, $50 per day; to keep a ferry, $2.50; and to vend liquors, $10.

It cost just twenty doIlai:s to secure an assessment of all property in the
county in 1826. William Barnett, of Blue River, John S. Miller, of Nineveh,
Hugh Williams, of Franklin, and Absalom Lowe, of White River, each re-
ceived five dollars for assessing their respective townships, the county being
then divided into four townships named. "Listers" were also appointed
for the various townships in 1827, and such appointments were made by the
county board at each January session succeeding until the March term, 1836,
when they divided the county into seven districts and appointments of as-
sessors were named by districts. This arrangement continued until the year
1840, when, at the January session, William C. Jones was appointed as
assessor for the entire county.

Thenceforward and until the Constitution of 185 1 the county assessor
and his deputies prepared the assessment roll for the whole county. He was
elected for a term of two years, and was allowed two dollars per day for
services of himself or deputy. By the new Constitution the assessment of all
real and personal property was entrusted to township assessors elected by the
voters of the several townships. And so it yet remains, except as to certain
corporation property whose valuation is now fixed by the state board of tax
commissioners.

The tax law of 1891 (Acts 1891, page 199) created the office of county
assessor, fixing his term at four years, but limiting his authority to the cor-
rection of errors in the returns of the township assessors, and to the addition

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. II9

of property omitted from the lists. Together with the auditor and treasurer,
then constituting the county board of review, he has authority to equalize
assessments of property and on notice to parties may add to the list any
omitted or undervalued property.

The county board of review is now composed of the auditor, treasurer,
assessor, and two freeholders appointed by the judge of the circuit court.
In this county the session begins on the first Monday in June and may
extend its session to thirty days. A per diem of three dollars is allowed each
member.

The county assessor of Johnson county receives an annual salary of
eight hundred and fifty dollars. The total cost of assessment of property in
the county for the year 1912, including pay of township assessors, county
assessor and the board of review, was $4,928.36.

The following named have served as county assessor :

William C. Jones 1840-1841

James Hughes 1841-1843

Daniel McClain 1843-1844

David R. McGaughey 1844-

John Ritchey 1844-1846 •

Jeremiah M. Woodruff 1846-1848

Malcolm M. Crow 1848-1850

Hume Sturgeon 1850-1851

Peterson K. Parr 1891-1896

Harvey M. Kephart 1896-1900

Francis P. Clark 1900-1906

Augustus D. Sullivan 1906

THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT.

The office of county superintendent of schools was created by the act of
March 8, 1873. He has general supervision of the public schools of the
county, except the city schools. It is his duty to grant teachers* licenses to
applicants who successfully pass the examination required by law. The
examination is public and the questions uniform throughout the state. Under
the old practice of holding the examinations in private, with no precise stand-
ards of tests, many abuses had grown up. It is recalled by B. F. Kennedy,
a pioneer teacher, that he secured a two-year license by successfully naming

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I20 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

and defining the different genders of nouns, as he and the county examiner
passed from the street to the court house door.

The superintendent of schools must at the time of his election hold a
thirty-six months' license, a sixty-months' license, a life license or a pro-
fessional license. He must visit each school under his charge annually; he
conducts county institutes, and in many school matters decides controversies
between school authorities; he makes requisitions for school books and
oversees their distribution. He reports the enumeration of school children
to the state authorities, as well as general school statistics. He is ex-officio
a member of the county board of education, consisting of the township
trustees and the chairmen of the boards of trustees of town schools. Aside
from the election of truant officer, the county board of education is chiefly a
friendly council of school officers.

At first a two-year office, the term was extended to four years by the
act of March 3, 1899, and under the act of 1913, page 160, the terms of all
county superintendents is extended to August 16, 191 7. The next election
of such officer will be held on the first Monday in June, 191 7, when an
election will be made by the township trustees, the auditor having a vote in
case of a tie. The reason assigned for such extension is that a previous
Legislature had extended the terms of the present township trustees until
January i, 191 5, so as to put the election of school officers in an "off year"
and escape the influence of partisan politics. And having extended the term
of the trustees, it would not be advisable to at once throw the new trustees
into the turmoil of an election for county superintendent. After they have
served two years, they will have more experience and will have had time to
learn how good an officer the present incumbent is.

The superintendent of schools is paid an annual salary in our county
of $1,408.50, the equivalent of $4.50 for each working day of the year. He
is required to give bond in the sum of $5,000, and is allowed office room in
the court house, together with postage and office expense. The total cost of
the office to the county for the year 1912 was $1,843.64.

As will be seen in another connection (see chapter on Education and
Schools) the matter of public education was given little consideration until
after the adoption of the new Constitution in 185 1. In that year the John-
son circuit court, at its March term, appointed A. B. Hunter, Duane Hicks
and Samuel P. Oyler as examiners for common school teachers. Prior to
that time, however, the following had served under appointment of the cir-
cuit court: Fabius M. Finch, Pierson Murphy and Gilderoy Hicks in 1834;

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 121

Hicks and John C. King in 1837; William Brand, Adam Carson and James
Ritchey in 1845. I" June, 1854, William H. Barnett, Jacob Peggs and J. H.
Williams were appointed school examiners by the board of commissioners;
Thomas W. Woollen was elected to same office in September, 1857; in 1861
and in 1865 JoHn H. Martin was elected; David D. Banta served in 1866,
and William T. Stott in 1870. These are the only school examiners whose
appointment I find of record, but doubtless others served.

Fortunately for our school work, the men at the head of our common
school system have been, almost without exception, men of high character
and scholarly attainments. The school examiners were not all educators, but
nearly all were professional men of the highest standing. Among the super-
intendents, Hervey D. Vories was in 1890 elected to the office of state
superintendent has just completed a term of four years as a member of the
superintendent of schools, and served the state acceptably. The present
state board of education.

It would not be fair to say, however, that politics has played no part in
selection of our school men. At the June meeting of the year 1907 the
trustees attempted to elect a county superintendent, but met with difficulty by
reason of the refusal of one trustee to attend and vote. Four of the trus-
tees, Paskins, of Hensley, Hughes, of Nineveh, Brickert, of White River,
and Haymaker, of Union, were Democrats and voted for the re-election of
Hendricks. Other four of the trustees, Williams, of Clark, McCoIlough, of
Franklin, Salisbury, of Needham, and McCartney, of Pleasant, were Re-
publicans and opposed to the election of a Democrat. J. M. Carvin, Repub-
lican trustee of Blue River, refused to attend any meeting. The auditor,
David A. Forsythe, was a Republican, but was not able to exercise his right
of casting the deciding vote, as the Democrats "filibustered" by splitting their
vote.

And so the matter stood, Hendricks holding over, until after the resig-
nation of Jchn R. Brickert, trustee of White River township, on February
12, 1898. Auditor Forsythe promptly appointed John Hardin, independent
Democrat, to succeed Brickert, and three days later, at a meeting of the
trustees, Hardin joined with the four Republicans in the election of John
W. Terman, Republican, and he was again elected at the regular June meet-
ing, 1899, serving four years, the office having been changed from a two to a
four-year office by the act of March 3, 1899.

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122 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

The official register is as follows:

B. F. Kennedy 1873-1875 *

John H. Martin 1875-1881

David A. Owen 1881-1883

M. F. Rickoff 1883-1885

Hervey D. Vories 1885-1891

Charles F. Patterson 1891-1894

Eldo L. Hendricks 1894-1898

John W. Terman 1898-1903

Jesse C. Webb 1903

Charles F. Patterson was first elected to succeed Vories, resigned, on
March 2, 1891. Eldo L. Hendricks was first elected to succeed Patterson,
resigned, on August 30, i8i94.

OTHER OFFICERS.

A short-hand reporter is appointed by the judge of the circuit court and
is allowed a per diem of five dollars. Mrs. Minnie Meggenhofen Owens was
court stenographer continuously from 1888 to 1909, and her record as such
was marked by unusual talent and fidelity to her important task. Miss
Myrtle Wiley, of Edinburg, has been the efficient reporter since 1909. Prior
to 1888 W. C. Sandefur and wife served the court in the same capacity,
they being the first short-hand reporters of the county.

A board of county charities and corrections and a board of childrens'
guardians are appointed by the judge of the circuit court. Each serves with-
out compensation. The first named have an oversight of the county insti-
tutions of a charitable and correctional nature; the second, of all neglected
and dependent children.

The county physician attends prisoners confined in the county jail and
inmates of the county poor asylum and orphans' home. He is appointed
yearly by the county board, at a salary fixed by it. The position pays one
hundred and fifty dollars yearly.

Two jury commissioners are appointed annually by the judge. They
receive a per diem allowance of three dollars. Together with the clerk of the
circuit court, they take from the tax duplicate a list of persons qualified by
law to serve as jurors and deposit the slips containing the names in the jury
box.

One week before each term of court they meet and draw from the box

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 23

the names of six persons, who are summoned as grand jurors, and other
twelve who are summoned as petit jurors. Under recent provisions of the
law, they are also called in to fill vacancies in the regular panel. In 191 2
grand and petit jurors and bailiffs were paid out of the county funds for
their services $4,928.36. This amount will henceforth be increased as the
per diem allowance of jurors was by the act of 191 3, page 114, increased
from one dollar and twenty-five cents to two dollars and fifty cents per day.

The county attorney is not, strictly speaking, a county officer. The courts
have held that the board of county commissioners have authority to employ
attorneys to prosecute actions in behalf of the county and defend the same.
But the office is not defined by statute, nor its duties prescribed. In some
counties the county attorney is employed to advise the county officers gen-
erally as to all questions affecting public interests. But in Johnson county
the more correct view is taken that the board only has authority to employ
attorneys to represent the county. The county attorney is required to attend
sessions of the board and of the county council and to prosecute and defend
all actions in which the county is a party. The first regular appointment of
county attorneys of record bears date of June 16, 1869. ^^ that time Banta
& Byfield were employed at fifty dollars per year. On March 15, 1871, after
Judge Banta went on the bench, Woollen & Byfield were appointed at a salary
of one hundred dollars per year, with extra pay for cases in circuit court.
On October 21, 1875, Judge Woollen was employed at a salary of three
hundred dollars per year. Beginning at the December term, 1876, Woollen
& Banta were retained as county attorneys at salaries varying from two
hundred and fifty to four hundred dollars until Judge Banta's removal from
Franklin in 1889. From 1889 to 1896 Judge Woollen ably represented the
county as its legal adviser, receiving a salary of two hundred dollars, at
which figure the salary of the office has since remained. White & White
next served for a term of four years, to be followed by Deupree & Slack
for a period of six years. George I. White was appointed county attorney
December 5, 1906, and served three years, and was followed by Branigin &
Williams for a like term. Miller & White were appointed at the January
term, 1913.

No counsel for pauper criminals has been regularly employed for many
years. On application to the court, such appointment is made under section
281, R. S. 1908.

The county truant officer is employed by the county board of education
annually, on the first Monday in May. He is charged with the duty of

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124 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

enforcing attendance of children at school, and receives a per diem of two
dollars. Last year he was paid $298.00. The office is regarded as a sinecure
and in the opinion of many ought to be abolished.

The secretary of the county board of health is appointed annually by
the board of commissioners. His principal duty is to keep a record of all
marriages, births, deaths, and cases of contagious diseases. He enforces
obedience to health laws and the regulations of the state board. The position
is now filled by Dr. Oren A. Province. The salary is three hundred and
fifteen dollars, and an allowance of fifteen dollars for office expenses.

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CHAPTER VI.

U.ENCH AND BAR OF JOHNSON COUNTY.

JUDGES OF CIRCUIT COURT.

William Watson Wick, the first judge to preside in our court, was a
most distinguished jurist and politician, as a sketch of his career will prove.
Born in Cannonsburg, Washington county, Pennsylvania,, on February 23,
1796, he was brought by his father, a Presbyterian minister, to Ohio in 1800.
He was reared on the farm, but, being a lover of books and not inclined to
his father's profession, he was sent to college and, aiter his father's death in
1 81 4, taught school for two years. He then went down the river to Cin-
cinnati, where he taught school by day and studied medicine at night. He
later turned to the study of law with the Hon. Thomas Corwin, of Lebanon,
Ohio, and in December, 1819, came to Connersville, Indiana. In 1820 he
served as clerk of the House of Representatives, and when a new circuit
was established on December 31, 1821, Wick was elected judge thereof, and
so became the first judge of the New Purchase, and early in 1822 moved to
Indianapolis, his home for many years.

At that time, and until the Constitution of 185 1, president judges were
elected by the General Assembly, and Wick owed his elevation to this high
office at the early age of twenty-five partly, no doubt, to his urbane manner
and his pleasant address, although he later showed much ability as a lawyer.
When he came to his new duties the circuit was composed of thirteen coun-
ties, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Greene, Owen, Marion, Hendricks, Rush,
Decatur, Bartholomew, Shelby, Jennings and Johnson. Judge Wick opened
his first session of court at Indianapolis at the house of General Carr on
September 26, 1822, but it was at once adjourned to another house on the
north side of Washington street, west of the canal. The second session was
begiin at Carr's house in May of the following year, but it was at once ad-
journed to the Washington Hall Tavern.

Judge Wick came to Johnson county in the fall of 1823 and held the
first court at the cabin of John Smiley on Sugar creek, on the i6th day of

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126 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

October. Smiley's cabin was a two-room log house, in one of which Judge
Wick held court, and in the other the grand jury met. Mrs. Smiley lay
sick in the jury room, and the story has been handed down that when Daniel
B. Wick, prosecuting attorney and brother of the judge, came into the room
he pulled a bottle of whisky from his pocket, first gallantly offered it to the
sick woman and then to the jurors. And the sick woman always thereafter
asserted that she alone refused the treat.

At this first term one civil case was heard by the court and disposed of.
The civil case was an action on account, "a plea of trespass on the case,"
demand seventy-seven dollars. Upon a default, judgment was entered and
the defendant is brought into court by his special bail and remanded to a
debtor's cell. Arrest in civil cases was a common occurrence, the plea us-
ually alleging that the defendant was "contriving and fraudulently intending
craftily and subtilely to deceive and defraud'' the plaintiff, and imprison-
ment for debt under this form of procedure was the usual fate of the un-
fortunate debtor.

In this action the firm of Gregg & Wilson are noted as attorneys for
the plaintiff, the first counsel at the bar of a Johnson county court. Harvey
Gregg, who two years later served as circuit prosecutor, was a most enter-
taining "circuit rider," and many stories are repeated of the incidents that
cheered the lonely trips from court to court. Judge Franklin Hardin lived
at the Bluffs of White River on the road then most in use from Franklin to
Indianapolis, and he had many opportunities to associate 'with the bar of
these earliest days. Court lasted only a few days, business was rushed
through, and the judge and the lawyers went their way together to the next
county seat. Frequently they traveled on horseback throughout the night,
beguiling the time with speeches on law, on politics or religion. Of Harvey
Gregg, Judge Hardin related that his favorite effort at entertainment was
an orthodox Calvinistic sermon. Gregg was a Kentuckian and had studied
for the ministry under the Rev. Archibald Cameron. He was able not only
to set forth the particular tenets of the various sharply defined creeds of the
day, but he was skillful in imitating the pulpit methods of the pioneer preach-
ers. He could caricature the more dignified address of the Scotch Cove-
nanters, the unlettered sermonizing of the backwoods Baptists, and the vehe-
ment appeal of the Methodists. One of the sermons of his old instructor
upon the text "Therefore being justified by faith," he had memorized, and
could repeat it from the first to the sixteenth head of the discourse with all
the unction and fervor of the old-fashioned Presbyterian preacher.

Judge Wick told another story of Harvey Gregg which is characteristic

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 12/

of the men and the times. It is thus repeated by Judge Banta in "The Bench
and Bar of Indiana": "The Bartholomew court came to an end late one
afternoon, when Judge Wick, Philip Sweetser and Harvey Gregg, at about
nightfall, took the road for Franklin. The road was next to impassable and
their progress was slow. Some time after the trio reached the place now
marked by the village of Amity, in Johnson county, an opossum was dis-
covered in the highway. At once one of the riders dismounted and suc-
ceeded in catching the animal before it could make off; he soon had it *pos-
suming.' Here was a new diversion. What should be done with the 'possum
found trespassing in the public way was the question. The trespasser was
at once put to trial. Wick sat as judge, Gregg prosecuted and Sweetser
defended, and the Judge long after asserted that the arguments of the two
lawyers were ingenious and highly entertaining. The beast was found
guilty of being *in, upon and obstructing the public highway/ and the judg-
ment of the court was that he should receive thirty-nine lashes, which pun-
ishment was at once administered, after which the party resumed their
journey and reached Franklin at daylight."

The criminal case disposed of at the March session of our court in
1824 was an indictment against David Burkhart for an affray with Richard
Berry. It was charged and proven that the defendant by agreement with
Berry fought together in a public place to the great terror of the good cit^'-
zens of the county, and by the verdict of the jury, the defendant was fined
in the sum of one cent "for the use of the County Seminary of Johnson
County." It is a matter often remarked by historians of our pioneer days
that breaches of the peace were the most common offenses, and, of these,
affrays greatly outnumbered other offenses. In all new communities the
spirit of personal independence is exaggerated, and neighbors settle disputes
in a summary manner. To fight "by agreement" was regarded as a gentle-
man's privilege, and while it sometimes met with punishment, the fine was
small and the offender was rather proud of his misdemeanor. A charge of
assault and battery was preferred only in cases where a man attacked a
weaker or unoffending brother, and in such case the crime was more oprpro-
brious and the punishment was aqcordingly more severe. For example, we
note that in the list of fines reported by James Thompson, a justice of the
peace in Blue River township in 1832, nine are for affrays, with fines of
one dollar each, while only two are for assault and battery, one of which
cases drew a fine of twenty dollars. Of the other cases reported by the
Squire, three are for "profane swearing," two for running a horse, two for
Sabbath breaking, and one for exhibiting a show.

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128 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Criminal actions greatly outnumbered the civil actions on the dockets
of our court in the twenties and thirties. At the second term of the John-
son circuit court, in March, 1824, four of the cases, out of a total of six,
were for affrays and batteries. At the luext September terra, twelve actions
were docketed, of which eight were criminal, five being for batteries aad
aflErays. At the March term, 1825, ten out of fifteen cases were criminal
prosecutions, of which seven were for assaults and batteries, and for affrays.
At the September term, 1825, of the fifteen cases on the docket, eight were
criminal and all belonged to the class above named. At the March term,
1826, thirteen out of nineteen cases were criminal, aad of these eleven were
for the same offenses. And this proportion of criminal cases held for sev-
eral years.

Judge Banta, in commenting on this index of the civilization of the early
times, well says: "The most casual study of Indiana's early history dis-
closes the fact that the state was characterized hy what may truly be called a
*pugjiacious age,' an age that came in with the first Anglo-American settlers
at Clarksville and to have continued well up into the forties. A pugnacious
spirit seems to have pervaded all classes. A study of tiie history of the
times as read in the newspapers of the period, and in the records of church
courts as well as the civil, discloses this fact. A hint has aJready been given
as to the disclosures made by the court records of the readiness of the people
to brawl and fight ; the same records disclose the fact that the people were no
less ready to use their tongues against each other, than their fists. In the
language of the times, they 'tongue-lashed' each mercilessly. As a result,
the old dockets were seldom without an array of slander cases."

One civil case was disposed of at the March term, 1824, in our court.
Court was held at the house of George King in Franklin on the i6th day of
March, Fletcher & Morris appearing as counsel. Our county historian. Judge
Banta, makes the statement that the court was convened at George King's
wheel-wright shop on the first Monday in March, and that Gabriel Johnson,
Philip Sweetser, Edgar C. Wilson and Hiram Brown were admitted to
practice at the Johnson county bar. But the writer is unable to verify his
statements from the original records either as to the date or as to names of
attorneys who were before the court at that term. Court in this county was
held pursuant to statute on the third Monday in March. An examination
of the records discloses the fact that Calvin Fletcher was probably the only
lawyer in attendance. Fletcher was an Indianapolis lawyer of much ability
and his partner, Morris, was soon to become Wick's successor on the bench.

At the close of the year 1824 Judge Wick resigned to accept the office

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 1 29

of secretary of state for a term of four years. He returned to Johnson
county, however, at the March term, 1825, as counsel for the plaintiff in an
action in chancery involving the title to a quarter section of land near
Amity. Judge Wick later returned to the circuit as prosecuting attorney,
and in 1834 again was elected to the bench of this, the fifth judicial circuit.
In 1835 he changed his politics, becoming a Jackson Democrat, and on re-
tiring from the judicial office in 1839 was elected to Congress on the Demo-
cratic ticket. In 1845, ^^d again in 1847, he was elected member of Con-
gress from the district of which our county then formed a part. In 1849 he
was elected presidential elector, and during the administration of President
Franklin Pierce served four years as postmaster of Indianapolis. In 1850
he was again elected judge of our circuit and served for seven years, and in
1859 he occupied the bench of the circuit for a few months.

Thus for nearly forty years Judge Wick was in public life, for more
than sixteen years honorably filling the office of circuit judge. The Hon.
John Coburn, in his sketches of the personality of the members of the bar
of the Indiana supreme court of 1843, thus describes Judge Wick: "The
best looking man about town, as he was called. He had a grand and com-
manding figure — a great, massive head, a lofty and columnar forehead,
projecting far over a pair of bright eyes. His voice was deep and im-
pressive. He had been judge of the circuit court and a member of Congress.
On the bench he presided with great ease and dignity. He often said that,
his salary being small, he was only paid to guess at the law and was not
bound to know it all. He was indolent, good natured and careless in business
matters. He took life in an easy way. Never acquired property or seemed
to care for its possession or strove to obtain it. He had a fair knowledge
of the law, and when he chose to make an effort at the bar or on the bench,
rose easily into the sphere of a strong man. He had abilities to be powerful,
but put off the day of achievernent. He excelled in conversation, had a good
memory ; he had talked much and was adroit in expression, often humorous,
always entertaining."

In 1848 Judge Wick said of himself, according to the author of "Bench
and Bar of Indiana" : "At the present writing Mr. Wick is fifty-two years
of age, fair, a little fat, having increased since 1833 from one hundred and
forty-six to two hundred and ten pounds; six feet and one inch in height,
good complexion, portly — has been called the best looking man about town —
but that was ten years ago — ^not to be sneezed at now — 2, little gray — has
had chills and fever, bilious attacks and dyspepsia enough to kill a dozen

(9)

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130 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

common men, and has passed through misfortunes sufficient to humble a
score of ordinary specimens of human nature. He acquired a good deal of
miscellaneous knowledge, loves fun, looks serious, rises early, works much,
and has a decided penchant for light diet, humor, reading, business, the
drama, a fine horse, his gun and the woods. Wick owes nothing, and were
he to die today his estate would inventory $800 or $900. He saves nothing
of his per diem and mileage and yet has no vices to run away with money.
He 'takes no thought for the morrow,' but relies upon the good Providence
to which he is debtor for all. Wick would advise young men to fear and
trust God, to cheat rogues and deceive intriguers by being perfectly honest
(this mode misleads such cattle effectually), to touch the glass lightly, to
eschew security and debt, tobacco, betting, hypocrisy and federalism, to
rather believe or fall in with new philosophical and m'oral humbugs, and to
love w^oman too well to injure her. They will thus be happy now% and will
secure serenity at fifty-two years of age and thence onward.''

The circuit riding lawyers and judges w^re not only exposed to great
physical hardships, but their entertainment at the lonely cabin of the pioneer
and at the village taverns promoted a spifit of recklessness and jollity not
consistent with steady, sober-minded living. Many of them were intemper-
ate, and none escaped the influences of their surroundings. We are not
surprised to find, therefore, that even so clean a man as Judge Wick should,
while serving as judge of the Johnson circuit court, be indicted and punished
for **gaming." Oliver H. Smith, in his "Early Indiana Trials and Sketches,"
tells of the custom prevailing among the lawyers to meet at night and while
away the tedious hours about the taverns with social games of cards, the
winner taking a "snort" and the loser a "smell," the judges of the courts
often leading in these old-fashioned amusements. The habit of drinking
intoxicants was well-nigh universal, and yet few drank to excess.

Judge Smith relieves the story of the dissipations of the times (meas-
ured by present standards) by many anecdotes of the merry gatherings of
these circuit riders, and points an attractive picture of the better side of their
fun-loving, gay careers. He says: "The great variety of trials and inci-
dents on the circuit gave to the life of the traveling attorney an interest that
we a,ll relished exceedingly. There w as none of the green-bag city monotony,
no dyspepsia, no gout, no ennui, rheumatism or neuralgia ; consumption was
a stranger among us. An occasional jump of the tooth-ache, relieved by the
turnkey of the first doctor we came to, was the worst. All was fun, good
humour, fine jokes well received, good appetites and sound sleeping, cheerful
landlords, and good natured landladies at the head of the table."

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I3I

Judge Banta tells of many practical jokes played by these itinerant
lawyers, among them the following : "Daniel B. Wick was a great wag and
loved his joke almost as well as he did his bottle. On one occasion he craved
entertainment at the house of George King in Franklin, and knowing that
Mr. King was a Presbyterian and entertained without charge preachers of
that faith, Wick passed himself off as a Presbyterian preacher. The next
morning the weather was damp and disagreeable, and when the visitor was
arrayed for the road King set out his bottle with the suggestion that in view
of the character of the morning a dram would not, perhaps, be objectionable.
Wick offered no objection, but relating the adventure afterwards, he declared
that he was never so sorry for anything in his life as that he was playing
preacher for the moment, as he was compelled to drink a preacher's dram,
when he wanted so very much to drink a lawyer's.''

From these scenes and sketches, necessary to a sympathetic understand-
ing of the lives of these pioneer lawyers and judges, we anticipate the close
of the story of the life of the first and in many respects the greatest of the
judges known to Johnson county citizens. Judge Wick came to old age loved
by all, but broken in health and fortune. The last few years were spent at
the home of his daughter, Mrs. William H. Overstreet, near the corner of
King and Breckenridge streets in the city of Franklin. He died on the 19th
day of May, 1868, and was buried in Greenlawn cemetery in Franklin. His
life story is full of human interest, and the memory of his useful life ought
to be kept fresh in the minds of the men of today. Judge Wick and Judge
Finch were the only judges of the first half century of the county who
claimed this as their home, at any time. The other judges resided at the
capital city and were, save for their official relations, as strangers to our
people.

Bethuel F. Morris, appointed by Governor William Hendricks to suc-
ceed Judge Wick, began his service on the bench in this county at the March
term, 1825, and continued until the September term, 1834. Judge Banta
says of him : "Judge Morris was a slow man, slow in thought and slow in
speech. He was not considered by the bar as a well-read lawyer, but he was
a conscientious and painstaking worker. He paid great attention to the
arguments of counsel, and usually gave satisfactory judgments, but fre-
quently said : T!t is a good deal easier to give a good judgment than a good
reason for it/ A few months before his comrriission expired, he resigned
and took an office in the State Bank."

Among the circuit-riding lawyers whose names most frequently appear '
in the records signed by Judge Morris are Harvey Gregg, Philip Sweetser,

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132 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Calvin Fletcher, Judge Wick, James Whitcomb, William Herod and Hiram
Brown.

Of the above named, Gregg was circuit prosecutor in 1825, Fletcher in
1826, Whitcomb in 1827 and 1828, and Wick in 1829 and 1830. Philip
Sweetser was employed in most 9f the civil cases of merit, and seems to
have ranked high as a lawyer. He was bom in Massachusetts, was grad-
uated from Harvard College, and, according to Simon Yandes, who writes
of the Indianapolis bar of 1839, was a class-mate of Rufus Choate, Sweetser
leading his class in Greek, and Choate leading in Latin. Jphn Cobum says of
him : "A man of few words, who could condense an argument or a brief
with more ease and precision than any man at the bar. A strong advocate,
an excellent pleader, a skillful reasoner, a fearless defender of the rights of
his client. He stood high in the supreme court because of the brevity, force,
point and learning in his arguments. He was an Episcopalian in religion and
a Whig in politics. A man of singular firmness and rectitude of character."

James Whitcomb, governor of Indiana from 1843 ^^ 1848, and United
States senator from 1848 to 1851, came often to our court, first as prosecuting
attorney and later associated with Sweetser. Calvin Fletcher was a Ver-
monter who had located in Indianapolis in 1821, and thereafter divided his
time between business and the law. He was a successful banker and farmer,
and a man of high repute. As a lawyer, he was slow to grasp a case, but he
worked carefully and conscientiously, and his dealings with men had g^ven
him a keen understanding of human nature. With Fletcher's name on our
records is associated the name of Hiram Brown, acknowledged by many of
his contemporaries as the leading lawyer of central Indiana. Hiram Brown
had little schooling, but his enthusiastic temperament and unflagging zeal,
supplemented by an inborn grace of manner and speech, made him a great
advocate, and he was everywhere noted as a speaker before juries.

With lawyers of such force and character riding the circuit it is little
wonder that court week attracted unusual crowds. The lawyers, many of
them from the older communities east of the mountains, brought with them
the poh'tical news of the day, and their society was sought by the best people
of the community. They were frequently guests at the homes of the more
well-to-do, and their tavern was the center of the social life of the town
for the week. The court room was thronged with visitors who came to see
and hear the celebrities, and the court room became the people's university.
The lawyers bent every effort to securing a verdict. An appeal was impossi-
ble, almost, as the cases involved small amounts and courts of error were
seldom sought by the litigant. Where the jury was the last resort, it was

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I33

all important to use all the arts of persuasion and logic in the jury speech.
Hence, the florid style, the exuberant fancy, the graceful gesture, the vehe-
ment manner were much more in evidence in the court room than now. The
lawyer had few law books to. distract his mind, and his chief study was of
his fellow man. They knew how to reach men by appeals to passion and
prejudice, how to move them to sympathy and compassion, how to arouse
anger and hatred, how to appeal to right and justice. And certainly we can
believe that a law suit of the twenties was a better entertainment than those
of the twentieth century.

The first man sent to the penitentiary from Johnson county received his
sentence at the hands of Judge Morris. Nathaniel Bell, mill owner on the
Whetzel trace, was tried and convicted for marking two unmarked hogs, and
was sentenced to one year in the state penitentiary. Judge Wick, we may
infer, defended him, for at the same term Bell confesses judgment in favor
of Wick in the sum of fifty- four dollars. Many other similar cases are found
in the early records. Violations of the estray laws were numerous and met
with summary punishment. Not long after Bell's conviction two of his boys
were indicted and tried for killing a stray hog, on a charge of malicious
mischief. The boys were acquitted upon a peremptory instruction by the
court, to which Prosecuting Attorney Whitcomb excepted, and this the first
bill of exceptions filed in our court was recorded in full on the order book.
It reads: "Be it remembered that on the trfal of the above cause, the
prosecuting attorney on behalf of the state gave in evidence that the de-
fendant had said that he had killed a hog and about the time charged in the
indictment. There was no other evidence that a hog had been killed except
the above statement by the defendant. The jury were instructed that this
testimony was not sufficient to convict the defendant without other evidence
that a hog had been killed. To this instruction the prosecuting attorney
excepts and prays that this his exception may be sealed and made a part of
the record, which is accordingly done."

The corpus delicti had not been proven, and yet according to Judge
Banta (History of Johnson County, page 334), the defendants were proba-
bly guilty, as "Joseph Vorhies, who settled about three miles north of Hope-
well, hearing a shot in the woods, went in the direction of it, till he came to a
couple of men who had killed and were skinning a hog. They appeared quite
friendly, and affecting great admiration of his gun, one of them took it as if
to look at it. No sooner was he disarmed than their demeanor changed.
They threatened his life and the man really thought his end had come. The
hog thieves reminded him that *dead men tell no tales,' but finally relenting,

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134 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

they made him swear never to reveal what he had seen, and true to his oath,
he never told it till after he moved to Iowa, and after both thieves had long-
been dead."

Many of the court records of Judge Morris' day exhibit the quaint
phraseology and yet precise form of the old style pleading. Even the ver-
dicts of the jury were recorded with curious, yet entirely proper phrasing.
A few examples will illustrate: "Whereupon came the jurors of the jury
to-wit: (naming them) tw^elve good and lawful men and discreet house-
holders who being elected, tried and sworn well and truly to try the issue
joined and the truth to speak between the parties upon theit' oaths do say :-
We the jury find the defendant guilty and assess the plaintiff's damage at
five hundred dollars."

A demurrer to an answer followed this form: "And the plaintiff comes
and says that the plea of the said defendant by the said defendant above
pleaded is not sufficient in law to bar the said plaintiff of his said action nor
is he bound by the law of the land to answer the same and this he is ready to
verify." And to this demurrer, the defendant files his joinder in these
words: "And the said defendant saith that the said plea by him above
pleaded and the matters therein contained as the same are above pleaded and
set forth are sufficient in law to bar and preclude the said plaintiff from
having and maintaining his said action thereof against him and this the said
defendant is ready to verify and prove when, where and in such manner as
the court shall direct." The court rules with the defendant on his answer
and the plaintiff refusing to plead further, "it is considered by the court that
the defendant recover of the plaintiff his costs and charges by him in this
behalf laid out and expended, and the plaintiff for his false clamor be
amerced."

The writer notes that about the beginning of the thirties most of the
prominent circuit riders of the twenties ceased their visits to our court, and
their places were filled by other lawyers less widely known. Among the
latter were James B. Ray, John Eccles, William Ouarles, William Brown,
John Livingston, John H. Scott, Humphrey Robinson, Thomas D. Walpole,
William Sweetser, Christian C. Nave and William J. Peaslee. Of these,
Ray, who had served as president of the Indiana Senate and in 1825 as
acting governor, Thomas D. Walpole, of Greenfield, and Peaslee, afterward
judge of the circuit, were the most prominent. The intellectual giants of the
earlier days had withdrawn to other more promising fields, as the litigation
continued to be of a petty character, petty criminal prosecutions greatly pre-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I35

dominating. It may be noted, however, that Philip Sweetser returned to this
county on a few occasions as late as 1840.

Up to about 1830 not a resident lawyer had come to the county. Upon
the authority of Judge Banta it is stated that about that time one Winchell
located here for the practice of the law, but nothing is remembered of him as
a practitioner and his name is not found on the records At the March term,
1832, Fabius M. Finch was admitted to practice at our bar, and to him be-
longs the honor of being the first Johnson county citizen admitted to this dis-
tinction.

Judge Bethuel F. Morris retired from the bench of this circuit at the
end of the year 1834. He later became cashier of the Indianapolis Branch
Bank, of which Calvin FletcHer was president, and we find no further men-
tion of his career as a lawyer or judge.

Judge W. W. Wick returned to the bench of the fifth judicial circuit in
1835, his first record in our court bearing date of the March term of that
year. Whether driven to the necessity by the conduct of attorneys, or in-
duced thereto by a desire for a more prompt and orderly administration of
justice, Judge Wick in 1837 adopted certain rules of court and caused them
to be recorded in the order book. They are full and explicit and might well
serve as an example for the present day. Rule No. 18 was doubtless in-
tended to restrain too zealous counsel, for it orders: *'Harsh and dis-
courteous language, unfriendly altercation, satirical and personal allusions
to the conduct and motives of others, and allusions to matters dehors the
business pending prove nothing, convince no one, tend to no profitable result,
and are out of place in court. Parties or their counsel indulging in any of
those things will be held to be in contempt, and although one wrong is no
justification of another, the first wrongdoer will be held to be the principal
offender."

Judge James Morrison began his duties as president judge of our court
at the September term, 1839. Judge Morrison was a native of Scotland,
very diligent in his profession, and of a most irascible temperament. He was
not popular, but his integrity and ability were unquestioned. After his re-
tirement from the bench after two years of service, he resumed practice of
the law^ and was quite successful. In 1855 he was chosen attorney-general
of Indiana, and in after life was president of the State Bank.

Judge Morrison signed his last record in our court at the March term,
1842. Judge Banta states in his "Historical Sketch of Johnson County"
(page 84) that Governor Bigger thereupon appointed Fabius M. Finch, of
the Johnson bar. as his successor for one year. We are not able to verify

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136 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

this Statement. It is certain that Finch did not preside in our county, for
the record shows that he was of counsel in several cases pending at the
March and September sessions of that year, and all the records are signed
by Robert Moore and James R. Alexander, associate judges.

Judge William J. Peaslee assumed the duties of presiding judge of our
court on January 12, 1843, ^i^d served seven years. Judge Peaslee, the son
of a Quaker minister, was bom in Vermont, January 8, 1803. Receiving
only a common school education, he engaged in business in early manhood,
later studied law and in 1832 opened a law office in Shelby ville, Indiana. He
was a Jacksonian Democrat, and represented Shelby county in the Legisla-
ture of 1837. He was circuit prosecutor in 1839 ^"d 1840, and this was
followed by his election by the state Legislature to the bench. After retiring
from the bench, he lived at Shelbyville, moved thence to Chicago, and in
1863 removed to Davis county, Missouri, where he died in 1866. During
Peaslee's term, Hiram Brown, William Quarles, Hugh O'Neal and David
Wallace were often before the bar of our court. In the latter part of his
term (1848-49) G. M. Overstreet and A. B. Hunter began their career as law-
yers, and they at once took a prominent place at our bar. Overstreet served
as prosecuting attorney in 1849, and the first record bearing the name of the
firm of Overstreet & Hunter is dated July 19, 1849.

At the March term, 1850, Judge W. W. Wick again took his place on
the bench in our county, serving until the September term, 1853, when he was
succeeded by Stephen Major. Judge Banta places the date of Major's eleva-
tion to the bench as 1857 (Historical Sketch, page 84), but he corrects the
error in his later history of the county. Judge Major resigned in 1859, and
Wick was appointed by Governor Willard to serve until after the fall election.

Fabius M. Finch was elected in 1859 ^"d held the office for a term of
six years. His career was noteworthy and deserves some extended notice.
He was bom in Livingston county. New York, in 18 10. He came with his
father to Connersville in the year that Indiana became a state, and remained
in the state for the rest of his life. In 1819 the family again migrated,
stopping at Muncie-town, the headquarters of Muncie, the chief of the
Shawnees. The colony, of which the Finch family was a part, finally located
on the prairie where Noblesville is now located. The father was the village
blacksmith, and his shop and his home were frequented by travelers. Will-
iam W. Wick was a guest of the Finch's on one of his circuits, fell in love
with and married a daughter, and in 1828 took his young brother-in-law to
his Indianapolis office. Finch had had little schooling, but he had a fine tutor

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I37

and soon qualified for admission to the bar. He came to Franklin in 1831,
was admitted to the bar in March of the following year.

Judge Banta says of his early life in Franklin : "There was not much
for a lawyer to do in Franklin in those days at the legitimate practice of the
law. There was not only little to do, but the people were poor and had but
little money with which to pay for legal business. It was a prevailing cus-
tom for lawyers to take the promissory notes of their clients for. services ren-
dered, and the non-resident lawyers generally exchanged such of their notes
as had any exchangeable value with the merchants of the county where the
payers lived, for dry goods or even groceries. It was no uncommon thing
in the early day to see Hiram Brown, Philip Sweetser and other lawyers
riding out of Franklin with calicoes, muslins, jeans and other articles tied to
their saddles, the product of such exchanges.

"When Finch came to town Samuel Herriott was clerk of the circuit
court, and kept his office in a little room in the rear of his storeroom, stand-
ing on (near) the northwest comer of the public square. His records were
very much behind, and it coming to his knowledge, that Finch wrote a good
hand, he at once made him his deputy. William Shaffer, an honest old car-
penter, who could make a wooden pin better than he could a quill pen was at
the same time county recorder, and he too .sought the young man's help, and
between the clerk's office and the recorder's. Finch found profitable employ-
ment, profitable to himself we may hope, and certainly profitable to the
people of Johnson county, for the records made by him are among the best
that have ever been made in the county. After some time Pierson Murphy,
a physidan of the town, was elected to the office of school commissioner and
Finch acted as his deputy in the discharge of the duties of that office.

"For many years after Johnson county was organized the Whigs held
the better county offices, and Fabius M. Finch being a Whig, the office-
holders quite naturally gave him their countenance and support. But he
did not make himself known to the people as a deputy clerk or deputy re-
corder only. He had a higher ambition, and that was to be known as a
lawyer, and he succeeded. Clients came to him one by one, and his business
so increased and he managed it in such a manner as to make himself known
as one among the best lawyers in the circuit."

In 1839 he was elected to the State Legislature, and he filled many local
appointive offices with credit. Near the close of his term of office he re-
moved to Indianapolis, and upon retiring from the bench formed a law part-
nership with his son, John A. Finch, who became an insurance lawyer of
national reputation. Judge Finch in 1889 received a severe injury from a

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138 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

fall and retired from court practice, but he lived until 1900. His remains lie
at rest in the family tomb at Greenlawn cemetery in Franklin.

General John Coburn succeeded Judge Finch, but he presided in our
court only a year, resigning to accept a nomination for Congress. He was
little known to this community, but his long service in Congress made him a
national character. Upon his retirement from Congress in 1875 he resided
at Indianapolis, save foV a time he served as member of the supreme court of
the territory of Montana.

Cyrus C. Hines was elected in October, 1866, to the bench of the cir-
cuit then composed of Marion, Hendricks and Johnson counties, first coming
to our county in March, 1867. He continued to serve until the state was
redistricted in 1869, thereafter retaining a place on the bench in Marion
county until his resignation in 1870. He then formed a law partnership with
Albert G. Porter and Benjamin Harrison. In 1873 Governor Porter retired
from the firm and a year later W. H. H. Miller, became the junior partner.
In 1883 John B. Elam was taken into the firm, and a year later Judge Hines
retired to assume management of a deceased brother's estate. Later he re-
moved to New York City.

Samuel P. Oyler was appointed by Governor Conrad Baker judge of
the new twenty-eighth judicial circuit, composed of the counties of Shelby,
Bartholomew, Brown and Johnson, and qualified as such on August 25,
1869. He was a native of England, born in Sussex county on August 26.
18 19. At the age of fifteen he came to this country, stopping at Rochester,
New York, for seven years. In 1841 he came to Indiana and located on a
farm in Tippecanoe county. While a farmer, he became interested in the
study of theology, united with the Unitarian church, and was presently li-
censed to preach. For eight years he traveled through the states bordering
on the Ohio river preaching the doctrines of his church, but in 1850 he
found a home in the town of Franklin and took up the law. He entered the
office of Gilderoy Hicks and on June 16, 185 1, was admitted to the bar of
the Johnson circuit court. In 1852 and in 1854 he was elected prosecuting
attorney of the district and soon made himself a place at the bar of our court.
When the Civil war broke out he organized the first company of volunteers
in the county and was chosen its captain. The company was given a place
in the Seventh Regiment, and Oyler was at once promoted to major. When
the three months campaign in West Virginia was at an end, Oyler returned
to Franklin and resumed the practice of the law. In August, 1862. he again
entered the army, as captain of a company in the Seventy-ninth Regiment,
was soon promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and with his regiment was assigned

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I39

to duty in the Army of the Cumberland. Under General Buell and later
General Rosecrans, his regiment had much serious work to do in the Ken-
tucky, Tennessee and Georgia fighting, finally culminating in the Chickar
mauga and Chattanooga campaigns. Colonel Oyler played a man's part in
all these important movements, after the battle of Chickamauga leading back
the remnants of the Twenty-first Corps, of which he was the ranking officer
left on the field.

Colonel Oyler later went with Sherman on his famous march to the
sea, but in July, 1864, he was disabled and was compelled to resign a month
later. He had barely returned home until he was elected to the Indiana
Senate, where he served four years (1865-69). He served as judge of our
court about fifteen months. After his retirement from the bench he was, as he
had been throughout his residence here, much interested in local aflfairs. In
1892 he was elected mayor of the city of Franklin, and, although of advanced
years, was a capable and vigorous executive.

Colonel Oyler was associated with but two attorneys in the practice at
the Johnson bar. From the close of the war until 1874 he was senior mem-
ber of the firm of Oyler & Howe, the latter being his step^son, the Hon.
Daniel Wait Howe, later a judge of the superior court of Marion county,
and still a prominent lawyer of the capital city. On March i, 1881, William
A. Johnson became associated with Colonel Oyler under the firm name of
Oyler & Johnson, and this relationship continued until the last named went on
the bench, on January 2, 1893.

Colonel Oyler was an impetuous, gruflf man, and impatient in the face
of opposition or attack. As a lawyer he was a ready fighter and preferred
an open ring and no gloves. While not without weaknesses, he was a loyal
friend, a public-spirited citizen, a faithful soldier and a just judge. He died
at his home on the corner of Madison street and Home avenue on September
6, 1898.

Judge David D. Banta was elected to the bench of the twenty-eighth
judicial circuit in 1870, then composed of Johnson, Shelby, Bartholomew and
Brown counties, court being held in our county on the second Mondays of
March and September, continuing four weeks. The act of 1873 created the
sixteenth judicial circuit of Johnson and Shelby counties, with court to be
held in Johnson county on the first Monday of February, the fourth Monday
of April, the first Monday of September, and the third Monday in November,
each term to extend four weeks.^ Jwdge Banta served a full term of six
years, the first native-born son to fill that high office.

His long-time friend and law partner. Judge Thomas W. Woollen,

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140 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

wrote a biographical sketch of Judge Banta's life for the "Bench and Bar
of Indiana," and from this the following facts are gleaned: Jacob Banta
and his wife, Sarah Demaree Banta, moved from Henry county, Kentucky,
to Johnson county, Indiana, in the fall of 1832 and began life in the wilder-
ness. On the 23d day of May, of the following year, their son, David
Demaree Banta, was born. In that part of Union township where Jacob
Banta settled there were several families of Presbyterians, and they united
to form a church society and build a house of worship. Jacob Banta donated
two acres of ground for the churchyard and graveyard adjoining, and
"Shiloh church" was built. Here at the same time a school was started in the
primeval forest. Young David Banta was the first scholar to reach the little
log school house on the first day of the first school in the settlement, and
hence onward he attended every school taught there till nearly grown.
Books were exceedingly scarce in the neighborhood, and this young student's
efforts to get hold of books for his reading are graphically pictured in his
history of the pioneer days.

Banta taught a term or two of school in early manhood, and then went
to the new state of Iowa for a year of work and wandering about that state.
Early in 1853 he came back home and entered Franklin College. In the
autumn of 1853 he became a student at the State University, where he re-
mained until his graduation both frcyn the academic and law departments in
1857. While in school he had married Mrs. Melissa E. Perrin, a daughter of
the Hon. James Riddle, of Covington, Kentucky. In the fall of 1857 he re-
turned to this county and opened a law office in the city of Franklin.

For some time prior to the Civil war the law business in Franklin was
far from lucrative, and Banta gave much time to reading and began to write
for the newspapers. For two years he had charge of the recorder's office
and for two years he was prosecuting attorney of the common pleas district.
He also served as an assessor in the United States revenue dei>artment, was
school examiner, and a trustee of the Franklin schools. His varied contact
with the people of the county and his pleasant personality made him many
friends, and he was successful in his court practice against more eloquent and
forceful pleaders. Judge Woollen relates an incident of his meeting with
one of the regular jurors oh the court house steps one day toward the close
of a term. The juror, after looking furtively around to see that no one was
in hearing, said : "Stand up to those old lawyers, Davy, stand up to 'em.
The jury is standing up to you."

During the first half of the war the courts of Johnson county were com-
paratively idle, but toward the close business revived and the struggling

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I4I

young lawyer came into his own. The fifteen or twenty years following the
war were the lawyer's flush times in Indiana; money was plenty, business
was good, commercial enterprises sprang up like mushrooms, and the dockets
were crowded with cases. His term on the bench (1870-76) was a busy and
profitable season for the lawyers, and the Judge gave universal satisfaction
as a fair-minded, honorable arbiter of the important causes brought before
him.

When Judge Banta retired from the bench in 1876 he formed a law
partnership with Judge Woollen, which continued until 1889, when the for-
mer was made the head of the department of law at the State University,
and this necessitated his moving to Bloomington. He maintained his position
as dean of the School of Law in the university until his death, on April 9,
1896.

Judge Banta was a great lover of out-door life. Beginning with 1871,
when illness compelled him to seek recreation in the open, he seldom failed to
spend the summer months in the woods of northern Michigan. There he
hunted, fished and trapped, camping in tents and "roughing it" in genuine
backwoods style. On his outings he sought the companionship of younger
men, kindred spirits, and the Judge was at once the oldest and the youngest of
these merry companions.

But Judge Banta is perhaps best known as a writer along historical
lines. He was the author of an "Historical Sketch of Johnson County," pub-
lished by Beers & Co., of Chicago, in 1881 ; of the local history section in
the "History of Johnson County," published by Brant & Fuller, of Chicago,
in 1888; of numerous historical articles published in the Indianapolis News
and in the local papers, nearly all dealing with incidents of pioneer life. In
his narratives of early days, he was recognized as an accurate and faithful
historian, gifted with literary skill and a broad, generous sympathy.

He was a man of sterling moral qualities, devoted to his family. His
epitaph,* carved on a stately shaft in Greenlawn cemetery in Franklin, truly
presents the man : "He was an honest lawyer, and a just judge. A lover of
books and a writer of ability. He filled many offices of trust faithfully and
well, and was an abiding friend, a loving husband and father and a Christian
gentleman. He died in the hope of everlasting life."

Kendall Moss Hord was born at Maysville, Kentucky, October 20,
1840. His father was a lawyer, and at the age of nineteen the son entered
his office as a student. In 1862 he was admitted to the bar and began the
practice of the law in Flemingsburg, Kentucky. About a year later he came
to Indianapolis and further prepared himself for practice by study of the

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142 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Indiana code in the office of his distinguished brother, Oscar B. Hord, who
was then a law partner of Thomas A. Hendricks and Judge Samuel E.
Perkins. In the fall of 1863 Hord located at Shelbyville, Indiana, and
there he has ever since lived. He at once took an active interest in politics
and has always been a leader in Democratic councils in the state. In 1864
he was elected prosecuting attorney of the common pleas court of his district,
and two years later prosecuting attorney of the circuit. In 1872 he was
again elected to the latter office, and in 1876 was elected judge of the six-
teenth judicial circuit and was re-elected in 1882. During his twelve years'
service on the bench of the Johnson circuit court he became personally
known to almost every citizen of the county, as he had the politician's
faculty of remembering faces and names, and he took great pleasure in social
intercourse with the men of the street. He was quick to grasp a point of
law, had an unusual acquaintance with the code and had precedents at his
fingers' ends. He was fearless in his decisions and was at once self-reliant
and approachable. Upon his retirement from the bench he founded a part-
nership with Edward K. Adams, and the firm of Hord & Adams has for the
past twenty-five years stood at the head of the legal fraternity in Shelby
county.

Leonard J. Hackney, on November 17, 1888, took his seat on the bench
of the sixteenth circuit. He was born at Edinbiirg, in this county, March 29,
1855. His parents were very poor and the boy had no opportunities of de-
velopment* in home or school. Most of his time was spent about the livery
barns and the Edinburg fair grounds. From his work as "swipe" he was
sometimes taken to ride the running horses of the local sportsmen. Quitting
the unfavorable environment of his youth at the age of sixteen, he started
out to make his way in the world. Thenceforward he instinctively, as it
were, chose a course that led to rank and honor. First as a student in the
office of Hord and Blair, later in the office of John W. Kern
at Kokomo, and finally as law clerk in the office of *Baker,
Hord & Hendricks at Indianapolis, he rapidly progressed in the
knowledge of the law, and in September, 1876, "hung out his shingle" at
Shelbyville. Two years later he was elected prosecuting attorney of the six-
teenth circuit and in 1888, after a contest characterized by unusual feeling,
succeeded in landing the Democratic nomination for circuit judge. Many
old-time politicians remember the Fairland convention, and to sortie of the
friends of Judge Woollen, who was a candidate before the convention, the '
name oi one Johnson county delegate will always be anathema. By his

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I43

treachery the Johnson county candidate lost to the stripling from Shelby-
ville.

After the election Judge Hackney's ability, courtesy and fairness quickly
won over his political enemies, and no man ever graced our bench who was
more respected and admired. His record on the circuit bench met with such
favor that when a vacancy occurred on the supreme bench in 1892 he was
nominated without opposition and elected. He resigned his circuit judge-
ship on January 2, 1893, ^^d on the same day qualified for the higher posi-
tion.

On his retirement from the supreme court he was offered the position of
general counsel for the Big Four Railroad Company, and has since that time
maintained his office and residence in Cincinnati.

Upon Judge Hackney's resignation,, William A. Johnson, of Franklin,
was commissioned judge of the sixteenth circuit and qualified January 3,
1893. Judge Johnson was born at Edinburg, in Johnson county, June 7.
1852, and after his school days went to college at Moores Hill and later at
the State University. He studied law in the office of Nelson Berryman at
Edinburg, was admitted to the Johnson county bar on September 7, 1874, and
entered the practice in his home town. In 1881 he came to Franklin and was
associated in the practice of the law with Colonel Oyler until his elevation
to the bench. He has held no other public office, save that of an elector in
the McKinley election. He is still an active member of the Johnson county
bar, and his record and achievements must be left to later biographers.

William J. Buckingham was elected judge of the circuit of Johnson
and Shelby counties at the November election, 1894, and qualified on Novem-
ber 17th of that, year. He was re-elected in 1900, but the Legislature had in the
meantime, by the act of 1899 (p^S^ 199)* redistricted the state, constituting
Brown and Johnson counties the eighth judicial circuit. Buckingham was
born in Hamilton county. Ohio, December 4, 1849, his parents removing to
Franklin county in the following year. He attended the common schools
until the age of fourteen, then attended a graded school at Mt. Carmel for a
year, and was for three years a student at the Methodist Seminary at Brook-
ville.

He began teaching at the age of eighteen, and many country school
houses in Johnson county w^ere the scene of his labors for the next ten years.
In the summer seasons he worked as farm hand and as a common laborer
about the brick kilns and other factories of Franklin. During this time he
began to study law, and rarely laid aside his manual labor without a book at
hand. On August i, 1877, he opened a law office in Franklin and continued

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144 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

in the practice until his death, except for the twelve years of his service on
the bench. His first law partner was Jacob L. White, with whom he asso-
ciated in 1880. After Mr. White's death, in 1889, he formed a partnership
with Edward F. White, which was interrupted by his election to the judge-
ship.

Judge Buckingham on the bench was impartial and fair-minded, but
was painfully slow in his conduct of trials and in making of issues. He was
a tireless worker and of indomitable courage, even in the face of mortal
illness. A victim of diabetes, causing the loss of a limb, he persisted in his
office work to the day of his death. He died February i, 191 3.

William Edward Deupree, present judge of the eighth judicial circuit,
was elected in 1906 and re-elected in 1912. A biographical sketch of Judge
Deupree is found elsewhere in this volume.

ASSOCIATE JUSTICES.

Indiana's first constitution provided for the election in each county of
two associate justices, who should sit with the presiding judge of the cir-
cuit. The Legislature chose the circuit judge, and it was doubtless in the
minds of the framers of the Constitution that a check ought to be placed on
the power of the bench over the rights and liberties of the citizen. The law
did not require that the presiding judge should be a lawyer, nor that the
associate justices should be laymen, but so it was not only here but every-
where. The associate justices had the power to overrule the decision of the
president judge, and were authorized to hear and determine causes in his
absence. In the early history of the county it happened several times that a
whole term of court (one week) went by without the appearance of the
president judge, but a cursory examination of the records at such times in-
dicates that only routine business was transacted and important cases were
continued until a meeting of a full bench.

The associate justices of the Johnson circuit court and their dates of
service are as follows: Israel Watts, 1823-30; Daniel Boaz, 1823-37; Will-
iam Keaton, 1830-35; James R. Alexander, 1835-43; Robert Moore, 1837-44;
James Fletcher, 1843-45: John R. Carver, 1844-51; John Wilson, 1845-51.
Israel Watts came to Blue River township in 1821 from Ohio. Daniel Boaz,
a native of Virginia, settled on White river in 1821. William Keaton emi-
grated from Kentucky to Nineveh township in 1826. Robert Moore, father
of the Hon. Joseph J. Moore, deceased, settled in Union township in 1829.
These four, in particular, were strong, sturdy pioneers, fair representatives

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I45

of that generation of men who left good homes and pleasant surroundings
in the East and South, lured by the call of the wilderness, and in the primeval
woods hewed a place for themselves and made it possible for their great-
grandchildren to enjoy the Johnson county of today.

PROBATE JUDGES.

The act of February lo, 1831, established a probate court in each
county to have charge of all matters affecting the estates of deceased per-
sons or of persons under guardianship. The court sat on the first Mondays
in January, March, July and September, and the third Mondays in May and
November. The judge received three dollars a day for time actually en-
gaged.

Israel Watts was the first to fill the office, in 1837, giving place to John
Smiley, the first sheriff of the county. Smiley was succeeded at the end of
his seven-year term by Bartholomew Applegate for a like period. Peter
Voris then served until the court was abolished in 1852.

COMMON PLEAS COURT.

The code of 1852 created common pleas courts in each county in the
state. County courts of common pleas had been in existence under territor-
ial laws imtil 1814, and two counties were given such a court prior to the
new Constitution. Under the act of 1852, forty-three districts were estab-
lished, court was to be held four times a year in Johnson county, the length
of term to be proportionate to the population. In the beginning Johnson
county constituted a circuit; later Morgan, Shelby, Monroe and Brown
counties were formed into a circuit.

The common pleas courts had exclusive jurisdiction of probate matters,
and, except in cases of libel, slander, breach of marriage contract, actions on
official bonds and where the title to real estate was in issue, and where the
amount involved exceeded one thousand dollars, they had concurrent juris-
diction with the circuit courts. In criminal cases all misdemeanors and cer-
tain felonies were triable in the common pleas court. The judge was al-
lowed to practice law, but not in his own court nor in any cause that had been
adjudicated before him. These courts lasted not quite twenty years, being
abolished by the act of March 6, 1873. ^^^ circuit court in our county is
the only court of general jurisdiction.

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146 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

At the October election in 1852 Franklin Hardin was elected the first
judge of the Johnson court of common pleas. Judge Hardin was born July
27, 18 10, in Fleming, now Nicholas county, Kentucky. At the age of fifteen
he and his mother came by way of the Whetzel trail to the White River
country to visit relatives, and two years later the family settled in this
county. ^In his Kentucky school days he had studied surveying, and after
coming to Indiana he began the study of law, teaching school for five years
as a means of support. In 1836 he was appointed county surveyor by Judge
Wick and served six years. In 1842 he was elected state representative and
was re-elected in 1843 ^"d 1844. In the last race John Slater contested the
nomination with him on the Dempcratic ticket, and being defeated by
Hardin ran independently. Slater was badly defeated as well in the election.
Hardin was elected state senator in 1845, serving six years, and was also
our delegate to the constitutional convention.

A letter from him to the board of commissioners, bearing date Febru-
ary 5, 1852, and of record in the auditor's office, reveals the character of the
man.

'^To the Honorable, the Commissioners of Johnson County, Indiana:

**Gent. Enclosed you will find an order on the Treasurer of State for
^124.64. This order was drawn in my favor for that amount as a member
of the Senate during the sessions of 1850-51 and while I was a member of
the Constitutional Convention. Although the law entitled me to double pay
and double mileage, it was never my intention to take either. This money
was received by taxation from the people of Johnson County. I return it to
you as their agents to make use thereof as shall best conduce to the public
interest.

''Franklin Hardin.''

In his race for judge, his opponent was A. B. punter, and when re-
elected in 1856, Duane Hicks was the opposing candidate. He was a dele-
gate to the national convention that nominated Buchanan, and then retired
from politics, although he was for many years a "wheel-horse" in White
River township politics. It was his work that brought about the election of
Isaac M. Thompson, a Republican, for county clerk, and of Thompson's
successor, his son, Thomas Hardin. Judge Hardin was a writer of ability,
and was the first citizen of the county to record events and impressions of its
early history.

George A. Buskirk, of Monroe county, succeeded Judge Hardin, and in
1864 he was succeeded by Oliver J. Glessner, of Morgan county, later of

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I47

Shelby. In 1868, Thomas W. Woollen was elected, but he resigned in 1870,
to be succeeded by Richard L. Coffey, of Brown county.

Judge Thomas W. Woollen was not best known or remembered by his
service as judge of the common pleas court, but the present mention of his
name suggests the propriety of here introducing a sketch of his career. He
was born in Dorchester county, Maryland, April 26, 1830, his father being
a farmer in moderate circumstances. At the age of fifteen, the son went to
Baltimore to learn the carpenter's trade. His elder brother, William Wesley,
having come to Madison, Indiana, and finding employment in the clerk's
office, induced Thomas to follow to the new country, and in 1848 the latter
came to take his brother's job. He continued as deputy in the clerk's office,
until 1852, when he became deputy under his brother, William W., who had
been elected county treasurer, and remained in the treasurer's office two years.
In the meantime, Judge Woollen had begun the study of the law, had mar-
ried, and in 1854 entered the arena of politics, as Democratic nominee for
treasurer of the county. But that was a disastrous year for Democratic
nominees all over the country. Kinow-Nothingism, which had sprung up in
a night, won great triumphs that year, and- Woollen met defeat with the rest
of his party. In 1856, Woollen moved to Vernon, and worked for a short
time in the clerk's office, but, more ambitious for the future, he soon came to
Franklin and, with Jeptha D. New, of Vernon, opened an office here for the
practice of the law. New soon returned to his home at Vernon, and Woollen
pushed ahead alone, until i860, when for a year he was associated with
Cyrus F. McNutt, later a prominent lawyer of Terre Haute. •

He was at once recognized as a leader in politics, and in 1862 was elected
joint representative to the Legislature from the counties of Johnson and
Morgan. In 1865 he was made cashier of the First National Bank of
Franklin, and three years later was made president. At the time of his elec-
tion to a place at the head of the bank, he was elected common pleas judge of
the circuit, but the duties proving conflicting, he, at the request of the direct-
orate of the bank, resigned his judicial office, and gave all his time to banking.
In the six years of his connection with the banking business, the First
National was very successful and enjoyed the confidence of the business men
of the entire county.

Judge Woollen retired from the bank in 1871 and resumed law practice
with the Hon. Cas. Byfield, a former partner of Judge Banta, who was then
on the bench. This relation continued until Mr. Byfield removed to Indi-
anapolis together with Daniel W. Howe, in 1872. In 1873-74, Judge
Woollen was for a little more than a year a partner of Hon. Richard M.

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148 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Johnson and the Hon. Jacob L. White, under the firm name of Woollen^
Johnson & White.

In 1872, Mr. ^Admire, candidate for the lower house from Johnson
county, refusing to support Horace Greeley for President, the central com-
mittee displaced him as a candidate, and gave the place on the ticket to Judge
Woollen. Admire refused to withdraw, and the contest was a lively one,
but Woollen was easily elected. In the ensuing legislative session, he was
recognized as the leader of the House on the Democratic side. His record
there paved the way for his nomination in 1874 for the office of attorney-
general, but, with the rest of the state ticket, he met defeat. In 1878 he was
re-nominated for attorney-general, and was successful, serving with distinc-
tion.

From the time Judge Banta left the bench in 1876 until his election as
dean of the law department of the State University in 1889, Judge Woollen
and Judge Banta were associated togiether in a successful practice at the bar.
Their clientele was of the best citizens of the county. For twenty years, one
or the other of the firm had served the board of commissioners as county
attorney, and Judge Woollen so cfontinucd until 1896.

On March 7, 1896, Judge Woollen admitted the writer to a partnership,
and the firm of Woollen & Branigin continued until Judge Woollen's death
on February 12, 1898.

Judge Woollen was built on large lines. His body, brain and soul were
fitted to the discharge of great public duties, and he performed them well.
In this, 'as in other days, when an unreasoning public and a scandal-monger-
ing press are seeking to discredit the legal profession, it is a source of satis-
faction, for the members of the local bar to reflect upon the character and
lives of the men who have in other days stood at the forefront in the pro-
fession here. What other profession or calling has produced men of higher
character, or wider influence for good in this community than such men as
Woollen, "Uncle** Gabe Overstreet, A. B. Hunter, David D. Banta, Jacob
L. White, Edward F. White, John V. Oliver, and numbers of others both
living and dead.

Judge Woollen as a lawyer was careful and slow in arriving at a con-
clusion, but was convincing and steadfast in a position once taken. He was
dignified and scholarly in his public addresses, never trifling nor attempting
sharp practices with court or jury. He was even-tempered, slow to anger,
but when aroused by injustice or wrong, he was impassioned and eloquent.
In social intercourse, he was gifted with the courteous manners of the South-
em aristocrat; in business, he was the soul of honor; in his civic relations.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I49

always the champion of every clean, progressive and public spirited enter-
prise; a Christian gentleman, without fear and without reproach.

JOHNSON COUNTY LAWYERS.

After Fabius M. Finch, the first lawyer to locate in Franklin was
Gilderoy Hicks, who came to the town in 1833. He was bom in Rutland,
Vermont, January 3, 1804, and was reared on the farm. With his parents,
he came westward, stopping first in New York state, then in Ohio, and then
at the village of Patriot, in Switzerland county, Indiana. According to his
biographer, Judge Banta, Hicks was quite poor when he landed in Franklin
and for several years was able to make a bare living at the law. Finch had
already received the patronage and support of Samuel Herriott and other
leading Whigs, and Hicks, though he was of the same party, was taken up
by George King and other prominent Democrats, and to the jealous rivalry
of the two factions most of the profitable law business was due. Hicks soon
became interested in real estate transactions, joining with Jesse Beard in
1846 in platting and selling an addition to the town of Franklin, known as
Hicks & Beard's Addition; in 1850 he joined Prof. A. F. Tilton in platting
and selling Hicks & Tilton's Addition; in 1850 he and Robert Hamilton platted
a large tract of land in northeast Franklin, known as Hamilton & Hicks'
Addition, and three years later he and Hamilton platted another strip just
north of the last named, known as Hicks and Hamilton's Addi-
tion. In these additions sometimes referred to as Additions numbered
Five, Eight, Nine and Ten, respectively. Hicks' name was perpetuated in
such a manner as to impress the present generation more with his success
as a land speculator, rather than as a lawyer. Out of the Beard deal Hicks
cleared two thousand dollars, and from his transactions with Hamilton he
realized a profit of eleven thousand dollars, a considerable sum measured by
the standards of the time and the place.

Gilderoy Hicks was a Whig, but, as we have suggested, his business
and social relations with leading Democrats were close, and so it came
about that, in 1846, he was elected to the state Legislature against Dr. James
Ritchey, Democratic candidate, although in the same year the vote for gov-
ernor stood : For James Williams, 973 ; for Joseph G. Marshall, 634. The
vote returned by the canvassing board showed that Dr. Ritchey received
746 and Hicks 745, but in contest proceedings on a recount the vote showed
a plurality of 39 in favor of Hicks. At the Democratic county convention
of 1847 Hicks renounced his former political beliefs and was formally

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150 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

recognized as a Democrat. In 1848 and again in 1849 he represented Jolin-
son county in the Legislature and in 1851 was elected state senator. When
the Know-Nothing party arose he joined it and later became a Republican.
He died December 23, 1857.

While Judge Finch and Gilderoy Hicks were most active in the practice
in the thirties and forties other lawyers came to Franklin, some to soon be-
come disheartened and leave, others to remain. Of the former class were
one Newman, who settled here in 1839, for a stay of a year and a half, a
well educated man of good address, but intemperate and not able to gain the
confidence of the people; Robert McKinney, who came here in 1841, edu-
cated at Hanover College, and up to that time the best educated lawyer in
the county, but he was ungainly in appearance and lacked suavity of manner,
and after a stay of three years he went to Greenwood to teach school, and
thence to the Mormon settlement at Nauvoo, Illinois: Royal S. Hicks,
nephew of Gilderoy Hicks, long a deputy in the clerk's office and at one
time clerk, admitted to the bar according to Judge Banta in 1843, ^^ ^Y ^^^
record shown to have been admitted on March 4, 1850. Hicks practiced
law but little, was elected state representative in 1852 and after his term of
office removed to Spencer county.

John Slater, a Canadian by birth, came to Johnson county in 1840. His
naturalization papers of record in the clerk's office fix the date of his bfrth as
March 17, 1815. When the Mexican war broke out he enlisted as a private
in the Franklin company under the captaincy of David Allen. When Captain
Allen died in 1847 he was made captain of the company and served with
distinction. After the war he returned to Franklin and formed a partner-
ship with Fabius M. Finch, in whose office he had studied law. Finch &
Slater were of counsel in most of the important litigation in the next six
years. Judge Banta says of Slater : "He was very tall, was straight as an
arrow, had dark hair, a thin visage and a rubicund face; was slow and
deliberate in his motions and grave in demeanor. He was rather fond of
miscellaneous reading, he had good perceptive faculties and was full of re-
sources in trying moments. He had a high sense of humor, was rather
witty and loved argumentation more than anything else in the world. He
was an indolent man and never burdened himself with the labor of hunting
for authorities. He trusted to luck in the trial of his cases, saying that
'Books cramped a man's genius, anyhow,' but he seldom mistook the point
on which his case rested. He was a store-box lounger. In his day the busi-
ness men of Franklin were less attentive to their business than now. It
was not uncommon, at that time, for the merchants and others to spend a

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I5I

good portion of the spring and summer days, when the farmers were too
busy to come to town, pitching quoits, playing chess and dominoes and
telling stories. This hum-drum suited John Slater, except that he spent his
time sitting on store-boxes in shady places, arguing upon law, theology, medi-
cine, phrenology, mesmerism, Democracy, Muggery, abolitionism, temper-
ance or any other theme that would furnish him an antagonist; or in telling
humorous stories to whomsoever would listen. Nor did it make any differ-
ence to him which side he chose in his arguments. One of his great mis-
fortunes was his utter lack of convictions. He was an infidel in both politics
and religion. To him life was a jest and the beliefs of men were mere
puppets to afford amusement for the hour. No subject was serious enough
to escape his levity. He affirmed, disputed, laughed at any side of any prop-
osition as the humor strirck him. This want of sincerity was a serious
draw-back to his profession. His controversial habit came to be known to
both judge and jurymen, and how could they know whether he was sincere
in his arguments or not. Slater carried into politics the same characteristics
which marred his professional life. He claimed to be a Democrat, and it is
fair to presume that, if he had any political convictions w^hatever, he was a
Democrat. But he was more apt to be arrayed against his party than with
it. He was cursed with a greed for office, and would go into convention as
a candidate and if defeated, as usually happened, would run the race anyhow.
In 1856 he succeeded in carrying the nomination for state senator and was
elected; at the close of his term he secretly left the state arid never returned.''
Gabriel Monroe Overstreet and Anderson Barnes Hunter, whose firm
name of Overstreet & Hunter was a household word in Johnson county for
nearly half a hundred years, were on the whole the most prominent and in-
fluential lawyers the county has known. The senior member of the firm
was bom in Oldham county, Kentucky, May 21, 1819. His father, Samuel
Overstreet, came to Johnson county in 1834 and settled in the country about
three miles northeast of Franklin. The son worked on the farm and at-
tended the neighborhood school until the age of twenty. The father at that
time made an advancement to each of his children of six hundred dollars,
and young Overstreet used his share to get an education. He entered the
Manual Labor Institute of Franklin in the fall of 1839 for a year's pre-
paratory study, and the next year became a student at the State University.
His name appears in Commissioners' Report as the first "student for this
county to the Indiana College in 1841." In 1844 he received his degree of
Bachelor of Arts, and returned to Franklin and studied law for a year in
the office of Gilderoy Hicks. In December, 1846, he returned to Blooming-

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152 JOHNSON boUNTY, INDIANA.

ton for a three months* course in the law department, and was then licensed
to practice law.

Judge Banta, in "Bench arid Bar of Indiana," tells of the unusual
straits in finance experienced by the young student: "At the close of one
term, after paying all his bills, he had twenty-five cents, and no more, left
in his pocket with which to defray his expenses home. It was all of forty
miles from Bloomington to Franklin as the roads ran, but early one summer
morning he set out on foot, expecting to reach Morgantown in time to spend
his money for his dinner. But before he came to Morgantown the sun had
passed the meridian and it was still fifteen miles to Franklin. To the traveler
it began to look as if his quarter might be of more service in paying for a
night's lodging than for a cold dinner, and so he kept it and, to use his own
langfuage, 'polled ahead.' By bed time he was at home and with the money in
his pocket."

During his vacation periods Overstreet spent his time in surveying,
teaching a country school, farm work and clerking in the store of his brother,
William H. Overstreet. In 1848 he was elected and served for one year as
prosecuting attorney. On the 21st of February, 1849, the firm of Overstreet
& Hunter was formed, not to be severed until the death of the junior mem-
ber in 1891.

Mr. Hunter, the junior member of the firm, was born in Oldham county,
Kentucky, on October i, 1826. His father, Ralsamon Hunter, emigrated to
Johnson county in 1840, locating in Hensley township. Young Hunter was
of slight build and always suflfered from defective eyesight, but both as boy
and as man he was a great book-worm, and while he had no collegiate train-
ing, he far outstripped his better schooled partner in his knowledge of books.
He never attended but one quarter's school after he came to Johnson county,
but in his eighteenth year he began teaching, holding his first school in a log
smoke-house in Burgess Wagoner's door-yard in Nineveh township. "In his
twentieth year," says Judge Banta, "he conceived the idea of studying law
and at once made arrangements to that eflfect with Mr. Gilderoy Hicks, of
Franklin. Their agreement, written by Mr. Hicks, which it was characteristic
of Mr. Hunter to preserve, is before me. By its terms Hunter was "to
read and study the profession of the law' and was to have the use of the old
lawyer's library, 'except that he is to furnish himself with Blackstone and
Chitty's Pleadings,' and when he was admitted to the bar he was to pay
Hicks forty dollars. The lawyer was to 'pay reasonable attention' to his
student, and it may be presumed that he did so, for the instrument has in-
dorsed upon it two years after its execution a receipt in full."

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 53

In November, 1847, Hunter entered the senior class of the law depart-
ment of the State University, and in February following returned to Franklin
to spend a year partly in study, partly as deputy county treasurer. .He was
admitted to our bar on March 7, 1848.

The first record noted by the writer bearing the firm name of Overstreet
& Hunter bears date July 19, 1849. The court records of the ensuing forty
years are filled with proceedings in which these two played a part. Judge
Banta, who knew both so well, has written of the firm : "Rarely to be found
are two men as well mated as were Overstreet and Hunter. Nature sent them
out of her workshop so formed that they worked in perfect accord from the
beginning. They always stood together. Neither ever went into court to
try a case without the other. Overstreet in his earlier years had been a close
student, and he was better grounded in the practice of the law than were
most young men of the day. Later, however, he became less a student than
was his associate, but being quick of apprehension and possessing a well
stored and discriminating mind, the slightest hint from his book-reading
partner was enough for him. The strength of the firm lay in the differences
between the two men. Nature intended Hunter for the counselor and Over-
street for the advocate. Overstreet was skillful in the examination of wit-
nesses. He knew and could accommodate himself to their understandings
and peculiarities as few men could. As a jury lawyer, in his prime. Over-
street stood in the front rank. He was earnest, ingenious, plausible, vigor-
ous and forcible in his arguments. Mr. Hunter had the qualities of mind
which made him an invaluable aid to the jury lawyer. He was a close and
painstaking student, and he seldom failed to reach a true conclusion as to the
law of the case. He was a safe counselor, a good pleader, wrote an excellent
brief and had the power in a high degree of presenting a legal question to the
court in a clear, logical and convincing manner."

Mr. Hunter died August 14, 1891, and after his death Mr. Overstreet
became associated with his son, Jesse Overstreet, until the latter's election to
Congress. The firm of Overstreet & Oliver was then formed. After Mr.
Oliver's death, in 1900, Mr. Overstreet retired from active practice. He died
February 8, 1907.

After Overstreet & Hunter the next lawyers to seek admission to the
bar were Duane Hicks and Jonathan H. Williams, both of whom were ad-
mitted to the bar at the September term, 1848. The former was a son of
Gilderoy Hicks, educated in the town schools, and in 1847 a student at
Franklin College, apprenticed to the saddlery trade and then a law student
in his father's office. Duane Hicks was not successful as a lawyer, and in

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154 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

1857, owing to ill health, he retired to a small farm near Franklin, but this
vocation being injurious, he returned to the town and went into the furniture
business. During the war he enlisted as a cavalryman, but consumption had
him in its grasp, and he was soon discharged. He died September 28, 1863,
aged thirty-five.

Jonathan H. Williams came to Franklin while quite young, learned the
tailor's trade, volunteered for service in the Mexican war, was county auditor
in 1851-55, owner of The Franklin Examiner in 1852, and for two years
district attorney to the common pleas court. Early in the Civil war Williams
raised a company enrolled as Company I, Eighteenth Regiment, became its
captain July 15, 1861, was promoted major May 23, 1863, and was killed
October 19, 1864, at Cedar Creek, Virginia.

Of the careers of Col. Samuel P. Oyler, admitted to the bar in 185 1,
and of the Hon. Thomas W. Woollen, admitted in 1856, mention is else-
where made. Among other lawyers of the fifties were Daniel McKinney,
reprobate and defaulter; Joseph Thompson, who came here in 1853, ^^^
failed to get a foothold and soon went away ; H. H. Hatch, lawyer at Edin-
burg in 1852; Elijah Banta and G. W. Allison, both admitted at the Decem-
ber term, 1859, both ex-officers of the county, and, like Royal S. Hicks of an
earlier time, admitted to the bar more as an expression of friendly regard
than as evidence of their qualifications as lawyers.

Charles W. Snow, of Edinburg, was admitted to the Johnson county
bar in 1855. He was born May 29, 1827,- in Clark county, studied law in
Colonel Oyler's office; was successful in real estate business at Edinburg,
and was a careful, though not an eminent lawyer. He died July 24, 1884.

Richard M. Kelly, of Edinburg, was admitted to practice in 1856. He
had served as a private in the Mexican war and held the rank of captain in
the Cjvil w^ar. He was a lawyer of good parts, but dissipated, and in later
life lost his standing and influence. He died in 1878.

Hon. Jeptha D. New, in 1856, was a partner of Judge Woollen in the
practice here, but soon returned to Vernon, where he became prominent in
the law and in politics. Hon.- Cyrus F. McNutt was admitted to the bar of
the Johnson circuit court in i860, was for a few months law partner of
Judge Banta, then of Judge Woollen, but on the death of his wife he went
to Martinsville, where he was a very successful lawyer. McNutt was pro-
fessor of law in the State University from 1874-77, and then located at
Terre Haute. He was elected judge of the superior court of Vigo county
in 1890, and is now, at the age of seventy-six, a very successful lawyer at
Los Angeles, California. While Judge McNutt was not long identified with

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 55

our bar, he was bom and reared in Johnson county, received most of his edu-
cation in its schools, including one year's study at Franklin College, and the
county rightly claims an interest in his notable career as lawyer, lecturer,
judge and writer.

Daniel Wait Howe, a step-son of Colonel Oyler, was a member of the
Johnson county bar from the close of the war until 1872. He was prosecut-
ing attorney in 1869, the same year that Colonel Oyler was on the bench,
but during the remainder of his stay here he was a partner of his stepn
father under the firm name of Oyler & Howe. In 1872 Howe and Cas
Byfield, of the firm of Woollen & Byfield, went to Indianapolis and prac-
ticed law together in that city until Howe was elected judge of the superior
court of Marion county. He is still actively engaged in his profession, but
Mr. Byfield has been dead many years.

Robert M. Miller, senior member of our bar, was born on a Decatur
county farrn, near Kingston, April 18, 1845. He is an alumnus of Hanover
College, class of 1865. He enlisted in the army late in the Civil war, and at
the close of the war engaged in teaching and in the study of the law. In
June, 1870, he was admitted to the bar of the Johnson circuit court. He was
for a time partner of the Hon." W. W. Browning and later of W. C. Sandefur,
but since 1875 he has been associated with Henry C. Bamett, and the firm of
Miller & Barnett gives promise of rivaling the firm of Overstreet & Hunter
in years as well as in influence.

Mr. Miller has given much of his time to local civic duties, having
served as a member of the school board and as president of the board of
trustees of the Franklin Public Library since its founding. He has never
held an elective office, but has been honored by his party with the nomination
for circuit judge in 1906, and for judge of the supreme court in 1908, and
ran far ahead of other candidates. He is today as active and vigorous in
his profession as any of the younger members of the bar.

Henry C. Barnett was born on a Johnson county farm December 12,
1848. After his study in the district school he attended John C. Miller's
Academy at Nineveh and then taught school for several years. In 1874 he
studied law in the office of Judge Woollen and was admitted to the bar in
February, 1875. In the following November he became a partner of R. M.
Miller, and his work at the bar has been characterized by diligence and at-
tention to business. In recent years he has shown much strength as an
advocate, and has always been the mainstay of the firm in the office routine.
His son. Oral S. Barnett. was admitted into the firm in 191 2. Mr. Barnett

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156 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

IS widely known as a worker in the Christian church, and has been a leader
in all the anti-saloon fights in the county.

Gabriel M. Overstreet, Jr., was admitted to the bar of the Johnson
circuit court in 1869. Very retiring in disposition, he never succeeded in
practice in the courts, but his influence for good in the community was
widely felt. He served as city attorney in 1870, 1875, 1878 and 1882, and
was elected mayor of Franklin in 1888, serving two years. His death
occurred November 2, 1897.

Samuel L. Overstreet, son of G. M. Overstreet, Sr., was born July 24,
1853. He was admitted to practice in our court on the ist day of the
November term, 1879. He was city attorney of Franklin in 1880 and 1881.
His career as a lawyer here not being successful, he went to Kansas and
thence to Oklahoma, and became a leading citizen of the new state and filled
many high offices with distinction. He died November 13, 1899.

Among the lawyers of the seventies were William Wilson and Abe
Deupree, of Edinburg, and Joseph Shuck and Peter A. Canary, of Franklin,
no one of whom became prominent as lawyers; Nelson Berryman and John
M. Bailey, of Edinburg, both lawyers of ability, the former moving to Shelby-
ville, where he succeeded both in law and in politics, the latter going to In-
dianapolis, where he is yet engaged in the practice. Genio M. Lambertson
was admitted as a member of our bar February 16, 1874, but soon removed
to the West, where he was eminently successful. 'Squire William H. Bamett
was also a lawyer in name, but not in fact. Hon. Luther Short, whose bio-
graphical sketch appears elsewhere in this volume, was from 1874-79 en-
gaged in the practice with F. S. Staflf, but Mr. Short was drafted into the
service of the Democratic party as editor of its local paper and was soon
obliged to devote all his time to newspaper work.

Richard M. Johnson was born August 2, 1S45, ^^ Bartholomew county,
Indiana. His education was obtained in the rural schools, in John C. Miller's
Academy at Nineveh, and in the Law School of Washington and Lee Uni-
versity at Lexington, Virginia, from which last named school he graduated
in 1871. He began the practice of the law at Columbus, Indiana, but re-
moved to Franklin in 1873, and became a partner of Judge Woollen and
Jacob L. White. This lasted for a year, when Judge Woollen withdrew
from the firm.

Mr. Johnson was a member of the Johnson county bar from 1873 to
1885, when he accepted an appointment under Cleveland as chief clerk in
the office of the auditor for the postoffice department. After Cleveland's

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 57

term expired he held various other positions in the treasury department until
his death, May 21, 1902.

William T. Pritchard was born in Nineveh township, in this county,
September 25, 1847. His education in the district schools was supplemented
by a year's work in Franklin College. Admitted to the bar in 1875, he
continued to practice law in this city until his death, on the 6th day of
September, 1908. His practice in the courts was not extensive, but his office
practice was remunerative. He had an extensive knowledge of real estate
law, gained through many years work as attorney for the Mutual Building &
Loan Association. He was city attorney for six years, 1891-97, and was a
safe counselor and a man of excellent business judgment.

Jacob L. White was bom in Johnson county December 15, 1849, the
ddest son of George B. White, sometime commissioner of the county. His
education was obtained in the district school, in John C. Miller's Academy at
Nineveh and in a normal school at Lebanon, Ohio. From 1870-72 he taught
school, then entered the law office of Woollen & B)rfield as a student for a
year and a half.

Upon the removal of Mr. Byfield to Indianapolis, Mr. White became
^5SOciated with Judge Woollen and Richard M. Johnson in the practice of the
/aw- for one year, at the end of which time Judge Woollen withdrew from
the firm. The firm of Johnson & White continued a successful practice until
J88<z>, when Mr. White became junior member of the firm of Buckingham. &
iVhiite. In the same year he was elected prosecuting attorney of the circuit.
and served with credit. In 1886 and again in 1888 he was elected representa-
ti>^^ to the state Legfislature, and was prominent in the legislative work of
tlie t:wo sessions. But Mr. White was not a politician, in the usual meaning
of "tliat term. He was by nature incapacitated to engage in the brawls and
i^ti-i^es of petty politics, and of him it can in truth be said, "the office
satagr-]it the man." He was a forcible and vigorous speaker both at the bar and
ori -tlie hustings, was clean and upright in his living, gentle and kindly in his
i^^t^r course with his fellows. He succumbed to an attack of typhoid fever,
and on the 13th day of May, 1889, in ^he fortieth year of his life, passed to
thie great beyond.

Frederick S. Staff was bom at Raysville, Henry county, Indiana, April

8» 1 848. He obtained his later education in Earlham College and in the Law

ScHool of the University of Michigan, taking his law degree March 29.

^^71. With the Hon. Luther Short, he went thence to Little Rock, Arkan-

^^S'. to engage in the practice of the law. In 1874 they removed to Franklin

w\d began the practice here. Mr. Short soon became interested in the news-

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158 . JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

paper business, and in 1879 quit his pursuit of the law. Thereafter Mr.
Staff was associated for several years with Peter M. Dill in the practice at
the Franklin bar. In 1882, and again in 1884, he was elected prosecuting at-
torney of the circuit, and was quite successful as state's attorney. He de-
parted this life February 4, 1894.

JohnC. McNutt was born in Hensley township, in this county, May 25,
1863. He had few advantages as a youth, but at the age of seventeen began
to teach school and rapidly developed as a student. He studied law with his
uncle, Judge Cyrus F. McNutt, then at Terre Haute, and in March, 1886,
began the practice of the law in Frapklin, associated with William C, Thomp-
son. He entered heartily into political life, was elected prosecuting attorney
in 1888 and was re-elected in 1890. /In March, 1893, he was elected state
law librarian, serving until 1898. He then removed to Martinsville, where
he has since enjoyed a lucrative law practice.

Edward F. White, a younger brother of Jacob L. White, was born
August 23, 1857. Reared on the farm in Nineveh township, he. like so
many others, was a pupil in the rural schools and a student in Franklin
College. He was admitted to the bar on September 30, 1887, and upon the
death of his brother, Jacob, became junior member of the firm of Bucking-
ham & White. This relation continued until the former went on the bench,
when Mr. White took his younger brother, George, into the firm. Ed. White,
as he was familiarly called, was a man of sterling character, quiet and unas-
suming in manner, holding a high place at the bar and in the community not by
reason of unusual ability or high attainments, but because of his absolute
honesty and rectitude. Stricken by a fatal malady at the age of forty, he
went bravely on his daily tasks until death called him October 12, 1902.

John V. Oliver was born at Hopewell, in Johnson county, November 18,
1870. His early education was obtained in the rural schools, supplemented by
two years' study in the Franklin high school. He was a student in Franklin
College for four years, but being offered a position in the office of Over-
street & Overstreet he left college to take up work in the Indiana Law School
at Indianapolis. He received his law degree in 1895, and when a year later
Jesse Overstreet was elected to Congress he was given an interest in the
firm's business, and in 1897 became junior member of the firm of Overstreet
& Oliver, a relation which continued until his death, April 27, 1900. John
Oliver was a young man of great promise, full of energy, alert and keen.
He had a pleasing personality, was a ready speaker and a careful law^yer.
While he had never sought office, he was chosen city attorney in 1897, and
was a leader in local Republican politics. His early and sudden demise was

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 159

much regretted by the members of the bar, and the memory of his genial
presence still abides.

Jesse Overstreet, son of G. M. Overstreet, Sr., was born in the city of
Franklin, December 14, 1859, educated in the city schools and graduated
from Franklin College with the class of 1882. He received his training as a
lawyer with his father's firm, but on the appointment of W. L. Dunlap as
United States marshal under President Harrison, he entered the political field
and served as deputy marshal until January, 1891". He then became identified
with the firm of Overstreet & Hunter in the practice of the law until his
election to Congress from this, the old fifth district, in 1894. At the next
election he was elected from the seventh district, then composed of Marion
and Johnson counties, and took up his residence in the capital city. He con-
tinued to serve as memb^F'Of Congress from the capital city until 1909.; His
record in Congress was exceptional, serving as chairman of committee on
postoffices, and in 1909-1910 was a member of the national monetary com-
mission and the author of the Gold Standard law passed by Congress in
1910. His fourteen years of service in Congress was marked by great in-
dustry and he attained first rank as an authority on monetary science. To his
zeal and perseverance the capital city is most indebted for the fine federal
building it now has. His untimely death, on June 3, 1910, was mourned by
a host of personal and poh'tical friends in this community.

Among other lawyers of the seventies and eighties, whose careers de-
serve mention w^ere Peter M. Dill, prosecuting attorney from 1886- 1888,
later an attorney at the Marion county bar; O. H. P. Ergenbright, sometime
partner of Mr. Dill; and James H. Dorsey. of Edinburg, well known and
respected in that vicinity, whose death occurred July 17, 1892.

Among the lawyers of the past twenty years who have been member
of our bar and have removed elsewhere, some to take up other callings, the
following are remembered :

A. S. Helms, of Edinburg, admitted May 9, 1893, practiced law in that
town six years; M. L. Herbert, of Edinburg, admitted in 1895, abandoned the
law in three or four years, and is now a farmer; Rev. C. C. Marshall, ad-
mitted February 3, 1896, and a year later returned to his work in the minis-
try, now preaching in Richmond, Kentucky; Elihu F. Barker, admitted
December 7, 1893, partner of David A. Leach 1895, partner of William
Eldridge, removed to Walla Walla, Washington, January i, 1906, very suc-
cessful in practice there; Maurice Douglas, admitted December 3, 1896.
alumnus in Franklin College, class of '96, now prominent farmer of Flat Rock,
Shelby county, Indiana; George Young, admitted February 9, 1897, practiced
law in Greenwood one year, now member of firm of Bailey & Young, of In-

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l6o JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

dianapolis; Harry M. SchoIIer, admitted February 23, 1899, member of firm
of Scholler & Neible at Edinburg from 1899, now engaged in the lumber
business at Roachdale; Nathaniel M. Lacy, admitted May 20, 1899, removed
to Macon, Missouri, in 1901, and is a successful lawyer in that city; Edward
L. Middleton, admitted May 20, 1899, alumnus Franklin College, class of '97,
member of firm of Middleton & Drybread at this bar 1900-1905, now en-
gaged with the Barr Qay Products Company, of Streator, Illinois, and^ re-
sides at Evanston, Illinois; Roscoe S. Parr, admitted September 28, 1903,
member of firm of Oliver & Parr for two years; Carl H. Weyl, admitted
June 25, 1904, adumnus Franklin College, class of '02, removed to Indian-
apolis in November, 1907, now member of firm of Weyl & Jewett; Norman
Pritchard, admitted October 19, 1909, alumnus Franklin College, class of
'04, since 1912 engaged in practice of the law in Chicago.

The roster of the present membership of the Johnson county bar now
engaged in the active practice in this county, is as follows :

Name. Date of admission.

Robert M. Miller June, 1870.

William A. Johnson - September 7, 1874.

Henry C. Bamett February, 1875.

John F. Crawford September i, 1890.

George I. White November 19, 1894.

Elbert A. McAlpin November 24, 1894.

Thomas Williams December 14, 1895.

Douglas Dobbins April 1896.

Elba L. Branigin April 27, 1896.

L. Ert. Slack-: September 6, 1897.

Robert L. Crawford September 8, 1897.

James M. Robinson September 6, 1898.

Fred R. Owens September 6, 1898.

L. E. Ritchey September 13, 189S.

Walter L. Neible March 4, 1899.

Will Featherngill May 6, 1899.

^^remont Miller — — — — December 18, 1899.

Ivory J. Drybread June 29, 1900.

William G. Oliver June 6, 1901.

Oral S. Bamett March 10, 1902.

Henry E. White May 22, 1906. .

George S. Staff! , 1913.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. l6l

A glance at the above dates suggests two reflections : First, the period
between the admission of Mr. Barnett and of George I. White, almost
twenty years, must have been an unfortunate one for the lawyers, as none
came here to remain except the few whom death has called; the five-year
period beginning in 1896 was especially fruitful, more than half of the
present bar then entering the lists to stay and fight the battle out here.

Others whose connection with the local bar has been either very brief
or merely formal are the following: J. T. Arbuckle, of Edinburg, 1892;
W. H. Hubbard, of Edinburg, 1893; Charles Byfield, 1899; Everett Wright,
1901; John W. Dixon, 1902; Ammon H. AW)ett, 191 1; Will Eaton, 1905;
Arta Eaton Zeppenfcld, 1905; C. P. Hanna, 1906; Joel B. Huntington,
1904, and Senator J. J. Moore, of Trafalgar.

PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.

Daniel B. Wick, 1823; Harvey Gregg, 1824; Calvin Fletcher, 1825;
James Whitcomb, 1826; William W. Wick, 1829; Hiram Brown, 1831;
James Gregg, 1832; William Herrod, 1834; William Quarles, 1838; William
J. Peaslee, 1840; Hugh O'Neal, 1841 ; H. H. Barbour, 1843; Abram Ham-
mond, 1844; Edward Lander, 1848; John Keacham, 1848; David Wallace,
1848; G. M. Overstreet, 1849-51; David S. Gooding, 1851-53; Reuben A.
Riley, 1853-55: D. W. Chipman, 1855-57; Peter S. Kennedy, 1857-63; Will-
iam P. Fishback, 1863-65 ; Wilham W. Leathers, 1865-67; Joseph S. Miller,
1867-69; Daniel W. Howe. 1869-70; Nathaniel T. Carr, 1870-71 ; John Mor-
gan, 1871-72; K. M. Hord, 1872-74; W. Scott Ray, 1874-78; Leonard J.
Hackney, 1878-80; Jacob L. White, 1880-82; Fred Staff, 1882-86; Peter M.
Dill, 1886-88; John C. McNutt, 1888-92; Thomas H. Campbell, 1892-96;
Alonzo Blair, 1896-1900; Fremont Miller, 1900-05: Thomas Williams,
1905-07; Henry E. White, 1907-14; John P. Wright, 1914-

(11)

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CHAPTER VII.

EARLY SETTLERS AND INCIDENTS.

Among the early settlers in the town of Franklin was W. C. Jones,
afterward a resident of Fairfield, Iowa. A letter from his pen was published
in the Franklin Democrat in its issue of August 13, 1886, and is given a place
here by reason of its detailed information as to the citizenship of the town
of Franklin in the year 1831.

"The writer first saw Franklin on December 9, 1831, between stmdown
and dark. The snow was about six inches deep. It was a very small place,
not over two Jiundred inhabitants. The different offices were held as follows :
Clerk of the court, Capt. Samuel Herriott; sheriff, John S. Thompson; re-
corder, William Shafer; coroner, William G. Springer; justices of the peace,
George W. King and John Foster; constables, John Carter and William
Springer; postmaster, George King; district judge, B. F. Morris, of Indian-
apolis; probate judge, Israel Watts; representative in Legislature, Major
John Smiley.

"The church organizations were Presbyterian, Mission, Baptist and
Methodist Episcopal. Rev. David Monfort was minister of the Presb)^erian
church, Samuel Hardin of the Baptist and EH Farmer of the Methodist.
There were no church buildings. A log school house and the log court house
were the only places of preaching.

"The business of the town was S. Harriott & Brother, who had a store on
the northwest comer of the square, of a mixed order, dry goods, groceries,
boots and shoes. Allen & Mayhew kept a store near the southeast comer of
the square of the same kind ; Simon Moore kept a grocery and bakery on the
north side of the square.

"The lawyers were F. M. Finch and William O. Ross.

"The carpenters were the Shafer brothers, James Frary and Abraham
Stack. Blacksmiths, Yuly Spurgeon, Samuel Olmstead, James Chenoweth
and William Webb. • Cabinet-makers, J. K. Bennett and J. R. Carver. Tailors,
Mrs. Taylor, Charles Griffiths, Samuel Headley and William E. Qark. Boot
and shoe makers, Samuel Allison, Sr., Isaac Jones and others. Doctors.
Pierson Murphy, Meshach Davis, James Ritchey and Robert McAuIey, who

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FRANKLIN, DURING WAR TIMES. JEFFERSON STREET,
LOOKING EAST FROM CLARK'S MILL

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THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

^TOR, LENOX AND
. TI1-D£N FOUNDATIONS

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 163

lived four or five miles west of town on a farm. Doctor Murphy and he did
most of the practice. Uncle Joe Young kept a hotel at the southeast comer of
the square. Robert Gilchrist had a tan yard in the south part of town near
Young's creek and Garrett Bergan had one a little north of the town. Mr.
Bryce was the saddle and harness maker. He died of consumption. Thomas
Williams was county surveyor and county agent. Town lots could be bought
for sixteen dollars apiece. The first court house was a log building on the
Indianapolis street, one lot north of the square. There was a brick court
house in the center of the square, put up and covered in 1831 and finished
afterward. A log jail stood just west of the new court house on the square.
A log school house stood in the northeast part of town. William Shelledy
was the teacher and also taught vocal music. Alex Wilson, I believe, was a
turner or wheelwright. Samuel Allison was a young man, so were Charley
Johnson and John High. William Thompson lived in Franklin during the
winter of 1832. He was a teamster. I have forgotten the names of a few.
Horatio and W. C. Jones and families were in Franklin in 1831 and 1832
during two months. It would have been a small job to have taken the census
or assessed the property of the town at that time, and the writer did both in
after years. Uncle GeoTgerKigj^^pu^^ for the old plat of the town.

The town never impi-oyed. iri^ipjf ^IrsjfiKr^the Madison & Indianapolis rail-
road reached it. Thej citizens of Franklin township outside of Franklin were
Peter A. Banta and sons,.ThQmas j\Yj^lJ|iaiTis|and father, Milton Utter, Andrew
I^wis and John Thompson^ »•. Able: Rasi^ ^Uncle Davy McCaslin and sons,
Harvey, Newton, William* and^Allai;J?ilexander McCaslin, David McCaslin,
John and Henry Gratner, John Harter and son, Jacob, William Henry, Flem-
ing, Seabird and John ; old Father Ashley and son, William ; William Wear,
Edward Williams, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Adams and sons, William, John, George,
John and one whose name I have lost; Mr. Hammer and sons, James, John
and George; John Rogers,, James Lash and sons, Green, William and Sam-
uel; Uncle Billy Norris, Findley McClintock, John Israel, Sr., and sons,
John Hutson and Patton; Major John Smiley, who was the first sheriff of
Johnson coimty, a representative in the Legislature and probate judge, his
sons, William, Samuel, John and Perry: William Rutherford, Mr. Bryant,
Frank Devore, Joseph A. Dtmlap (think he was there in 183.1), Joel Mozingo
and son, Lewis; London Hendricks, Thomas Needham, Esq., and sons, Will-
iam, Noah, Isaac and Henry; Isaac and William Garison, Mr. Owens and
sons, Joseph Teatrick, William Williams, Hezekiah and Samuel McKinney,
Elisha Thompson, Abdalla Thompson, Linsey McKinney, Stephen and Elem-
uel Tilson, Elisha P. Dungan, Robert McCaslin and sons, Douglas B. Shellady

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164 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

and sons, James and Zebulon ; Wallace Edward Crow, Edward Springer and
sons, Garret Bergan and sons, Ephraim Harriott, John Wilson, Sr. and Jr.,
old Mr. Alexander and sons, David and George McAlpin, Robert Farms-
worth, Thomas McDaniel and sons, William and John ; Simon Hunt and son,
Joseph; Michael Canary, Mr. Freeman, William Burkhart, William Poore,
James Beedles, Mrs. Elizabeth Beedles, Stephen Railings, Horatio Jones and
sons, Henry Byers and sons, Isaac and Benjamin ; Mr. Demaree, Dr. Robert
McAuley, Thomas Mitchell and sons, Aaron, Benjamin and John; John and
David McCord, Capt. John P. Banta, George and James List, Thomas Hen-
derson, father and brothers, John Covert and brothers, John, Cornelius, Simcm
and Daniel ; Andrew Voris and son, Joe ; John Voris, David Banta, S. Magill
and sons, Samuel and James; Peter Lagrange, Sr. and Jr., Zacariah Rans-
dall and sons, William, Benjamin and Isaac; Aaron Lagrange, Samuel Van
Nuys, James Van Nuys and sons, Moses Freeman, James McCaslin, Melvin
Wheat, James Thompson and Eli Gilchrist.

"Samuel Herriott was the main business man not only of the town, but
of the county. He was an active, far-seeing, energetic man and did a great
deal to help the early settlers of that heavy timber, and wet country, 1^ in-
dulgence and advice, while he acquired considerable wealth and deserved it.
There were but few men of better judgment in nearly all kinds of business. I
have not intended to name anyone outside of Franklin township and know I
have not named all that were there in 1832. The faces of some I call to mind
but have lost their names. It is all from recollection, having no record or
notes to guide me, and I have not lived there since the fall of 1844; and forty-
two years is a long time in the space that we are allowed to stay here. I
know but few that I have named that are still living, though there may be
many. This was written for pastime to while away some of the cold days of
last winter, not being able to get around to do any business. The early
settlers were men of small capital generally, and had left the older states to
better themselves financially, and most of them succeeded. They were a
social, hospitable class of people from the different states, and a few from
Europe, but Kentucky had the largest representation. There was no church
building in the township at that time, unless there was one at Hopewell. Log
school houses and private dwellings were the places of worship and preaching
in the open air. Question: Have the people improved in morals and the
Christian religion while they have been making great improvements in the
affairs of this life, or have they acted as though the things in this life were to
be first attended to?"

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. '165

CONDITION OF THE ROADS.

Into this wilderness the first comers were compelled to work their way
as best they could, but in time roads were opened out by public or private
enterprise, so that movers could come in without obstruction, safe from the
mud and swollen streams. For many years the Indianapolis lawyers who
traveled the circuit consumed an entire day in coming from Indianapolis to
Franklin to attend the spring term of court, and it was for a long time con-
sidered a hard day's journey for a resident of the Smock neighborhood to
ride on horseback to Indianapolis and return. George Kerlin moved to the
county in the month of September, 1831, and so muddy were the roads at
that season that his wagons were frequently mired to the axles. Every old
resident can call to mind the rails and poles lying in the vicinity of the deeper
mud holes and which had been used as levers to raise wheels from the mire.
Efforts were made, as the country became older, to make the roads better.
Rails, poles and not infrequently round logs were used in "cross-laying" the
roads at the worst places; but when we remember the sparsity of population
and that road districts were necessarily large, it must be evident that not
much more could be done than keep the deepest mudholes passable and the
roads clear of fallen timber. Many of the first settlers were too poor to come
to the country in wagons, but packed through on horses. Christopher Ladd,
as we have seen, brought his household stuff on a sled. When John S. Miller
came up from Jennings county to mark the spot of his future home previous
to his bringing his wife, he carried out a lot of peach trees on a log sled.
When George Bridges came he fetched a lot of household stuff on a wooden
truck wagon. But enough examples might be produced indefinitely showing
the straits to which the pioneers were put in getting to their destinations. But
come as they would, bad roads, from mud and water or other causes, ever
awaited them. Mrs. Catherine Hardin moved to the county in 1827, and the
following lively sketch from the pen of Judge Franklin Hardin, her son. tells
the story of the difficulties which met them on the way :

"In the year 1827 the same widow and her boy, now two years older than
when they stopped over night with the hospitable Morgan, together with two
older brothers and sister, constituting a family, left Nicholas county, Ken-
tucky, with the purpose of making Johnson county, Indiana, their permanent
home, to which a large part of the original family had emigrated three years
before. When the emigrants arrived at Shelbyville they were compelled to
chose whether they would there take the road to Indianapolis and then down

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l66 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the Bluff road or take the road by way of Franklin and the Madison and
Indianapolis state road as far north as to Whetzel's old trace, and thence
west to Bell's. The Whetzel trace across Johnson county was impassable by
reason of the fallen timber across its route, killed by the emigrant wagons
and teams of former years bruising and cutting the roots. Whetzel's trace
from Loper's cabin, at Camp creek, to the Madison and Indianapolis state
road, ceased to be traveled in the year 1826, being superseded by other roads
and on account of fallen timber across it. It was never laid out by lawful
authority and was never, repaired. The road by way of Franklin was chosen
and, the weather being pleasant, the wagon rolled merrily doWn Blue river
to the point where the road crossed the stream. It was late in the evening
when a terrible rain storm came on. Not far from the river, in the edge of a
com field, stood a deserted cabin ; possession of it was taken and preparation
made to spend the night there. The roof of boards was mostly gone, but
still enough remained to afford partial protection. During the whole night
the rain continued to pour down unceasingly. When the morning broke an
active move was made for Sugar creek, thinking it might yet be possible to
ford it. Blue river was in our rear, pouring down its angry waters, and Sugar
creek in front, whose condition was unknown. The road ran by the dwelling
of John Webb, on the Shelby side of the line. When Sugar creek was
reached its angry waters were foaming along, dashing out over the low
grounds and filling up the bayous. It was the first rise after the summer and
fall were gone. The trees had already cast their leaves and had colored the
water a dark red brown. To add to our troubles the winds turned and blew
, from the northwest, bringing some snow. To advance or retreat was equally
impossible; we were in the midst of the waters and surrounded. A few
stakes were hastily driven in the ground and bed clothes nailed to them, so as
to inclose a space ten feet in diameter, and a fire built in the circle, thus
securing a comfortable place. An elder brother was along, a man of shifts
and expedients, w^ho had already resided in the county for three years, and
who had often swam its creeks and rivers. He sent back for an auger to Mr.
Webb, who kindly lent us the largest he had, three-fourths of an inch in
diameter, and also the loan of a little unsteady water craft, a mere trough,
which could carry only three men at a time by one or two lying flat on its
bottom as ballast. There stood on the bank of the stream a tall hackberry tree,
dead and recently stripped of its bark by woodcocks in search of worms. In a
few minutes it was cut down, falling along the shore, and was soon cut up into
sections of twelve or fourteen feet. These were placed side by side and poles
laid athwart them and pinned fast by boring through the poles and into the

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 167

logs. Thus a raft was constructed in an hour sufficient for our purpose.
'Willis/ said Mr. Webb, to his son, on his return from watching our motions,
'what are those people doing at the creek?' 'Well,' said Willis, 'they are
going to cross the creek on a log raft.' 'Nonsense,' said the old gentleman,
'it can't be done.' The wagon was unloaded in a trice and itself pulled to
pieces. Then piling on the raft all it would buoy up, two or three hundred
feet of bed cords was attached to the raft and two men mounted it armed
with ten- foot poles. The canoe led the way up the shore with the men and
poles forcing it along, then resting against the shore the boat passed over, and
now, when across, the work began in earnest. The ropes were pulled over,
the poles were plied also and the trip was soon made, and again and again
repeated until all were over. The cattle and horses were forced in and swam
over. There were some sixty head of sheep to be gotten across some way ;
they were more troublesome than the rafting. We tried to get them to
swim; we forced them into the stream, but they would return always to the
same side. Finally a happy thought came to our relief. The little craft was
brought forth, and two sheep laid flat in the bottom and then we crossed and
secured them on the opposite bank. Now began on both sides the most ap-
pealing bleatings. A little force was all that was necessary to make the flock
take to the water and swim over. The wagon was soon reloaded and hastily
driven westward, while the angry creek was at our heels. On the first high
ground, a quarter of a mile east of William Needham's and George Hunt's
cross-road, we made our camp for the night. The roads henceforward exceed
belief, the wagon often sinking to the hubs all the way to Franklin, where the
streets were no better. At one and a half miles north of Franklin a deserted
hut was occupied for the night. At Franklin the writer mounted a horse and
struck out for White River township for assistance, by way of the Indian-
apolis state road. There was scarcely a dry spot of ground on the whole
route. At a small stream near David Trout's, ordinarily dry, the water was
mid-rib to a horse, and other small streams crossed equally deep. Leaving
the state road when Whetzel's old trace was reached, a long valley, lying north
and south in its length, was crossed near William Law's, a quarter of a mile in
width, and which doubtless is the section of some extinct river. The water
could scarcely be crossed without swimming. A faithful dog had left the
wagon and followed; he had crossed so many streams and ponds by swim-
ming that here he could swim no more, and, getting into a dry position, re-
fused to go further. After riding some distance to try him, the writer re-
turned and, dragging the dog across the pommel of the saddle, carried him
to a safe landing beyond. A few hours' riding over drier land brought the

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l68 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

end of the journey. Next morning assistance went in haste to the aid of the
family."

The following sketches relating to the early settlers of the several town-
ships are copied from the little volume, entitled **A Historical Sketch of John-
son County/' written by Judge David D. Banta and published by J. H. Beers
& Company, of Chicago, in 1881. It is now out of print and, outside of a few
copies in public libraries, the book is rarely seen. The account of the early
settlers of White River township is from the pen of Judge Franklin Hardin :

BLUE WVKR TOWNSHIP.

About the year 1814 John Campbell, a young man, left his native state,
Tennessee, to find a home north of the Ohio. Fate directed his footsteps to
the vicinity of Waynesville, in that state, where he married Ruth Perkins,
who was bom near Columbia, South Carolina, but was living at the time
with an aunt. In 181 7 he moved to Corinersville and in 1820 he moved to the
New Purchase, reaching Blue River, near the present site of Edinburg, on the
4th of March of that year. His wife and four sons accompanied him and
four little girls were left behind, but afterward came through on horseback.
Benjamin Crews helped him to drive his team and stock through to Blue
River. The road which they cut out must have been the most primitive of
paths, for two years after, when Alexander Thompson, Israel Watts and
William Runnels came over the same general route, they found a wagon road
to the Flat Rock creek, south of Rushville, but from there on they had to cut
their own way.

Campbell settled on a tract of land lying immediately south of the
present site of Edinburg, while Benjamin Crews, who at once returned to
Connersville for his own family, stopped on the south side of the covmty line.
A little cabin was presently erected in the woods, and the venturesome Camp-
bell set about the preparations for a crop of com and patiently awaited the
arrival of neighbors. But he did not have to wait very long. The great
Indian trail led from the Kentucky river through this township and Richard
Berry had come out upon it and located in the edge of Bartholomew county,
at the mouth of Sugar creek, and established a ferry. His place was known
far and near. It is said that a half dozen or more families followed Camp-
bell into the Blue River woods the same spring, but there is much uncer-
tainty at this time as to this ; but it is certain that there was, during the year,
a larger accession to Campbell's settlement. The lands, since incorporated
into Blue River township, were surveyed in August of that year by John Hen-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 169

dricks, a govemmait surveyor, and on the 4th day of October these lands
were first exposed for sale at the land office in Brookville. That day three
purchases were made of Blue River lands, and the first in the county, by
James Jacobs, William W. Robinson and John Campbell (of Sugar Creek),
while on the day following nine purchases were made by the following per-
sons: Zachariah Sparks, John Campbell (the first settler), Alexander
Thompson, Thomas Ralston, Amos Durbin, Jonathan Lyon, Isaac Wilson,
Robert Wilson and Francis Brock. There were thirty-nine entries in all
made before the close of the year, making a total of four thousand four hun-
dred acres, and of these entries eighteen were of quarter sections and the
remainder of eighty-acre tracts.

In so far as is now known eighteen families moved into the new settle-
ment in 1820, and of these Henry Cutsinger, Simon Shaffer, Jesse Dawson,
Zachariah Sparks, Elias Brock and Joseph Townsend were Kentuckians;
William Williams and, as already said, John Campbell were Tennesseeans ;
Amos Durbin was from Virginia; John A. Mow and Joshua Palmer from
Ohio; Isaac Marshall and John Wheeler from North Carolina; Samuel Her-
riott from Pennsylvania, while Louis Bishop, Thomas Ralston and Richard
Connor's natal places are unknown.

The new settlement was auspiciously begun and had a remarkable growth
for its day. The hardships that usually attended the backwoodsmen of their
times fell to their lot, and it is remembered that death made an inroad into
the settlement, carrying off that fall, first the wife of Joseph Townsend and
next, Richard Connor. When John Williams came to Bartholomew county,
in September, 1820, with his father, he visited Campbell and at that time
Joseph Townsend was living in a cabin next the hill whereon stands John
Thompson's residence. When his wife died Allen Williams knocked the back
out of his kitchen cupboard and, with the lumber thus obtained, made her a
coffin. She and also Richard Connor lie buried in the hill west of town, but
their immediate places of sepulture are forgotten. Mrs. Townsend was, it is
believed, the first white person who died within the township and also in the
county.

The second year of the settlement twenty-seven families are known to
have moved in. John Adams came from Kentucky and moved to the north
end of the township and founded the Adams neighborhood. Richard Foster
and John and William, his brothers, Patrick Adams, Patrick Cowan, Arthur
Robinson, Curtis Pritchard, David Webb, William R. Hensley, William C.
Robinson, James Farrell, John Adams, John P. Bamett, Jacob Cutsinger,
Isaac Harvey (a Baptist preacher), Lewis Hays, William Rutherford, Jeffer-

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170 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

son D. Jones, Thomas Russell and Samuel Aldridge, all Kentuckians; Isaac
Collier, Israel Watts and Jonathan Hougham, Ohioans; Alexander Thomp-
son, from Virginia; Jesse Wells and Thomas Doan, from North Carolina,
and William Runnells, from Tennessee, moved in. By the close of this year
the lands contiguous to Blue river were taken up, and a line of settlement
extended nearly across the south side of the township, while John Campbell,
an Irishman, had laid the foundation of a settlement at the mouth of Sugar
creek, and Louis Hays and William Rutherford had joined John Adams'
settlement higher up the creek.

In 1822 fourteen families moved in. Of these Abie Webb, James Con-
nor, Hezekiah Davison, William Hunt, James M. Daniels, John Shipp, Will-
iam Bamett, David Durbin, Hiram Aldridge and Thomas Russell were from
Kentucky. Charles Martin and Samuel Umpstead were from Ohio, and it is
not ascertained whence came Baker Wells and Samuel Johnson, who came in
this year. In 1823 William Freeman moved from Bartholomew county into
the township, and Richard Shipp and John Hendrickson also moved in. All
these were Kentucky bom. By the close of 1823 there were at least sixty-
three families living in the township.

It is uncertain when the town of Edinburg was laid out, but frbm all
the evidence that has been adduced it would seem that it could not have been
later than in the spring of 1822. It is hard to reconcile this date with certain
records in existence, but so many of the old men during later years have as-
serted their confidence in a date not later than the one given that it would
seem safe to follow it. Louis Bishop and Alexander Thompson were the
projectors of the place. They early saw that a town would be a necessity to
the country which was destined to grow up about them within a few years
and determined that the necessity should be supplied on the banks of the Blue
river. This was the center of a thriving settlement. The lands surrounding
it for many miles were of the finest quality, and the "rapids" in Blue river
offered a splendid mill site and so the town was located.

If the date of its location is uncertain, the origin of the name is equally
so. One account attributes it to a circumstance too trifling for historical
belief. It is said that, on the evening of the day the new town was platted,
Edward Adams, a brother-in-law of Bishop, "a good easy soul," familiarly
known by the diminutive **Eddie/' having l>een encouraged by a too frequent
use of the bottle to demand some recognition, asked that the new town be
named Eddiesburg, and that, in a short time, it took on the statelier name of
Eldinburg. That it was understood at the time by many that the name was
in some manner connected with Edward Adams, there can be no doubt, but

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I7I

there is other, and I think better, authority that the name was given by
Alexander Thompson, who was a Scotchman by birth, in memory of the
capital of his native country. In the first records w^hich we have the name is
spelled with over-exactness, "Edinburg,'* an orthography which scarcely
could have grown out of Edinburg in its transition state to Edinburg.

The new town had a recognition from the start. Booth & Newby, mer-
chants in Salem, Indiana, determined on opening a stock of goods suitable
to the wants of the backwoods, at some point in the Blue River country, and
selected Edinburg as the place. Alexander Thompson was accordingly em-
ployed to build them a suitable storeroom for the purpose, which he did in
1822. This house was built about eighty feet south of Main cross, on Main
street, and in the fall of that year William R. Hensley, agent for Booth &
Newby, brought a boat load of goods up the Blue river to the mouth of Sugar
creek, and "on a Sunday the boys" went down and carried his goods up to the
store on their shoulders. This was the first stock of goods exposed for sale in
both township and county.

While Thompson was building the new stone house Isaac Collier, Will-
iam Hunt and Patrick Cowen were erecting dwelling houses on Main street
and John Adams one on Main street cross. Collier soon after set up a black-
smith shop, the first in the county, and Louis Bishop opened the first tavern.

"In the fall of 1822," says Ambrose Barnett, "the place contained four
families, whose log cabins were scattered over a considerable tract of ground
in the midst of the native forest trees."

In May, 1826, Thomas Carter was licensed by the board of justices of
the county to keep a tavern, and the next March Patrick Cowen received the
like privilege, and in May following Louis Bishop again took out a license.
About this time one David Stip also appears as a tavern keeper.

How long Booth & Newby continued in the mercantile business is un-
certain, but in July, 1826, Gwin & Washburn and also Israel Watts went into
the business, and in July, 1828, George B. Holland likewise.

In 1832 Austin Shipp and Timothy Threlkeld were licensed to vend
merchandise, and the same year Simon Abbott, in addition to the right to
retail "foreign and domestic goods," added "spirituous liquors" also.

The location of Edinburg was unfavorable to good order during the
early years of its existence. It soon became a common rendezvous for the
hard drinking and evil disposed from all the surrounding country, and it
was an easy matter for the law breakers to mount their horses and flee across
the line into Bartholomew or Shelby counties and then defy the pursuing
constables. Some time in 1830 a man by the name of Jesse Cole was killed in

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\7'2. JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

a drunken row in the town, and not long afterwards Lunsford Jones and John
Frazier had a quarrel while in their cups, but renewing their friendship the
same day, set out for their homes after nightfall. Both were intoxicated and,
while crossing the river, Jones lost his seat and was drowned, while his horse
went home. Frazier was suspected of having somehow brought about Jones'
death, but the fact was never proven against him. Frazier was a desperado
of the worst type. In 1838 he and one Valentine Lane had a difficulty at
Foster's Mill, when Lane chastised him personally. Thereupon Frazier left
and, arming himself, returned and, renewing the fight, he stabbed his antago-
nist till he died.

In August, 1840, Frazier maltreated his wife so that she was compelled
to leave him and swear out a peace warrant against him. Being arrested and
on his way to Edinburg he passed the house of Allen Stafford, where his wife
was staying, and obtained leave to stop and talk with her. On stepping out
of the door, as he requested her to do, he struck her a blow with his knife,
inflicting a wound from which she ultimately died. Then he stabbed himself,
but not fatally. Being put to his trial, he was sentenced to fourteen years in
the penitentiary and Isaac Jones, who was then sheriff, and his brother,
William C. Jones, and Elias Voris conducted him to Jeffersonville, where he,
too, soon died. On their way home they passed through Salem and there
they got into a quarrel with a party of strangers, when Voris, who was a very
powerful man, whipped the crowd. Warrants were then put out by the civil
authorities for the arrest of Voris and the Jones', when they fled the place, but
by some means Voris became separated from his companions. The strangers
pursued and overtook him and most foully murdered him in the woods, sever-
ing his head from his body. They in turn made their escape.

In 1827, James Thompson availed himself of the splendid water power
on Blue river, opposite the town, and took steps to secure the right of erect-
ing a mill at that place. A jury was summoned, under the law, one of whom,
Thomas Barnett, was still living in 1881. The condemnation was made, and
Thompson built a grist and saw mill. This enterprise was not only an im-
mediate benefit to the place, but in the hands of the Thompson family has ever
since been a source of strength to the town.

Other mills were afterward built. Both Blue river and Sugar creek
are well adapted to mill purposes in the township.

NINEVEH TOWNSHIP.

Nineveh township is one of the oldest townships in the county, having
been organized the same sprijig the county government was inaugurated.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I73

In the spring of 182 1, Amos Durbin, who was from Kentucky, settled
over on the east side, and thus became the pioneer settler of the township.

In the fall of the same year, Robert Worl, an Ohio man, floated down
the Ohio river to some point on the Indiana side and thence picked his way
to the New Purchase, mostly by Indian trace. Reaching the Blue River set-
tlement, he journeyed on and arrived on the Nineveh in the month of Septem-
ber, and built him a cabin about a mile east of the present town of Williams-
burg.

In 1823, eleven new men are known to have come in. On the 15th of
March, Joab Woodruff and William Strain came from Ohio, and as they
passed through the Blue River settlement, their old neighbor, Ben Crews,
picked up and came over with them. Henry Burkhart and George, his
brother, from Kentucky, settled in the north side, on the Indian trail, and left
the Burkhart name in Burkhart's creek. Adam Lash is set down as coming
that year, and also Daniel and Henry Musselman, and James Dunn, from
Kentucky, and David Trout, frc«n Virginia, and John S. Miller, from North
Carolina.

The next year, James and William Gillaspy, William Spears, Curtis
Pritchard, Louis Pritchard and Richard Perry, Kentuckians, and Jeremiah
Dunham, an Ohioan, and Elijah DeHart, from North Carolina, moved in.

In 1824, Robert Moore and Aaron Dunham, of Ohio, arrived, and Isaac
Walker, Perry Bailey, George Bailey, Joseph Thompson and Robert Forsyth,
all from Kentucky. Forsyth was delayed at the driftwood by high water,
but when he did cross, Mrs. Nancy Forsyth, his wife mounted upon the back
of a horse, with a bag of meal under her, rode out to their new home, carrying
her child, James P., who was two years old, in her arms, and he carried a
house-cat in his. It was late when they reached their place, but John S.
Miller, Henry Musselman and some others "whirled in" and helped clear four
acres of corn ground, on which a fair crop of corn was raised, and the bean
vines grew so luxuriantly that they mounted into the lower branches of the
trees.

The year before that, David Trout was prostrated by a long and severe
sickness, but his neighbors did not neglect him. On stated days they met at
his place, and his com was planted and plowed with as much care as any man's
in the neighborhood.

. In 1825, Daniel Pritchard, John Parkhurst, William Irving and Amos
Mitchd, from Kentucky, and Jesse Young, from Ohio, moved in, and, in the
year foDowing, came Thomas Elliott, Prettyman Burton, William Keaton,
Qark Tucker, Daniel Hotto, John Hall, John Elliott, all Kentuckians, and

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174 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Thomas Griffith, Samuel Griffith, Richard Wheeler, James McKane, James
and John Wylie, Ohioans.

In 1827, of those who came, John Kindle, Aaron Burget and the Calvins
(James, Luke, Thomas and Hiram), Milton McQuade, John Dodd, Robert
. Works and, as is supposed, George Harger and Jeremiah Hibbs, are all be-
lieved to have been from Ohio, and James Mullikin, David Forsyth and James
Hughes, from Kentucky. The next year, Joseph Featherngill, Gabriel Givens,
Mrs. Sarah Mathes and James White came, followed by Hume Sturgeon, in

1829, and by Walter Black, David Dunham, John Wilks, Aaron Burget, in

1830. Sturgeon was from Kentucky, Mrs. Mathes from Virginia, and the
others from Ohio, save Black, whose native place is uncertain.

It is not pretended that these were all the men who moved into Nineveh
up to the last year mentioned, nor is it claimed that the true date is given in
every instance. The list and dates are only approximately correct.

The first election held in Nineveh township was at the house of John
Henry, in August, 1823, and nineteen votes were polled, but as all the territory
comprised in the present townships of Franklin, Union and Hensley, as well
as Nineveh proper, comprised Nineveh then, and as some voters came from
Sugar Creek to vote, these nineteen votes do not measure the strength of
Nineveh at that time. On the 25th of September, 1825, an election was held
for the election of a justice, at the house of Daniel Musselman, and thirty-
nine votes were cast. Of these, David Durbin received twenty, and Jesse
Young nineteen. On the 12th of November following, another election for
justice was held at the same place, when thirty-one votes were cast, Joab
Woodruff receiving twenty- four, and Edward Ware seven. In 1827, at an
election for justice, Curtis Pritchard and Amos Durbin were voted for, and
each received nineteen votes, and thereupon lots were cast, and Pritchard
declared elected. In 1824, the like thing happened in White River township,
Archibald Glenn and Nathaniel Bell each receiving seventeen votes for justice.
Lots were cast and Glenn won.

The early residents of Nineveh were fairly divided between Ohio and
Kentucky men. While the Kentuckians constituted a majority in nearly
€very township, there were but few Ohioans in any one save Nineveh.

Williamsburg, laid out by Daniel Musselman, was, during its infancy, a
rival of Edinburg. Joab Woodruff brought an assortment of dry goods to
his house and sold them at an early date in the township's history, and in
1830 the record of the board of justices shows that Daniel Musselman was
licensed to vend foreign and domestic groceries, and that Woodruff held a
license to sell at the same time. In 1831, Henry Musselman procured a

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 1 75

license to keep a grocery, and in the next year A. H. Scroggins & Company
went into the mercantile business in the place. Glancing along the pages of
the old records, the further fact is disclosed that, in 1838, Thomas Mullikin
was licensed to vend "domestic and foreign merchandise," and, in the year
following, James Mills obtained a permit to sell whisky and dry goods.

The first church organized in the township was at the house of Daniel
Musselman, by Elder Mordecai Cole, a Baptist preacher, and it was named the
"Nineveh Church."

It is probable that Aaron Dunham taught the first school, soon after he
came, in 1824. In 1826, Benjamin Bailey was teaching in a cabin with an
earthen floor, near the Vickerman place.

In 1 83 1, William Vickerman moved in and built the first wool-carding
factory that was successfully run in the county.

The first death in the township was a little child of Daniel Musselman,
that was burned to death. Shortly after, James Dunn and Nancy Pritchard
both died ; and in twenty-two months after the arrival of Thomas Griffith, on
the 2ist of October, 1826, he died, leaving a widow with a family of little
children. Griffith was the first blacksmith in the township.

About half the original settlers of Nineveh township were Ohioans; the
others were mainly Kentuckians. Nineveh was the Ohio settlement of the
county.

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

In 1822, in the first half of the year, as is supposed, William Burkhart,
from Green county, Kentucky, and Levi Moore, built the first cabins in Frank-
lin township. They came by way of the Indian trail, and Burkhart built his
cabin on the banks of the little creek, where Michael Canary afterward lived
and died, while Moore went out as far as the Big Spring, and then turning to
the east, located at the knoll, a few hundred yards west of Young's creek,
where John McCaslin's house stands. Moore afterward moved to the farm
now owned by Aaron Lagrange and there built a mill, the third built in the
township; but he moved to a newer country within a few years, leaving an
unsavory reputation behind him. Moore's creek commemorates his name.

In the spring of 1823, George King. Simon Covert and David W. Mc-
Caslin, accompanied by Isaac Voris, a young man, moved from Kentucky
and began clearings near the mouth of Camp creek, or, as it afterward came to
be known. Covert's creek, after which, it took its present name of Hurricane.
There was no road cut out beyond John Adam's place, now Amity, and the
movers, being joined by Robert Gilchrist, Pushed" the way out to their future

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17^> JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIA>IA.

horae. On the afternoon of a day in March they reached Camp creek, but,
finding the stream high and not knowing the fords, they encamped for the
night on. the high ground where stand the college buildings. All returned
to Adams, save Covert and Voris, who, when night came, milked the cows,
milking into and drinking out of the cow bells that had been brought for use
in the range. The next morning, the pilgrims crossed over the turbulent
stream and at once began the building of King's cabin on a knoll west of the
present crossing of the Cincinnati & Martinsville railroad and JeflFerson
street. That being up, McCaslin's was built on the south side of Young's
creek, and Covert's on the east side of the Hurricane.

During the following summer Franklin was laid out and made ready for
settlers ; but it was not until the spring after that a house was built within the
plat. At that time, a man named Kelly put up a house on the west side of the
square and kept a few articles in the grocery line for sale, chief among which
seems to have been an odd sort of beer and cakes. He was for some reason
unable to get whiskey, and at the end of a year he left and went to Indian-
apolis.

In the summer of 1824, William Shafer built the court house, and in the
fall he built himself a house on the southeast corner of the square. The same
year, John Smiley put up a log house of two stories, on the northwest comer
of Main and Jefferson streets, where Wood's drug store now is, and, moving
into it the same year, he hung out a "tavern sign.'' At the same time, a cabin
was put up adjoining Smiley's house on the west, and into this Daniel Taylor,
from Cincinnati, brought a stock of dry goods and groceries. Edward
Springer, that year or the next, built and operated the first smithy in the
township on the west side of the square. In 1825 ^^ 1826, Joseph Young
and Samuel Herriott, partners in business, erected the first frame buifding
in the town and township, near to Shafer's house, and in the south side a
tavern was opened under the immediate supervision of Young, and in the
north side was opened a general store under the care of Herriott. In 1828,
George King built a brick house on Main street, in which he lived imtil his
death, in 1869. The somewhat elaborate beadwork on the door and window
casing, which many will remember, was cut out by the carpenters with pocket-
knives. Among the early settlers was Thomas Williams, who came in 1823
or 1824; John K. Powell, a hatter; Caleb Vannoy, a tanner; Pierson Murphy
and James Ritchcy, physicians ; Fabius M. Finch and Gilderoy Hicks, lawyers ;
Samuel Headley and Samuel Lambcrson, tailors.

In 1825 Moses Freeman, Daniel Covert, Joseph Voris, Thomas Hender-
son and, probably, John Davis, moved into and not far from the Covert neigh-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 77

borhood, at the Big Spring, near Hopewell. Henry Byers settled near the
west side, and about the same time Joseph Hunt came in by Burkhart's, and
Isaac Becson over on Sugar creek. John Smiley, in 1822, had settled on thie
same creek and had built a mill. John Mozingo and Squire Hendricks were
living on the east side, as heretofore stated.

The same year Franklin was located, Cyrus Whetzel ran a line and
marked it, with a compass, through the woods from the Bluffs to the new
town, and in 1824 the Bhiff road was cot out, and this afforded movers easy
access to the northwest parts of the township. In 1825, Isaac Vannuys,
Stephen Luyster and David Banta moved in, and the year after Petef La-
grange and his sons, Peter D. and Aaron, all then settled in what is now
known as the Hopewell neighborhood. Following at intervals, during the
next few years, we find coming into the same vicinity John Voris, Simon
Vanarsdall, Zachariah Ransdall, Cornelius Covert, Melvin Wheat, John P.
Banta, John Bergen, Peter Demaree, Samuel Vannuys, Theodore List,
Stephen Whitenack, Joseph Combs, Thomas Roberts and Peter Banta. On
the south and west sides and southwest comer of the township, we find that
Thomas Mitchell, Michael Canary, Robert McAuley, Jacob Demaree, Ebenezer
Perry, James Forsyth came in quite early, and then, passing up the south side,
are the names of Major Townsend, John D. Mitchell, John Gratner, Joseph
Ashley, John Harter, Alexander McCaslin, James McCaslin, John C. Good-
man, John Gribben and Jonathan Williams. In the central and northern parts
were William Magill, Garrett Bergen, Peter A. Banta, Milton Utter, the
Whitesides brothers (Henry, James, John and William), and Stephen and
Lemuel Tilson, Thomas J. Mitchel, John Brown, Elisha Dungan, Edward
Crow, David McCaslin, Harvey McCaslin, Robert Jeffrey, John Herriott,
Middleton Waldren, Therrett Devore, Travis Burnett, David Berry, Jesse
Williams, Simon Moore, John High, Samuel Overstreet, John Wilson, David,
Thomas and George Alexander, William and Samuel Allison and John Wil-
son ; while upon the east side, in addition to those mentioned previously, may
be named Landen Hendricks, William Garrison, Joseph Tetrick, Jesse Beard,
Thomas Needham, Jacob Fisher, Samuel Owens, David Wiles and J. C.
Patterson.

The next mill built in the township, after Smiley 's, was by John Harter,
on Young's creek, two miles below Franklin. Harter bought his mill-irons
from John Smiley and agreed to pay him in corn, two bushels being due on
Wednesday of every other week until paid for; and in this connection, it may
be stated as an evidence of the straits to which men were put in those days,

(12)

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178 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

that Jefferson D. Jones had a supply of bacon, but no meal, while Harter had
the meal but no bacon, and that they made an arrangement whereby Jones
tbok a half-bushel of meal every other week, and gave Harter of his bacon,
in payment therefor at the same intervals of time.

About 1827, Levi Moore got a little mill in operation on Young's creek,
at the mouth of Moore's creek, and, still later, Cornelius Covert built a mill
on the same stream higher up.

In 1826, a little child of Joseph Young died, the first in the township.
In 1829, a school was taught in the log court house. John Tracey, of Plea-
sant township, was a pupil, walking not less than five miles night and morning.
James Graham was the teacher. About 1825, Thomas Williams married,
as is now believed, the first couple in the township. Their names have not
been remembered, but the groom, having no money to pay the Squire,
proffered that he would make rails and his wife work in the kitchen for
Williams in lieu of money.

WHITE RIVER TOWNSHIP.

White River township originally extended across the north part of John-
son county, but is now restricted to its northwest corner. It includes forty-
eight sections of land. Its length, which lies north and south, is eight miles
and its breadth six. It is situated in the basin of the White river, and about
one thousand acres lie on the west bank of that stream. Three or four sec-
tions in the southeast corner are included in the valley of Young's creek.
The valley of White river, through and over the gravelly and sandy stratum
of the drift, is about twenty miles wide, and has a depth of about sixty or
seventy feet. There are only two terraces to the river, the nearer being about
twelve feet above low water and a mile in width, and overflows to a depth of
about three feet. The farther is still fifteen feet higher and of equal breadth.
With this terrace the level portions of the valley cease and are succeeded north
of the bluffs by sandy and gravelly ridges a mile or more in width, and which
extend for long distances parallel with the river, having an elevation often
equal to the greatest depth of the valley, proving to any observer that they
were formed by moving waters confined to the valley of the river, and which
were then equally extensive with its whole width and depth. Across this in-
clined plane, with its great fall throughout the whole township, except half
a dozen sections in the southeast corner, situate in the basin of Young's
creek, Pleasant run, Honey creek, Bluff creek, Crooked creek and other smaller
streams rush down to the river, thus giving an unsurpassed drainage to the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I79

township: The township has a greater variety of soils than any other in the
township, and of unequaled productiveness. When Whetzel, in cutting his
trace with the purpose of going still further, looked down into the rich valley
of the White river, he said, "This is good enough for me,'' and there erected
a permanent camp. And those who have resided in White River township
and, having left in search of other eligible points, have souglit in vain for its
equal. Its rich, dry soil attracted emigration at a very early day, which con-
tinued to pour in until the township was soon densely populated. The greater
part of the emigrants were from the Southern states, three-fourths at least
from Virginia, a few from Kentucky, North Carolina and Ohio. The emi-
grants were men of small means, seldom able to enter more than eighty acres
of land, and dependent entirely upon personal efforts for the improvement
of their lands and for the subsistence of themselves and families. And this
one feature, that is, the slendemess of the means of the emigrants — although
at first thought it seems paradoxical — accounts for the rapid advancement of
Indiana more than any other. There were no idlers. The men worked, the
women worked, the children worked.

The first emigrants were a body of select men, who came to a county
covered with a heavy forest, to better their condition by conquering its wild-
ness and developing its agricultural resources. Their capital was in their
ability to perform hard service, and in a will and purpose to do so. The
heavy forest, with its tall trees and with its dense shrubbery, was sufficient
to deter irresolute men from undertaking so arduous a task as its removal,
and, except a few wandering hunters, there were none here. Every man
needed assistance, and every man stood ready to render it. If an emigrant
but cut a new road through the brushwood, and erected a camp, a half dozen
men would find it out and be there in twenty-four hours, not by invitation, but
voluntarily to assist him in building a cabin. Often a cabin was built in a
single day, and covered in, and the family housed in safety and comfort at
night beneath its roof. If food was needed by the new-comer, that was car-
ried along, and often half the meal for those assisting was supplied by the
neighbors, and the good old kind-hearted mothers went along to help prepare
it. The furniture of the cabin consisted often of a fixed bedstead in each of
the four angles. One bed-post only was used, set up four and one-half feet
from one wall, and six and one-half from the other, with two large holes bored
into it two feet from the floor. Then two holes were bored into the walls, and
into these were inserted, smoothed with a bowie knife, two poles, four and
one-half feet, the width, and six and one-half feet, the length of the frame
work. On the long way, rails were laid, and into the space between the logs

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l8o JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

of the wall were inserted the usual split boards, and thus this indispensable
piece of furniture was completed. A man could make one in an hour. They
answered every purpose with the finest bedstead, except they were not suffi-
ciently stable for restless sleepers, who often found themselves descending
through misplaced boards to the floor.

In every cabin, suspended to the joists, hung a frame-work of nicely
smoothed poles a foot or two apart. On these, in the fall season, hung, in thin
sections to dry for Icmg keeping, the rich, golden pumpkin.

But often the emigrant did not wait to build a cabin, but if he came in
the spring, he built a camp, leaving the cabin to be erected during the summer
and fall. The first indispensable object was bread, and to reach it required
long days of patient labor. But the pioneer came fully advised of what was
to be met and overcome. His bread was in the ground beneath the forest
trees. He did not sit down and repine, or reload his wagon and return
whence he came. He was a man. The first thing was to remove the small
undergrowth. It was the universal practice to cut down everything "eighteen
inches and under." When felled it was cut up into sections twelve to fifteen
fefet in length, and the brush piled around larger trees for the purpose of kill-
ing them by burning. Ten to fifteen settlers had an understanding that they
would act together and assist one another. It mattered little if ten miles
apart, that was not too far to travel to assist or to be assisted. Every man
had his day, and when that day came, rain or shine, none of the expected as-
sistants were absent. They did not wait till the dews were dissipated, they
came as soon as the sun rose and often sooner. I yet see them, and how I
regret that we do not have a photographic view of the company, our fathers
and mothers, just as they were then. True, they were not fashionably
dressed, for in nine cases out of ten, each man wore a pair of buckskin pants,
partly from necessity and partly from convenience, for a man dressed in
leather moves through brush and briers with little inconveniences Each wore
moccasins instead of boots, and old hats, coonskin or buckskin caps made up
the head gear. There was no time lost. Each man was a veteran and
hastened on to the work to be done with precision and skillfulness. If the
company was large enough it was divided. Eight men made a good strong
company, and quite as many as could act together. Every squad had a captain
or leader, not by election, but he was such by pre-eminence and skill in the
business. And now the work begins. The leader casts his experienced eye
over the logs as they were fallen by accident, or more probably, by design, and
at a single glance takes in the situation over an acre. A half dozen logs are
lying a few feet apart, and in a parallel position. They can be readily thrown

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. l8l

together and constitute a nice pile for burning. The leader speaks, and they
seem to have suddenly acquired locomotion, and are in a pile. And thus on
and on for fifteen or twenty days every spring, before each man has had his
day. The mothers were there also assisting, in cooking, not in patent metal
stoves, with a half dozen compartments to stow away everything nicely, but
in Dutch ovens and sugar kettles before a hot burning log pile. If anything
was wanting, and the want was made known, it was kindly contributed, and a
rich, hearty meal was provided, and then eaten with a zest unknown to the
present lazy shadows of manhood. And thus the day was spent in useful
necessary labor and friendly chat. But the pioneer, during the busy season,
did not go home to rest and to sleep from a log rolling, but to his own clear-
ing, where he continued to heap brush on the burning heaps till the snapping
and uproar could be heard in the distance, and the light lit up the heavens for
half a mile away, then retiring to snatch from labor a few hours of rest, he
soon found the coming day, bringing with it the busy scenes already described.
But there was a good woman, a faithful mother, left behind, and so soon as
the morning meal was over, she did not while away the day in reading novels
or fingering a piano, but she took all the children to the clearing, and securing
baby in a safe position, she and the older ones continued to pile on the brush
and combustibles, and thus the work went on by day and night. Jn early
spring, when the trees were being felled to be cut up for piling and burning
on some elevated place in the midst of a pioneer settlement, my attention has
been often arrested by the busy scene around me. In old age the mind wan-
ders back to brighter days, and often finds pleasure even in youthful sports.

"How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood,
When fond recollection presents them to view ;

The orchard, the meadow, the deep tangled wildwood.
And all the loved scenes which my infancy knew."

When we travel over the "New Purchase," and see it as it now is, and
compare it with its condition fifty years ago, the exclamation forces itself
upon us ; How changed ! Everything is altered ! It is another world ! But
what wrought the change ? Come, travel back with me to its condition as it
was fifty or sixty years ago and learn the cause, and see the busy scenes
around. It is a pleasing one to me, and was then, although repeated over and
over for three months during every spring. It is now the ist of May, and
fifty years ago since those good men, the pioneers, stimulated by the recollec-
tion of the scanty supplies of the last year, were straining every nerve to clear

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l82 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

up more ground to supply the deficiency. Here with their bare, brawny arms,
they swung high in the air their sharp glittering blades, that effectively fell
in unceasing blows amid the trees and brush of the jungle, click! click! just
at hand and faintly heard in the distance ; click ! click ! twenty or thirty axes
are heard in rapid fall. Every man and every boy is at work.

"Deep echoing groan the thickets brown,

Then rustling, crackling, crashing thunder down,"

the forest trees. And the ponderous maul forced down with the power of a
stalwart pioneer, shakes the forest for a mile away; and the loudsounding
monotones of twenty bells, at least, on the leaders of cattle and horses, like
telephones, tell the owners where to find them, as they roam at large and feed
on nature's wide pasture.

And now gaunt want, with his emaciated form and hateful, shrunken
visage, who had forced himself into every cabin in spite of the efforts of its
inmates, when he heard the crashing, falling trees, and saw at night the lurid
glare of burning logs and brush, was alarmed and fled, but afterward often
returned and cast a wistful eye within, but seldom entered.

It was thus the improvements in Johnson county were begun. It is thus
the work has been carried on and the consummation reached in the grand
development of its resources in every department of our industries. Among
the pioneers were some immoral, bad men; there were, however, but few
entirely destitute of all good. In this history, it is the gold and not the dross
that we would preserve. Not only in laborious duties, but, also, in moral and
social qualities, the pioneers generally were a noble and select class of men
and women. Their ears were open to every call of aid and assistance. I
would to God that I had the skill to paint in proper colors, and to describe their
kindness and sympathy, and their vigils around the couches of their suffering,
dying neighbors, but I am powerless to do them justice.

And around their firesides, in social evening gatherings, their friend-
ship and kindness knew no limits. And, if it were not for the want and
destitution and constant hardships endured by them, and the gloomy, deadly
autumnal sickness, I could wish to meet them once again, though in the gloomy
forest, to enjoy another social gathering in a humble log cabin where every
thought and every word came up fresh and pure, gushing from the heart.
But they are gone. They have long since gathered by the "side of the beauti-
ful river," in a friendship now changed into perfect love, where God shall
wipe away all tears, to receive the glorious rewards of well-spent lives. We

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 83

owe to their memories a vast debt for the beautiful country which their labors
and suflFerings hae left us, and yet still more, for their examples in goodness
and virtue, which by night and by day still go with us, and kindly, and softly,
and sweetly, in angelic whispers, invite us to walk in their footsteps and prac-
tice their virtues. They are gone, but still they are with us and live in our
memories as fresh and as green as the beautiful grass that, mournfully droop-
ing, in spring-time waves over them. They are gone, but still aflfection,
though it linger, will follow on and cling to them, and for long years to come
will often return with soft, silent footsteps to plant nature's sweet emblems
of virtue on thdr graves, the choicest and richest and rarest of flowers, which
will spring with fresh vigor, and bloom in new beauty and glory, and shed
richer fragrance, sweeter than incense, because they g^ow on the graves of
the pioneer fathers and mothers, and because they were planted by children
and kindred who loved them and nurtured them with tears of richest affec-
tion.

In the northwest corner of Johnson and northeast corner of Morgan
and over north in Marion county, was once a large farm and a town of Dela-
ware Indians. The acres which had been in cultivation, in the judgment of
the first settlers, in 1820, although overgrown by bushes, must have exceeded
two hundred, the greater part of which was in Johnson county. It was de-
lightfully situated on a plateau twenty-five or thirty feet above the overflow-
age of the river, and was cut on the northeast and southeast by White river.
When William Landers, Esq., settled on a tract of land adjoining the town in
April, 1820, there still resided on that portion of the farm in White River
township and west of the river, Captain Big Fire, Little Duck, and Johnny
Quack, and on the east side of the river, in White River township, on the old
Morgan or Denny place, Captain White, another Indian, where also a large
field had been in cultivation at a previous date. And on the left bank of the
river, three-fourths of a mile below Captain White's, on the lands of John J.
Worsham, was another Indian location and burial ground, but no cultivation.
This encampment was owned by Big Bear. On the Morgan county part of
the old Indian field Captain Tunis had his wigwam, and just adjoining, in
Marion, old Solomon had his. The wigwams were situated on the right bank
of the river at the southeast corner of the farm, near the middle of section 31.
Here seems to have been once a stone wall, thirty or forty feet long and five or
six feet high, built of portable undressed stones and laid parallel with the river
and a hundred feet distant. The Indians said this wall was built for de-
fensive purposes against the Kentuckians ; that there had been a bloody battle
fought there once between them and the whites, beginning on the east bank of

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184 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the river, where they were surprised, and that they were forced over the river,
assaulted in the town and finally driven out. That thereafter the farm had
never been occupied, except by a few returning^ families. The size of the
brush growing on and about the once cleared land at that date, 1820, showed
that it had but recently been abandoned. An old Kentuckian of great reliabil-
ity, Stephen Watkins, on a visit to White River township, twenty-five years
ago, repeated precisely the same history of this town, and the battle and all
the circumstances of the fight. He went so far as to point to the near battle-
field; he said he had the particulars from one of the actors and knew them to
be true. Does history give any account of this battle ? In Dillon's history of
Indiana, it is shown that the "Pigeon Roost Massacre" took place in the north
part of Scott county, about eighty miles south of the Indian town, on the 3d
day of September, 1812. The next evening one hundred and fifty mounted
rifle-men, under command of Col. John McCoy, followed the trail twenty
miles. On the 6th, the militia of Clarke county (no number given) was re-
enforced by sixty mounted volunteers from Jefferson county, and on the
evening of the 7th three hundred and fifty volunteers from Kentucky were
ready to unite with the Indiana militia of Clark and Jefferson for the purpose
of making an attack on the Delaware Indians, some of whom were suspected
of havirfg been engaged in the destruction of the Pigeon Roost settlement,
* * * **But, it is said, a spirit of rivalry which prevailed among some of
the officers defeated the intention of those who at the time proposed to destroy
the towns of the friendly Delawares who lived on the western branch of the
White river." Now hear what Major John Tipton says about these "friendly
Indians'' on White River: "In their way out, they (the escaping Indians)
passed the Saline or Salt creek and I there took an old trail leading direct to
the Delaware towns, and it is my opinion that while the government is sup-
porting one part of that tribe (the Delawares), the other part is murdering
our citizens." * * ♦

"It is much to be desired that these rascals of whatever tribe they may be
harboring about these (Delaware) towns, should be routed, which could be
done with one hundred men in seven days." With this purpose and spirit
openly declared by the whites, how long, do we imagine, they waited for an
opportunity to execute it? Will any one make me believe that six hundred
armed men at the "Pigeon Roost Massacre," after viewing the slaughtered
and roasted human bodies and burning houses, quietly dispersed and went
home? Col. Joseph Bartholomew raided these towns on White river with
one hundred and thirty-seven men on the isth day of June, 1813. He found
three towns, two of whom had been burnt about a month before (sec Dillon,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 185

524). Who destroyed them? The reason that the battle at the Delaware,
if a battle did occur, and the breaking them up on White river was never re-
ported, is that the government, during the war with the other Indian tribes in
1811, 1812 and 1813, was supporting and protecting the Delawares who had
promised to engage in peaceful pursuits. General Harrison had directed the
Delawares to remove to the Shawnee Reservation in Ohio, and most of them
had done so soon after the battle of Mississinewa, December 17, 181 2. Those
who refused to go received but little mercy. But another proof of this battle
is the fact that on the twenty-acre field, in the southwest corner of the north-
west quarter, section 32, township 14 north, range 3 east, near Captain White's
old camp, large numbers of leaden bullets of every size, battered and bruised,
have been found. I have had at least one hundred of them myself, and have
picked up at least nine, recently, in a wash of the river and have been told of
hundreds being found by others. I have passed a short distance from this
field, on other ground more suitable for finding them, but never yet found any
except on this locality. And a few years since, on John Sutton's farm, one
mile and a fourth north of the battle field, and only one mile east of the
Indian town, four frames of human bodies were washed out of a low, wet
piece of bottom land. The skulls were carried off before I had an oppor-
tunity of examining them. No Indian ever buried his dead in a low, wet
piece of land. They must have been buried there under pressing circum-
stances and by white men.

PLEASANT TOWNSHIP.

There was not one of the pioneers of Johnson county, about whom so
much has been written and spoken, and of whom so little is known, as Daniel
Loper. In October, 1820, Simon Covert, Jacob Demaree, Prettyrnan Burton,
George King and some others made a tour through central Indiana, and, on
their return, crossed White river at Whetzel's, and followed his trace out tb
the crossing of the Indian trail, now within the limits of Pleasant township.
At that place a little cabin was newly built, the roof was partly on, and a
family had just come up the trace from the east, and were ready to take
possession. This is the first heard of Daniel Loper, the first white inhabitant
of two townships of Johnson county — Pleasant and Oark. But Loper did
not remain long in his cabin at the crossing. Nathaniel Bell, from Ohio,
"entered him out" in December of 1821, and Loper moved over to Camp
creek.

Bell was a man of bad character, so much so that persons hunting homes

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l86 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

in the woods shunned him and his place, and, unlike most other meyi who came
to stay at that date, he was not the founder of a neighborhood. It was cur*
rently reported of him, and generally believed, that he availed htmsdf of the
oppKHtnmtks that were presented to extort money from travelers who stopped
at his cabin, by secreting his horses in the woods, and then, for a sufficient re-
ward, returning the animals.

As soon as settlers began coming in, Bell built a horse-mill, the first of
the kind in the county. This was a very primitive affair, the tub in which the
stone revolved being a section of a hollow sycamore, and the harness wath
which the horses were hitched to the -levers being of rawhide. But Bell was
an unworthy miller and so managed the grists that came to his mill as to steal
more of the corn and meal than he took by lawful toll. He wore the sleeves
of his hunting shirt open and large, and he not only managed to pick up a few
extra grains w^hile tolling the grist, but, on the pretense of examining the
meal as it came from the spout, he managed to catch in his open sleeve a good
share of the meal, and then, folding his arms about him as he sauntered to
his own chest or to his cabin and unloaded. Sometimes his victims would
remonstrate with him, but his usual reply was "Well, the little old man must
live." On one occasion, it is said of him that the miller's sleeves being well
gorged with meal, the horses took fright, ran away and knocked the mill
stones from their frail scaffolding, and otherwise damaged the property.
Bell himself received a blow from the flying debris that knocked him down and
scattered the meal stored in his ample sleeves. Shame or conscience so worked
upon him that he promised to do better in the future, but his promise was
soon broken ; he never mended his ways. For many years after the settlement
of the county, every man's stock ran the range, and hogs soon became wild
and, when fattened on the mast, were hunted and shot by their owners the
same as were the deer. Bell, it was believed, made a practice of killing other
men's hogs, and once at a log rolling Permenter Mullenix, who had lost hogs,
charged Bell with the theft. Apparently much shocked that such a charge
should be made, he went to Indianapolis and employed Judge Wick, then
practicing law, and Calvin Fletcher, to prosecute Mullenix for slander. The
action was accordingly begun, but Mullenix made good his defense by prov-
ing the charge to be true, whereupon the grand jury indicted Bell and he was
tried, convicted and sent to the penitentiary, the first convict sent from the
county.

In 1823, John B. Smock and Isaac Smock moved from Mercer county,
Kentucky, and settled near the head waters of Pleasant run. A road was cut
out to Franklin, but from thereon the Smocks were compelled to bush their

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 187

•

own way, and they were two days about it. The next year their brother James
followed them, and, in 1825, Garrett Brewer, Garrett Vandiver, Garrett
Sorter, Robert Lyons and Joseph, John and Samuel Alexander also came.
The Smock settlement was a half-way house between Franklin and Indian-
apolis, and from this may be accounted the fact of its slow growth for many
years. Up to about 1830, it appears that the number moving in was quite
small. In addition to those already mentioned, may be named John Com-
ingore, who came in 1826, Cornelius Smock in 1827, Alexander Wilson in
1828, and Isaac Voris in 1829.

In 1824 the State road was cut out, and notwithstanding the country in
the center and south side of the township was inclined to be wet, settlers
shortly began making entries of land, and, in 1828, David Trout and, a little
later in the year, James Tracy and his grown sons, Nathaniel, Thomas and
John, William Pierce and James Chenoweth built cabins and started clearings
extending from the center of the township southward. All these men, except-
ing the Alexanders, who were Pennsylvanians, and David Trout, who was a
Virginian, and had moved from Nineveh, were Kentuckians. On the 4th
day of May, 1829, Pleasant township was created by striking off from White
River all the territory east of the range line, making the west boundary the
same as it is now; but, up to 1828, Clark township formed a part of Pleasant.
Elections were ordered to be held at the house of Isaac Smock, and Isaiah
Lewis was appointed inspector. The township took its name from its prin-
cipal stream, Pleasant run. Two explanations have been given, accounting
for the name of the creek, one of which is, that when the country was first
settled the stream was a gently flowing, pleasant running stream ; and the other
that it was the reverse of this, and the name was given by way of irony.

Here, as everywhere else, it is difficult to fix upon the years when men
moved in, but it is certain that an impetus was now given to immigration into
the township. By mid-summer of 1834, the following persons are known to
have moved into and about the Smock neighborhood, to- wit: The Com-
ingores, Henry and Samuel, the McColloughs, John Lyons, Peter Whitenack,
Samuel Eccles, the Henrys, Robert, Hiram and Samuel, J. D. and William
Wilson, John and James Carson, Dr. William Woods, William Magee and
sons, William and Joseph Benton, Marine D. West, Berryman Carder and the
Todds. All these were from Kentucky, except the Henrys, from Virginia,
the Wilsons, who were from North Carolina, the Woods, the McColloughs and
the Carsons, who were from Tennessee.. Lower down in the Tracy and
Trout neighborhoods, Thomas Gant, the Hills, Littleton, Joseph, Squire and
Charles, James Stewart, David Lemasters, Reuben Davis, William Mc-

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l88 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Clelland, Daniel, David and John Brewer, Robert Smith, Abraham Sharp, and
probably others, moved in, while over toward the southeast corner and east
side came in Thomas Graham and his three sons, Samuel, James and Archi-
bald, and also Lewis Graham, Isaac Clem and Andrew McCaslin, followed
soon after by Ash ford Dowden, Abraham Banta, Solomon Steele, Jacob Pegg
and others. By the close of 1834 persons were located all over the township,
but it could not be said to be fairly inhabited until 1840.

The first sermon preached in Pleasant township was at the house of John
C. Smock, in 1824, by the Rev. George Bush, who afterward became a pro-
fessor in a theological school in New York, and wrote **Bush's Notes on the
Gospels," and a life of Mohammed. A Presbyterian church was organized
in the Smock neighborhood, the first in the township, after which a meeting
house was built, which was used for a time as a school house.

About 1828, James Richabough undertook to operate a cotton spinning
factory and a carding machine in a frame building. He put it up a mile or
less south of the present town of Greenwood, but his venture proved a failure.

Pleasant township is favorably located. It has a thrifty, industrious
people, who are blessed with good soil, and who have had the enterprise to
utilize their gravel deposits in the building of gravel roads.

HENSLEY TOWNSHIP.

On the xoth of" March, 1799, Richardson Hensley was bom near Fred-
ericksburg, in Virginia. While he was yet a child, his father moved to Fayette
county, Kentucky, after which he moved to Mercer county, where, in 1800,
Richardson was married to Elizabeth Cully. In the war of i8i2, he served
as a first lieutenant on the frontier; and in March, 1825, he brought his
family to Johnson county, this state. Accompanying him was William Daven-
port, a North Carolinian, and William Mitchell, a Virginian, his sons-in-law,
and their families. Five or six families were living around Edinburg, and at
the Nineveh settlement the road ended. Stopping at some point at the time
not now known, but probably on the Nineveh, Hensley and his companions
made a tour through the woods, and selected the central part of congressional
township II, range 3, on the banks of Indian creek, as the place for their
homes. Among the woodsmen of that day Curtis Pritchard stood at the
head, and, employing him to select the best route through the wilderness frorn
Nineveh to Indian creek for a road, he went ahead with horn in hand, and at
intervals would wind a blast as a signal to the axmen to cut through the woods
to his vantage ground. Selecting a quarter section, cornering with the center

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 189

of the congressional township, Hensley put up a cabin, and then, on the 17th
of February, he entered the Ifirst tract of land in the township that was occu-
pied by a pioneer.

In 1823, three hundred and twenty acres had been taken up in the north-
east comer of the township, and at the same time two hundred and forty
acres just across the township line, now in Union, by David Scott. But Scott
never came to his purchase, and many were the conjectures accounting for it
indulged in by those who knew of the '*Scott lands." The most popular of
these was, that he had been murdered before reaching home, after his entry
had been made ; and it was seventeen years after the purchase before it was
learned that Scott was a trader, living at Cheat Neck, near Morgantown, in
Virginia, and that he had invested the proceeds of a trading voyage to New
Orleans in congress lands in Johnson, Bartholomew, Shelby and other counties
in Indiana, and then had returned to his home and reported to his creditors
the loss of his cargo in the Mississippi, and made with them a composition of
his debts. But his fraud availed him nothing, for shortly after he came to his
death by being thrown from his horse, and his secret died with him. Not
even had he divulged it to his wife and daughter. William Y. Johns, a young
man living in Scott's nei^borhood, being lured to Johnson county about 1837,
by the memory of an old sweetheart, and remaining here, was elected to the
office of county treasurer, in 1844, and the "Scott lands" coming under his
notice, he made the discovery that they had been entered by his old neighbor
from Cheat Neck. William Y. Johns' brother was then married to Scott's
only daughter, and the widow, who was still living, and the daughter, came
to Indiana. And although the "Scott lands" had long been sold at tax sales,
they were partially redeemed.

Hensley cleared a little field in the woods the first spring, and planted it
in corn ; but the wild turkeys invaded his field and scratched the seed out of the
ground. Replanting and keeping the turkeys away, when the little crop was
raised the squirrels came and did great damage. After these, a band of forty
well dressed, well mounted Indians came and encamped on Indian creek — so
called because it was a famous Indian resort in the early times — ^and although
they had plenty of money, they begged and stole everything they wanted.
Hensley's corn patch was peculiarly tempting to them, and, in spite of his best
resolutions and utmost vigilance, they carried his corn away by the armfuls.

The same spring that Hensley, Mitchell and Davenport came in, John
Stephens, from Tennessee, and Nathaniel Elkins, from Kentucky, came, and
some time during the last of the year Peter Titus came from Ohio, and settled
on what has since been known as the Bridges farm. In the fall of that year, .

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igO JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

it is believed that Charles and Mitchel Ross settled on the west line of the
township, and about the same time Richard Perry must have moved into the
northeast corner.

The township grew rapidly in population. The lands along Indian creek
were peculiarly inviting to land hunters, who had traversed the level lands of
the country in search of suitable locations and immigrants came trooping in.
At least twenty men came in and bought, and more than half that number
moved in. Of these, Isaac Holeman, Henry Musselman, Arthur Bass, Albert
Roberts, John Schrem, John and Lewis Shouse and Aaron Holeman may be
mentioned. By the close of 1833 "^ore than fifty families had moved in, and,
while it would seem to be impossible at this time to make any degree of class-
ification as the time when these came in, or even to give the names of all, yet
the following may be set down as being early settlers, to-wit : James Taggart
(who was afterward killed at the battle of Buena Vista), William Skaggs,
Holland Jones, John Brunk, Nicholas Hobbs, Hiram Porter, Reason and John
Slack, John Voris, Simpson Sturgeon, Montgomery Smith, Andrew Under-
wood, Leonard Leffler, John McNutt, William Mitchell, Thomas Lyman, S.
W. Weddle, Thomas Lockhart, Thomas Alexander, John Clark, Jesse Wells,
Samuel Fleener, Hiram T. Craig, John Boland, Samuel Woolard, Frederick
Ragsdale, George Bridges, William Clark, Abraham Massey, McKinney
Burk, Avery M. Buckner, Levi Petro, James Wiley, Elijah Moore, Stith
Daniel, Thomas L. Sturgeon, James Forsyth, David and Uriah Young, God-
frey Jones, R. W. Elder, James Hughes, George White, Richard Joliffe and
Perry Baily.

Hensley was the fourth township, in point of time, organized in the
county. At the March term of the board of justices, in 1827, the organization
took place and the name was l^estowed upon the suggestion of Samuel
Herriott, in honor of its founder.

The elections for twenty years were held at the house of Richardson
Hensley, after which the place was changed to Henry Musselman's house.

In 1834 Henry Musselman opened the first store in the township, and
sold goods for many years. He was a very active man, but totally devoid of
book education. He could neither read nor write, and yet, for a great many
years, he carried on business successfully. But what is the more remarkable,
he did a credit business and kept accounts in his peculiar fashion. He knew
and could make figures, however, and could carry on processes of addition,
substraction, multiplication and division mentally. His accounts he kept by
marking upon the walls of his storeroom with a nail or pencil. Every cus-
tomer had his own place of account allotted to him, and so well trained was

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I9I

Kenry Musselman's memor)^ that he never forgot the right place nor the mean-
ing of his marks, nor did any man ever dispute his accounts. One story is
told, and vouched for as being true, tending to show that it was possible for
him to forget, and it is this : A debtor came and called for a settlement and
among the items charged was a cheese. ''But I never bought a cheese of you
in my life/' said the debtor. "Didn't you? Well, what did you get? Think!''
and the debtor thought. "Ah," said he, light breaking, after a pause, "Yes, I
got a grindstone.'' "Oh, so you did, I forgot to put the hole in it." On an-
other occasion, when Musselman was in Madison buying goods, a merchant,
with whom he was dealing, asked him how he managed to know what per
cent, to put on his goods, seeing that he was unacquainted with letters. "Well,
I don'.t know anything about your per cent, but I do know that when I buy
an article of you for one dollar and take it out to my place and sell it for two.
that I am not losing anything." He could and did mark the cost price on his
goods, however, but no one understood it but himself. After his son, George
W., grew up he procured books and had George keep his accounts, but so
retentive was his memory that he could and often did sell goods all day, and
at night repeat the exact quantities of goods sold, to whom sold, and at what
price.

UNION TOWNSHIP.

The political township of Union is co-extensive with the twelfth con-
gressional township in the third range. The township is well watered. The
North fork, south fork, middle fork and Kootz's fork of Stott's creek, flow
westerly, partly through and out of this township, and draining into the White
river. Moore's creek takes its rise in the northeast part, and runs into
Young's creek to the east. The table lands lying upon the divide between the
head waters of the Stott's creek and the Young's Forks creek tributaries, and
also between the North, South and Middle forks, are level, and at the time
of the settlement of the county, were extremely wet.

These table lands are true highlands of the township, and from their
level to White river the fall is great. Hence, the streams flowing westward
have, during the lapse of ages, cut deep channels through the soils and clays,
and the high banks left on either side have, by the action of rain, frost and
other agencies of nature, been molded into hills and knobs, which are now
generally known as broken lands.

Some time in 1823, Bartholomew Carroll moved from Kentucky by the
way of the Three Notched Line road, then newly cut, and found his way
through the bnish to the South fork of Stott's creek, and settled in section 34,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

where John Vandiver afterward built a mill. Carroll had a family, consisting
of his wife, three sons, William, John and Samuel, and two girls. The
grandfather of his children lived with him — a very aged man, who died, it is
said, when he was one hundred and ten years old. Bartholomew Carroll was
a genuine backwoodsman. He spent his time in the wilderness hunting game
and wild honey. The country about him was well stocked with all kinds of
game, common to the country, and an experienced bee hunter could take
honey in vast quantities. It is said that Carroll would sometimes have as
many as one hundred bee-trees marked in the woods at a time.

There is some uncertainty as to the time when many of the pioneers
moved into Union township. It is next to impossible at this time to get the
names of all who came in or the time when they came. In fifty years, much
that was at the time of interest sinks into oblivion.

Growing upon the farm entered by Peter Vandiver is a beech tree, bear-
ing in its rough bark, this date: "i6th October, 1826." Strother Vandiver,
then a good-sized boy, cut this inscription in that tree, to commemorate the
day of his father's arrival upon the eighty-acre tract which he immediately
entered. With Vandiver, when he moved from Mercer county, Kentucky,
came his old neighbors, John Garshwiler, Joseph Simpson and Mrs. Christina
Garshwiler. These settled over on the east side of the township. The same
year, Thomas Henderson, living at the Big Spring, notified Simon Covert that
a family had moved into the woods some miles to the west, and proposed they
should go and see who it was. Taking their axes with them, they at length
found Mrs. Gwinnie Utterback, a widow, with a family of eight sons, .Corban,
Laban, Henry, Hezekiah, Perry, Joseph, Elliott and Samuel and a daughter,
Rebecca, encamped by the side of a log, a little south of the present site of
Union Village. Joining their help with the boys, Henderson and Covert soon
had a cabin of poles raised and a shelter provided for the family. These are
all who are now believed to have made settlements that )rear.

In 1827. George Kepheart moved to the township, and settled in section
23, and the same year Alexander Gilmer settled in the northeast comer.

In 1828 there was growth. Nearly two thousand acres were entered this
year by twenty-two men, and at least ten or twelve moved in. Peter Zook
and Samuel Williams and Henry Banta stopped in the Vandiver neighbor-
hood ; Jacob List and Philip Kepheart located near the east boundary line of
the congressional township; Benjamin Utterback moved near to his sister-in-
law, who came in the year before, while Adam Lash and James Rivers moved
farther to the north, and John Mitchell still further out, but toward the north-

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. I93

west corner of the township. Jesse Young located on the northwest quarter
of section 27.

Rock Lick was a famous resort for deer during the early times.
There was not probably in all the county a deer lick that equaled it. For
miles and miles in every direction run-ways led to it. Jesse Young, who had
settled on the Nineveh in 1825, and who was much of a hunter, visited this
place, and was so impressed with the enormous mast crops thereabout, that
he determined to make his home in the neighborhood. Accordingly, some
time before he moved, he drove his hogs to the oak forests, and built a camp
not far from the lick. Here he hunted, tended his hogs and read his Bible
and Young's Night Thoughts. With these two books he was quite familiar,
and in his old age it was his habit to interlard his discourse with apt quota-
tions, especially from the last-named work. Young was a strict observer of
Sunday, and on one occasion it is said he lost his reckoning, and kept the
Jewish Sabbath instead of the Christian. The next morning he went into the
woods and, killing a deer, brought it into camp. Soon a party of hunters
came by, and finding Young engaged with a deer newly killed, they reminded
him of his Sunday principle. But he vindicated himself by assuring them
that he had kept the day before, which was Sunday. A re-count of the time
convinced him that he was mistaken, and after disposing of his venison, he
turned into camp and kept the rest of the day as sacred.

Young carried a large-bored and far-shooting rifle, which he affection-
ately named "Old Crate.'' At the time he went to the Nineveh, a white deer
was known to range the woods in the west and southwest parts of the county,
and every hunter was naturally anxious to secure that particular game. But
this deer became exceedingly shy, and it must have been two or three years
after it was first seen before it fell a victim to a ball from "Old Crate."
Young killed it, firing from a great distance.

Another of the successful hunters of Union township was Robert
Moore, who afterward was elected to the office of associate judge.

In 1829, ten more men with their families moved into Union. Robert
Moore and Joseph Young into what afterward came to be known as the Shiloh
neighborhood, and William Bridges, John James, near Vandiver's place, and
William Kepheart, James Vaughn in the Utterback neighborhood, and Henry
Graselose, toward the northwest comer. Peter Bergen and Andrew Carnine
moved into the east side adjoining the Hopewell neighborhood. About the
same time John Mullis settled near Rock Lick.

The next year, Garrett Terhune settled at the Three Notched Line road,

(13)

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194 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

near Vandiver's. Gideon Drake moved out to within a mile of the Morgan
county line. Bennett, Austin and William Jacobs moved up to the north side.
Nicholas Wyrick settled on the North fork of Stott's creek, and David and
Cornelius Lyster moved over to the east side.

By the close of this year, about forty families were living in the town-
ship, as now constituted, and on the 5th day of July previous Union township
was organized by an order of the board of justices. As then bounded, it wa&
much larger than it is now. One tier of sections now on the south side of
White river was attached, and two tiers extending the entire west side of
Franklin and two sections out of the southwest comer of Pleasant. From
time to time, however, changes have been made in the boundary lines of the
township, until they have been reduced to the congressional township lines.

In 1 83 1, Isaac Knox, John McColgin and Joshua Hammond, who were
Virginians, settled in the northwest corner of the North fork of Stott's creek.
Willis Deer and Wesly, his brother, and John L. Jones settled near Mrs. Utter-
back ; John Henderson to the northwest of them some miles ; George Kerlin
and Peter Shuck on the east side of the township, and Garrett Vandiver not
far from the present site of Bargersville, while Serrill Winchester and Jacob
Core moved into Jesse Young*s vicinity.

The next year, Jacob Banta and Samuel Throgmorton moved in and in
1833, Daniel Newkirk, the gunsmith, Peter D. Banta, David Demaree, John
Knox, John Gets, Joshua Landers and, probably, Jesse Harris, Peter Voris
and John Shuck.

The families moving into the North Fork neighborhood were nearly or
quite all Virginians, but all the others, with but few exceptions, were Ken-
tuckians. Garrett Terhune was New Jersey born, but moved from Ken-
tucky. Jesse and Joseph Young, Gideon Drake and Robert Moore were from
Ohio. Out of more than seventy families referred to, three-fourths were
from Kentucky.

The growth of the township was slow, but those who came came to stay,
and the work of improvement went on. In 1828, Peter Vandiver built a
horse-mill, the first mill in the township, which was run night and day and
supplied the country for a great distance around with bread. In 1832, George
Kerlin put up a horse-mill, which was long a place of general resort for grind-
ing wheat and corn. About 1834, John Vandiver built a mill on the South
fork of Stott's creek, where Carroll had settled, and in about two years after
John Young built one lower down on the same stream, and Thomas Slaughter
put one up near Rock Lick on the Middle fork.

l.^p to the introduction of underground draining, the level lands of Union

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I95

township were not esteemed as of very great value, but since the era of ditch-
ing has set in there has been > great and wonderful development in every-
thing that goes to make up the welfare of a people.

The township has ever been remarkable for the absence of gross violations
of law. But one murder has ever occurred within its precincts, and that was
the murder of Peter T. Vannice, in 1863, by a stranger to the place, whom
Vannice employed on his farm. Taking advantage of his employer, he shot
him down in his own door-yard, and then robbed him of his money and fled,
with a gun, up the Three Notched Line road toward Indianapolis. George
F. Garshwiler and some others gave pursuit and, on overtaking the murderer
near Greenwood, he turned aside and shot himself dead.

CLARK TOWNSHIP.

The territory now organized into Clark township originally formed a part
of White River, and, from 1829, when Pleasant was organized, up to 1838,
it formed a part of that township. In the last named year, Clark township,
with boundaries as at present, was set off from Pleasant, and the name was
bestowed by virtue of the Clark family, which settled, at an early day in its
history, in the northern part of the township.

This township was the youngest of the sisterhood of townships in John-
son county, and was unfavorably located for early settlement. Sugar creek
touches upon the southeast comer, and Leatherwood and Flat creek, having
their sources near the north boundary line, flow southward and unite their
waters in what was known as the Great Gulf in the early years of the county's
history, and from the south side of the gulf the waters of Little Sugar flowed
down to Big Sugar. In the west side, and well up toward the north boundary,
WhetzeFs Camp creek, or, as it is now called, the Hurricane, takes its rise, and
sends its waters creeping down to Young's creek, at Franklin. All these,
excepting Big Sugar and Little Sugar, for a few miles above its mouth, were
sluggish streams. The traveler on the Jeffersonville railroad will observe, a
mile south of Greenwood, quite a cut through a ridge of land. This ridge
extends eastward from that point, and into Clark township a distance of
nearly, or quite, eight miles from Greenwood, where it bends to the north-
east and, running parallel to Sugar creek, ends in Shelby county. All of
Qark township north of the south line of this ridge is high ground and here
did the work of settlement take its firmest hold in the beginning. The banks
of Sugar creek, being drained by that stream, afforded comparatively dry sites

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196 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

for cabins, but nearly all the rest of the land of the township, excepting the
high ground in the north, was exceedingly wet and swampy.

In 1820, as we have seen, Daniel Loper built a cabin at the crossing of
the Great Indian Trail and WhetzeFs Trace in Pleasant township. Shortly
after Nathaniel Bell entered the land at the crossing, and some time in 1821
Loper moved back on the Whetzel Trace, to Whetzel's old camp on Camp
creek, where he made the first permanent home that was made in the town-
ship. How long he remained here is not known. John Vamer, an old man
who lived with him, died in his cabin within a short time after it was built,
and Loper, with the assistance of Peter Doty and Nathaniel Bell, buried him
in a walnut trough. Not long after Loper disappeared, but no one knows
where he went. A deserted **Loper's Cabin,*' seen by Thomas Walker in
Hendricks county some years after he left, gives rise to the surmise that he
may have gone there. The circumstances attending the death and burial of
John Varner, and Loper's disappearance shortly after, gave rise to a current
belief among the first settlers that Loper was a murderer. After he left his
place was a great camping ground for travelers, and the more superstitious
sort sometimes told of seeing ghosts of the murdered dead. But from all
that can be learned it would seem that Loper was a thriftless frontiersman,
and becoming disturbed by the encroaching settlements at White river, Blue
river and .Sugar creek, moved away.

At a very early time John Ogle moved into the southeast corner — some
authorities say as early as 1821, but others put it a year later. In 1822 a
settlement was made on the east side of Sugar creek in Shelby county by
Joseph Reese, John Webb and some others, and, attracted by this, a few
Inen came out quite early into Clark township, on the west side of the creek.
In 1822 William and John McConnell moved in, and I think that John Ogle
did not come until the same year.

It is extremely diflficult at this time to ascertain with any degree of cer-
tainty the dates of arrival of the first and subsequent settlers, but, next after
Loper's cabin and the Sugar creek settlement, pioneers began moving upon
the highlands in the north. The first one to go in was Hugh McFadden
and the second Glen Clark. Both were here in 1825, and the probability is
that both came that year. In 1826 there moved into the settlement thus begun
John L. McQain and Alexander Clark, from Kentucky, and three Hoosiers,
Robert, Jacob and Abraham. The next year James and Moses McClain and
Robert Ritchey came in from Kentucky and Moses Raines from Virginia.
The year after Jacob and Thomas Robinson, Kentuckians, and Edward
Wilson and Samuel Billingsley, North Carolinians. In 1832 David Justice,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. I97

Abraham Jones, Mathias Parr and James Kinnick, from North Carolina;
and in 1833 Andrew Wolf, George Wolf, Tennesseeans, and all those men-
tioned above, save the few Sugar creek settlers, and David Parr and John
Fitzpatrick went into the neighborhood of Loper's old cabin. In 1834 there
was quite an influx of immigrants: Allen Williams, John Tinkle, Robert
Famsworth, David Farnsworth, Henry Famsworth, Aaron Huffman and
Daniel McLean, Tennesseeans, and Henry White, Ellis White, Joseph Hamil-
ton, Henry Grayson and Taylor Ballard, Kentuckians, and Charles Dungan,
a Virginian; John Eastbum, a North Carolian, and Oliver Harbert, born in
Dearborn county, Indiana, moved to the township in 1834.

Clark township was now filling up quite fast. The following persons are
believed to have moved in during the year 1835, to-wit: Joseph Hamilton,
Theodore Vandyke, John Wheatly, Lyman Spencer, Parker Spencer, Caleb
Davidson, Conrad McClain, Thomas Portlock and Samuel McQain; and
James Williams, David McGauhey, John Harbert and James White followed
the next year, while James Magill, I>avid McAlpin and Jacob Hal faker came
in 1837.

In May, 1838, Clark township was organized, and it was ordered that the
elections be held at the house of Jacob Hosier.

The Leatherwood school house, erected on the land of Charles Dungan
in 1838, was the first one built, and scholars came a distance of three miles
through the woods to attend the first school taught there by a Mr. Fifield,
who was a Christian preacher, and by courtesy addressed as "Doctor." The
first church was organized by the United Brethren, under the leadership of
George Robush and William Richardson. The first blacksmith shop was
opened by John Wheatly. The first tannerj' was started by Allan Taylor,
and he and Henry Byrely opened the first store.

The sw'amp, known to the early settlers of the county as the Great
Gulf, and through which Jacob 'Whetzel cut his road when he came to the
country, but which road was found to be untraveled, was long regarded as
irreclaimable. Water stood in it save at the driest times of the year, and it
was covered by immense forests of timber and dense thickets. The greater
part of the Gulf was entered by Jacob Barlow in 1834 and 1835, but no
attempt was made to drain or otherwise improve it until about 1853. I" that
year John Barlow, his son, moved into the Gulf and entered upon the work
of clearing and draining and has made of it one of the best farms of the
county.

In the early settlement of the county the Gulf was a famous game resort
and as the country came to be cleared oflf this was the last place the wild

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198 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

beasts left. Another celebrated game resort was the •'Windfall," across the
Marion county line, and as- late as 1840 hunters were in the habit of organiz-
ing a "drive" of deer from one to the other place, while the sharpshooters
stationed on the runway between brought down the game.

In 1854 a deer was shot and killed between Barlow's house and barn,
and in the same year a catamount in broad daylight chased his hogs and in
their fright they ran into the dwelling house for protection. The same sum-
mer forty-seven wild turkeys came feeding close around the house and in
1856 a wild turkey made a nest within fifty yards of the house and brought
out a flock of young ones. As late as i860 a man became lost in the woods
on the lower end of the Gulf and was compelled to lie out overnight.

But a great change has taken place in Clark township. The timber has
been cleared away and the natural drains opened.

In 1865 Thomas Campbell and John Dean, Irishmen, moved in and
bought wet lands and at once began the work of drainage on a more extensive
scale than theretofore practiced. Since then about thirty Irish families have
moved in, and the work of ditching has been rapidly carried on by l)oth
native and foreign born, and such changes made as warrants the belief that
Clark township in a few years will rank as one of the wealthiest townships
in the county.

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, CHAPTER VIII.

EARLY LIFE AND CUSTOMS.

The first settlers coming into the woods were confronted with the neces-
sity of making a clearing for the site of the cabin. While the clearing was
making, a ''half-faced" camp was constructed in the Indian style, with one
open side which served for windows and door and where the fire was built.
Sometimes the rear of the lodge was placed against a large log, and such was
the first home of Samuel Hcrriott while the clearing was being made for
the erection of his log cabin.

The first log cabins were made of round logs halved together at the
corners, the cracks between the log "chinked'' with wedges of wood and
"daubed" with clay. Openings were cut for windows and doors, the win-
dows being covered with skins or blankets until greased paper could be pro-
vided or glass obtained. The doors were swung on leather or rude wooden
hinges, the latches fastening on the inside with strings hanging outside. By
pulling the string within the door, the house was securely locked.

But it was not long after the settlement of Johnson county until saw
mills furnished the settlers with material for the erection of frame houses.
Smiley's mill, on Sugar creek, was built as early as 1822; Collier's mill, on
Sugar creek, just west of Edinburg, and another at the present site of what
is now known as Furnas mill, were probably erected at about the same time.
A little later Porter's mill was built on Indian creek in Hensley township, and
other mills were erected at different points, especially in the southern half of
the county. But long after these mills were erected the ordinary home of the
farmer was built of logs, and it was only the quite well-to-do who built their
houses of framed materials and weather boarding.

In the making of the log houses it was the custom for all the neighbor-
hood to meet and help raise the new house, for the logs were too heavy to be
handled alone. After the cabins were built and a clearing made, the log roll-
ing folk)wed. All the men for miles around came to help, bringing their
wHves to aid in the cooking and serving of the bountiful meals. The log roll-
ings and house raisings called forth the generous feelings of the entire com-
munity and neighbors were not careful to keep account of the time spent in

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200 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

these neighborly offices. They bred sentiments of generosity and encouraged
a spirit of neighborly kindness that the present-day methods of living do not
inculcate.

This neighborly spirit also manifested itself in all the industrial life of
the community. In sugar-making time, at harvest time, at wool-shearing
time, and at the corn huskings the neighbors were called in to help in the
labor and to enjoy the social occasion. Women of the households also shared
in this spirit and apple parings and quilting bees were as common as log roll-
ings and house raisings. The same spirit permeated the religious life of the
time. The quarterly meetings of the Methodists, the yearly meetings of the
Old-School Baptists and many other gatherings of religious bodies called out
the men and women of an entire community. If the meeting was held at a
church, each settler living in the immediate neighborhood would provide for a
score of the members coming from a distance. At many of the camp meet-
ings rude houses were erected in the woods and the community gathered there
for from one to three weeks' religious services. From these neighborhood
meetings came the spirit which has been manifested even to this day by the
farmers' wives in inviting many of the neighbors' families home for Sunday
dinners.

r In the school life the meeting house or school house also became a neigh-

borhood center, and spelling matches and singing schools were held frequently
and were largely attended. The pictures drawn by Edward Eggleston in the
"Circuit Rider" and the "Hoosier Schoolmaster" are true to life and fairly
represent the customs and manners of these social gatherings.

It is worth while to consider some of the difficulties which confronted
the home makers of those early days. Before the friction match was invented
the problem of keeping fire was oftentimes a troublesome one. The flint,
steel and tinder were found in every home. The tinder was made of the
ravelings of old linen or of tow, sometimes from dried pith of the elder or
other like vegetable matter. If tinder was w^anting. the fire was sometimes
lighted from the flint by the aid of gunpowder. Often, however, when by-
mischance the fire went out, someone, usually a small boy, was sent to the
house of the nearest neighbor with shovel or covered vessel to bring back live
coals for the relighting of the fire. Great care was taken, however, to pre-
vent this necessity, and before the settler left his home for a day's absence,
the fire was carefully banked against a great back log and protected w ith
ashes.

Before the days of the kerosene lamp, the usual method of lierhtine the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 20I

home was by candles. The method of making these candles is well described
in Alice Morse Earle's "Home Life in Colonial Days" : 'The making of
the winter's supply of candles was a special autumnal duty of the household
and a hard one, too, for the great kettles were tiresome and heavy to handle.
An early hour found the work well under way. A good fire was started in the
kitchen fireplace under two vast kettles, each two feet perhaps in diameter,
which were hung on trammels from a lug pole or crane and half filled with
boiling water and melted tallow, which had had two scaldings and skim-
mings. At the end of the kitchen or in an adjoining room, sometimes in the
lean-to, two long poles were laid from chair to chair, or stool to stool. Across
these poles were placed at regular intervals like the rounds of a ladder smaller
sticks about fifteen or eighteen inches long, called candle rods. These poles
and rods were kept from year to year, either in the garret or up on the
kitchen beams.

"To each candle rod was attached about six or eight carefully straight-
ened candle wicks, the wicking being twisted strongly one way ; then doubled,
then the loop was slipped over the candle rod, while the two ends, of course,
twisted the other way around each other, making a firm wick. A rod with
its row of wicks was dipped in the m.elted tallow in the pot and returned to its
place across the poles. Each row was thus dipped in regular turn ; each had
time to cool and harden between the dips, and thus grew steadily in size. If
allowed to cool fast, they of course, grew quickly, but were brittle and often
cracked. Hence, a good worker dipped slowly, and if the room was fairly
cool, could make two hundred candles for a day's work. Some could dip two
rods at a time. The tallow was constantly replenished, as the heavy kettles
were used alternately to keep the tallow constantly melted and were swung
oflf and on the fire. Candles were also run in molds, which were groups of
metal cylinders, usually made of tin or pewter: each wick was attached to a
wire or nail placed across the open top of the cylinder and hung down in the
center of each individual mold. The melted tallow was poured in carefully
around the wicks."

The farmer's kitchen was always large and roomy and the center of the
home life of the family. The rest of the house was cold and cheerless, but
the large fireplace in the kitchen made that room, except in the severest
weather, fairly comfortable. Over the fireplace and across the top of the
room poles were hung, on which hung the winter's supply of dried fruits and
dried vegetables. On the pot-hooks were hung the pots and kettles, the prin-
cipal domestic utensils. Most of the cooking was done in these pots and

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

kettles, and boiling was the favorite method of preparation. Most of these
pots and kettles were provided with long legs, so that the utensils might be
set on the hearth and a good fire of live coals maintained beneath them.
Many of the pioneers' kitchens were provided with iron skillets and Dutch
ovens, with cover for baking, the *'johnny cake" being a favorite article of
diet. Every fireplace was provided with andirons, usually made of iron, and
some of the more pretentious homes had brick ovens built at the side .of the
fireplaces.

Every schoolboy is familiar with the picture of the kitchen fireside in
Whittier's **Snow Bound," but, as Mrs. Earle has pointed out, "The discom-
forts and inconveniences of a colonial home could scarcejy be endured today.
Of course, these culminated in the winter time when the icy blasts blew
fiercely down the great chimneys and rattled the loosely fitting windows. The
rooms were not warm three feet away from the blaze of the fire/' Had it
not been for the great f eatherbeds and , warm comforts and home-made
blankets, sometimes supplemented by heavy bed curtains, the long winter
nights could scarcely have been endured.

At the table the pioneer fared well. Of course, in the very beginning
many suffered from the want of proper food. Mrs. Lydia Herriott, wife of
Samuel Herriott, one of the first settlers of Franklin, often told of their
family being without breadstuff of any sort for a month, but after the clear-
ings had l3een enlarged so as to provide a plentiful supply of corn, the early
settlers had little reason for complaint in the matter of food supply. Game
was everywhere abundant. To quote Judge Banta :

^'Venison was plenty indeed, and unskillful was that pioneer who could
not now and then secure one for his table. Many persons kept the larder
supplied the year round. William Rutherford, on one occasion, knocked one
on the head with an axe, as it ran past him where he was making rails. One,
pursued by dogs, took shelter in Gideon Drake's sheep pen adjoining his
cabin, and Mrs. Drake and a neighbor woman, closing the door of the pen,
slaughtered it, and made venison of it before the pursuing hunter came up.
One Sunday morning, shortly after King's cabin was built, Isaac Voorheis
was sitting on the l)ank of Young's creek, immediately south of Judge
Woollen's residence. Hearing the bay of a dog up the creek, he looked that
way, and saw a deer coming toward him. Keeping quiet, it came down to a
point opposite to him and plunged in, but the current carried it down against
a log, when Vorheis rusl^ in and caught it, and in his hands it became
venison for the familv. r .

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 2O3

**Wild turkeys were more abundant even than deer. Wherever there
was food for them they were to be found in goodly numbers. Their 'keonk*
was a familiar sound to the inmates of every cabin. In the spring of 1823,
a drove passed over the after-site of Franklin, numerous enough to make a
well marked trail a hundred yards in width, but they were extremely poor and
were, no doubt, migrating in search of food. Simon Covert has been heard
to say that for several years after he moved to the neighborhood of the Big
Spring, he could at any time within a two hours' hunt during the fall and
early winter season, kill one or more turkeys. Jacob Fisher was an expert
turkey pen builder, and thought nothing of catching six or eight turkeys at
a time in his pen. As late as 1850 flocks of fifty were to be seen in the woods
in Union township, and in 1856 a wild turkey ^hen hatched a brood within
fifty yards of John Barlow's house in Clark township. Wild turkeys often
did much mischief scratching up the newly planted corn, eating it after it
was grown, and treading down the smaller grain before it was harvested.
Richardson Hensly, of Hensly township, lost his first planting of corn by the
turkeys scratching it up.

*'Men who bring a wilderness, inhabited by wild beasts, to a state of civ-
ilization, never lack in romantic incidents with which to add flavor to the
tales told in old age. There are but few, indeed, who do not yield to the
charm of border-life incident. Men, who came in conflict with the wild
beasts of the country, necessarily met with experiences that, when after-
ward related, bordered on the romantic. However dangerous some of the
encounters had with the wild animals by the pioneer hunters of the county,
no man ever lost his life, or for that matter, received serious injury, save
Lewis Hendricks, who lived in the Sugar creek neighborhood, in an en-
counter with a bear, when he met with an accident that left him disabled for
life. He had wounded the animal and, in company with a neighbor, was
hunting for it. One on either side of a brush fence in which it was supposed
to be lying, they were walking slow ly along, when it rushed out and attacked
Hendricks. His companion ran to his assistance and shot the infuriated ani-
mal, but not before it had stripped the flesh from his arm, and otherwise in-
jured him.

"Hardly a hunter of any note lived in the county during the first ten
years, wlio could not boast of his success as a bear hunter. Curtis Pritchard,
William Spears. Robert Worl and Jacob Woodruff^, while hunting, found
three full grown bears holed in trees. Kindling a fire in one of the trees, one
was smoked out and shot. Cutting the tree down, before it fell another de-

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204 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

scended and ran w ith such rapidity as to escape the flying bullets. Five dogs
pursued it, and after a half-mile chase, brought it to bay. Two of the dogs
it killed outright and crippled badly two others before it was dispatched. The
third beast was shot and killed as the tree fell in which it had concealed itself.
Bear meat was prized by some as an article of food. Benjamin Crews had
at one time eight hundred pounds of the meat cured and smoked like bacon,
which he sold for the same price.

"The most ferocious beast that roamed the woods was the panther. The
bear, the wolf, and even the deer, would fight savagely when in close quarters,
but each would run from the hunter whenever it could. The panther, on the
contrary, was reputed to make battle with man without provocation. Two
brothers by the name of Smith, living in Nineveh, in the early days, went to
hunt straying cattle. They carried no guns, and when night came they made
a camp fire and lay down and slept. During the night one of them was
awakened by a noise and, stirring the fire to a blaze, he plainly heard a panther
leap off through the bushes to an open space, not far distant, where it stopped
and lashed the earth with its tail. Several panthers were shot at Collins'
Lick, one by a man named John Weiss, and under circumstances showing the
narrow risk an unskilled hunter sometimes ran. Weiss carried a very in-
efficient arm and had no experience as a hunter. He went to the lick to
watch for deer, and while hiding in ambush he happened to look around and
was horrified to see, close by, a panther crouched, ready to spring upon him.
Without a thought, he brought his gun to bear upon it and, through sheer
good luck, shot it dead in its tracks. Weiss never went hunting again.

**Near the headwaters of Honey creek, Samuel and John Bell were lying
in wait at a marsh much frequented by deer. The sun went down and twi-
light was coming on, when Samuers attention was directed to an object crawl-
ing toward his brother, who was several yards away. It was a panther, and
he knew enough of the habits of the animal to know it meant mischief. But
he was an experienced hunter, a good marksman and, withal, had a cool head
and steady nerves. Taking deliberate aim, he shot the beast through the
head. More hunters, however, got into trouble with wounded deer than with
all the other animals of the country. John Smiley once knocked one over, and
on going to it, it arose to meet him with 'hair turned the wrong way.' Smiley
sprang behind a sapling and it made a rush at him with lowered antlers. Lay-
ing hold of a horn on either side of the sapling, he held on for dear life.
Round and round went both until, wearied with the fruitless contest, the buck
smoothed its hair in token that his fight was over, when Smiley let it go, and

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INJJJANA. 205

he walked off undisturbed. Joseph Young, of Union township, knocked a
buck down one day, and on touching its throat with the knife it sprang to its
feet and made at him. Young jumped behind a large oak tree and the deer
took after him, but by hook and by crook he managed to' keep the tree between
him and his assailant, receiving no more than an occasional prick of the horn.
After its rage had abated, it gave its antlers a toss and disappeared in the
thicket.

**One of the most desperate encounters with a wounded deer was had by
Henry Musselman. To the throat of a paralyzed buck he touched his knife,
when it gave an unexpected flounce, sending his knife through the bushes. It
was a powerful deer and the hunter, who had his knee on its head and a firm
hold of its antlers, saw at a glance that his safety depended on holding it
down. Of course there was a struggle and, although the advantage at first
was with the hunter, yet it soon became evident to him that the animal's power
of endurance was equal to, if not greater than his own. His knife was lost,
and his unloaded gun w^as leaning against a tree more than twenty feet away.
What was he to do? Realizing more and more that his safety lay in keeping
on top, he held on in grim desperation. In their struggle a spice bush was
broken, and in the splintered stub he thought he saw a weapon of deliverance.
If he could only put those baleful eyes out, the victory was his. One after
another he broke off the splintered stubs, and jabbed them into the creature's
eyes, till their sight was gone, after which he left the blind Sampson of the
woods to stumble over the logs and thrash through the bushes in impotent
rage until he could load his gun and give it the death shot.

^'Another incident in this connection may be mentioned. Jesse Wells,
an old-time settler on the Blue river, who was long well known as a Methodist
preacher, was given to hunting. On one occasion he *creased' a deer, and
proceeded to bleed it. Taking hold of its hind legs to turn it over, the creature
came to life and, giving one tremendous kick, which knocked the knife so far
away that it was never afterward found, the animal leaped to its feet and
furiously assailed him. Wells was a lithe, active man, but in spite of his best
efforts to secure shelter behind a large poplar tree standing close by, the en-
raged brute succeeded in piercing his knee with one of the sharp prongs of its
antler. Once behind the tree, the animal abandoned the fight and disappeared
in the forest. Jesse Wells ever after walked with a stiff knee, which came
of the wound received in that fight."

The pioneers were able to find an abundance of honey of the wild bees
and some became expert bee hunters and spent much of their time in the

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206 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

woods in this interesting and profitable enterprise. Johnson county was
blessed with an abundant supply of maple trees and sugar making was every-
where common. The maple trees were tapped in the early spring time wJien
the sap began to run, a notch being cut in the side of the tree, a spile of
pawpaw or elder inserted and the sap drained into a huge trough. It was
then brought in buckets to the camp and boiled down, either to sugar or
molasses.

The first settlers brought with them from their older homes in the South
and East the cuttings and seedlings for their orchards and vines and there
was soon an abundance of fruits for the table. Apple, peach and pear
trees throve, and wild berries and small fruits were abundant. In the autumn
the housewives prepared large supplies for the winter's need. While they
lacked the present sanitary methods of canning, dried fruits and preserved
and spiced fruits were put up in large quantities. The making of apple but-
ter, peach butter and many fruit liquors was an avocation of every house-
wife.

Within a very few years after the settlement of the county, ** foreign
merchandise'' began to be brought in by enterprising merchants and the prod-
ucts of other countries, such as sugar, molasses, tea and coffee, were to be
had in exchange for the produce of the farm and field. The business must
have proved profitable, for it was one of the few callings which were re-
quired to pay a license under the early tax levies. For example a license to
run a coffee house was issued to Abraham Lay in 1839, and, while license fees
for retailing "foreign merchandise'' had been fixed in the tax levy of 1826,
this is the first record found of the sale of coffee in Johnson county.

Indian corn provided the early settler with the chief articles of diet. Not
only was the green corn a substitute for bread, hut with hominy, porridge,
succotash, there was little need for the finer bfeads of the present day. Much
of the corn was prepared for the table by hand by the means of rude mortars
and pestles, but, like the saw mills, grist mills were fairly abundant even in the
beginning of the county's history. Most of these were located on the small
streams, but a few were driven by horse power. By the middle of the thir-
ties, the following grist mills had been erected within the limits of Johnson
county : Smiley's mill ; McDermitt's mill, l^ter known as Beard's mill and
Clark's mill: Collier's mill, and the Thomas Williams' mill, all on Sugar
creek: Thompson's mill, on Blue river at Edinburg: Isaac Williams' mill, on
Nineveh creek: Covert's mill, near Franklin: Houghter's mill. Slaughter's
mill -and St. John's mill, on Stott's creek in Union township; and Barnes'

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JOHNSON COUNTY. INDIANA. 2O7

mill, on Indian creek in Hensley township. These were all rudely constructed
mills and their product was not of the best, but the pioneer farmer was glad
to make use of them, even though it took a day to get his bag of com ground.

Com not only provided food for the table, but it was used in many of
the games enjoyed by the pioneer children. Checkers, fox and geese, and
**Hull, Gull, how many'* were all favorite recreations of the boys and girls in
the pioneer homes.

A pioneer family was clothed in homespun. The fathers raised sheep,
but the mothers dyed the wool with home-made walnut and butternut dyes,
carded it into rolls, spun it into yam and wove the web of the durable jeans.

One reading the early records sometimes wonders at the large bounty
offered for the killing of wolves. For each wolf scalp, the hunter was al-
lowed one dollar, quite a large prize in that early day, and the wolves must
have been fairly plentiful, for in the year 1828 the county paid a bounty
for eleven wolf scalps, and in 1829 for fifteen scalps, but of the latter eight
were from wolves under six months old. It will thus l^e seen that the pioneer
fanner was much concerned about the lo»s of his flock from these pirates
of the woods.

As soon as the early settlers had cleared their fields from stumps they
planted one field of flax and occasionally one of hemp. The seed was sown
broadcast and while the flax was growing its cultivation usually depended
on the women and children. The flax was cut or pulled shortly before it
was fully ripe and laid out carefully to dry and was turned several times in
the Sim. It was then "rippled," the stalks of flax being drawn through a
**ripple'' comb fastened on a plank. After the seed **bolles'' were thus
pulled off, the stalks were tied in bundles and set up in the field or taken to
the barns. While in the Eastern states the flax was allowed to stand in the
fields until the fibers had rotted, in Indiana it was usually taken from the
barns and spread on the grass at night time to be rotted by the dews. After
the flax was rotted it was then broken in a flax brake, a heavy base with
three raised planks set thereon, above which was a top with a plank so set
as to work between those in the base, the upper portion being worked by
hand from a pivot at one end. The flax was usually broken twice, so as to
remove all the outside fiber, and it was then **swingled" with a fork or
knife to remove any small particles of the bark that still adhered. This
work must be done in dry weather when the flax was dry. The clean fibers
were then bunched into "strikes'' and were again "swingled." After being
thoroughly cleaned it was sometimes "beetled'' by pounding in a trough, so

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2o8 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

as to make the libers soft and smooth. After this came the **hackling/' and
upon the number of *'hacklings'' depended the fineness of the flax. **Hack-
Hng" required much dexterity, for if care was not used all the fiber would
be converted into tow. The hackles were made of iron teeth set closely
together in a board, through which teeth the flax, after being slightly
wetted, was pulled and laid into threads. This process was repeated with
hackles having teeth set more closely together until the fiber was of suffi-
cient fineness to be spun. Mrs. Earle thus describes the process of spinning:
"Seated at a small flax wheel, the spinner placed her foot on the treadle and
spun the fiber into a long, even thread. Hung on the wheel was a small
bone, wood or earthenware cup, or a gourd shell filled with water, in which
the spinner moistened her fingers as she held the twisting flax, which, by
the movement of the wheel, was wound on bobbins. When all were filled,
the thread was wound off in knots and skeins on a. reel. Usually the knots
or *lays' were of forty threads and twenty iays' made a skein or 'slipping.'
To spin two skeins of linen thread was a good day's work.*' After the
spinning, the skeins of thread were bleached, sometimes in the brooks, until
the thread was washed and rinsed to the proper color.

The farmers* wives and daughters knew how to weave as well as to
spin, and in nearly every pioneer home was a loom upon which the linen
cloth was woven. Even after the linen was woven into cloth it still had
many processes to undergo before it was ready for garments. It was often-
times worked through as many as two-score processes of rubbing, rinsing,
drying and bleaching before it was used, but the linen thus made, if it were
well done, was of the finest quality and had a finish and durability never
found in the machine-made product.

Few of the men and boys, however, were able to afford this costly
garment. Their shirts were usually made from the coarser threads of the
tow, and, while the garment was prickly to the wearer, it was strong and
serviceable. Even the women's garments were made of cheaper materials
than linen, and linsey woolsey, a fabric made of the fibers of flax and wool
woven together, was the dress worn by women, and not only about the home,
but on social occasions as well.

Not only did the housewives weave their linen and woolen garments,
but the bed spreads and even the carpets were woven on hand looms. The
pioneer mothers not only spun and wove, but had many other laborious
duties. The making of home-made soap was one of these. Throughout
the year scraps of grease and meats were saved, as well as the wood ashes

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 20g

from the great fireplaces. In the early spring time the husband made a
large hopper or barrel, in which the ashes were placed; water was poured
on them and the lye caught in a trough beneath. The lye was then boiled,
with the grease added, until the soft soap became like a jelly and it was
then ready for use. The housewives also picked the geese and the ducks
and made the feather beds and pillows. A few made their own brooms, aT-
though this was not common in Johnson county.

While the burden of all these household duties fell largely upon the
women, the men were scarcely less industrious. Farm implements of the
pioneer days were hand-made and of the rudest character. Col. W. M.
Cockrum, in his 'Tioneer History of Indiana," gives an excellent account
of the makeshift implements of the earliest days in Indiana, when nearly
every farmer was his own blacksmith and carpenter. He says:

'In the pioneer days, there was no wagon or blacksmith shop in the
country and the early settlers had to depend on their own resources for such
farming tools as they needed. They made a very serviceable plow with a
wooden mould-board. The plow share, point and bar were of iron, all in
one piece. Three short bolts, two for the mould-board and one to fasten
the handle to the heel of the bar, and one long bolt from the bottom of the
share up through the plough sheath to the top of the beam, was all the iron
about the plow, and that cost more than the best two-horse plow would cost
now.

"The wooden mould-board was made of the best hard wood obtainable.
White oak was often used. Post oak was the hardest of any, and vyhen
dried was the smoothest. After fashioning the mould-board, it was dressed
down to the proper size and shape and then placed in the chimney above the
fire to season. The stock was made of the best hard wood and much after
the fashion of today, only not so smooth nor in aiiy way finished as well,
but it was strong and serviceable.

**They had a very serviceable harrow made entirely of wood. They se-
cured a slippery elm or iron- wood, if they could find any large enough, and
cut four pieces the proper length for an *A' harrow, first sloping the two
side pieces at one end, and fitting them to the center or tongue-piece, a hole
having been bored through each of the three pieces, and securely pinning
them together. A cross-piece was then placed about the middle of the har^
row and pinned to the center and the two side pieces. Two inch aug^er
holes were then bored along the side pieces about ten inches apart and filled

(14)

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2IO JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

with dried hickory pins that extended about eight inches below the side tim-
bers, thus making a harrow that did good work and required a heavy pull
to break in any way.

"For single and double trees, they made them much after the fashion of
today, except that the clips, devices and lap-rings were made of hickory
withes, which, if properly made, would last for a season. The horse collars
were made mostly of corn shucks, platted in large rope-like sections, and
sewed together hard and fast with leather thongs, to make the bulge or
large part of the collar, short pieces of platted shucks being made and fast-
ened up as high as needed. A roll made by sewing two platted parts to-
gether was securely fastened on the edge of the collar, forming a groove
for the hames to fit in. They also made collars of rawhide, cutting it in the
proper shape and sewing the edges together, stuffing the inside with deer
hair to make it hold its shape. Hoop ash timber was pounded up fine and
when mixed with deer hair made a better material for the purpose than the
manufactured excelsior of today.

"The bridle was made of rawhide. For a bit, they took a small hickory
withe, made a securely fastened ring on both ends of it, leaving enough of
the withe between the rings to go into the horse's mouth, and wrapping that
portion with rawhide to keep the horse from biting it in two. A bridle
. was made very quickly by securing a piece of rawhide long enough for the
reins, then putting the leather in the horse's mouth and looping it around
his lower jaw just back of his front teeth, and with this a horse was guided
better and with more ease than with the bridle bit.

**A wagon that was termed a truck was made by cutting four wheels
from a large tree, usually a black gum. A four-inch hole was made in the
middle of the wheels, in which axles fitted. Then splitting a tough hickory
or white oak pole three or four feet at the big end, spreading these split
pieces apart about fifteen inches, and boring two holes through the front
axle and the two ends of the tongue, they then fitted a piece called a sand-
board over the ends of the tongue with holes in it to correspond with those
in the axle. Having pinned it all securely together, they fastened the end
to the front end of the wagon. A coupling pole was fitted into the center
of the two axles and pinned there. Heavy bolsters were put on over the
axles and on them a board bed was made.

"Oxen were the usual teams that were hitched to these crude but serv-
iceable wagons. A heavy w^ooden yoke went on the oxen's neck. Two
hickory bows enclosed the neck and up through the the top of the yoke, thus

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JOHNSON COUNTY,. INDIANA. 211

fastening the two oxen together. There was a hole made in the middle of
the yoke, and a strong hickory withe was fastened into it with a loop for
the end of the tongue. A better ring was made for the tongue and fast-
ened to the yoke by twisting into a strong cord a heavy rope of rawhide.
The tongue was put into this rin^ and a pin of wood through the end of
the tongue before and behind the ring. These wagons were very service-
able for hauling wood, gathering com, and for many other purposes on the
farm. They were very musical as well, for the more grease one put on the
wooden axle to make it run lighter, the more it would squeak, making a noise
that could be heard a mile.

"The pitch forks for all purposes on the farm were made of wood. A
young forked dogwood sapling was secured, the bark taken off, and the two
forks pointed for tines, and this made a good fork. Wooden rakes were made
of strong seasoned wood, some of them being made by fitting the head piece
with deer horns, and they made very useful implements. A good spade was
made of hickory and, if properly seasoned and kept well oiled, this tool would
do good work as long as wanted. Sleds were made in many ways and were
universally used by all who had either oxen or horse teams. In early times
the hickory withe and deer hides were used for all purposes on the crude
farming implements, as is the binder twine and fencing wire of this period."

But it must be remembered that in Johnson county the village smithy
and shop followed hard upon the footsteps of the first settlers, and the pioneer
farmer in this county, if he had the money, was not left entirely to his own
resources. Most of them chose, however, to fashion their own implements,
as they did the little household furniture they required. And, like the Ken-
tucky pioneers who passed through the cane-brakes of what is now the "Blue
Grass Country'' to settle upon the hills where fuel and water was abundant,
the Johnson county pioneers settled on the highest and dryest lands, near a
spring, if possible, to avail themselves of the l)est that nature had provided
for home making.

The work in the fields was of the character rendered necessary by the
want of good implements for the clearing of the lands and the cultivation of
the soil. After the ground was cleared for the small field of corn it was
broken and dragged or harrowed, and then '*laid off'' with a single shovel
plow, generally in both directions. At the intersections of the furrows the
com was dropped by hand and covered with a hoe. In the com planting
the women and children were usually relied upon to drop the corn, but the
men as well girded themselves with aprons, knotted in front, and helped in
planting the com crop. As one could drop as much as two could cover, effort

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212 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

was soon made to find an implement that would save the labor of the hoe. The
**grasshopper/' a small side-bar plow, and later the **straddle-jack/' two
small plows set so as to straddle the row, were the first improvements upon
the work of the hands in covering corn. A **jumping-jack/' for the same use,
was a small shovel plow run in the row and lifted at the hill so as to cover
the corn. The next time-saver invented was a "marker," used to lay oflf the
rows transversely, and next came the corn drill and corn planter, the latter
making its appearance in Johnson county alx)ut the middle of the fifties.
The check rower did not make its appearance until about the time of the
Civil war, and it is worthy of note that one of the first types of this machine
was invented by a citizen of Johnson county and thereafter manufactured
under the name of the Hayworth check rower. In the wheat fields the crop
was in the beginning reaped with a hook, but the cradle was also in use from
the beginning of the county's history. The first of the wheat harvesters to
make its appearance in Johnson county was known as Mann's patent. One
of these was brought to the county by John T. For sy the as early as 1855,
and it was a one-wheel machine with a sickle and canvas carrier which car-
ried the wheat from the sickle to a platform elevated fourteen or fifteen
inches, from which the wheat fell into a concave box resting against teeth
fashioned like a revolving hay rake. One man drove the machine while his
helper, sometimes a boy, sat with his back to the driver and when the box
filled with wheat, revolved the lx)x so as to throw out the sheaf ready to be
bound. Isaac Bergen and John P. Banta also owned harvesters of this type.

During the latter part of the fifties other harvesters, notably the Ball,
the Kirby, the Manny and the Kentucky harvesters, came into use. The Ball
had two wheels and the wheat fell from the sickle upon a platform arid was
raked off in bunches by a boy sitting with his back to the driver. The one-
wheeler Kirby was of almost the same type, except that the helper stood and
removed the straw with a hand rake ; the Manny was a much larger machine,
on which two men besides the driver rode and bound the straw as it was
elevated to a small platform. The Manny met with little favor because of
its weight upon the horses' necks.

The Marsh harvester, patented in 1858. was of the same type as the
Manny. The Dropper came into use early in the sixties and continued to be
quite generally used until after the middle of the seventies. The first self
binder brought into the county, of which the writer has been able to get
precise information, was purchased by "Uncle Matt" Alexander, about the
year 1878. A year previous Daniel Deupree, living just north of Edinburg,
but in Shelby county, had bought a self-binder, and within a year or two

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 213

many of the prosperous farmers had followed his extmple. When first in-
troduced the self-binder was an object of much curiosity and men drove for
miles to see the new-fangled implement. These were wire binders, the twine
binders not coming into use until about the year 1883.

After his wheat crop was harvested, the pioneer farmer removed his
sheaves to the bams, and in the beginning was obliged to beat the grain out
wath a flail, tossing the wheat in sheets that the wind might blow the dry chaflf
out. The better class of farmers had their bams provided with threshing floors,
on which the sheaves were laid and small boys rode unshod horses around
over the straw, with men turning and removing the straw until the grain was
tramped out and w^orked to the bottom. Hand mills were then used to blow
out the chaflf and dirt. Sometimes the horses were hitched to a beam fastened
to an upright revolving in the center of the threshing floor, the horses being
led by a pole extending from the upright.

The first machine for the threshing of wheat was called the "ground-
hog,'' a huller set in the field between the stacks of wheat and operated by
horse power. The **ground-hog'' did not separate the wheat from the straw,
but men stood at the tail end of the machine with forks and removed the
loose straw, the remainder being fanned out at the barns. In a few years
probably about the middle of the fifties, came the separator, driven first by
eight, then by ten to twelve liorses. The horse-power machines were driven
by a tumbling shaft which ran from the "power" to the thresher. The band-
cutter, standing next to this shaft, had to be very careful to avoid the danger
of being caught. Steam power was first used with separators in Johnson
county about the beginning of the Civil war, but in 1864 a distressing acci-
dent drove the steam engine out of favor. In that year near the present site
of New Bargersville an engine attached to a wheat separator blew up, killing
Commodore Tresslar, James Utterback and a boy and seriously injuring
others. At about the same time a like engine exploded at the state fair
ground, killing more than a score of people, among whom were some citizens
of Johnson county. The farmers feared a repetition of these accidents, and
it was past the middle of the seventies before the steam engine returned to
favor in the threshing field. The "blower'' w^as still later coming into use.
Many men yet in middle life worked on the straw stack and remember the
overpowering dust at the mouth of the carrier. With the coming of steam
power it was no longer necessary to stack wheat in the field. Still later came
the traction engine, the self-feeder and the automatic weighing device with
machines capable of threshing two thousand bushels of wheat per day.

When the famier was not busy in the field he found work in clearing

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214 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

his lands, and the best timber was split into rails. Johnson county was
favored by a fine growth of timber suitable for rail making, and it has only
been within the last twenty-five years that the farmer was obliged to resort
to other materials for his fencing.

One of the few diversions of the pioneer was the neighborhood shooting
match. To these contests marksmen came for miles around and the rivalry
at the matches, while friendly, was always very keen. The weapons were
usually home-made, muzzle-loading rifles and, in the hands of the pioneer
marksmen, were a very accurate and deadly weapon. Every neighborhood
boasted its champion marksman and a few marksmen, notably William H.
Barnett, Jonathan Yount and Thomas Stine, had a reputation countywide.

Muster days and election days were occasions eagerly looked forward
to by the pioneer residents, and they were always made the occasion of more
or less hilarious conduct. Election days were much more exciting than those
of the present day. Indeed, for weeks before the election the excitement
was intense, manifesting itself in great party meetings at the county seat.
The diflferent parties, toward the close of the campaign, held their meetings
on alternate Saturdays and great was the rivalry between the parties in the
matter of parades, torch-light processions and erection of party poles. In
these campaign meetings each community vied with its neighbor in the ar-
rangement and decoration of floats, in the arrangement of drum corps and
horseback troops, and after the election the victors always met for jollifica-
tion meetings with parades and torch-light processions, the marchers carry-
ing banners taunting their opponents with defeat. The last of these ex-
pressions of partisan sentiment to arouse much enthusiasm in our county were
the parades and meetings held in the city of Franklin during the general
election of 1892.

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CHAPTER IX.

EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS IN JOHNSON COUNTY.

The ordinance of Congress of date July 13, 1787, providing for the
government of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio
river declared certain articles should be considered an unalterable compact
between the original states and the people and states in the new territory.
Among these, Article 3 declared that ** Religion, morality and knowledge
being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools
and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."

The act of Congress of date April 19, 18 16, to enable the people of
Indiana to form a constitution and state government, made certain proposi-
tions to the convention, "for their free acceptance or rejection," of which
the first was: "That the section numbered 16, in every township, and when
sttclrk section has been sold, granted or disposed of, other lands equivalent
thereto and most contiguous to the same shall be granted to the inhabitants
of^ ^uch township for the use of schools." Another section reserved two
^w^t:irt townships for the use of a "seminary of learning." These proposi-
tion r:i.s were favorably received by the constitutional convention, which ratified
thi^x-m by the vote of June 29, 181 6, and the new state government made
pi"<i>^v^ision for rural schools, for county academies and for a state university,
all ^Free and open to the people of the state.

"None of the lands that had been granted to the state by the federal

g^^^'^^mment for school purposes could be sold until 1820, and actually none

^'^T-^ sold until eight years later. The legislation, from time to time, for

. P^^t>l ic schools was as advanced as in any of the states, but there were no

'^^''^cis to maintain the authorized schools. There were many reasons for

™is the sparseness of the population, slender school revenues from taxa-

^*^>^»^, lack of qualified teachers, opposition of the few and indiflference of the

^^Tiy vvho needed their children to work at the clearing of the forest arid

^^^ planting and gathering of crops. Superintendent Cotton reminds us

^^^t: 'the settlers were busy felling the forest, draining swamps and making

boTTics. They exhausted their time and energies in providing for their

^^tnilies tlHj necessities of life and in baffling malaria. They had no leisure

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2il6 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

for the contemplation of educational problems, and the spiritual life had to
wait. The day of free schools was afar off and illiteracy grew apace.* Even
the elementary schools were left to private enterprise." — Levering, "His-
toric Indiana," page 421.

In Johnson county none of the school sections were sold in the regular
way until 1832. In that year Pierson Murphy, school commissioner by appoint-
ment of the county board, conveyed a part of section i6, now in Needham
township. In 1834 he conveyed parts of the school sections in Union and
White River. The sale of school lands progressed slowly, however, a few
being made by Dr. Murphy in 1836 and 1837, and by his successor, Thomas
Alexander, in 1838. As late as 1854 some of the school lands had not been
conveyed, the county auditor having succeeded to the duties of school com-
missioner.

But this is not to say that education was being neglected in all parts
of the county. In many places throughout the county, according to tradition,
schools were being conducted in the settlers' cabins and in the "meeting-
houses.*' The act of January 27, 1824, had provided that lands might be
conveyed to trustees for the use of schools, meeting houses and Masonic
lodges, and some neighborhoods had, probably as early as 1827, by voluntary
donation of a building site and material, erected log houses for the three-
fold use mentioned in the statute. In that year Jefferson Lowe, of White
River township, conveyed to Daniel Boaz, Andrew Brown and John Grose-
close two acres of land in the northeast corner of section 8. "for the use of
a school, meeting house and a public burying ground."

Rev. P. S. Cleland, in his "Quarter Century Discourse," delivered at
Greenwood, December 18, 1864, is authority for the statement that a school
society was formed in Greenwood on the 4th day of January, 1826, and
trustees were chosen to receive title to lands donated by Garrett Brewer and
Isaac Reed for a school house, meeting house and burying ground, but if
such be the case action was delayed, for no such conveyance was actually
niade until April 30, 1832.

At the March term, 1829, the board of county justices order Thomas
Williams, county agent, to convey to trustees for the use of the citizens of
Franklin and vicinity a lot on which to erect a school house. The deed was
not executed, however, until July 2, 1831, at which time lot number i in the
Old Plat was conveyed to Hezekiah McKinney, Robert Gillcrees and John
Foster.

In the latter year the town of Flemingsburg was platted, one lot being

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 2iy

reserved for a school house and a second for a meeting house. This separa-
tion of the communit}'^ interests was well considered, as the holding of school
and church in the same room was likely to lead to a conflict. The circuit
rider could not always time his visit to a Sunday meeting, and in such event
he must use the only house in the neighborhood suitable for preaching. In
one of the earliest conveyances made for a joint school and church house a
happy solution of the difficulty is met by a compromise. John S. Barger,
making his deed under date of August i8, 1831, imposes the following con-
ditions: "The above house is also intended for a school house for the in-
struction of the children. And the teacher is to permit the minister to
preach at the hour of twelve o'clock on a week day, if it is not practicable
for the circuit preacher to attend on the Sabbath. And if at any future
time there should be a Sabbath school, the school is to give way at the hour
of preaching".

A brief sketch of the school law of 1831 is of interest as showing forth
the educational affairs of that day. By section 37 of the act approved Febru-
ary 10, 1831, it is provided that tjie township trustee should divide his town-
ship into school districts and appoint three sub-trustees for each district. The
next section requires the sub-trustees to call meetings of the householders
and freeholders of the district at some convenient place, "and after making
known to such meeting the law on the subject of township schools, shall
proceed to take the sense of the meeting by ayes and noes, in writing on the
question, whether they will support a public school for any number of
months, not less than three in each ^ear." If the vote favored such support
the sub-trustees select a site for a school house as near the center of the
district as possible, "taking into view its convenience to water, fuel and
healthiness," and appoint a time for the inhabitants of the district to riieet
and commence the building of a school house, "said house to be of brick,
stone, hewn timber or frame, according as a majority of said inhabitants
may agree. Every able-bodied male person, of the age of twenty-one years
and upward, being a freeholder or a householder, shall be liable equally to
work one day in each week Gntil such building may be completed or pay
the sum of fifty cents for every day he may so fail to work.

A later section provides that as soon as the school house is in readiness
the tnistees shall call a meeting of the voters of the district at the school
house and "take the sense of such meeting whether they will suffer any
proportion of the tax, if any tax be necessary for the support of such school,
to be raised in money, and, if so. what proportion and the time they may wish

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2l8 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

to employ a teacher. These trustees are also to make out a list of the taxa-
ble property of the district, but special provision is made **that no person
shall be liable for such tax unless such person wishes to and does participate
in the benefit of such school fund." No person could be employed as a
teacher until he produced the certificate of the township trustees "that they
have examined him touching his qualifications, and particularly, as respects
his knowledge of the English language, writing and arithmetic, and that in
their opinion, he will be a useful person to be employed as a teacher in said
school."

In 1838 the Legislature required the circuit court of each county to
appoint three suitable persons as examiners of common school teachers, but
"the certificate of any such examiners shall only be used as auxiliary to aid
trustees in determining qualifications of teachers and shall not entitle the
possessor to employment without the examination and approbation of the
trustees. No school could receive public aid unless "there is a school house
in the district (either built or adopted) of convenient size, with sufficient
lights, and that it is so furnished and reps^ired as to render the teachers and
pupils comfortable."

These provisions of the law outran public opinion on the necessity of
education at the charge of the public, and so far as the records show, no
tax for schools was ever levied in Johnson county until the same was made
compulsory under the Constitution of 185 1. Public-spirited citizens, how-
ever, continued to support schools in nearly every corner of the county.*
Especially after 1837, at which time many land owners began to donate
school house sites to the "Inhabitants of School District No. — ," houses and
grounds ample to accommodate the children of the county began building.

As the time for the adoption of a new Constitution drew near the ques-
tion of the public school support became poignant, and at least three times
the citizens of Johnson county voiced their sentiments 6n the same at the
polls. At the August election, 1849, 604 votes were cast in favor of a school
law of the proposed character, and 1,190 were cast against "public schools."
A year later the vote stood: For, 588; against, 1,054; and in August, 185 1,
the question was again submitted, with the following result :

Township. For Common Schools. Against.

Nineveh 72 105

Clark 76 36

Hensley 31 iCO

White kiver 69 80

Union 22 87

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 219

The vote in Blue River, Pleasant and Franklin is not of record. An
interesting side-light on the sentiment of the times is also seen on the vote
at the same election (1851) on the proposal to exclude negroes and mulattos
from the United States. The vote is as follows :

Township. Exclusion No exclusion.

Nineveh 164 6

Clark 62 17

Hensley 121 i

Blue River 116 14

Pleasant ^'. iii 2

White River ^ 138 6

Franklin 359 52

Union loi 3

The vote of Johnson county on the two propositions named are not
flattering to us, and yet the record is fairly indicative of the state of culture
of the period. After the adoption of the Constitution of 185 1 a great im-
petus was given to school work, and the several townships of the county
soon took steps to levy a tax for the support of schools. Even yet, however,
opposition was sometimes met. The records show that on October 3, 1853,
an election was held at Worthsville to vote upon the question whether a
school tax should be levied upon the inhabitants of said township. The
vote was in the affirmative, but so close that contest proceedings were filed
before the county board. And it would seem that the new law did not at
once and everywhere result in the erection and maintenance of school build-
ings, for as late as 1856 school was taught in a room at the court house. It
must have been a "loud'' school, the order of the board reciting that Pro-
fessor Brand must vacate the room in the court house now occupied as a
school room, "as it operates to the serious disadvantage of the county
officers/'

Of the earliest "district schools," which were really private schools con-
ducted by teachers who were itinerants, for the most part, no record is left.
John L. Jones, the oldest living ex-teacher in the county, attended a summer
school at the Union meeting house in 1832. The school was taught by
William Bond, a Kentuckian, in the old hewed-log meeting house. The boys,
many of them clad in leather breeches, and the girls in homespun, sat stiffly
erect on log slabs, each reciting in turn to the teacher. One little girl pupil
had a pet fawn, which, like Maty's littlfe lamb, followed her to school, much
to the diversion of the other children. In the earlv forties he went to

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220

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Columbus to attend a school conducted by Professor Pigeon, a pedagogue
with a wide reputation for liberal learning. Returning from school he him-
self became a teacher and in 1843 opened a school in a log school house near
the former farm house of Peter D. Banta in Union township. He con-
tracted to take one-half his wages, amounting to ten or twelve dollars, in
cash, the balance to be paid in merchandise. Of the merchandise he secured
enough jeans to make a pair of pants and with a part of his cash he bought
calico for a coat, and this became his outfit of wearing apparel for his first
time in Franklin College the next year. The late John C. Miller was one of
his pupils, and the teacher recalls that young Miller brought to school as his
only text book a pioneer history of Kentucky, with the back off and in a
much dilapidated condition.

Of these and other early schools the following sketch by B. F. Kennedy,
one of the early teachers of Hensley township, will illustrate the methods
and manners then in use :

**To go back to the schools under the management of the first genera-
tion, the generation of entry, we have to record a system of many faults, but
the primitive beginning rapidly developed into the present school system.

**The generation of entry built the little log school houses. These were
built of round logs. In raising, the corners were taken by four pioneers,
who, with axes, notched and saddled the logs as they went up. This process
was continued until a sufficient height was reached, when there was a gradual
tapering to the-comb. The rib poles were then placed on from the eaves to
the comb, three and one-half feet apart. Upon these were placed the four-
foot boards which were weighted down with poles steadied in place by the
white oak hearts. The spaces between the logs were chinked by oak hearts
and daubed with mud. The stick-and-mud chimney was wide enough to
take on great backlogs five feet long. The floor was made of split halves of
great logs, called puncheons. A long window, made by displacing one log,
extended the entire length of the room. The window panes consisted of
thick greased paper. Split halves of logs, with wooden legs, served as seats.
A large writing desk under the window across the room was held by three
great wooden pegs driven into the wall. The holes were bored with a two-
inch auger. The building was then ready for school.

"Before the opening of a term of school the teacher woukl canvass the
district with his article. It is impossible to give the numerous fonns of
articles which were used. One sample is sufficient:

'' 'I, John Dunn, agree to teach an English school (here state county.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 221

township and district) for the term of six months, at $ per scholar;

to begin (date). Will teach spelling, reading, writing and arithmetic as far
as the single rule of three. My government will be: for being idle, two
lashes with beech switch; for whispering, three lashes; for fighting, six
lashes; for pinching, three licks across palm of hand with my ferule; for
tearing the books or thumbing, four licks with ferule across palm of hand.

" *We, the subscribers, agree to pay said Dunn in vegetables, such as
potatoes, onions, beets, cabbage; in fruit, such as apples, peaches; in corn,
bacon and wheat, all at market prices or money in payments; last payment
at end of term. (Following this were the names of subscribers and number
subscribed by each.)

" 'We, the subscribers, further agree to furnish said Dunn a house, or
we agree to board him according to number subscribed.'

"Note. — One proposition was house for the teacher with a family. The
other was for a single man.

"In those school houses the lessons were studied aloud. The recitations
were in classes consisting of one to the class, and the custom was that the
first who entered the school house in the morning was the first to recite.
After the first recitation it was the general rule for those following to recite
in the order in which they reached the teacher's side. Some of those races
were amusing. Every one spelled from the old Elementary Webster book.
The readers were the old English Reader and 'Robinson Crusoe.' Ne?^
were Goodrich's History and McGuflfey's readers. The first arithmetic was
Guthrie's ; next two were Smiley's and Pike's. These were grand old books,
which contained shillings and pence for money. The introduction of Ray's
arithmetic was in 1848. From that date dollars and cents superseded the
shillings and pence form of money exchange. I should note that as advance-
ment gradually progressed stronger teachers appeared and were candidates
for schools. These new teachers taught much the same as the first class of
teachers. Arithmetic was taught through the single and double rule of
three. The advancement was that the teacher proposed to teach, in addition
to the last teacher's proposal, 'square and cube roots.' Those old pioneer
teachers were not exact in morals. At least some of them were not, but the
teachers of the second generation were found generally worthy and better.
Many of them taught the 'eight branches,' using the following books: Mc-
Guflfey's speller and readers, Olney's and Mitchell's geographies, Ray's arith-
metic and algebra; Kirkham's grammar, Goodrich's history, Comstock's phys-
iology and copy books. The second generation built the small box frame

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222

JOHNSON COUNTY^ INPIANA.

school houses with window sash and pane. These buildings contained
stoves, seats with tops to write on, shelves to hold books and slates, with
places in the top for the inkstands. Steel pens were used instead of goose
quills and good ink instead of that made from red oak pods and pokeberries.

"The system of schools of the second generation has passed on, but a
few of those good old teachers still live and a few of those framed box
houses are still in use in some counties. The third kind of school house is
the brick with ante room and deposit room and many improvements in fur-
nishings and in beautifying and enclosing the yard. An entire change has
been made in text-books, and there is systematic grading from the first
through the eighth year and on through the high school.

'*The schools from 1816 to 1839 were controlled by the township. The
school board consisted of three members, a president, secretary and treasurer.
Those men, under the school provisions of 181 6, had much authority to
arrange and levy taxes. The principal burdens, however, were paid by
manual toil, the citizen receiving, so much per day for his labor, which was
to liquidate the tax assessment. That system was done away with by the
act of the convention of February 10, 185 1. After that each township was
controlled by a trustee elected by the voters of his township.

"The school of the first generation had customs that have almost
passed away — the base play called 'the playing of base;' the ball play called
'bull pen.' Base consisted of two sides evenly chosen by two captains. The
two homes were two or three hundred feet apart. When ready, one captain
would call to the other, 'Give us a dare.' The other captain would start out
one of his swiftest runners, who, if bold enough and had the confidence in
his ability to make a circle around the other captain's base would bring off
to his captain's base a prisoner by so doing. When he made his start the
other captain would send one of his fleetest runners after him. By this the
excitement and anxiety were great, and one after another, in regular order,
members were sent from each side, until the two bases were deserted for the
time. In such rates both bases would lose many and the result would be a
victory to one or the other side. Frequently those races by fleet and active,
nervy boys would not end in time for books. ' Over the plain, fields, hills,
crocks and valleys would the chase continue, sometimes until tiipe to dismiss
school. Again, another way of the pl^y was that leacb side would have a
prison to retain the captured. Those priiions would be l^rge trpes some few
rods frorp the base, and when a prisoner was taken he was put on the
prison and closely watched to keep anyone from his base from retaking him.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 223

This would very frequently bring into the race every one from each side.
If the prisoner were reached and touched with the hand of one on his side
he was released from prison and given the right to enter again the play.
'Bull pen' was a great play. One side was in the pen, the other side on the
comers. The yarn ball covered with leather sewed around it carefully was
rapidly passed from one base to another until a throw at those in the pen
was made, and if one were *hit' all the side on the corners ran, and some
member of the party in the pen would hastily pick up the ball, run to the
edge of the pen and if he could hit one of the runners it would save the one
struck in the pen. Those plays were of much exercise and gave delight to
all. Another play was *hide and seek.' Another was 'ante over/ very much
enjoyed by all. It is naturally the general opinion of the older generations
that those plays of our first schools have not been bettered by the many
changes made since.

"Another custom of the first schools, that of turning the teacher out at
Christmas, has passed aw^ay. A treat was the universal demand of the
schools. Those treats generally consisted of several bushels of apples and a
holiday of a week. Many plucky teachers resisted the move. Then the
door and chimney were barricaded and the teacher was not permitted to
enter till he accepted the terms demanded by the school. Those parleys
would, sometimes, last a week and the determined teacher would be chased
day and night till he capitulated or was caught, taken to the creek, ice broken,
and ducked until he came to terms. On some of these occasions the teacher
held out firmly, gave up his school and went elsewhere. That custom has
passed away long ago.

"The old teacher, generally of the first generation, and many of the
second generation, used the arithmetic keys to Smiley 's and Pike's arith-
metics. Some of the teachers of the second generation can today boast of
having in their libraries keys to Davies', Ray's, Loomies' and Robinson's
mathematics. But that custom is of the past. In the schools of the first
generation very few of our county seats even had a graded school ; some had
what then was called an academy. Those academies had one teacher only,
who taught the 'common branches,' with algelwa, geometry, physiology and
sometimes Latin. Our townships had no high schools, and very often the
higher studies were not pursued in the entire county. At that time the coun-
ties had a school examiner, which, under the revised school law in 1873,
was changed to county superintendent, who t^ a revision act of the school
law was given the duty of county visitation of schools. Those old examin-

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224 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

ers, many of them, were business men and some were lawyers; some were
county officers ; some were one thing and some another. In an examination
the teacher had an easy time. There was nothing to interrupt his happiness
and nothing to change his equiHbrium. Frequently those examinations
would be held while walking from the street to the office of the examiner.
One one occasion an examiner, a lawyer, was met on the streets by the can-
didate and after the greeting informed the examiner that he wanted a cer-
tificate. On their way to the office the examiner asked the candidate, 'How
many genders have nouns?' The candidate's answer was Tour.' *A11 right,'
said the examiner, *of course you could name them.' On to his office and
after a little conversation the examiner wrote him out a two years' certifi-
cate. Again, an old lawyer who filled the office had a class of about twenty.
After seating them he began a conversation on teaching. Then, taking his
chalk, he went to his little blackboard and began a discussion on decimal
fractions. He gave some examples and after doing the principal part of the
work himself, took his blanks, filled them out, gave his teachers good advice
and dismissed them. On another occasion, when there were two examiners,
a county treasurer and a lawyer, an applicant applied and was examined by
both. The lawyer's examination was: *It rains. What does it stand for?
Give its antecedent.' The treasurer took up an old arithmetic. Gave:
*What is the interest on $ioo for i year i mo. i8 days at 6 per cent? What
is percentage?' The exaipination closed and the candidate walked out with
a two years' license. One more : An elder of the church and examiner was
the teacher of a county-seat school. A candidate went into his recitation
room where he had a large class at the board. When he mentioned his
business the elder asked him to wait an hour, when he would be through with
the forenoon's work. After dismissal he asked the candidate to take a piece
of chalk and write the following on the board: *God said, Let there be

light, and there was light.' 'Mr. , will you please punctuate

that sentence?' After which the candidate was given a two years' certifi-
cate and kindly invited tcr dinner."

Much valuable information as to the early schools of Johnson county is
found in Judge D. D. Banta's History of Johnson County (1888), pages
361-368, but a later and more general review of educational conditions of the
early days is found in a series of articles written by him for the Indianapolis
News, and published in weekly installments running from January 6 to
March 16, 1892. The same are herewith reprinted that they may be available
to local students of such conditions :

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 22^

"There is a class which entertains the belief that the early settlers o£
Indiana were not as well educated as were the early settlers of her sister
states. I think this belief was quite generally entertained a half century
ago, and, perhaps, even later by the people of these sister states. I do not
know why this belief should be held by any one today. I know of no reason
why the Indiana pioneers should not be considered as the equals in every
respect of the pioneer settlers of any of the other states at that period.

"It is stated by Gilmore, in 'The Advance Guard of Western Civiliza-
tion,' that of the two hundred and fifty-six settlers who moved in 1779-80 to
the after site of Nashville, all but one could write his name. Of thirty-six
settlers on the north side of the Ohio, within the present boundaries of the
state of Ohio, who signed the petition directed to Lieutenant-Colonel Har-
mer, in 1765, one only signed by his mark. Mr. Roosevelt, in writing The
Winning of the West/ had occasion to examine a great many documents
written and signed by the pioneer Tennesseans and Kentuckians, and he
gives testimony as following :

" Tn examining original drafts of petitions and the like, signed by the
hundreds of original settlers of Tennessee and Kentucky, I have been struck
by the small proportion — not much over three or four per cent, at the out-
side— of men who made their mark instead of signing.'

"I have no doubt that the same fact would appear from an examination
on as large a scale of original documents signed by the Indiana pioneers. 1
have done a little of that kind of work myself and have found the same re-
sult that Mr. Roosevelt did.

"Of course, all the schools of the pioneering period were inferior to
the schools of today. In methods and appliances the schools of the two per-
iods were as wide asunder as the poles, but in results, take it school for school
and month for month, I am inclined to think the difference was not so very
marked. Dr. Boone, in his 'History of Education in Indiana,' does not, as I
remember, discuss this question, but if he did he would hardly agree with me.
Nevertheless, the evidence is abundant that the pioneer schoolmasters were,
in general, fairly efficient workers in the schoolroom.

" However much or little of school training the Indiana pioneers had,
of two facts, I think we may be assured : First, they differed, as a class, in
no respect as to their education, from the pioneer settlers of any other state
of that period ; second, the sentiment quite generally prevailed among them,
as it did with the people of all other states, of an earnest desire that their

(15)

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226 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

children should enjoy far more excellent educational privileges than had
fallen to their own lot. Or, in other words, they entertained, in common
with all the United States people of their day, the American idea of the great
value of school training. Of the truth of these two propositions I think there
can be no doubt. Dr. Boone, in his history, makes it quite plain that later
on in Indiana there came a time when there was a seeming indifference in
educational affairs that was not at all creditable to the people of the state,
but that charge can not in justice be laid to the door of the first comers. The
truth is that long before any steps had been taken in Massachusetts or New
York, or anywhere else in the western world, looking to a free-school system
to be supported by the state, Indiana, in her organic law, had made provision
for a system of free education, commencing in the township schools and end-
ing in the state university, and but for the great poverty of the people, which
rendered the scheme absolutely impracticable, there can be no doubt that there
would have been a free-school system in active operation in this state twenty
years or more before the first blundering steps were taken toward it in any
other state.

"If one would take the time for it he might secure quite a varied and
extensive assortment of 'first schools' in the state. Randall Yarbro, who
came to Clark county in 181 o, said: 'What was probably the first school in
Indiana was opened in 1811 in Jeffersonville, near the river bank.' From a
work entitled 'Indiana Methodism* I quote : 'The first school of any kind in
the territory of Indiana was taught one and a half miles south of Charles-
town, in 1803.' In the summer of 1796 Volney visited Vincennes, and de-
clared that nobody ever opened a school among the French there till it was
done by the Abbe R. [Rivet], a missionary banished hither by the French
Revolution ; and he adds the further statement that 'out of nine of the French
scarcely six could read or write, whereas nine-tenths of the American emi-
grants from the east could do both.' From the testimony of John Tipton,
a capital-site commissioner, we are w^arranted in believing that a Frenchman
taught school in an Indian village situated on what is now the northwest
corner of Johnson county, before M. Rivet's day.

*'The first scliool witliin the present borders of the state was a French
school, probably at Vincennes. and the first .\nglo-American school was
taught in Clarksville. whose settlement was begun not later than 1785, and
probably two or three years before that. At any rate the place was a 'small
towm' in 1789, and although it was never a place of more than a few log
houses, we might safely assume that schools of some sort were provided for

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 22rj

the children of the settlement, for this would accord with what I believe to
have been the unvarying American practice. After the peace of Greenville,
in 1795, the Clark's Grant settlement naturally grew faster than it did before,
and in 1800 its population numbered nine hundred twenty-nine. Surely
there must have been schools maintained by this time. But we are not left to
conjecture merely. From the old records of Clarksville, kept from the first.
there are frequent entries relating to the schoolhouses and schoolmasters al-
most from the very first.

*'The presumption is next to conclusive that a school was opened \\\
Dearborn county prior to 1802. In the spring of 1796 sixteen families
moved across the Big Miami and became the first settlers of Dearborn county.
They had settled on the Ohio side of the Miami three years before, and dur-
ing their first three years' sojourn there they organized a school and brought
in the first schoolmaster known to that part of the country, one Isaac Polk,
who *was known far and near as Master Polk.' What these sixteen families
who moved on southeastern Indiana soil in the spring of 1796, and who were
joined by four or five of the families of the Ohio neighborhood the same
year, did in the matter of schools, the most of history, unfortunately, has
not seen fit to say. We are left to conjecture, but with the record made dur-
ing the three years of their residence in Ohio, we may feel very confident
that the year of their moving, or at farthest the following one, marked the
advent of the schoolhouse in southern Indiana.

"Without further discussion, we may accept that in general, whenever
and wherever a neighborhood contained enough children to warrant the enter-
prise, a schoolmaster was secured and a school was opened. But it must be
remembered that neighborhoods in the early days covered far wider reaches
of country than is generally the case now. To that schoolhouse south of
Charlestown referred to in the 'History of Methodism in Indiana,' D. W.
Daily, of Clark county, went when a boy, walking a distance of three miles
through the woods. Young Daily's school path, like thousands of others,
was not very plain, and was sometimes crossed by wild and savage beasts.
His devoted mother, realizing the dangers that beset her boy, went with him
part of the way every morning, carrying her youngest born in her arms, and
every evening she met him on the way as he returned to his home. One of
the first school;? taught in Spencer county drew children to it from a distance
of four miles in every direction, and it was by no means uncommon fo^'
school children to trudge, morning and evening, three and four and even
more miles to attend their schools.

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**In the beginning, houses were not built exclusively for school uses, if an
unoccupied cabin or other place was found available for the purpose. The
first school, taught in Martinsville, certain chroniclers say, was a summer
school on a gentleman's porch, by Dr. John Morrison. There are others,
however, who insist that the first school was taught in a barn by James Con-
way. Bams were not infrequently turned into summer schoolhouses during
the pioneer educational periods. The first school taught in Newburg, Warrick
county, was in John Sprinkle's barn, and many other barns were given up
during part of the temperate season to the pedagogue and his pupils. Mills
were also utilized on occasions. The first school ever taught in the English
language in the town of Vevay was by John Wilson, a Baptist minister, in a
horse mill. An early schod in Waynesville, Bartholomew county, was
taught by a retired distiller in a blacksmith shop, which school, for reasons
not stated, was attended by young men and boys only. In Spencer county
a deserted tannery was utilized. In Knox, in Jackson, and perhaps else-
where, the old forts, after the close of the Indian wars, were turned into
schoolhouses. In the towns of Franklin, Brownstown, and some others, the
log court houses were occupied between courts. In Dubois county Simon
Morgan, the county recorder, kept school for many years in the recorder's
office. John Godlove, of Delaware county, taught one of the first schools in
the precincts of his own kitchen, while in every county south of the Wabash,
and doubtless, north of it also, abandoned cabins of one kind or another
were quite frequently used for school purposes.

"The appropriating of the mills and the forts, of the barns and old cabins
for schools was, however, the exception and not tVie rule. The rule was that
if a house of some kind was not found ready-made when the time for organ-
izing a school came around, those expecting to be its patrons usually made
short work of building one. The first were the plainest and cheapest form
of log cabin. The neighlx)rs of the Stotts settlement on White river, in
Morgan county, began and finished ready for occupancy their schoolhouse
in one day. Of course, it was the rudest of log cabins, but it may well be
supposed that there were hundreds of not much if any better in Indiana from
first to last. I have been told of one such that was built and occupied in
White River township, in Johnson county, at a very early day. It was a
pole cabin without window, floor or chimney. The fire was kindled on a
raised c\xy platform or hearth in the center, and the sparks and smoke
escaped throt^ a large opening in the roof. The children sat on benches
next the walls, facing the center, and studied their lessons by the light that

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JOHNSON COINTY, INDIANA. 229

came whence the smoke escaped. The house was modeled, evidently, after a
hunters* camp. In another part of the same county, a first temple of learning
was erected and finished without windows or openings for the light to come
in save at the door and the wide throat of the enormous chimney. A similar
one was a schoolhouse in Nashville, this state. We usually associate with
the primitive schoolhouses the ^'greased paper windows,'' but the truth is,
'paper glass' marked a step in the process of the evolution of these structures.
In the history of Spencer county the statement is made that the first school-
houses had uncovered openings through which the light entered. There
were first school houses elsewhere in the state that were without windows.
The paper covering, made transparent by a free use of hog's lard or bear s
oil, had not yet been thought of, but was to come as an improvement and
mark an era in the improvement of schoolhouse architecture. The settle-
ment of Spencer county was begun as early as about 1812, and the statement
may well be true, for its earliest-built schoolhouse belonged to the first of the
territory. In Blue River township, Hancock county, the first one was built
of logs and had five comers. It was not chinked and daubed, had no
windows, and but one door. This must have been as late as 1830. The
uncovered openings of the Spencer county houses are suggestive of the port-
holes in the blockhouses built during the early days as a protection against
the Indians. It is a well-known fact that after the final cessation of Indian
hostilities the old forts were in some instances converted into schoolhouses,
and I find it recorded that a school was taught in 1808 in the dwelling house
of John Winder, 'which house was almost a fort,' having been constructed
with special reference to making resistance against attacks of Indians. In-
deed, there is direct authority for the statement that schoolhouses were con-
striKted in Washington county with portholes for shooting at the Indians,
and if in Washington county, we have good reason to suppose that they were
likewise so constructed elsewhere at the same time. I have not come across
any record or tradition to show that a cabin full of school children was ever
beleagured in Indiana, or even that the schoolmasters of the state ever at any
time carried rifles to their schools with which to defend their scholars in case
of attack; but when we remember how very few of the specific acts of a man
or of men, which belong to every-day life and are not required by some law to
be entered of record, find their way into history books, w^e can see that school-
masters may have gone armed to their schools here in Indiana, and the fact
remains unknown : and I have no doubt they did.

"While the old schoolhouses were, whatever their dimensions, generally

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rectangular in shape, this was not always true. I find an account of two in
Orange county, in Northwest and Southeast townships respectively, that seem
to have been five-sided, one end being built 'in the shape of a fence corner
for a fireplace.' This unique style of architecture may have been practiced
elsewhere. In fact, a five-cornered schoolhouse was erected in Hancock
county as late as 1830.

**Can those who attended the old cabin schoolhouses ever forget the total
want of everything connected with them that was calculated to cheer and
comfort the youngster in his ascent of the hill of knowledge? No attempt,
whatever, was ever made by the men who constructed these houses toward
beautifying them in any degree, and, judged by the standards of today, not
much was done with a view to securing the comfort of the children.

"The following description of an old time schoolhouse and its furnish-
ings is taken from 'Recollections of the Early Settlement of the Wabash
Valley/ by San ford C. Cox :

" The schoolhouse was generally a log cabin with puncheon floor, "cat
and clay'* chimney, and a part of two logs chopped away on each side of the
house for windows, over which greased newspapers or foolscap was pasted
to admit the light and keep out the cold. The house was generally furnished
with a split (splint) bottom chair for the teacher, and rude benches, made
out of slabs or puncheons, for the children to sit upon, so arranged as to get
the benefit of the huge log fire in the winter time, and the light from the win-
dows. To these add a broom, a water-bucket, and a tin cup or' gourd, and
the furniture list will be complete.'

"The writer omits one imf)ortant adjunct, viz., the writing-table or
bench, as it was in some schoolhouses not inappropriately called. This usually
consisted of a broad board, sawed or sometimes rived, nailed to stout pins
driven into holes bored in the logs at a proper slant upward beneath the long
window. In the absence of a suitable board, a puncheon hewn to a smooth
face, or even a half -log so hewn and mounted upon pins driven into the wall
or upon stakes driven into the earth, was made to serve the purpose of a
lighter writing table.

"It would be a waste of words to point out the squalor and discomfort
of the old cabin schoolhouses. Most of us, how ever, who caught glimpses of
learning within their portals in our younger days, think we treasure very
tender recollections of them, but I suspect the tender recollections are of the
youthful friendships we then formed, and of the surrounding woods and
streams that witnesses indulgence in all manner of lawful sports, without a
shadow of fear of trespassing on the rights of others.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 23 1

"Before advancing upon the 'masters/ the books, the methods, the man-
ners and the customs of the pioneer schools, something ought to be said of
the pioneer children who made these schools a necessity.

"Let me recall the reader's attention to the long paths that ofttimes
stretched their serpentine ways between the cabin homes and the cabin school-
houses — two, three and even four miles long, they sometimes were. In
general it was a fall or winter school that was kept — most generally a winter,
for every child big enough to work was required at home to aid in the sup-
port of the family. We of today, with our farms all made and with a super-
abundance of farm machinery, can scarcely conceive of the extremities to
which the pioneer farmers were often driven to secure the planting, tilling
and harvesting of the crops. And so the children, in the beginning, could be
spared best in the winter seasons, and in consequence the country schools were
in general winter schools.

"Happy were those children who had a fall school to attend ! The long
and winding school-paths threaded a region of delights. What schoolboy or
schoolgirl of those far-off days can ever forget the autumn wood, with its
many-hued foliage, its fragrant and nutty odors, its red, ripe haws, and its
clusters of wild grapes; its chinquapins (acorns of the pin oak) and its hick-
ory nuts? - And think of the wild life that was part of it all? Gray squirrels
barked and chattered from tree to tree, while the voices of glad birds were
heard amid the branches from sun to sun. And the school-paths themselves !
Were there ever such paths as those winding over hill and through hollow,
and filled, as they were, with dainty, rustling leaves that were as cool and
soft to schoolboy foot as silken carpet?

"But how different the winter school ! When the snow* came, block-
ading the paths, how it tried the temper of the young folk who were limited
to one pair of shoes per winter. And how infinitely worse was it when the
winter rains came. The whole face of the Indiana earth, whether along the
country roads, in the cleared fidds or in the woods, was filled with water like
a sponge, and the most careful of school children seldom failed to reach
school or home with feet soaking wet. Fifty years ago it was not the fashion
for boys to wear boots. For that matter there were few men in the country
places that wore them, while boot or bootee for girl or woman was not even
to be thought of. Riding astride or making a speech would have been no
more shocking, and so boots were seldom or never seen in the schoolroom,
but it was the custom of both boys and girls, on occasion, to draw over the
ankle and the top of the shoe a sock or stocking leg, or a piece* of cloth, which.

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being well tied to shoe and ankle, kept the dry snow out of the shoe fairl)-
well.

"I have known boys and girls to attend school in the fall long after the
hard frosts came, and even after the ice began to form, with their feet encased
in old socks or stockings so badly worn at the toe and heel as to be fit for no
other purpose than wearing in this manner, and so common an occurrence
was it that no one thought it worthy of special attention. Sanford Cox, in
his 'Wabash Valley,' draws a graphic word picture of the town of Lafayette,
as it appeared to him about 1825, in which he tells us that he had 'often' seen
the Lafayette juveniles skating upon the ice, *some with skates, somje with
shoes, and some barefooted.' It would seem that if the boys of Lafayette
were of such hardy nature we might expect to find in some other places satis-
factory evidence that the winter weather did not deter the barefooted from
attending school. I have, accordingly, carefully looked through such records
as have fallen in my way, and candor compels me to say that I have found
only one other instance. This is related by the author of the 'History of
Monroe County,' who says:

" 'It was then the custom to go to school, winter and summer, bare-
foot. That seems unreasonable, but it was done, and how ? The barefooted
child, to begin with, had gone thus so long that his feet were hardened and
calloused to resist the cold by several extra layers of epidermis. He could
stand a degree of cold which would apparently chill him to the bone, and
could walk for some time in the snow and frost without suffering more than
he could bear with reasonable fortitude. When he had to do extra duty in
the snow and cold, however, he would take a small piece of board, say a foot
wide and two feet long, which had been seasoned and partially scorched by the
fire, and after heating it till it was on the point of burning, he would start on
the run toward the schoolhquse, with the hot board in his hand, and when his
feet became too cold to bear any longer, he would place the board upon the
ground and stand upon it till the numbness and cold had been partly over-
come, when he would again take his 'stove' in his hand and make another
dash for the schoolhouse. Sometimes a flat, light piece of rock was substi-
tuted for the board and was much better, as it retained heat longer.'

"While we may feel assured that there never was a time when it was
the fashion in Indiana generally for the children to attend school in the winter-
time barefoot, nevertheless I have no doubt that during the territorial and
early state periods it so frequently occurred as to occasion little or no remark.

"I find but^one reference as to the buckskin clothing worn l^ school chil-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 233

dren during the earlier periods mentioned. In the early school of Vander-
burg county the local historian tells us that the boys wore buckskin breeches
and the girls wore buckskin aprons. Though this is the only statement found
by me, yet there was a time when buckskin clothing must have been as com-
mon with school children, especially boys, as it was with their fathers.

"One of the greatest drawbacks to the efficiency of the pioneer schools
was the want of competent teachers. This want was felt from the very be-
ginning and continued on down for many years. 'The pioneer teachers were
generally adventurers from the East or from England, Scotland, or Ireland,
who sought temporary employment during winter, while waiting for an open-
ing for business,' said Barnabas C. Hobbs on one occasion. The Southern
states furnished their quota, and western Pennsylvania was not behind any
section of equal area in the number sent forth to become educators of the
youth of the land. Of course there were many of the old-time teachers who
were admirably equipped for their work, and who did it so well that they
found a place in the lasting remembrance of their pupils: but while this is
true, it is. on the other hand, equally true that the admirably equipped teachers
were the exception. So loud were the complaints of the inefficiency of the
school teachers throughout the state that they reached the ears of the governor.
In his annual message to the Legislature, in 1883, Governor Noble thus calls
attention to the subject :

" *The want of competent teachers to instruct in the township schools
is a cause of complaint in many sections of the state, and it is to be regretted
that in employing transient persons from other states, containing but little
qualification or moral character, the profession is not in that repute it should
be. Teachers permanently interested in the institutions of the country,
possessing a knowledge of the manners and customs of our extended popula-
tion, and mingling with it, would be more calculated to render essential service
and be better received than those who come in search of employment.' And
he proposes as a remedy for the evil the establishment of a seminary for the
special training of our native teachers, or the incorporation of the manual
, labor system with the preparatory department of the Indiana College at
Bloomington.

" In the beginning of our state's history and for many years thereafter
the people held in slight esteem the vocation of the pedagogue. Not because
he was a pedagogue, but because he did not labor with his hands. Lawyers
and ministers and even doctors who did not show their mettle now and then
by acts of manual labor were very apt to receive less favor at the hands of the

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234 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

people than otherwise. An Indiana secretary of state once, while in office,
kept a jack for breeding purposes, and he caused the announcement to be made
through the newspaper that he gave to the business his personal attention. It
was considered a very proper thing for a secretary of state to do. This one
was an invincible politician before the f>eople. It is related of an early Posey
county teacher, one Henry W. Hunt, that when he first applied for a school
the peopleJooked upon him as a 'lazy, trifling, good-for-nothing fellow who
wanted to make his living without work.' What was true in Posey in peda-
gogue Hunt's case was generally true in every pedagogue's case throughout
the state.

"Teachers quite often in those days went on the hunt for their schools.
They were a kind of tramp — homeless fellows, who went from place to place
hunting for a job. When the prospect seemed good the candidate would
write an 'article of agreement,' wherein he would propose to teach a quarter's
school at so much per scholar. With that in hand he tramped the neighbor-
hood over, -soliciting subscribers, and, if a stranger, usually meeting with more
scorn than good-will. He was too often esteemed a good-for-nothing who
was too lazy to work. 'The teachers were, as a rule,' says the historian of
Miami county, 'illiterate and incompetent, and selected not because of any
special qualifications, but because they had no other business.' The only re-
quirements were that the teachers should be able to teach reading, writing
and ciphering. The teacher who could cipher all the sums in Pike's arith-
metic, up to and including the rule of three, was considered a mathematician
of no mean ability.

"The wages i>aid the ordinary teacher were not usually such as to give
respect to the profession. One of the curious chapters of the times is the low-
wages paid for all manner of intellectual labor. The governor received only
one thousand dollars per year, and a judge of the circuit court but seven hun-
dred dollars. Teachers w^ere by no means an exception to the rule. Rev.
Baynard R. Hall, the first principal of the State Seminary, at Bloomington,
came all the way from Philadelphia to accept of the place at a salary of two
hundred and fifty dollars a year, and John M. Harney, who subsequently made
such a figure as editor of the Louisville Democrat, walked all the way from
Oxford, Ohio, to apply for the chair of mathematics at a like salary, also, of
two hundred and fifty dollars per annum. Jesse Titus, an early schoolmaster
in Johnson county, taught a school during the winter of 1826-27 at one dollar
per scholar, which yielded him six dollars per month, out of which he paid his
board of one dollar per month. The first school taught on the present site of

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 235

Moore's Hill was by San ford Rhodes, in 1820, at aeventy-five cents per quarter
for each pupil, which was paid mostly in trade. In 1830 John Martin taught
in Cass county at eight dollars i>er month. Seventy-five cents per quarter was
a price quite commonly met with as late as 1825, or even later, but the price
varied. In some sections one dollar per scholar seems to have been the regu-
lar price, in others one dollar and fifty cents, while in a very few instances
two dollars wasj)aid. In many cases, probably a majority, the teacher was
obliged to take part of his pay in produce. I find wheat, com, bacon, venison
hams, dried pumpkin, flour, buckwheat flour, labor, whisky, leather, coon
skins and other articles mentioned as things given in exchange for teaching.
\\t the expiration of the three-months' term,' says one writer, 'the teacher
would collect the tuition in wheat, corn, pork, or furs, and take a wagon-load
to the nearest market and exchange it for such articles as he needed. Very
little tuition was paid in cash.' One schoolrrjaster of the time contracted to
receive his entire pay in corn, which, when delivered, he sent in a flat-boat to
the New Orleans market. Another, an Orange county schoolmaster, of a
somewhat later period, contracted to teach a three-months' term for thirty-
six dollars and fifty cents, to be paid as follows : *Twenty-five dollars in State
scrip, two dollars in Illinois money, and niqe dollars and fifty cents in cur-
rency.' This was as late as 1842, and there were seventy school children in
his district.

"A large per cent, of the unmarried teachers 'boarded around.' and thus
took part of their pay in board. The custoip in such cases was for the teach-
ers to ascertain by computation the time he was entitled to board from each
scholar, and usually he selected his own time for quartering himself upon the
family. In most instances, it is believed, the teacher's presence in the family
was very acceptable. The late A. B. Hunter, of Franklin, once taught a school
under an agreement to board around, but one of his best patrons was so de-
lighted with his society that he invited him to make his house his home during
the term, which invitation the young man gratefully accepted. It was not the
practice for the married teachers to l>oard around. If not permanent resi-
dents of the neighborhood, they either found quarters in the 'master's house,'
or in an abandoned cabin of the neighborhood. Qiu'te common was it to find
a 'schoolmaster's house,' which had been erected by the district, hard by the
school house, for the use of the married masters.

"The school terms were usually called 'quarters.' There were two kinds
of quarters known in some localities, the 'long quarter' and the 'short quarter.'
The long quarter consisted of thirteen weeks, and the short quarter of twelve
weeks.

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¥'

"Notwithstanding the people were inclined to look upon the pioneer
schoolmasters as a lazy class, yet they were looked up to perhaps as much if
not more, than in these days. I have already said that the presence of the
schoolmaster as a boarder in the family of his patron was welcome, for he was
generally a man of some reading, and his conversation was eagerly listened to
by all. Books and newspapers were scarce in those days, and so conversation
was' esteemed more than it is now.

**A few years ago I had occasion to look into the standing and qualifica-
tions of the early teachers of my own county, and on looking over my notes
I find this statement : *A11 sorts of teachers were employed in Johnson county.
There was the **one-eyed teacher," the "one-legged teacher," the "lame
teacher," the "teacher who had fits," the "teacher who had been educated for
the ministry but, owing to his habits of hard drink, had turned pedagogue,"
and "the teacher who got drunk on Saturday and whipped the entire school
on Monday." ' A paragraph something like this might be truthfully written
of every county south of the National road, and doubtless of every one north
of it, but as to that I speak with less certainty, for want of knowledge. The
lesson the paragraph ix)ints to is that whenever a man was rendered unfit for
making his living any other way, he took to teaching. Mr. Hobbs, I believe,
states that one of his first teachers was an ex-liquor dealer who, having grown
too fat to successfully conduct that business any longer, tui-ned schoolmaster.
It is related of the- first teacher of the first school in Qay township, in Morgan
county, that he was afflicted with phthisic to such a degree that he was unable
to perform manual labor; but he was a fairly good teacher, save when he felt
an attack of his malady coming on. That was the signal for an indiscriminate
whipping.' The first schoolmaster of Vanderburg county lived the life of a
hermit, and is described as a 'n|de. eccentric individual, who lived alone and
gained a subsistence by hunting, trapping and trading.' John Malone, a
Jackson county schoolmaster, was given to tippling to such excess that he
could not restrain himself from drinking ardent spirits during school hours.
He carried his bottle with him to school, but he seems to have had regard
enough for the proprieties not to take it into the schoolhouse, but hid it out.
Once a certain Jacob Brown and a playinate stole the bottle and drank till
they came to grief. The master was, of course, properly indignant, and 'for
setting such an example,' the record quaintly says, 'the boys were soundly
whipped.' Wesley Hopkins, a Warrick county teacher, carried his whisky to
school in a jug. Owen Davis, a Spencer county teacher, took to the fiddle.
He taught what was known as a *k)ud school,' and while his scholars roared

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 237

at the top of their voices the gentle pedagogue drew forth his trusty fiddle
and played *01d Zip Coon/ The Devil's Dream/ and other inspiring profane
airs with all the might and main that was in him. Thomas Ayres, a Revolu-
tionary veteran, who taught in Switzerland county, regularly took his after-
noon nap during school hours, * while his pupils, ' says the historian, 'were sup-
posed to be preparing their lessons, but in reaHty were amusing themselves by
catching flies and tossing them into his open mouth.' One of Orange comity's
early schoolmasters was an old sailor who had wandered out to the Indiana
woods. Under his encouragement his pupils, it is said, 'spent a large part of
their time roasting potatoes.' About the same time William Grimes, a teacher
still further southwest, 'employed his time between recitations by cracking
hickorynuis on one of the puncheon benches with a bench leg/

"How hungry did some who were boys here in Indiana fifty years ago
become for something fresh and entertaining to read! Often have I heard
that lover of good books, the late A. B. Hunter, of Franklin, tell the story of
a book that was owned by a man living on the outskirts of his neighborhood.
He had read everything owned by the neighbors that he cared to read, and
now came the story of a new )x)ok — one unlike anything that he had thus far
seen, and he was wild to get hold of it. At last there came a day when his
father could spare a horse from the -plow, and young Hunter went in pursuit
f)f the new l)ook. which was found, borrowed, and subsequently read with a
zest almost unknown up to that time, for it was one of Sir Walter Scott's
immortal stories.

**It seems to me that scarcely any other thing so distinctly marks the
difference between the present and the past of which I am writing, as the
great scarcity of reading matter in that past, compared with its great abund-
ance now I think it not too much to say that in my own 'Shiloh neighbor-
hood,' all the books, excluding Bibles, hymn books and spelling books, owned
by the neighborhood, could have been packed in a bushel basket. I call to
my mind 'Hozzy's Life of Marion,' 'Trumbull's Indians,' 'Carey's Olive
Branch/ a ^Natural History,' 'Western Adventure,' a 'Life of Selkirk,'
* Young's Night Thoughts,' 'Josephus,' and 'Pilgrim's Progress,' and that was
about all. No wonder if a boy living in that neighborhood would become so
hungrj' for something to read that he had recourse to the inside of the lid of
a certain big box in which was stored the family linen, that he might read the
two exposed pages of a copy of the Western Luminary that had been pasted
thereon The story may seem incredible, but that boy thus read the two
pages of that old Luminary many a time, and every thne he did so he imagined
he found a freshness in it that was charming.

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*'But it is to the school books, or rather want of school books, of that
time that I wish to cAll attention. There were comparatively few school
books published in thdse days. Every school child, at least after learning
the letters, was expected to have a spelling book, and Dillworth's and Web-
ster's American were Ufeed in the beginning. The child who had not been
taught Iiis letters out Oi a Bible or hymn lx)ok at home, usually brought a
primer. I have, howcVer, seen a paddle with the alphabet pasted thereon
used instead of <\ primer or spelling book. I never saw Dillsworth's Web-
ster's elementary spelling book, the most wonderfully successful strictly edu-
cational book that was ever published in America, at an early day occupied
the entire field in Indiana, and practically held it until the appearance of
McGufifoy'j: Jiclectic Speller, which was published somewhere about 1850.
The elementary served the double purpose of spelling book and reading
book. The old schoolmasters placed great stress on spelling. The custom,
it is believed, existed universally in the country schools, at least up to and for
some tin-c after 185O. for the whole school to stand up twice a day and spell
for head. A lialf-day in every week was given to a spelling match, l)esides
which night spelling schools were of frequent occurrence. No one ever grew
so large or so learned that he was exempted from the duty of spelling. I
have known the head man of a long row of pupils to spell the first word with-
out dictation, after which the next in line would spell the next word, and so on
down to the foot, and then from the head on down again. The words in the
elementary spelling book were generally written in a sort of rv'thmical order
which made them easy to memorize. There were spellers who claimed to 1^
able to spell correctly every word in it.

'*I have said the elementary spelling book was used as a reader as well
as a speller, and so it was. On nearly every page was reading matter made
up of moral sentences in each of which was usually found one or more words
belonging to the annexed sj^elling lesson. It was the practice to teach a pupil
to spell first, after which he might read. Some teachers, after the scholar
had learned to spell sufficiently well, required him to pronounce the words in
the book at sight, and after he was able to do this sufficiently well he was
formally set to reading. The 'pronouncing lesson,' as it was called, may
have had its uses, but 1 have no doubt that many a pupil was reading quite
well at home before being allowed to read at school. Do I not remember
the first reading lesson in the elementary spelling book? No matter if the
pupil could pronounce at sight all the words in the book, Charles Disbrow. of
blessed memory (my old teacher), insisted that he who was going to take the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 239

long leap into the reading world should read the first lesson. As the boy who
could read the Testament at home and pronounce all the words of the spelling
book at school stepped up to read his first and formal lesson, consisting of
words of three letters, how silent that hitherto loud school would become,
and how loud his own voice would sound as he read :

" 'She fed the hen. The old hen was fed by her. See how the hen can
run/

"Was ever ordeal worse than that? After the book had l>een read
through and through, say half a dozen times, another reader was in order,
provided it could be had. There were few school readers in those days.
Here and there was to be found an old copy of the 'English Reader' or the
'Columbian Orator.' Rev. George K. Hester tells us that he read a dream
book and 'Gulliver's Travels.' I have seen Gulliver myself in the schoolroom ;
and so of the 'Life of Marion,' 'Pilgrim's Progress,' histories, sermon books
and the Holy Bible. Henry Eaves, a pioneer schoolmaster of Switzerland
county, in his extremity, took the Frankfort Argus into his school, which
served the uses of a 'reader.' About 1835 B. T. Emerson's readers came into
use to a limited extent. Somewhat later — ^five years, perhaps — McGuffey's
Eclectic series appeared and ultimately occupied the field to the exclusion of
all others. The introduction of this series marked an era in the schools of
the state. They were of incalculable benefit to the people of the Western
country. I think it not too much to say that the higher readers of the series
did more to cultivate a taste for the better American literature than any other
books of that day. But for them the names of Percival, Bryant, Longfellow,
Hawthorne, Irving, Paulding and other American authors of the first half-
century would have been known to few indeed of the school children of Indi-
ana of thirty and forty years ago.

"The pupil having learned to read sufficiently well, he was next set to
writing. The mothers usually made the copy-books by sewing a few sheets
of foolscap together. The geese furnished the quills that were fashioned
into pens, and the ink was home made. Maple bark, sumach and oak balls
and vinegar were the materials out of which most of the ink of that period
was made. In its season pokeberry juice was sometimes used, but. notwith-
standing its ornamental capabilities, its use was never very general. It was
too apt to sour. The inkstands were generally home-made also. A favorite
inkstand was a section of a cow's horn, sawed off and fitted with a wooden
watertight bottom. Another favorite one was made of lead or pewter.
Many of the boys of the old school days understood the art of casting ink-

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I 240 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Stands. The pupil's first exercise in writing was the making of *pot-hooks'
and hangers. In the ftdness of time his teacher would set him his best round-
hand copy, and in doing so he never failed of placing before the eyes of the
scholar some moral or patriotic precept worthy of his remembrance, such as,
'Commandments ten God gave to men'; ^Eternal vigilance is the price of
Liberty' ; 'Washington was the father of his country' ; 'Evil communications
corrupt good manners.'

"The next thing in order for the boys was arithmetic. Not many girls
gave any attention to this study. Not much was ever said about it as a girls*
study, but I think it was generally considered that the girls did not have
'heads for figures.' Instead of arithmetic, they took to geography and gram-
mar, when they tobk to anything. It was the practice with a good many
teachers to require their arithmetical scholars to copy all the 'sums' in a
'ciphering book.' George Adams, who attended school in Johnson county
away back in the twenties, had, a few years ago, such a book, and judging
from it the writer must have understood fairly well his subject. Students
in arithmetic never recited, they simply 'ciphered.' The teacher seldom paid
any attention to them unasked. The boys usually helped each other, but
when help failed in that quarter the teacher would, on request 'work the sum.'
The majority of teachers though they had done all that was necessary when
that much was done. Sometimes a boy would 'sneak' his arithmetic and slate
into the school and ^cipher' for a considerable time before the teacher dis-
covered it. I did this myself, and traveled over addition, subtraction, multi-
plication and short division, before my teacher let on that he knew what I
was about. I had reached long division, which I found so very hard that I
broke down at it in despair. Washington Miller, my old teacher, seeing my
trouble, came to me, and without any reproaching gave the needed assistance,
and thence on I was recognized as an arithmetical student. My friend, Mr.
Hunter, who is mentioned above, went to school to a teacher who did not pre-
tend to teach arithmetic beyond the 'single rule of three.' Young Hunter
had advanced beyond that. He took his seat in the schoolhouse, however,
and ciphered away till he went through the book. There was a greater variety
of arithmetics than any other school book. Pike's was the one most generally
in use. The familiar pages of a copy of this old veteran are now before me.
Their matter consists of abstract rules and of examples. I am not much
surprised that I stalled on the long division hill on that school day so long
past. 'Take for the first dividend as few of the left hand figures of the
dividend as will contain the divisor, try how often they will contain it, and

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 24I

set the number of times on the right of the dividend/ and so on. Not a word
of explanation; no development of the process; nothing but the abstract rule.
The other arithmetics of the time were Smiley's, Bennett's, Jess's, Dillworth's,
Western Calculator, and probably some others. Smith's and Ray's appeared
shortly before 1840, and in five or six years the latter had the field.

"The geographies used were Moore's, Woodbridge's, Smith's and Olney's.
The.^e were the only school books, and there were very few children who did
not delight to turn the leaves of a geography and look at its pictures. Lindley
Murray's English grammar was the first in the field; after that came Kirk-
ham's. There was not much studying of either geography or grammar in
the early days. As to the former, it was considered a proper enough study
if one had the time to spare for it, but by some the study of the latter was
deemed useless waste of time. As late as 1845 ^^^ trustees of Vevay in em-
ploying a teacher required in the written contract that he should *not teach
grammar.'

"The first schools I attended were *loud schools.' Loud schools were
the rule in the beginning here in Indiana ; silent ones were the exception. The
odds in the argument were believed to be in favor of the loud school. A cele-
brated Scotch teacher, Alexander Kinmont, of Cincinnati, as late as 1837,
would conduct school by no other method. He claimed that it is the practical,
philosophical system by which boys can be trained for business on a steam-
boat wharf or any other place. Both boys and girls spelled and read at the
tops of their voices, on occasion, and sometimes the roar of their lesson-get-
ting could be heard for a half to three-quarters of a mile. It is not much
wonder that Owen Davis took his fiddle to school and solaced himself by
playing airs while his scholars were shouting over their lessons. The teacher
of a loud school who would keep his pupils at work labored under a great
disadvantage. The idler who was roaring at one word, or over a line of
poetry, or trumpeting through his nose, was, for aught the teacher knew,
committing his lesson. It was said of one boy in an Orange county school
that he ^repeated the one word "heptorpy" from morning till noon and from
noon till night in order to make the teacher believe that he was studying his
lesson.'

"Fifty or a hundred years ago the swishing of the switch was heard
everywhere, in the family circle and in the schoolhouse. throughout the length
and breadth of the land. The fathers made their children *mind.' The switch
was the usual instrument, and its prompt and free use doubtless gave birth
to such expressive phrases as 'lick and a promise,' 'the word with the bark
(16)

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242 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

on/ and *tan your jacket/ The schoolmaster, standing in the place of the
I patent, punished as freely and savagely, and usually with the full approval of

the parent.. One of the most curious phases of the flagellating period was the
almost universal prevalence of the sentiment that the schoolmaster who neg-
lected the frequent use of the rod was a failure as a teacher. I had a friend
who, much less than fifty years ago, was in the habit of occasionally playing
pedagogue. In one of his schools he had a nice company of country urchins,
between whom and himself there was the very best of feeling. After the
school had run smoothly for a month or six weeks and no whipping done,
his patrons began to think something was wrong. One morning one of them
met him and bluntly told him that he was making a mistake — that he was 'not
whipping anybody.' *Why, who'll I whip?' he asked. *Whip Sam,' was the
prompt answer. *What for? He's lazy. I know; but I can't whip him for
laziness, can I ?' asked the pedagogue. *Yes, give it to him. Sam's my boy
and I know he needs it every day.'

*'Now and then the circumstances were so ludicrous that the master's
punishment, instead of inspiring terror, provoked laughter. I once heard a
story told on a Johnson county teacher to this eflfect: He was in the habit
of opening his school with prayer. His pupils, for some reason distrusting
his sincerity, sometimes during the services would wink and smile and even
snicker out. One morning he carried an empty flour sack to school which he
put on the seat beside him, and while he was praying that morning, the irrever-
ent conduct of two or three of the larger boys atracting his attention, he
broke off his prayer and, seizing the empty sack, he struck each of the misbe-
having lads over the shoulders, powdering them all over with the white flour,
after which he concluded his prayer. Mr. Chute was an eminent school-
master in Evansville at an early day, who opened his school with prayer. He
always stood, with a long iishing cane in his hand,' and prayed with his eyes
open. *When he caught a boy in mischief during prayer he would stop
short and call out : "Woe be to you, John," and strike him over the shoulder
with his long cane, and then resume his prayer.' Another and similar but
better story than either of the others comes from Pleasant township in
Switzerland county. An old gentleman by the name of Curry taught in that
township for several years. *He was a widower and married man by turns.'
Once when in the former state he went to the schoolhouse early in the morn-
ing to write a love letter. When the pupils came he carelessly left it on his
desk and proceeded to open school with pwayer. Kneeling down he prayed
with his 'whip in his right hand and his right eye open.' One of the boys»

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 243

stealing up to the desk where the love letter lay, began reading it; but ere
he was aware the old man broke off in the middle of a sentence and, collaring
him, gave him a sound thrashing, after which, adds the historian, 'he resumed
his devotions with equanimity.'

"It was the custom to whip on the slightest provocation, and not infre-
quently without any provocation at all. There is scarcely a county in the
state that has not had, at one time or another, its teacher who would drink
to intoxication on Saturday and soundly thrash every scholar in the school on
Monday. The neighborhoods are full of the traditions of the savagery of
the old schoolmasters. The schoolhouses fairly bristled with switches cut
from the neighboring thickets. According to the historian of Morgan county,
'these old instruments of punishment were always present and usually hung
on wooden hooks over the old fireplace, so that they became so hardened by
seasoning from the heat that they resisted the severest exercise of the teacher
in an application on some offending pupil, and even cut the wooden benches
as the teacher in his fervor pursued round and round the howling culprit.'
I read of a Bartholomew county school master who 'kept his switches stand-
ing in the corner or lying on pegs in the wall, but the cat-o'-nine tails lay in
the desk. He punished with the former and terrified with the latter.^ A
Martinsville school master flogged his pupils, it is said, on the least provoca-
tion, with a 'long hickory gad, well-seasoned in the hot embers of the fire.'

"It would be a mistake to infer that there were no other punishments,
save corporal, given in those days. The 'dunce block,' the 'fool's cap,' the
'leather spectacles,' 'bringing up the switch,' 'standing in the corner,' 'stand-
ing on one foot,' 'sitting on the girls' side,' and any and all other schemes
the wit of the old school master could devise were tried. I remember to
have seen a teacher remove a puncheon from its place in the floor and incar-
cerate a big girl in the 'hole under the floor,' which had been dug for clay to
make the hearth, jambs and backwalls of the fireplace. I shall never forget
how he pushed her fingers off the ed;ges of the floor w^hen he fitted the punch-
eon back in its place.

"Among the school customs of early days which have entirely disap-
peared was that described as 'turnino^ out' or 'barring out' the teacher, a sport
that was never indulged in in Indiana at any other than Qiristmas time.

"The ostensible object in barring out a teacher was to compel him to
treat his school. It was a sort of legalized rebellion of the scholars against
the master's authority, accompanied by a forced levy with which to purchase
the particular article that was to cornpose the treat, or else to furnish the

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244 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

treat outright himself. Usually the cleix)sed monarch furnished the money
and the rebels bought the 'treat.'

"The 'treat' here in Indiana, as far as I have seen, always consisted of
something to eat or drink. In western Pennsylvania, according to Brecken-
ridge's 'Recollections of the West,' the object was to compel a vacation. In
all cases the barring out was made the occasion of more or less revelry and
disorder. According to a statement made in the 'Life of Thomas Jefferson
Fisher.' a Kentucky preacher, barring out was observed *on the first holiday
that came, or at the end of the session.' I find no evidence of its observance
in this state at the end of the session, although some teachers were in the
habit of making presents to their scholars at that time. Such presents were
always voluntarily made, however, and as far as my observations went, al-
ways consisted of something else than articles of food or drink.

"I find but two instances of the use of whiskey in this state with which
to treat the school. One of these was in a school in Jefferson county and the
other in Morgan. The episode in the last-named county is reported to have
occurred at Christmas of the cold winter of 1825-26. When the teacher
reached the school house on that extraordinarily cold morning he found the
door barred and all the big boys inside. Of course the pedagogue wanted
in, but the boys declared that it would take a 'treat' to open the door that
morning. Accordingly, Mr. Conduitt, the teacher, went 'to the nearest
'grocery^ and purchased about a gallon of whiskey, with which he returned
and again applied for admittance. The door was at once unbarred and the
man with the jug admitted, whereupon a season of 'high jinks' followed.
The master dealt out the liquor liberally, it would seem, for some of the boys,
becoming 'too much for utterance,' had to be 'sent home in disgrace.' One
of these boys, it is recorded, 'went home swaggering, happy as a lark, loaded
to the muzzle with a ceaseless fire of talk, but his father quietly took down
the big gad and gave the boy a dressing that he remembers to the present.'

"The following account of a 'turning out' will prove of interest in this
connection. It occurred in Nashville in this state. 'The custom,' says the
historian, 'was so universal that the scholars demanded their right to it, and
were upheld by their parents. Christmas came, and Mr. Gould was informed
that he must treat. The scholars refused to come to order when called and
the teacher refused to treat. After a short time the larger boys forcibly
captured the teacher, bound him hand and foot, and carried him down to
Greasy creek to be severely ducked in cold water unless he surrendered and
treated. Several men of the town accompanied this novel expedition. The

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JOHNSON COUNTY. INDIANA. 245

stubborn teacher was carried out into the stream by the larger boys, who took
off their shoes and rolled up their pants and waded out. A parley was held,
but the teacher was obstinate and was on the point of being unceremoniously
baptized, when W. S. Roberts interceded, and after some sharp words, pro
and con, secured from the teacher the promise to treat on candy and apples.
He was released, and the cavalcade marched up to the store, where all were
given a taste of the above-named delicacies.

''Stubborn teachers did not always come out as well as did this Brown
county man. The school boys of a certain district in Poisey county, having
determined to compel their teacher to treat, 'upon his refusal he was promptly
sat upon by the boys, who soon overcame him and carried him down to the
creek and broke the ice. The alternative was once more given him, but he
was stubborn and held out. Without ceremony he was plunged beneath the
icy water, and, yet holding out, his tormentors placed chunks of ice on his
bare bosom, and but for the arrival of outsiders who rescued him, serious
consequences would doubtless have been the result.' Tt is more than probable
in this case that the victim had been a hard master, and his pupils took ad-
vantage of their opportunity to get revenge. Jacob Powers, a Hancock
county teacher, fared worse. He had recently had a tooth extracted, and,
despite his warning as to the risk, was plunged in the cold waters of a creek.
The result was lock-jaw, from which he died.

"While the teachers, as a general rule, resisted the demand to their
utmost, there were others, however, who fell in with the humor of the occa-
sion and found as much fun in it as the boys themselves. Indeed, if the teacher
resisted in good earnest, even to the point of being ducked in the ice-cold
water, he was, nevertheless, 'expected to forgive his enemies,' and I do not
remember to have come across an instance of a teacher ever being accused of
subsequently holding malice against any one who had wronged him in a
Christmas frolic.

"It must be said that those teachers who looked on the bright side of
the custom, and gave in after a brief show of resistance, usually came out the
best. On one occasion the big boys of one William Surface's school barred
the school door against him. On reaching the school house he was, of
course, refused entrance except on the usual condition. But the teacher
declined answering their oral demands, because he said, 'some dispute might
arise as to what was said.' If they had terms to propose they must present
them in writing. This seemed reasonable, and so the boys put their demand'
on paper, which, together with pen and ink, was handed* to the diplornat on

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246

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the outside. Beneath the boys' scrawl he wrote, *I except to the above propo-
sition— William Surface/ and passed the writing back. The boys were satis-
fied, and at once opened the door. *You had better read with care what I
have written,' said the master to the scholars, when safe within. *It is one
thing to accept a proposition and quite another to except to it.' The boys,
now crestfallen, acknowledged their mistake, but the teacher, after *improv-
ing the occasion by warning them against the evil of carelessness in the
business transactions of life,' generously treated, and was thereafter loved
better than ever before.

"A teacher by the name of Groves, who taught in a district close up to
the Marion county line, found himself barred out one Christmas morning.
Living in 'the school master's cabin,* hard by, he called in his wife to assist
him. The weather was extremely cold, and it occurred to him that if he
could drown out the fire he could freeze out the rebellion, and so, ascending
the roof to the top of the chimney, his wife handed up buckets of water,
which he poured down on the school fire. But it was all in vain. The boys,
raking the coals out upon the broad hearth, defied him. His next thought
was to smoke them out, and to that end he laid boards over the chimney top.
But the boys had thought of that and provided themselves with a long pole
with which to remove the boards. Not to be outdone. Groves replaced the
boards over the chimney and calling upon his wife, who seems to have
entered with spirit into all his plans, she gallantly mounted to the comb of
the roof and took her seat on the boards to hold them down while her hus-
band stationed himself at the door below. But the boys tried the pole again,
and with such vigor that they overthrew the master's dame, who at the risk
of her life and limb, came tumbling to the ground. Picking herself up, she
retired to her own domicile, leaving her lord to fight the battle out as best he
could. As the girls and smaller children arrived he sent them to his own
cabin, where his w^ife agreed to keep watch and ward over them. One by
one the garrison became captive to the vigilant master, who stood g^iard at
the door, and was sent to the other house. By the time for dismissing in the
afternoon every rebellious boy had been taken in and the school was in full
blast in the master's cabin."

LIBRARIES.

Ten per cent, of the proceeds of sales of lots in county seat donations
was, under the early statutes, to be applied to the use of a county library.
The fund began to accumulate almost at the beginning of our county's his-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 247

tory, for we find in the final settlement account of the first county agent,
John Campbell, this item: "John Campbell, agent, is allowed $2.61^ for
whisky and stationery furnished while agent [no doubt to stimulate interest
in the public sale of the lots], also 13J4 cents depreciation in library money."
The fund did not grow rapidly, of course, and nothing further is known of
the library until twenty years after. In 1845 Royal S. Hicks was appointed
by the county board a "commissioner ' to collect together all the books be-
longing to the Johnson County Library, and at the next term he reports that
he has collected "forty- four volumes belonging to said library, also some
fifteen pamphlets." No Johnson county library was ever incorporated, and
the funds accumulated having been spent in books and they lost or worn out,
the Johnson county library evidently passed out of existence before the
middle of the last century.

Township libraries were encouraged by special laws under the new con-
stitution, and in at least one instance a corporation was organized to manage
a township library. Deed record N, page 213, contains the record of a meet-
ing of the citizens of Franklin and vicinity at the court house on April 9,
1852, who had subscribed to stock in a corporation to start such a library.
F. M. Finch presided at the meeting, and A. B. Hunter was clerk. It was
found that sixty-one persons had subscribed five dollars each, and directors
were chosen in the persons of G. M. Overstret, M. W. Thomas, G. W.
Branham, F. M. Finch, Henry Fox and Thomas Williams.

Under the law of 1852 township libraries became very generally estab-
lished and for the next thirty years afforded the best opportunities to be had
for general reading. But at their best, township libraries were of limited
usefulness. From statistics at hand, it is probable that the total number of
volumes belonging to such libraries in Johnson county never exceeded one
thousand five hundred. They were under the control of the township trus-
tee, and no effort was made in most townships to maintain the library or to
encourage the circulation of books.

One movement deserving special mention was the Young People's Read-
ing Circle, instituted under the auspices of the State Teachers' Association in
1887. It was specially designed for the children of the district schools, and
the book lists were carefully made out by a state board. This movement
reached its highest efficiency in the early nineties. In the year 1896, two
thousand fifty-nine school pupils (almost one-half of the total enrollment)
were members of the reading circle. The books were very generally bought
by the trustee, and when he failed to do so, schools arranged entertainments

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248 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

and with the sales of tickets bought the books for the schools. After the
books were used during the school year, they became the nucleus of a neigh-
borhood circulating library. The average number of volumes for a year
was twenty, and the average cost twelve dollars.

FRANKLIN PUBLIC LIBRARY.

By far the most successful movement for a public library in the county
was begun by the women's clubs of Franklin early in 19 11. Acting under
the provisions of the act of 1901 (section 4916 R. S. 1901) as amended by
the acts of 1903, page 301, they obtained a subscription list with pledges
totaling about one thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars. This list was
filed with the clerk of the circuit court on June 10, 191 1, and the judge at
once named the following trustees: For one year, R. M. Miller; for two
years, Elba L. Branigin. and for three years, Martha C. Johnson. On notice
from the said clerk, the common coimcil appointed Robert J. Mossop and
Jeannette Zeppenfeld each for a term of one year. The city school board
also named Myrtillus J. Voris and Nettie Craft each for a term of two years.
AH members whose terms have expired have been reappointed, and the same
now constitute the Franklin public library board.

These members of the board held their first meeting on June 23, 1911,
and organized by the election of R. M. Miller as president, and Elba L.
Branigin as secretary. Under the law the county treasurer is ex-officio
treasurer of the library funds. The board, in September, contracted with
Paul Hulsman for the rental of the old armory room at the second floor of
the Hulsman block, at the southwest intersection of Jefferson and Water
streets, at twent>^-five dollars per month. After certain improvements were
made the library was formally opened on December 5, 1911, with Mary Rue,
of Coshocton. Ohio, as librarian. Miss Rue made a splendid record, but,
because of ill health of her family was obliged to resign September i, 191 2.
and her place was temporarily filled by Ruth Wallace. Miss Helen Davis
was chosen the next librarian and began her duties November 15, 1912.

The library board made a levy in September, 1911, and again in 1912
of seven-tenths of a mill on each dollar of taxable property in the city, which
yielded a return of approximately two thousand dollars, but this levy was
increased at the September levy of 191 3 one-tenth of a mill. On August 13,
1912. the board of trustees voted to make the Franklin Public Library open
to all the citizens of Franklin and Needham townships, on condition that the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 249

advisory boards of the townships make a levy of five-tenths of a mill. John
W. Ditmars, James B. Payne and Walter Farmer, constituting the advisory
board of Franklin township, promptly accepted the offer, levied the tax, and
the Franklin Public Library was at once thrown open to all the people of
Franklin township. By this progressive step about two thousand seven hun-
dred and fifty dollars was made available to the support of the library, and
the city and township are united in a most promising educational movement.
The first annual report of date December 31, 19 12, shows the following
interesting facts as to the finances and work of the new library. The total
income from taxation in the city was $1,988.67, and from the original sub-
scriptions $1,520. The total mimber of books in the library was 1,987, and
twenty periodicals were regularly received. The circulation of books for the
year was 18,589 among 1,352 patrons. The most notable gift to the library
was Hart's "American Nation/' McMaster's **History of the United States,"
and complete sets of the works of John Fiske and Francis Parkman, from
the Alexander Hamilton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion. Other large givers were Mrs. M. J. Voris, the ladies of Shiloh church
of TCeedham township, the Baptist Young People's Union of Franklin, and
the late Malvina C. Hall.

Andrew Carnegie has offered the library a building, if a suitable site is
)5rovided, and the near future will doubtless see the Franklin Public Library
prop>«Tly housed.

ACADEMIES AND SEMINARIES.

The Johnson County Seminary, an account of the building of which is
given in Chapter IV, was intended as a sch6ol for pupils desiring more ad-
vanced work than the common schools afforded, but, owing to lack of funds
it was never successful and so far as the writer is able to learn no high school
brandies were ever taught in the building, except in a few private schools held
there. The total funds to the county seminary account in 1845 amounted only
to $71.25, which by the year 1847 ^^^ increased only to $259.45, with no
record of expenditures. It is evident that with such a financial condition,
no work could be undertaken and when under the new Constitution it was
^^uired that the seminary buildings be sold and the proceeds converted into
the common school fund, there was neither a suitable building nor sufficient
school revenue to maintain schools, at public charge, to provide for higher
education. Little is remembered of any of the schools taught in the County
Seminary. John L. JOnes remembers that, in 1844, only one room had been

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

finished, and prior to that time only one term had been taught in this school.
It was known, however, that in the fifties a girls' school was maintained in
the seminary building, and James Sloan attended one school there conducted
by Samuel Demaree. Higher education provided by the state was not to be
had until the prosperous days following the Civil war, and in the meantime
only private schools and academies supplied the needs for more liberal edu-
cation.

But, while the public authorities were slow to undertake higher educa-
tion at the public charge, one community in the county made a splendid
effort to supply the need. As early as 1854 public-spirited citizens of the
Hopewell neighborhood by popular subscription raised sufficient funds to
start a building, for an academy, and work was so far advanced that school
was opened in the yet unfinished building in 1855. According to Miss Ruth
Terrill, the historian of the Hopewell schools, "the academy was built a short
distance east of where the present building now stands, at the top of the first
level of the hill. It contained six rooms, three above and three below. The
building had three wings, and a bell tower on the top. There were two large
pillars, with large double porch in front. Some essays which had been given
at a spring exhibition were put in a tin box and placed in the pillars when
they were built. A history of the school was also placed with them. On
remodeling the school building some years later, these were destroyed. The
largest room in the building was used as an assembly room. All the pupils
from the primer to the highest grade were in this room, where both the
primer and Caesar was taught. The east room on the first floor was the
music room. Just above the assembly room was a large hall used for the
meetings of the literary societies. The rooms were heated with long open
stoves. The lower hall, where the wraps and lunches were kept, was called
the ante-room. It was not heated and the dinners were often frozen. The
studies were writing, reading, philosophy, physiology, analysis on English
grammar, American history, algebra, geometry, Latin, arithmetic, higher arith-
metic, botany, familiar science and literature. The school year was divided into
three terms, the first from September to December, the second from December
to March, and the third from March to the last of May or the first of June.
Students from all over the state attended this academy. It was then the only
advanced school in the county. A boarding house was provided for students
who came from a distance to attend,' and what is now the Orphans Home
was used as a boarding house. Almost immediately after the organization
of the academy a Baconian Literary Society was organized for the young

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 25 1

men. The duties consisted of orations, debates, declamations and essays.
The meetings were held on Friday evenings, and every month open-door
debates were held for the benefit of patrons and friends. The girls also had
a literary society which they called the Athenian. The motto for the Bacon-
ian society was 'Lux et Scientificns/ for the Athenian, 'Puritas ef Veritas/
The school had rhetorical exercises every other Friday. Frequent exhibitions
were given by the girls at the church, which were very pleasing to the com-
munity. These exhibitions were important events and drew people from
miles around. The school progressed rapidly, but when the time of the Civil
war came, the general peace students were called away to the war never to
return."

Perhaps the first teacher who included algebra and Latin in the curricu-
lum of the Hopewell schools was Miss Fairchild, who is well rememlDered by
some now living as a scholarly teacher. But the first principal of the Hope-
well Academy was Prof. T. P. Killen, who came hither from Waveland.
He was a college graduate and a man of much force as a teacher, and his
school soon attracted attention throughout this section of the state. One of
his pupils, S. Watson Van Nuys, later volunteered as a private in the Civil
war, was rapidly promoted, but met an untimely end at the battle of Peters-
burg. He had attained to the rank of adjutant-general on the staff of Gen-
eral Duncan. Professor Killen, according to the recollection of R. V. Dit-
mars, served four years as principal of the academy, when he was followed
by Prof. Samuel D. Voris, who came from Vevay and taught two years. Rev.
Ouincy McKeehan, according to the testimony of some, taught during the
school year of 1861-62, while others place him before Voris. It is fairly cer-
tain that Prof. Joseph Shaw was principal in 1861 and continued a highly
successful school for four years. Shaw came from Bellefontaine, Ohio, and
was. like his predecessors, a man with college training, and of fine teaching
abilities. Other pupils of the academy speak of a Professor Johnson, a Han-
over graduate, who taught the academic work for a year, just prior to Voris*
term.

The Hopewell Academy sent other of its sons to war, including John
Henderson, Sr., J. M. Dunlap, Will Gordon, J. D. Van Nuys, A. B. Lagrange,
Joseph Fisher, Thomas Fisher, and the following named, stricken on the
battlefield : Samuel List, Peter D. List, Robert Sloan, who died in the An-
dersonville prison, and John Graham, who died from wounds and disabilities.

The Hopewell Academy was easily first among efforts to extend high
school privileges to Johnson county students, and in some sense it was even
a rival to Franklin College in the years just preceding the Civil war.

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252 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

There is now before me a prospectus of the Hopewell Academy tor the
year 1862. It reads:

"HOPEWELL ACADEMY

is situated three miles west of Franklin, the county seat of Johnson county^.
Indiana, and just twenty miles south of Indianapolis, in the center of a
wealthy and highly respectable neighborhood. For miles around, the popula-
tion is almost exclusively Presbyterian, and is remarkable for intelligence
•and high-toned morality. The academy being in the country, and in the midst
of a large and flourishing church, the pupils are free from the enticements to
evil of town and city.

"The subjects usually taught in seminaries and colleges will be attended
to, and in addition a Normal Department has been opened to qualify teachers
for the duties of the schoolroom.

"Facilities are offered for both male and female education. Young men
will be prepared for the classes of Hanover College, Indiana. The building
is a two-story brick, in the form of a T, containing six spacious rooms. The
young gentlemen have a room in which they maintain a Literary Society of
some twenty-five members.

"Persons living in large towns or cities, wanting a good situation for
their sons and daughters, where good health is combined with educational
advantages, will do well to send them here.

"Terms :

Primary course (12 weeks) $3 per term

Common schools (12 weeks) $4 per term

Scientific (12 weeks) $6 per term

Classical (12 weeks) $8 per term

Extras, piano, guitar, etc $8 per term

Use of instruments ^ $2 per term

"Three terms each year, opening September 15, January 6, and April 6.
Boarding, ranging from $1.25 to $2.00 per week, can be had in the imme-
diate vicinity of the academy.

"Text Books — Bullion's Greek and Latin Grammars, Ray's and Robin-
son's Mathematics, etc.

"For particulars incjnire of Jacob Aten, Samuel Vannuys. P. J. Banta,
trustees, or of the Rev. John F. Smith, pastor of the Hopewell Congregation.
Franklin, Johnson county, Indiana.

"Joseph Shaw, Principal."

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 253

Following Mr. Shaw as principal came Smith G. Blvthe, 1865-1866;
Robert Shaw, 1866-1868; David Moore, 1868- 1873; Robert Sturgis, 1873-
1875; E. P. Cole, 1875-1881 ; Mons Coulter, 1881-1882, and Minard Sturgis,
1 882- 1 883.

A certificate of graduation from Hopewell Academy admitted to the
sophomore year in Hanover College, and both institutions being under the
control of the Presbyterian faith, most of the graduates of the Johnson county
institutions went to Hanover, rather than to Franklin College. The academy
was of course supported by benevolences and the small tuition fees received.
In March, 1870, the friends of the academy subscribed capital stock to the
amount of four thousand dollars and the Hopewell Academy Association
was duly incorporated.

Inspired doubtless by the record of the Hopewell Academy, Elder John
C. Miller, of Nineveh, conducted a school on similar lines in the Christian
church at Nineveh, for four or five years beginning about 1867.

In 1873 *he Union Graded School Association was organized to establish
a ^aded school at Union church.

TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOLS.

The township graded high school was not instituted in Johnson county
without long and strenuous opposition. The first of such schools to be opened
ir\ -trhe county was at Nineveh in 1872, but the movement was not popular.
In otilier townships of the county no systematic effort was made to teach high
schocDl subjects, and, in at least one instance, the question of compelling the
scho<:>l authorities to provide high school instruction got into our courts.

The act of 1869 provided that "the common schools of the state shall

t>« t:si,-ught in the English language; and the trustee shall provide to have

^^^g"l^t in them orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English

g^3.mxnar, physiology. United States history, and good behavior, and such

^^h^r- branches of learning and other languages as the advancement of the

P^prils may require and the trustees from time to time direct.'*

It was argued by the opponents of higher education that it was not in-
tended at the time of the adoption of the Constitution that education at
V^blic charge should extend beyond the ''^common branches'* ; that to give a
^^gVi school training at the free schools would be to educate a few at the
expense of the many. The other side of the question was well set forth in
State Superintendetit Smart's instructions to school trustees, in these words :

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254 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

"It has been asked whether it is the duty of school trustees to provide a
course of study adapted to the preparation of pupils for college. The question
should be answered in the affirmative. It is fair to assume that the trustees
must provide suitable instruction for all the children who have a right to at-
tend school ; that is, they must afford them such instruction as their attain-
ments demand. If a child has mastered all the primary branches, and being
less than tw^enty-one years of age, still desires to attend school, the trustees
must provide suitable instruction for him. It is not reasonable to expect him
to spend further time on branches w^hich he has mastered. The fact that the
law permits children to attend school Until they are twenty-one years of age
is presumptive proof that the trustees may be required to furnish such instruc-
tion as is suitable to their attainments till they reach that age.''

This statement of Superintendent Smart, given out in 1875, must have
fallen into the hands of E)r. William B. Grubbs and William. H. Ehingan,
patrons of district No. 3 in Clark township some time during the year fol-
lowing. Grubbs had a son aged seventeen, and Dungan a daughter aged
nineteen, who were advanced in school \vork and desired to study algebra
and Latin in the district school. After repeated demands upon the trustee,
James Williams, that he furnish them instruction in algebra and Latin, with-
out success, the parent sought the aid of the courts. In February, 1877, they
filed a petition for a writ of mandate to compel Trustee Williams to provide
instruction to their children in these subjects. The complaint was drawn by
Woollen & Banta and in brief alleges that petitioners are the heads of families
and taxpayers of Qark township and have children of school age who are
entitled to attend school at that district: that the children are ''advanced fti
their studies, having a knowledge of the common English branches of educa-
tion, to-wit: orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English
grammar, physiology and United States history, and that further advance-
ment in useful learning can be best promoted by pursuing a course in algebra
and the Latin languages ; that James Williams as trustee has employed Jose-
phine Carver in said school, and that she is qualified to ]teach said branches
of learning."

The trustee, by his counsel, S. P. Oyler, answers that at a school meeting
of the patrons of the district helij^just prior to his employment of Miss
Carver, it was voted to give instruction only in the common branches, and
that he has apportioned his funds in such, manner that he has not sufficient
money to provide instruction* in algebra and Latin. Judge K. M. Hord heard
the evidence, which was written down in long hand by Edward F. White

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 255

and is still on file with the papers in the cause. The evidence showed that no
special demand had been made upon the teacher to give instruction in Latin,
and hence the court refuses to mandate the trustee to furnish such instruc-
tion, but in respect to algebra the court's order and judgment is complete.
The judgment of the court is unique, and the case being of such importance,
we set out the judgment in full :

"The court finds that the said William B. Grubbs and William H. Dun-
gan are residents of district No. 3 in Clark township, Johnson county, In-
diana, and that William B. Grubbs, Jr., is a son of William B. Grubbs, the
relator, and is of the age of seventeen years, and is unmarried and lives in
his father's family, and that he is sufficiently advanced in learning to study
the algebra and Latin language, and the court further finds that Elizabeth
Dungan is of the age of nineteen years and resides with her father and is un-
married, and that she is sufficiently advanced in learning to study the algebra
and Latin language.

"And the court further finds that one Josephine Carver is engaged in
teaching a public school in said district No. 3 and that she refuses to teach
the said William Grubbs and Elizabeth Dungan the algebra and Latin lan-
gua,gG, and that James Williams is the acting trustee of Clark township, and
that a demand has been made of him to cause the algebra to be taught in
said public school by the said Josephine Carver, but that he fails and refuses
to so order and direct the said Josephine Carver to teach the algebra to such
of her pupils as are sufficiently advanced to study the same, although re-
quested so to do.

**Now, therefore, we do command you the said James Williams that
yovi immediately after the receipt of this writ do order and direct and cause
the said Josephine Carver to teach and instruct the children of the relators,
to-xvit: : William B. Grubbs and Elizabeth Dungan. in the algebra."

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL.

The Franklin township high school is widely known by the name of the
community in which it is located, and as Hopewell neighborhood is charac-
terized by the sterling integrity, high character and progressive spirit of its
citizens, so the Hopewell schools are of high standard and represent the best
ideals along educational lines. The following sketch is from the pen of Miss
Ruth Terrill of the class of 1911 :'

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256

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

THE HOPEWELL HIGH SCHOOL.

*The academy was organized into a high school in 1884. A high school
building was erected in 1888. It was a large building, erected near where
the present one now stands. General high school studies were taken. Lit-
erary societies were organized, boys and girls both belonging to the same one.
Duties consisting of readings, essays, monologues, etc., were given. For a
few winters the students had charge of a lecture course, which proved to
be quite a success. Such men ^is Will Cumback, Dr. Willets, C. A. Bolten and
Ridpath, the historian, were brought before the people. With the money
made from the lectures, the school purchased a good library, a librarian was
appointed each year and a general improvement of the reading matter for the
pupils was made.

*'An Alumni Association was organized in 1894, but did not succeed, as
the interest of the older graduates was not enough to keep it alive. The
class of 1894 was a very active one; they were organized, had their historian,
class poet, and class song which was written by Miss Emma Covert, now
Mrs. Gilbert Henderson. A new building was erected in the year 1904.
There had never been but one teacher in the high school until in
1904, when an assistant was obtained. The school was certified under M. J.
Fleming and commissioned under Merle J. Abbett, April 9, 1909. Then it
became necessary to place three teachers in the high school. Under the su-
pervision of Professor Abbett, the school has risen to a very high standard,
more attention being paid to the general development of the pupil, not only
in the way of lx)ok learning, but along all lines. Live, thinking boys and girls
have been developed.

"In 1909 the junior class gave a banquet for the seniors, and a number
of former students were present. This was a successful affair, and much
credit is due to this class, as a whole, for this gave an impetus to the Alumni
Association.

"In 1 910 the junior class gave a banquet for the seniors, and a number
of the alumni. This was a pleasing affair, and a success. In the summer of
1910 an alumni organization was formed with James G. Covert as president,
and Miss Belle McCaslin as secretary.

"The school has made great advancements along all lines. May this
always be said of our Hopewell high school and may it be counted a success.

"Early in the history of the school the three R's, reading 'riting and
'rithmetic, were the fundamental subjects. Soon they desired to take up new

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HOPEWELL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

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^TOR. LENOX A-«0

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 257

topics and to gam new ideas. Latin was taught in the whole high school.
In recent years more prose work has been taken, more books of Caesar and
Cicero have been read, but much of this because more time per day is devoted
'to it. Nearly all the snbjects taken now were taken when the high school
was organized, but now there are more teachers and better equipments.
Botany is becoming more and more one of the principal sdbjects, the detaitled
anaylsis of the plant and plant life in particular. By the aid of the micros-
cope, wiiich was purdiased a few years ago, better work is accomplished.

"In 1907 a laboratory, which is used in the study of physics, was added ;
this was of special benefit, although a complete -equtpment was not secured,
yet with what we have many expermients can be performed which greatly
aid the pupil in the study.

"In 1908 the study of agriculture was taken up for the first time. This
proved to be of special interest to the students, as many of them had lived
on the farm all of their lives, and had always been interested in the farm and
its products.

"Aside from the regular curriculum, music was introduced in 1905, un-
der the direction of Miss Emma Ogle, who taught for two years and was
succeeded by Miss Mable Williams, who was in charge of the seventh and
eighth grades. Mrs. Eda Hair ^p Ijad the supervision of the department
for one year. She was follov?^jDyMfs,^.R^se Meredith, who has continued
in this place until the present time. Chorus Work has been the principal thing
taken by the seventh and eighth, grades and the high school.

"Art was introduced in th"e" fall of ipp^.^'^This was under the supervision
of Miss Ethel Trout, of Ffankhn. This departrhent made slow progress the
first year, for it was entirely new to the pupils and only thirty minutes per
week was devoted to it. Miss Trout taught for two years. She was succeeded
by Mrs. Zella Lee Trout, an assistant teacher in the high school. She has
continued teaching the art since. Great improvement has been made since
that time and we are beginning to see the result of the effort that has been
expended.

"More attention was paid to athletics in the fall of 1906, when Mark
WeW) organized and directed a boys' basketball team. Great interest was
taken in this, the boys were successful, considering their lack of experience.
In the fall of 1906 they won the pennant which was offered for the team
winning the largest numer of games in a league which comprised teams over
the county. The members of this team were Noble Wilson, Leslie Tackett,
Virgil Covert, Leslie Middleton and Ray List.

(17)

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

l-l

**A girls' basketball team was organized in 1909, consisting of Bessie
Cosby, Pansy Norton, Elsa Combs, Mae Middleton, Janet Van Nuys, Marie
Covert, Ruth Kerlin and Mary Brown. This team lost only one game to a
high school, Franklin, also winning from this team by a similar score.

^'Physical culture was introduced in 1910, under the direction of Miss
Hazel Abbett ; there were two classes organized, consisting of the girls from
the seventh and eighth grades and the high school. The work consisted of
fancy drills and exercises. This work was carried on successfully and at the
close of the year the girls of the seventh and eighth grades gave a drill
which showed what they had accomplished.

"Sewing was taken up in the fall of 1909 under direction of Mrs. Zella
Lee Trout. The Beardsley system was introduced and carried out as nearly
as possible. The girls proved industrious and many pretty articles were
made by them. In 191 1 a sewing machine was given them. This aided very
materially and much better results were obtained.

"Manual training was introduced in 1909 in the school. The work of
the first year or at least the first half year was that of the beginner, but from
this time forward the various classes have advanced until the more compli-
cated models in wood work are performed to an advantage. The purpose of
the work is giving expression with the hand to the thoughts of the boy and
carrying out his ideas, an appreciation of art, and a development of the art
side of his nature.

"The results of the department are sufficient evidence of what interest
the work is to the boy, also it is sufficient evidence of what can be done in our
country high school by employing only a few minutes per week and utilizing
a great deal of time that might otherwise be wasted were it not for this work.
The models this year are not devised after or fashioned on mission lines of
furniture, but will bear the closest test of scrutiny relative to proportion,
symmetry, construction, etc. Its value to this school cannot be overestimated,
and we sincerely hope the interest will continue until a greater standard of
excellence is reached. The expense of having it installed in the school is
small and the benefit is without a doubt large. The interest shows it comes
from the desires of the boy, from the natural tendency and with interest,
unity, care and supervision the work has succeeded.

"During the summer of 191 2 extensive improvements were made to the
school building. The old buildings consisted of six rooms above ground and
five in the basement. Aside from the fact that the rooms were too few for the
increased attendance, they were also too small, and the halls too narrow for

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 259

proper sanitation and lighting. The present building has eleven rooms above
ground and eleven small rooms in the basement, which latter serve many ex-
cellent purposes. Two of the rooms contain dry closets, which took the place
of the unsightly and unsanitary buildings outside. A larger room is used for
manual training. Two more are for play rooms, another for the compression
tank and acteylene plant, another for lavatory and shower bath, and the re-
maining space is used for the heating plant.

"The water supply is furnished to all parts of the building by a large
compression tank. This system gives running fountains in the halls and sup-
plies hot and cold water for the wash basins and bath. The water is forced
into the tank by a gasoline engine. -which does double purpose in also driving
the fan in connection with the heating plant. The new heating plant not only
heats as much surface as both the old ones, but, with the 'aid of the motor
keeps the air pure and properly distributed.

**Each room is now larg^ enough to accommodate the present attendance,
and care for a reasonable increase. Each is equipped with light fixtures
connected with an efficient acetylene plant. This makes the whole school of
service for social gatherings, as well as for the annual exhibition. The
grounds are equipped with play-ground apparatus suited to all ages, and
basketball courts for boys and girls are provided. In the adjacent field of
Mr. List supervised games are played. A well graveled driveway passes un-
der a porte-cochere, which enables pupils to alight from the school wagons
under shelter.

"The new grade rooms are each twenty-eight by thirty feet and are
lighted from one side only. The walls are tinted in light green, the wood-
work stained to match. The assembly room is thirty by fifty-eight, and will
accommodate three hundred and fifty pupils. The room is used daily for
opening exercises and for the physical exercises. The old assembly room is
converted into a study hall. Three recitation rooms are used by high school
students. The library has a separate room. On the shelves are more than
five hundred well selected books, and since September, 191 2, it has been
identified with the Franklin Public Library, which has extended all its privi-
leges to the Hopewell schools.

"The rooms for the lower grades are equipped with maps, charts, sand
tables, looms, and many other conveniences for hand work. For the fifth
grade manual training in pottery, sewing and other lines is provided. The
high school is equipped with Crowell apparatus for physics, sewing machines,
a microscope and botanical apparatus. A complete set of Indian clubs, wands

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260

JOHNSOiST COUNTY, INDIANA.

and dumb-bells for physical culture is included, and the manual training room
is fully equipped with carpienter's benches and wood-working tools.

"'the regular course prescribed by the state board of education for com-
missioned high schools is followed. Required work in music and art is
offered under the instruction of regular supervisors. A course in mechanical
drawing is offered to the boys, and one in clay modeling to the girls. Special
attention is given to a study of agriculture. Corn clubs and domestic science
clubs have done much good work in connection with the schools."

TEACHElkS OT HOPfeWELL HIGH SCHOOL.

First, David G. Fenton, term one year ; second, J. Edward Wiley, term
one year ; third, Charles Fiinn, term one year ; fourth, Will Hutchinson, term
one-half year; fifth, Edward Remy, term, two and one-half years; sixth, Paul
Monroe, term, one year; seventh, James Deer, term, seven years: eighth,
Charles Carson, term, four years; ninth, Charles Deibler, term, one year;
tenth, John Terman, terrti, one year; eleventh, M. J. Fleming, term, two
years; assistant, M. D. Webb, term, two years; twelfth, James Moore, term,
one year ; first assistant, one-half year each, M. D. Webb and Grace Carney ;
thirteenth, Arthur Moore, term, one year; assistant, Grace Carney; four-
teenth, M. J. Abbett, term, three years; first assistants. Bertha Lagrange,
one year; Bertha Lagrange and Zella B. Lee, one year; Bertha Lagrange and
Hazel Abbett, one year; fifteenth, Arnold V. Doub, term, one year; assist-
ants, Hazel Abbett, Noble Wilson, Zella Lee, Mrs. Rose Meredith ; sixteenth
(1912-1913), Merle J. Abbett; superintendent: Hazel Abbett, principal; Zella
T^e. art, and Mrs. Rose Meredith, music.

GRADUATEvS OF HOPEWELL HIGH SCHOOL.

. 1888 — Ada Pugh, Belle McCaslin, Maude Combs Carroll.

1889 — ^Victor Bergen, James Covert, George Jeffrey.

1890 — Paul Covert, Hattie Jeffrey Covert, Bertha Combs Winters,
Emma Bergen.

1 891 — Charks B. Henderson, Ezra McCaslin, Ira McQuiston, John A.
McCaslin.

1892^ — John Hoflfman.

1893 — Estella Jones Webb, Emma Covert Henderson, Henry Huffman.
Mamie Bc?rgen.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 261

1894 — ^Alice VanNuys Oliver, Will Banta, Vassie Voorhees Henderson,
James Handley, Kate Voorhees VanNuys, Lelia Covert McCaslin.

1895 — Ophelia Henderson Dunlap, Gertrude Oliver Shufflebarger, Claud
Helms.

1896 — Ezra VanNuys, Watson VanNuys.

1897 — Gilbert Voorhees, Gertrude Voorhies Demaree, Edna VanNuys
Voorhies, Will Jeffrey.

1898 — Bruce Voorhies, Mary Handley Forney, Hester Deere Balser,
Gilbert Deere, Omer Henderson.

1899 — ^Jessie Byers Henderson.

1900 — Homer Luyster, Mabel Riggs Haymaker, Wheat Voorhies, Leta
Voorhies, Edward Dollins, Chester Clo^e.

1901 — Minnie Graham Meganhoffer, Mabel Kinnear LeMasters, Drusy
Murphy, Mary Brewer Fisher.

1902 — No graduates.

1903 — Florence Voris, Cecil Byers Clore.

1904 — Nelle Jones Henderson, Carrie Graham Banta, Earl Byers, Neva
Henderson.

1905 — No graduates.

1906 — ^Fern Hamilton, Herbert Kinnear, Clarence Stimson, Hazel Har-
per Canary.

1907 — Mary Demaree, Earl List. Cort Ditmars, Forest Graham.

1908 — Hugh Hamilton, Mary Sullivan LaGrange.

1909 — Noble Wilson, Ora Henderson, Leslie Middleton, Verna List,
Ray List.

1910 — Mary Brown, Janet VanNuys, Georgia Weddle, Pansy Norton,
Ruba Harper, Leslie Tackett, Russell Voris.

191 1 — Besse Crosby, Ruth Terrill, Everett T. Henderson, Elsie Combs,
Russell Hamilton.

HENSLEY TOWNSHIP GRADED SCHOOL.

The Hensley township graded high school building was erected in the
year 1879 by Tnistee William H. Jeffries, in the face of much opposition.
The schools had for many years been under the control of Trustee Mussel-
man, who, though a successful politician and a likeable man, was not in sym-
pathy with "new fangled notions" as to education. The building was of four
rooms and located on the west side of the town. In this building Principal

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262 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

John VV. Roseberry taught the more advanced work in the first two years.
His assistant, C. E. Hodgin, succeeded him in 1881 and 1882, but it is not
known that any regular high school work was attempted by either of these
"principals."

John W. Woolfington succeeded Hodgin in 1882, and introduced normal
school methods, giving especial attention to training for teachers of the dis-
trict schools. Principal Harvey D. Vories, afterward county superintendent
and still later state sui^erintendent of public instruction, came to the Trafal-
gar school in 1883 for two years' work. Professor Vories gave the first defi-
nite organization of the school work and conducted the first common school
commencement held in the township. The class consisted of Dr. R. W. Ter-
hune, Joseph Alexander, John McNutt and Ella Pitcher. In 1885 he gave
certificates of graduation to the first alumni of the Trafalgar high school,
Lillie Ream Lochry and Alva Richardson.

Ben F. Kennedy followed Superintendent Vories and had classes in many
high school subjects. Prof. T. D. Aker was at the head of the schools in
1886-87 and 1887-88. Aker was a fine teacher, but excelled in teaching the
common school branches. He gave the first instruction in Latin to pupils
of the Trafalgar high school, and during his first year Claude Moore grad-
uated from the high school. Principal H. T. Guthridge succeeed Mr. Aker
for the year 1888-89. He had a "freshman class'* in high school work of
about ten pupils, but no higher classes. J. T. C. Noe, fresh from a course in
Franklin College, became principal of the school in 1889, and was quite suc-
cessful as a teacher. He was followed by J. B. Lemasters, a veteran teacher
of the county and a capable instructor. He had been the first teacher in high
school subjects in the district schools of Union township. Will A. Burton,
now treasurer of Franklin College, was an alumnus of the school under Prin-
cipal Lemasters.

O. V. Eaton succeeded to the principalship for the years 189 1 and 1892,
and he was followed by Elba L. Branigin for the three years, 1893, 1894 and
1895. The writer remembers with peculiar pleasure his three years' exper-
ience as a teacher in the Trafalgar high school. The average enrollment in
the high school work was thirty, the regular course of study for certified
high schools was followed, and while only a six months' term was held, the
interest and application of the pupils was such that the school work was com-
pleted with thoroughness. In 1895 Oren E. Burton, now holding an import-
ant position with Swift & Company at Atlanta, Georgia; George T. Rags-
dale, recently a teacher in the Louisville high schools; Bert E. Tapp, now

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principal of the Union township high school, and Dr. Jesse Deer, of Thorn-
town, all received diplomas for four years of high school work.

Principal J. U. Jones, another alumnus of Franklin College, came to
Trafalgar for four years, beginning in September, 1896. Jones was a fine
disciplinarian and a scholarly instructor. In the year 1898 he graduated
Chester Forsyth and Ernest Linton, both of whom are in good school posi-
tions; Beverly Bridges (deceased) and Lora Pickerel; and in the following
year Simon Roache, later principal of the Franklin high school and now of
the faculty of Shortridge high school at Indianapolis, Warren Sparks and
Stella Thompson. The last named alumna was so much to the principal's liking
that he adopted her as a permanent part of his domestic staff, and he and his
estimable wife now reside at Hammond, Indiana.

George T. Ragsdale in 1900 came back to his "alma mater'' to teach the
high school work for one year, and proved a popular and efficient pedagogue.
He was followed by J. A. Moore for a four-year term, and the latter by
Simon Roache for one year. In 1906 Augustus Summers was principal, and
in 1907 J. V. Masters headed the school. Warren Yount became principal
in 1908, and taught the last school in the old high school room. Before the
end of the school year the building was condemned and the trustee took steps
toward the purchase of another site.

A long and bitter fight ensued between the school officials and a land-
owner whose lands were condemned for the new school property. The courts
sustained the school authorities, and at last, in 191 2, a contract was let for a
new building which is at this writing nearing completion. The new building
is a fine structure, equipped fully for school work, with the latest and best
ideas in school architecture and will be a credit to the township and the town
of Trafalgar in which it is located.

UNION TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL.

High school work was first attempted in connection with the schools of
Union township in September, 1888. From a class of thirteen common
school graduates in the township the previous year came a demand for in-
struction in the higher branches. Jefferson Vandivier, trustee, responded
and engaged J. B. Lemasters to give such instruction at district No. 6, known
as the Dollins school. When school opened only three presented themselves
for the new work: Otis M. Vandivier (the present trustee), Henry R. Van-
divier and Isaac B. Ennis, and work was begun along with other classes in the
district school.

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But a beginning was made and the next year the class followed Le-
masters to district No. 8 (the Vandivier school), and to their number were
added Livy A. Young and Orion Deer; the first year work in the same school
being taken by Gussie Shuck, John Hall and E. C. Taylor. Lemasters must
have had his hands full, as at the same time every grade of common school
work was taught and the enrollment reached forty seven.

In the autumn of 1890 the new district building of two rooms at Provi-
dence was completed, the one being intended for common school, the other
for high school. High school classes were not organized, however, until the
succeeding year, when Mr. Lemasters was again instructor, and since that
date high school work of some character or other has continued to be taught.
In the Providence "high school" the following have been teachers of high
school subjects: 1892, W. P. Garshwiler, now a prominent physician of
Indianapolis; 1893, Edgar W. Abbott, alumnus of Franklin College, class of
93; 1894, C. E. White; 1895, Mr. Lemasters again; 1896. John George;
1897, Oren A. Province, now a successful physician of Franklin: 1898-02,
W. B. Owens; 1902-04, Henry E. White; 1904, Everett Wiley.

In the year 1905 the Providence school house was condemned and plans
were at once formulated for a commodious graded high school building.
After a legal contest over the question of its location the site now occupied
(one mile south of Providence) was chosen. EHiring the period of construc-
tion work on the new building, the high school work was taught in the aban-
doned school house at "Turkey Hill/' in district No. 9, which district com-
bined with district No. 5, Friendship, to form the graded school work at the
new school house.

The new graded high school was begun by Trustee James W. Brown in
1905 and completed in the summer of 1906, at a cost of about thirteen thou-
sand dollars. It is a substantial building, of good appearance, and of ade-
quate size, and Union township has in this building the best results for the
money expended of any township in the county. In the high school work, by
this date fully organized, the following principals have had charge: 1906,
Everett Wiley: 1907, J. B. Lemasters; 1908, Augustus Summers; 1909, M. J.
Fleming: and from 1910 to the present time, Bert E. Tapp. The character of
the work done is evidenced by the fact that the school was certified by the
state board of education in 1909, and has now the requisite equipment to
entitle it to a commission at the end of the present school year.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 265

CLARK TOWNSHIP GRADED HIGH SCHOOL.

After the legal fight with Trustee James Williams over the vexed ques-
tion of high school work elsewhere mentioned, no organized work of that
character was attempted until 1897, when Ralph Jones taught some classes in
advanced grade at a farm house in the township. In the succeeding year
Trustee H. G. Williams built a two-room building at "No. 9," one room of
which was intended for the high school. This was used as such until 191 1,
when the present trustee, John T. Overstreet, erected a fine, modern structure,
fully equipped, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. The building consists
of seven rooms, with basement, in which is installed the best type of heating
plant and an electric lighting plant. During the fifteen years of high school
work in the township seventy-seven have been graduated, an ample justifica-
tion of this type of school in the rural districts. These students have all
come from the farm and the country district school. In this, as in the other
township high schools of the county, the principals in charge of the advanced
work have been teachers of college training, able to do work equal to that
done in the best city schools.

Mr. Overstreet is building this year a new district school of the most
approved type, and, while consolidation of schools has not beeij popular in the
township, the eight district schools will, the trustee believes, soon take steps
in that direction.

The principals of the Clark township high school to this date are : Ralph
Jones, 1897; C. P. Melton, 189S; Arthur Banta, 1899-01; Jesse C. Webb,
1901; Omer Hougham, 1902; William Smith, 1903; Guilford Wiley, 1904-
06; John Williams, 1906-10; Anna Byers, 1910; Agnes Tilson, 1911-13;
Guilford Wiley, 1913.

WHITE RIVER TOWNSHIP GRADED SCHOOL.

The old graded school building at ''Centner Grove" was built in 1884 by
Trustee Gradner Wilkes. It was a small two-story structure, consisting of
three school rooms and one recitation room. The first high school teacher
was William V. King. At that time, and for several years afterward, part
of the grade work and the liigh school work was tauglit in the same room
by the same teacher. Later the work was arranged so that the grades were
separated from the high school, and one teacher gave his entire time to the
latter.

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266 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Trustee J. Wesley Richardson built the present fine structure, in the
years 1907- 1908, and with this school as the center, the works of consolidation
of the schools of the township was begun. The new building consists of five
rooms for the grades, a large assembly and recitation room for the high
school, a library, and spacious rooms in the basement for manual training
.and the gymnasium. The building is steam heated, and ventilated according
to the best modern ideas, and is surrounded by ample playgrounds.

In 1908, the first year of consolidation, there were enrolled about three
hundred pupils, including the high school, and six of the tw^elve district
schools were combined in this, the pupils being hauled in wagons. Four grade
teachers were then employed, and two were engaged in the high school, and
for the first time, music and drawing were placed in the curriculum. The
attendance increasing, in 1909 two additional teachers were employed, one in
the grades and one in the high school. The work now doing will entitle the
high school to a commission in two more years.

At present, two hundred pupils are enrolled and the work is equal to the
best country high school. In 1911 the school graduated thirteen and in 1912
fifteen, all having completed the regular four-year high school course. The
present corps of teachers is: H. M. Nickels, superintendent; Jane Grace
Dorsey, principal ; Helen Beers, assistant principal and instructor in art ;
Grace Fulmer, seventh and eighth grades; Hazel Clary, fifth and sixth grades;
Blanche Berryman, third and fourth grades : Vinnie Kegley, first and second
grades.

Since the town of New^ Bargersville sprang up about seven years ago
that village has grown amazingly, it now having a population of about four
hundred. As this point is not conveniently located for transportation of
children to Center Grove, Trustee J. J. Clary in 191 2 began the construction
of a modern four-room graded school on a three-acre tract of land, con-
veniently located for the village school children. The building was completed
in time for the opening of school on September 22, 191 3. The enrollment
for the first day was one hundred and forty-nine, which was increased in
three weeks to one hundred and sixty-two. T. C. Wyrick is principal, and
Lora Fulmer, Iva Johnson and Miss Boulby are other teachers. Miss Helen
Beers has charge of the art and music work.

FRANKLIN SCHOOLS. •

Of the first schools in the town of Franklin no record remains and little
is remembered. Judge Banta says : "Coming to Franklin township we find
that the first schools were held in the log court house. A cloud of uncer-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. JO7

tainty hangs over them. Dr. Pierson Murphy is known to have taught at an
early period in the history of the town, but whether he was the first may be
doubted. Aaron Lagrange attended his school seventeen days, which, he
says, must have been about 1825. *I used Pike's arithmetic. Our other books
were anything we could get. I remember we had Dilworth's spelling book.'
In the winter of 1829-30, Thomas Graham is known to have taught in the log
court house. John Tracy attended, walking from his father's house, a dis-
tance of five or six miles. Gilderoy Hicks, who moved to the town in 1834
and began the practice of law, which he successfully pursued for over twenty
years, turned aside occasionally during the first years and taught school. An-
other who is remembered to have taught in the town school during the earlier
years was William G. Shellady."

Prior to i860 school was also taught in **district schools" scattered about
the town. The earliest of these stood at the northeast intersection of Jack-
son and Jefferson streets, but no person now living and within reach of the
author remembers any of the teachers at that house. One square north, at
the northwest corner of Jackson and Madison, stood another school house,
which James Sloan attended in 1850 and 185 1. Cyrus Wick, a son of Judge
W. W. Wick, and Benjamin Davis taught school here in those years and later
William Fitzpatrick was a teacher in this room. Still another school house
was found at the alley on Home avenue, just north of Jefferson street, at the
rear of Dr. Payne's lot. This was a large building of framed timbers and
here a Mr. Hatch and a Mr. Smith kept a school, but later and better re-
membered was the Rev. Mr. Brownlee's wife, who taught in this building
after the academy was founded. Another school house stood on Yandes
street where County Treasurer Bridges now lives, but nothing can be learned
of the school taught there. While, without doubt, all these school houses
were erected by the pioneer settlers for a public use, no record is found that
the title to the real estate on which they stood ever vested in the ^^inhabitants"
of any school district. It is equally certain that all the schools conducted in
them were subscription schools, and not supported from public funds.

As elsewhere noted, title to lot No. i in the Old Plat passed to school
trustees under an order of the county board in March, 1829. And until the
old academy ground was acquired in 1855 ^^^^ ^^as the only property vested
in the school town of Franklin. The school house stood on the alley at the
rear of the lot adjoining the Presbyterian church on the east and the only
teacher remembered was Miss Christy Ann Peppard.

For many years a private school was conducted in the basement of the

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268 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

old Presbyterian church. Among the teachers in this church school were Mrs.
McKee, wife of the pastor of the church, and after her health failed, Prof.
John Quincy McKeehan, formerly of the Hopewell Academy, opened a
school here, probably in the years 1865- 1867. A Mrs. Collins also taught in
this room.

Other private schools of the town were those of "Granny Myers" on
E^st King, near Hurricane, and of Mrs. Ritchey in the New-School Presby-
terian church, on South Home avenue. Mrs. Ritchey as well as Mrs. McKee
were^ talented teachers, and indeed ample testimony is at hand that all the
subscription schools and private schools of the early days of Franklin were
conducted by teachers of good character and unusual attainments.

FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

The earliest record relating to school matters bears date of April 19,
1854. While the town of Franklin was probably incorporated in the year
1834, no records of official action prior to the first named date are preserved,
and it is fairly certain that no schools were maintained by the town within
the twenty year period, and it may be doubted whether any corporate action
was undertaken until 1854. The record of April 19, 1854, shows the resigna-
tion of Fabius M. Finch, Gilderoy Hicks aqd G. M. Overstreet, school trus-
tees of the town of Franklin, and the appointment by the town board of their
successors, Benjamin Leavitt, William Lewis and A. B. Hunter.

On recommendation of this board of school trustees the town board,
on May 26, 1854, **for the purpose of erecting and repairing necessary school
houses, and for the purpose of maintaining and keeping in operation a graded
common school'* in the town, levied a tax of twenty-five cents on each poll
and of ten cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable property in the
town, the ordinance to be eflfective after ten days publication in the Star of
Hope. On June 9th, on petition of ninety-nine voters of the town, the levy
was increased to fifty cents on each poll, and twenty-five cents on each one
hundred dollars of property.

For some reason, probably because no suitable building had yet been pro-
vided, the town board, on January 28, 1855, directed the treasurer of the
county not to collect any school tax for that year. But again on June 25th
of that year a school tax was levied and thereafter taxes for school purposes
were regularly levied. The first enumeration of school children was rep)orted
to the board on October 14, 1858, and showed the number to be as follows:
Males between the ages of five and thirteen, 113; females of same age, 81 ;

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 269

males between thirteen and twenty-one, ' 48, and females of same age, 43; a
total of ^85. This did not include West Franklin, East Franklin, "the
suburbs or the Hog Chute/'

In the meantime the town had, on February 28, 1855, sold the school lot
adjoining the Presbyterian church, and on June 28th of the same year had
acquired lot five in John Herriott's addition on Monroe street, the "Old
Academy" site. This was for many years the only public school in the town,
except that residents of East FrankKn enjoyed school privileges on lot 62 on
Monroe stree^t between Hougham and Forsyth streets, which had been bought
by Franklin township in March, 1859.

In the district school on East Monroe street the following teachers are
remembered: Rosa Adams, afterward the wife of President Bailey of
Franklin Cbllege; George W. Grubbs, now a prominent lawyer of Martins-
ville ; Mary Forsyth, afterward married to Dr. P. W. Payne ; Lydia Dunlap
(Brown) ; Mrs. Lacy and Mr. Rand.

Among the teachers at the '*01d Academy" in the fifties, J. Hillman
Watters and J. O. Martin are best remembered, Mrs. Ritchey, wife of the
Rev. James Ritchey, also taught in the academy before she opened a school in
the Cumberland Presbyterian church property on South Home avenue, which
later became the property of the Catholic church. In 1866 F. M. Ferguson
was engaged as superintendent of schools at a salary of eighty dollars per
month, the use of the academy building, when not in use for public school,
and to receive also all tuition fees of pupils attending from the outside. Fer-
guson's assistants were G» C. Shirk, succeeded one month later by M. H.
Belknap ; Myra Tresslar, Mrs. M. R. Isom. Miss Lydia Dunlap, Miss Mattie
Tilson.

In 1867 Leander S. Burdick was elected superintendent and Frank O.
Burdick, Laura Burdick (Polk),. Lydia Dunlap, Myra Tresslar, Jennie Sny-
der, assistants. The board adopted a series of text books, including Willson's
spellers, McGuffey's readers (new series), Payson-Dunton-Scribner's copy
books, Guyot's geographies, Felter's primary arithmetic, Ray's intellectual
and practical arithmetics, Ray's algebra, Ray's geometry and trigonometry,
Pinneo's grammar. Green's analysis, Quackenbos' history. Cutter's physiology
and Wells' philosophy.

In this year (1867) Judge Banta was secretary of the board and he ap-
pended to tTie minutes of the meetings many interesting "notes," giving opin-
ions, arguments and incidents connected with the board's actions. So also in
the year following, when the di!w:ussion was opened as to the propriety of

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

increasing the school facilities, Judge Banta gives many facts "outside the
record/* He tells of the prior use of the academy as a Sunday school room,
and the annoyance caused thereby ; he says further : 'The public mind had
awakened to the necessity of something being done towards procuring more
school room ; we had rented the Ritchey school room at ten dollars per
month, the past season, and the basement of the Presbyterian church had
been secured. The board, or at least a majority, was anxious to have some
expression from the public, and about this time (August i, 1868) a meeting
was called at the academy to consider the matter. This meeting was well
attended and from the speeches and votes of those present the board was
assured that a new and elegant school house was demanded.''

Later, he says, "The opinions advanced by those who took an interest in
the new school building were various. There were those who insisted upon
building an addition to the academy, and this proposition was seriously con-
sidered by the board. Others were in favor of building ward school houses,
which should be in the architectural style of the country school houses and
maintaining therein a system of ungraded schools. The board never dis-
cussed the proposition. Others still were in favor of building an elegant
house which should be an ornament to the city and be suited to the advanced
educational ideas of the time.'^

On December 17, 1868, the board contracted with L. P. Ritchey for a
site at the corner of Water and Jackson streets, at the sum of three thousand
dollars. Contract was let for the new building to McCormick & Sweeny at
the sum of thirty-one thousand eight hundred and sixty dollars, and in July
following city bonds were issued to the amount of thirty thousand dollars.

In the school year of 1868-69 the corps of teachers consisted of Profes-
sor Burdick, superintendent; Julia Talbott, Lydia Dunlap, Laura Overstreet,
Mrs. Isom and G. M. Overstreet, Jr. In the year following (1869-1870)
Burdick was again chosen, with Laura Overstreet, Lydia Dunlap, Laura
Barnum, Mr. Strawn, Alice Tilson and Angeline Dunlap as grade teachers.
In September, 1870, the board again employed Mr. Burdick, but because of
opposition from citizens of the town, the board resigned in a "huff'' and T.
W. Woollen, Cas Byfield and A. B. Hunter were appointed trustees by the
county auditor. It was decided not to open the public school until the new
building on Water street was finished, and Miss Lydia Dunlap and Miss Sue
Dickey were allowed to conduct a private school in the "Old Academy" until
the opening of the public schools.

School was opened in the new building on February 8, 1871, with H. H

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 27I

Boyce superintendent, his wife as principal of the high school and the follow-
ing teachers: Rose M. Smith, Lydia Brown, Sue EHckey, Emma Watters,
Mrs. Belle Isom, Hattie Morgan, B. H. E>avis, Tillie Brunger, Flora Green.
Mrs. Isom was soon succeeded by Mary Shillito.

With Superintendent Boyce's administration began a new era in school
affairs. He and his wife received two thousand fifty dollars per year, a large
salary for the time, but Superintendent Boyce was a fine school man and gave
to Franklin its first graded school system. He organized a high school and
in every department of school work made his influence felt as an educator and
disciplinarian. Boyce continued at the head of the school until the close of
the school year, May 23, 1873, when the first annual commencement exer-
cises were held and Emma Belle Forsyth became the first graduate of the
Franklin high school.

This high school was taught on the third floor of the new building, until
the autumn of 1887, when a new high school building was ready for occupancy
at the old Academy site on Monroe street. In 1898. the Monroe street high
school building was much enlarged, but increased attendance and advance-
ment in educational methods made it necessary to again seek a new site, and
the year 1909-1910 saw the completion of the present fine structure on Hurri-
cane street at the east end of Madison. The following facts relating to the
present high school building, as well as more general information as to the
work of the schools in Franklin in recent years, are for the most part taken
from superintendent Alva Otis Neal's report at the close of his term.

The site for a new high school building was selected by the school board
on July 28, 1908, the one chosen being a tract of ground one hundred and
thirty-two by two hundred and seventy-seven feet on Hurricane street facing
west between Jefferson and King streets, at a price of $7,700. on which were
located buildings of the estimated value of $1,200. The contract for the
building was awarded on December i, 1908, to M. M. Winship & Son at the
sum of $42,403. The heating plant was constructed at a cost of about $5,500;
the vacuum cleaning plant at a cost of $997.00: the sanitary wardrobes at a
cost of $472; the entire plant, therefore, including fixtures and furnishings,
represents an outlay of about $60,000. To meet this charge, a bond issue of
$40,000 was authorized on September 15, 1908, and on December 15th of the
same year bonds in said sum bearing four per cent, interest were issued, and
were later sold at a small premium.

The ground of the new site was broken in Xovember, 1908, and the
corner stone was laid with appropriate public ceremony by the Masonic grand

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272 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA

lodge on February 12, 1909. The building was ready for occupancy on
September 12, 1909, and school work for the year was begun at the regular
time. The formal dedication exercises were hdd in the new auditorium on
February 10, 1910, Superintendent A. O. Neal presenting the building on
behalf of the board of trustees, William G. Oliver responding on behalf of the
city, Principal VanRiper on bdialf of tfie faculty, Prof. C. H. Hall on behalf
of the college, and Fred R. Owens for the alumni. In the evening, the more
formal addresses were given by Dr. J. N. Hurty, secretary of the state board
of health, and ty the Hon. Thomas R. Marshall, gx>vemor of the state.

At the close of Superintendent Neal's wortc in the Franklin schools, he,
in an address to the school board, summarized the three years' work in a
report spread upon the minutes of the board, a part of which we quote :

"Each year's work consisted of nine months of twenty days each, or one
hundred eighty days to the year. Ehiring this time, we have had three en-
forced vacations upon the order of the board of health, due to the prevalence
of small-pox, scarlet fever and measles. In no case, however, did the board
of health trace the source of infection to the conditions at any of the schools.
The system of weekly disinfection by formaldehyde lamps, and superior work
on the part of the janitors and teachers has made sanitary conditions most
satisfactory for the health and work of the pupils.

ENUMERATION.

**The enumeration during the past three years has shown a decrease from
year to year, due in a large measure to the decreasing size of families. One
interesting fact is set forth in the following tabulation of the enumeration,
showing the diminishing size of families (under the enumeration of 1910) :

Families of i child of school age 259

Families of 2 children of school age 147

Families of 3 children of school age 72

Families of 4 children of school age 34

Families of 5 children of school age 8

Families of 6 children of school age 4

Families of 7 children of school age i

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 273

''Enumeration of all children of school age :

Colored White Colored

Boys. Girls. Girls.

38 519 57

37 509 58

35 487 55

"In enrollment and attendance, there has been a decided increase. This
is caused (i) by holding the children in school for a longer period, and
(2) by the increase in the number of transferred children.

TABLE OF ENROLLMENT.

White

Year.

Boys.

1907

503

1908

51.S

1909

492

Year.

Boys.

Girls.

Total.

% Boys.

% Girls.

% Total.

1907

450

489

939

95-3

95-5

95-4

1908

422

485

907

9587

96.55

95-9

1909

444

467

911

95-7

95-9

957

"Salaries have been increased due in most part to the operation of the
new wage law. The monthly pay-roll for the year 1908- 1909 was $2,311.44,
which was increased to $2,512.53 the ensuing year.

"The Franklin high school in the past two years has been, upon special
examination and inspection, accredited by the North Central Association of
Colleges and Universities, and likewise is affiliated with Chicago University.
This means that our graduates are permitted to enter the freshman classes
of the institutions, without entrance examinations and conditions. Franklin
is also commissioned by the state board of education. This year two scholar-
ships are open to graduates from the Franklin high school, one from Chicago
University, the other from Oxford College for Women, at Oxford, Ohio.
Other activities not directly connected w'ith school work, but closely associ-
ated with it, have been instituted. Prominent among these, is the high school
orchestra. In the English classes, a debating club, and in the history classes
a Senate have been organized. In the Southeastern Indiana Association of
High Schools, composed of Madison, Lawrenceburg, Aurora, North Vernon,
Seymour and Franklin, at the first meeting two years ago, Franklin took
first in reading and tied for first place in oratory. This year we took first
place in oratory, and third place in reading. A Corn Club of sixty-five mem-
bers, and a girls' sewing and cooking club of eighty members have been doing
excellent work.

(18)

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

)

"The enrollment in the high school has steadily grown, and especially to
be noted is the increased enrollment of boys :

Year. Boys. Girls. Total.

1908 94 137 221

1909 137 III 248

1910 144 143 287

"The graduating class of 1907 had 33 members (17 girls and 16 boys) ;
class of 1908, 28 girls and 9 boys; class of 1909, 32 girls and 5 boys; 1910,
21 girls and 26 boys.

"The city schools have drawn upon the neighboring communities, and
we have had non-resident pupils as follows: 1907-08, 96; 1908-09, 104;
1909-10, 114.

"Under the provision of the Indiana transfer law the tuition is now based
upon per capita cost of maintaining the school, and receipts from that source
have increased from $1,600 in 1907 to $3,072 in 1909."

Beginning with the more liberal support of the schools dating from
about 1870, the Franklin schools have steadily grown in usefulness. A nine-
mOnths school was begufi in the school year of 1871-72. The work of
classifying studies and grades, so ably begim by Superintendent Boyce, was
much furthered by Superintendent Arnold Tompkins, a school man of state-
wide reputation. Supt. W. J. Williams came to the Franklin public schools
from the college and was especially liked for his kindness of heart and per-
sonal interest in the individual child. Of the later superintendents. Supts.
Horace Ellis, H. B. Wilson and Alva O. Neal are still engaged in educational
work of high character, and later historians must write their story.

A sun-ey of the school records impresses the observer with the high
character of the grade teachers in the city schools during the past 40 years,
and with the fact that so many of them remained so long with the schools. It
were invidious perhaps to speak of the present teaching force, but mention
ought to be made of the long and splendid service of Miss Jennie Dunlap,
Beginning her work in the schools in the fall of 1873, she has faithfully
seryed the schools of this city continuously to this day, with the exception
possibly of the school year 1880-81. For forty years she has given herself
to this high calling, and for the most part has had charge of the pupils during
their first years of work. To keep pace with the advance in educational
methods and meet the demands of the school room for two score years
characterizes the work of Miss Dunlap better than words of praise.

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JOHNSON COl NTY, INDIANA. 275

Others of the corps of teachers who are especially remembered for their
work are Mrs. Martha Coleman Johnson and Mrs. Lydia Dunlap Brown, who
continued to be identified with the schools from the last of the sixties to the
middle of the eighties; Mrs. Augusta F. White, Jennie Thompson, Alice
Farley, Laura Overbay, Fannie McMurray, and Alice Crowell, all of whom
taught in the grades for many years. Of the high school teachers, none are
more kindly remembered than Miss Kittie Palmer. Miss Palmer began work
in the grades in 1883, was made assistant to the principal of the high school
in 1885, and in 1887 was elected principal. This place she filled with signal
ability for twelve years, much loved for her charm of manner and her engag-
ing personality.

This brief mention of teachers must close with a note as to the long and
honorable service of Miss Nettie Craft, now teacher of science in the high
school. She began teaching in the grades in 1890, and has since been con-
nected with the high school staff. She enjoys an enviable reputation among
the student body and the alumni of recent years.

THE COLORED SCHOOL.

By the act of May 13, 1869, colored children were admitted to free com-
mon school privileges, and for a time thereafter the colored school children
were enrolled at the old district school building near the east end of Monroe
street. But this school was sold on July 16, 1870, and no permanent pro-
vision were made for the colored children until 1873, when the school board
purchased two lots on West Madison street, and contracted with Bergen &
Company to build a school house there. The first teacher employed there was
Miss Laura Overbay in 1875-76.

SCHOOL OFFICERS.

Inasmuch as the success in any undertaking is very largely determined
by the personnel of its management, the following table will be of interest :

t866 — President, F. S. Woodcock, H. T. Buff: secretary, M. D. Gage;
treasurer, A. B. Morey: superintendent, F. M. Furgason.

1867 — President, S. P. Oyler; secretary, D. D. Banta; treasurer, P. W.
Payne; superintendent, Leander S. Burdick.

J 868 — President, S. P. Oyler; secretary, D. D. Banta; treasurer, P. W.
Payne, superintendent, Leander S. Burdick.

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276 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

1869 — President, J. O. Martin: secretary, D. D. Banta; treasurer, P. W.
Payne; superintendent, Leander S. Burdick.

1870 — President, Thomas Woolen; secretary, A. B. Hunter; treasurer,
Charles Byfield; superintendent, Leander S. Burdick.

1871 — President, Thomas Woolen; secretary, A. B. Hunter; treasurer,
Charles Byfield; superintendent, H. H. Boyce; principal, Mrs. Boyce.

1872 — President, Thomas Woolen; secretary, A. B. Hunter; treasurer,
Charles Byfield; superintendent, H. H. Boyce; principal, Mrs. Boyce.

1873 — President, I. J. Armstrong; secretary, A. B. Colton; treasurer,
Geo. F. Herriott; superintendent, W. W. Thompson; principal, Mrs. W. W.
Thompson.

1874 — President, I. J. Armstrong; secretary, A. B. Colton; treasurer,
Geo. F. Harriott ; superintendent, D. Eckley Hunter ; principal, Jennie Neely.

1875 — President, I. J. Armstrong; secretary, P. W. Payne; treasurer,
A. B. Colton; superintendent,, J. H. Martin; principal, Mrs. J. H. Martin.

1876 — President, P. W. Payne; secretary, W. H. McLaughlin; treasurer,
L J. Armstrong; superintendent, J. H. Martin; principal, Mrs. J. H. Martin.

1877 — President, S. P. Oyler; secretary, W. H. McLaughlin; treasurer,
L J. Armstrong; superintendent, J. H. Martin; principal, Mrs. White.

1878 — President, S. P. Oyler; secretary, W. H. McLaughlin; treasurer,
L J. Armstrong; superintendent. J. H. Martin; principal, Mrs. Martin.

1879 — President, S. P. Oyler; secretary, S. P. Rowe; treasurer, L J.
Armstrong; superintendent, J. H. Martin; principal, Mrs. Martin.

1880 — President, L J. Armstrong; secretary, S. P. Rowe; treasurer, M.
Turner; superintendent, J. H. Martin; principal, E. W. Kemp.

1881 — President, John T. Vawter; secretary, M. Turner; treasurer, S.
P. Rowe ; superintendent. E. W. Kempt ; principal, Mary Adams.

1882 — President, John T. Vawter; secretary, J. R. Fesler; treasurer, H.

C. Bamett; superintendent, Arnold Tompkins: principal, Mr. Barnett.

1883 — President, R. Fesler; secretary, W. A. Johnson: treasurer, John
T. Vawter; superintendent, Arnold Tompkins; principal, Mr. Barnett.

1884 — President, W. A. Johnson; secretary, L Mclaughlin; treasurer,
J. R. Fesler: superintendent, Arnold Tompkins: principal, E. L. Stephenson.

1885 — President. L McLaughlin: secretary, Leon Ritchey; treasurer,
W. A. Johnson ; superintendent, Mr. Kirsch : principal, Mr. Martin.

1886 — President, Leon Ritchey: secretary, D. H. Miller: treasurer, W.
H. McLaughlin : superintendent, P. H. Kirsch : principal, Baily Martin.

1887 — President, D. H. Miller: secretary, W. H. McLaughlin; treasure^

D. H. Miller: superintendent, W. J. Williams: principal, Kitty Palmer.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 2TJ

1888 — President, W. H. McLaughlin; secretary, E. C. Miller; treasurer,
D. H. Miller ; superintendent. W. J. Williams ; principal, Kitty Palger.

1889 — President, W. H. McLaughlin; secretary, W. A. McNaughton;
treasurer, E. C. Miller; superintendent, W. J. Wiljiams; principal, Kitty
Palmer.

1890 — President, W A.. McNaughton; secretary, A. B. Colton; treas-
urer, E. C. Miller ; superintendent, W. J. Williams ; principal, Kitty Palmer.

1891 — President, A. B. Colton; secretary, E. C Miller; treasurer; W. A.
McNaughton: superintendent, W. J. Williams; principal, Kitty Palmer.

1892 — President, E. C. Miller; secretary, R. C. Wood; treasurer, A. B.
Colton; superintendent, W. J. Williams; Principal, Will Featherngill.

1893 — President, R. C. Wood: secretary, A. A. Blizzard.: treasurer, E.
C Miller; superintendent. Will Featherngill; principal, Kitty Palmer.

1894 — President, A. A. Blizzard; secretary, E. C. Miller: treasurer; R.
C. Wood ; superintendent. Will Featherngill : principal, Kitty Palmer.

1895 — President, E. C. Miller ; secretary, R. C. Wood ; treasurer, A. A.
Blizzard: superintendent. Will Featherngill; principal, Kitty Palmer.

1896 — President, R. C. Wood; secretary, A. A. Blizzard: treasurer, E.
C. Miller ; superintendent, Will Featherngill ; principal, Kitty Palmer.

1897 — President, A. A. Blizzard; secretary, W. H. Younce; treasurer,
R. C. Wood; superintendent. Will Featherngill: principal, Kitty Palmer.

1898 — President, W. H. Younce; secretary, R. C. Wood; treasurer, A.
A. Blizzard; superintendent, N. C. Johnson: principal, Kitty Palmer.

1899 — President, R. C. Wood; secretary, C. A. Overstreet; treasurer,
W. H. Younce: superintendent, N. C. Johnson: Principal, A. O. Neal.

1900 — President, C. A. Overstreet: secretary, W. H. Younce: treasurer,
R. C. Wood; superintendent, Horace Ellis; principal, A. O. Neal.

1901 — President, W. H. Younce; secretary, R. C. Wood; treasurer, C.
A.. Overstreet; superintendent, Horace Ellis: principal, A. O. Neal.

1902 — President, R. C. Wood; secretary, C. A. Overstreet: treasurer,
W. H. Younce: superintendent, H. B. Wilson: principal, C. R. Parker.

1903 — President, C. A. Overstreet: secretary, R. M. Miller; treasurer,
R. C. Wood ; superintendent, H. B. Wilson ; principal, George B. Asbery.
1904 — President, R. M. Miller: secretary. R. C. Wood; treasurer, C. A.
C>verstreet; superintendent, H. B. Wilson; principal, Herriott C. Palmer.*

1905 — President. R. C. Wood: secretary, C. A. Overstreet; treasurer,
^- K4. Miller ; superintendent, H. B. Wilson ; principal B. D. Remy.

1906 — President, C. A. Overstreet: secretary. Dr. Clarence Province;
^r^asurer, R. C. Wood; superintendent, H. B. Wifeon: principal's. D: Remy.

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278 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

1907 — President, Clarence Province; secretary, W. W. Aikens; treas-
urer, C. A. Overstreet ; superintendent, Alva O. Neal ; principal, B. D. Remy.

1908 — President, W. W. Aikens; secretary, H. C. Bamett; treasurer,
Clarence Province ; superintendent, Alva O. Neal ; Principal.

' 1909 — President, H. C. Bamett; secretary, Clarence Province; treasurer,
W. W. Aikens ; superintendent, Alva O. Neal ; principal, Paul Van Riper.

1910 — President, Clarence Province; secretary, Chas. B. Henderson;
treasurer, H. C. Bamett; superintendent, Paul Van Riper; principal, Simon
Roache.

1911 — President, Chas. B. Henderson; secretary, Hugh A. Payne;
treasurer, Arthur A. Alexander; superintendent, Paul Vari Riper; principal,
Simon Roache.

1912 — President, Chas. B. Henderson; secretary^ Hugh A. Payne; treas-
urer, Arthur A. Alexander ; superintendent, Paul Van Riper ; principal, John
Stanley Williams.

1 91 3 — President, Hugh A. Payne; secretary, Arthur A. Alexander;
treasurer, Chas. B. Henderson; superintendent, Paul Van Riper; principal,
John Stanley Williams.

SALARIES FOR I912.

High School.

Paul Van Riper — Superintendent, per year $1,700.00

John Williams — Principal and History, per year 1,000.00

Nettie Craft — Vice-principal and Science, per month 90.00

Leta Hall — Latin, per month 75-00

Edwin Deming — Commercial, per month 85.00

Maude Johnson — English, per month 70.00

Virgil Smiley — Science, per month 70.00

Susie Wohrer — English, per month 80.00

Cora Wedeking — German, per month 80.00

Ida Middleton — History, per month 80.00

Anton Wegener — Mathematics, per month 80.00

Doris Linton — Latin, per recitation 10.00

Grades,

I. W. Linton — 8A, per month $80.00

Milas Drake — 7B, per month 75-00

Kate Graves — 7A, per month 68.00

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 279

Mint Sutton — 8B, per month 68.60

W. A. Hutching — Principal, per month 70.00

Clara Byers — 6B, per month 68.95

Katherine Hanchan — 5A, per month 69.26

Mable Behymer — 5B, per month 69.00

Laura Walden — ^Ay per month . 1 69.30

Grace White — ^4B, per month 65.00

Hazel Stout — 3A, per month 64.36

Jennie Dunlat — ^3B, per month 68.00

Nelle Graves — 2A, per month 69.30

Lula Freeman — 2B, per month 68.50

Viola White — lA, per month 69.00

Amber Dungan — iB, per month 69.44

Bertha Rose — iB, per month : 68.88

Colored School.

H. C. Williams, per month $67.90

Bessie Evans, per month 78.66

Supervisors,

Rose Meredith — Music and Sewing, per month $60.00

Edith Palmer — Drawing and Handwork, per month 70.00

Ethelyn Lagrange — Office Work, per month 20.00

Ethelyn Lagrange — Domestic ^Science, per class 10.00

Janitors, five, wages, per month $200.00

FRANKLIN COLLEGE.

The best account of the history of the college in its earlier days is given
in a paper read by the Hon. William C. Thompson, prepared for the *']\x\>\\tt''
exercises held at the college in commencement week of 1884, celebrating the
close of the first half century of Franklin College. It was entitled a ^'History
of the Board of Directors,'' and found a place in a small volume printed by
the Journal and Messenger in 1884, and is herewith reprinted in full:

"The history of the several boards of directors of Franklin College may
naturally be divided into two periods. The first period includes the time
from the earliest beginnings of the college, in 1834, to the suspension, in 1872,
during which time Franklin College was under the control of the Indiana Bap-

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28o JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

i; |1 tist Education Society. The second period embraces the time from 1872

to the present (1884), during which time the college has been managed by a
joint-stock association styled the Tranklin College Association.' The Educa-
tion Society was composed of delegates from Baptist churches, associations,
and auxiliary church societies, the number of delegates being in proportion
to the amount of money contributed by each organization to the treasury of
the Education Society. Individuals of whatever religious faith were allowed
to become either annual or life members on the payment of a small sum.

"The object of the Education Society was to promote intelligence and
learning among the Baptists of Indiana, and the society was managed by a
board of directors, and the members of this board, or enough to constitute a
majority, were required to be members of Baptist churches. • The purposes of
the Education Society were vast and far-reaching. Its board of directors was
granted power to establish one or more literary or theological seminaries,
and to appoint trustees for the government of the same, to be chosen annually.
The trustees thus chosen were required to report annually to the board of the
Education Society.

"With the founding and progress of the Education Society, it is not tlie
purpose of this paper specially to deal. Some facts must be stated, however,
to make what follows intelligible. The first meeting of the Baptist friends
of education was held June 5, 1834, at the Baptist meeting house in Indi-
anapolis. William Rees was chosen chairman, and Ezra Fisher, clerk. The
meetihg passed resolutions and discussed the educational needs of the state;
appointed a committee on correspondence, and to draft a permanent constitu-
tion ; also to examine proposed sites for the future institution of learning.

"The next meeting was held at Franklin, October 2-4, 1834. when several
brethren were appointed to write for the press and arouse the Baptists of
Indiana on the subject of education, and a committee was appointed to draft
a constitution for the new institution of learning. The Educational Society
next met at Indianapolis, January 14-15, 1835, and completed its organization
by adopting a constitution and electing officers. A constitution was also
adopted for the Indiana Baptist Institution, as it was then called, and sub-
scription papers for the location of the college were issued for four different
places, Indianapolis, Franklin, St. Omer and Mr. J. M. Robinson's place, the
last two places both being situated in Decatur county, near the present town of
Adams. These subscription papers were to be returned at the meeting of the
board of the Education Society at Indianapolis in June following. Accord-
ingly, June 3. 1835, the subscription paper of J. M. Robinson, and that of
Samuel Harding, on behalf of Franklin, were presented and referred to a

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FRANKLIN COLLEGE, PRESENT BUILDINGS

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THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC. LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 281

committee consisting of Ezra Fisher, Eliphalet Williams and Lewis Morgan,
to examine the proposed sites and report as soon as possible. The board
of the Education Society again met June 24, 11835, and heard the report
of the committee on location, and it was agreed *by a unanimous vote of all
present to locate the institution known as the Indiana Baptist Manual Labor
Institute at Franklin, Johnson county, Indiana, on the site east of town.'

"The record does not reveal just what inducements were offered by the
diflferent places. Indianapolis and St. Omer seem to have dropped out of the
contest, and the location of the institution at Franklin is without doubt due to
the tact and energy of Samuel Harding and Lewis Morgan. Of the three
members of the committee on location, Ezra Fisher and Lewis Morgan
favored Franklin, and Williams favored either Indianapolis or St. Omer.

"At the same meeting, June 24, 1835, the Education Society appointed
thirty-five men a board of directors of the Indiana Baptist Manual Labor
Institute. The list is as follows: Lewis Morgan, Samuel Harding, Jeffer-
son D. Jones, Samuel Herriott, John Foster, Dr. Pierson Murphy, Nicholas
Shaffer, Robert Gillcrees, George King, Milton Stapp, Jesse L. Holman,
George Matthews, John McCoy, Seth Woodruff, Joseph Chamberlain, Silas
Jones, William B. Ewing, H. J. Hall, J. L. Richmond, Henry Bradley, Samuel
Merrill, N. B. Palmer, Ezra Fisher, Robert Thomson, George Hunt, John
Walker, William Phelps, Wilhani Reeal James V. A. Woods, Eliphalet
Williams, John Hawkins, D. Thomas, Wmi'Pblk, Byrum Lawrence, and Wm.
Stansil. Of this first board of directors, three are still living (1884),
Eliphalet Williams, at Lebanon, Indiana; William Stansil, at Sullivan, Indi-
ana, and Nicholas Shaffer in Oregon. -

"The new board of' directors, in accordance with the instructions of the
Education Society, met July 18, 1835, and perfected an organization by elect-
ing Samuel Harding, president: Jesse L. Holman and Samuel Merrill,
vice-presidents: Samuel Herriott, secretary; and Nicholas Shaffer, treasurer.
Committees were appointed to prepare by-laws for the regulation of the
board : also to superintend the surveying and platting of lots of land donated
to the college. The treasurer was required to give bond in the sum of twenty-
five thousand dollars, » an amount supposed to be commensurate with the
responsibilities of the position. The board also took steps toward securing
the temporary use of the public school house in Franklin.

"Up to this time, the institution had received donations of land from
George King and Harvey McCaslin.* Mr. King's donation consisted of a

♦The deei of George Kin^ bears da^*^ March 24, 1838; that of Harvey McC!aal1n is
dated April 2, 1838. It may be, however, that the board was in possession of these
lands as early as Mr. Thompson asserts — Author.

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0^2 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

three-acre strip of land running east and west through what is now the cen-
tral part of the college campus. Mr. McCaslin's donation consisted of five
acres, which now forms the south side of the campus, and the north side of
Joseph A. Dunlap's land. The institution had also bought from Austin
Shipp an eighty-acre tract of land lying just east of the five-acres donated by
McCaslin. The institution had no money and but few subscriptions ; yet the
treasurer was ordered to collect money for making the first payments on the
land bought of Mr. Shipp. At its second meeting, August 6, 1835, the
board adopted by-laws, appointed Lewis Morgan, Henry Bradley and Samuel
Harding a committee to divide the state into four agency districts, and tried
either to rent or to purchase the house of Mr. Doan for school purposes, the
house being situated on what is now the east side of the college campus.

'*On October 8, 1835, Samuel Merrill, N. B. Palmer, Henry Bradley,
Lewis Morgan and J. L. Richmond were appointed to procure a charter
from the Legislature, and were afterward instructed to procure the charter
with full collegiate powers. The first actiop of the board toward the erec-
tion of a building was taken at this same meeting, and Jeflferson D. Jones,
Robert Gillcrees and Pierson Murphy were appointed a building committee,
to submit plans and estimates. In December, 1835, Ezra Fisher was ap-
pointed superintending agent, but declined, and the following January Lewis
Morgan was appointed in his stead, and Harding, Fisher and Bradley were
appointed to prepare instructions for the agents. With the exception of some
local agency work done by Samuel Harding, Lewis Morgan was therefore
the first college agent. At the same meeting, Merrill, Harding and Morgan
were made a committee to recommend a suitable teacher ; the building com-
mittee was ordered to erect a frame building, twenty-six by thirty-eight feet,
to be finished by May i, 1836, and an order of fifty dollars was granted the
building committee, the first order was issued by the college. On February
16, 1836, the building committee reported a contract with James K. Gwinn,
a carpenter of Franklin, for the erection of a 'seminary,* as it was called, and
the building was finished the following summer, at a cost of about three hun-
dred and fifty dollars, not including the cost of seats. The building was
ordered to be painted white, and was located a little to the west and south of
the present south college building.

"On July 6, 1836, J. L. Richmond, James V. A. Woods and Lewis Mor-
gan were appointed to draft regulations for the seminary, and to procure a
suitable teacher, and the agent, Lewis Morgan, was authorized to rent the
seminary building for a school room until the next meeting of the board.*

*Prof. John S. Hougham adds that at this meeting the first report of Agent Morgan

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 283

Thus ended the first year's work of the first board of directors of Franklin
College, and looking back now at the means and resources with which it
worked, it must be said that there had been material progress. A building
had been erected and partly paid for, and the college lands had been partially
cleared. What was most needed was a competent teacher. . On this matter
of a teacher, the board took somewhat decisive action October 5, 1836. The
committee formerly appointed to recommend a teacher was discharged and
the board itself elected as principal of the seminary, Prof. John Stevens, of
Cincinnati, afterward, for many years, a professor in Denison University.
Professor Stevens, however, declined and on January 4, 1837, the board
voted 'that the Hon. Jesse L. Holman be respectfully invited to accept the
office of principal of the Indiana Baptist Manual Labor Institute, and that be
devote so much of his time and attention to this institute as will not ma-
terially interfere with the duties of the office of judge of the United States
district court.' As the judge's district included the entire state of Indiana,
we are not surprised to learn that he declined the offer, 'believing that it
would interfere with his judicial duties.* The board was still, in April, 1837,
in want of a teacher, and Lewis Morgan was again appointed to procure a
'suitable person.' That suitable person seems to have been the Rev. A. R.
Hinckley, then, or soon afterwards, pastor of the Baptist church at Franklin,
who taught for a short time in the summer and early fall of 1837.*

''Meanwhile, the board had secured the services of the Rev. A. F. Tilton,
of Maine, a graduate of Waterville College, now Colby University. Professor
Tilton entered upon the duties of his office about the ist of October, 1837,
and continued to hold the position for three years. Professor Tilton and the
board seriously misunderstood one another from the beginning, owing to
the tardiness with which the Professor's salary w^as paid, and the fact that no
adequate assistance was furnished him in teaching. At one time, the board
voted to employ assistance as soon as the number of students reached forty.
But serious obstacles were in the way in employing competent teachers and
agents. At different times, Moses Burbank, of Shelb)rville, Kentucky, the
Rev. F. A. Williams, of Newton, Massachusetts, and the Rev. J. W. Haynes,
of Tennessee, were elected agents, but Mr. Haynes was the only one who
served.

was received, showing total subscriptions received by him of $665, of which $77 was In
cash, with collections of $122.50 on old subscriptions, making the total cash resources,
counting a former balance of $11.50, In the sum of $211. The agent and his assistant
were allowed for their services $198.50, just one dollar less than the total cash by
them collected. — Author.

♦Rev. Mr. Hinckley was the first teacher under direction of the trustees. He re-
ceived forty dollars for his services. — Author.

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c84

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

v::!

**While Professor Tilton was teaching in the bare unfurnished little semi-
nary, Lewis Morgan was platting and selling lots of the college grounds, w^hat
is now known as Morgan's plat of East Franklin. Financial relief came but
slowly in this way, as real estate was too abundant to command a high price,
and all sales had. to be made on time. The agency work met with many dis-
couragements, as up to November 25, 1 841, more than a year after Professor
Tilton's resignation, the total subscriptions amounted to but $2,900 and a
large part of this amount was uncollected.*

**To meet payments on the land bought from Mr. Shipp, a loan had to
be negotiated from the surplus revenue fund, which was afterward repaid by
funds collected by the agents. At one time, the board bargained for a sale of
abotit twenty-five acres of the college lands at a very fair price, but the land
afterward depreciating in value, the purchaser refused to consummate the
contract and the board compromised with him, instead of standing upon its
rights Yet. there was progress under Professor Tilton. On the subject of
'philosophical apparatus,' the board went so far as to pass a resolution and
appoint a committee in January, 1838. The first examining committee was
appointed at the same time. They were A. R. Hinckley, David Monfort and
Lewis Morgan, and the records show^ the committee did its work. A cooper
shop was built under the supervision of Jefferson D. Jones, and James Frary
did the work in the spring of 1838. The first exhibition was given in the
summer of 1838. Professor Tilton, A. R. Hinckley, and Nicholas Shaffer
prepared the ^schemes/ as the programs were then called, and Travis Burnett
built the stage. A 'scheme' of that exhibition would now be sought after.**

'With a liberality beyond its means, the board, on July 4, 1838, voted
to appropriate one hundred dollars for philosophical apparatus and a bell.
The apparatus was not soon forthcoming, and the bell did not arrive until the
fall of 1839. On Christmas day of that year, Jefferson D. Jones was author-
ized 'to obtain a handle to the bell of sufficient strength to ring it, and to
erect a frame on which to place the bell as economically and substantially as
he can.* The bell was skillfully hung in the forks of a tree, but it either gave
forth an uncertain and unmusical sound, or else the mischievous students of

♦Professor HouRham savs: "Mr. TUton entered upon his duties at a salary of six
hunr'red ('ollars, and the impression made by the new professor was favorable. The
price fixed for tuition was twelve dollars a year for reading, writing, arithmetic. Eng-
lish grammar, ani geography: and for the higher branches of English and the ancient
languages, sixteen dollars, which last were subsequently raised to twenty dollars a
year. — Author.

♦♦Profeppor Hougham recalled that William S. Holman, a son of Jesse L. Holman,
member of the board, was the most prominent student in the exercises of the day. —
Author.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 285

the little seminary in the woods must have cracked it in their midnight
pranks, for, some three years later, we find that Professor Robinson is
ordered to get the bell cast over. At the exhibition of 1839. Judge William
W. Wick delivered an address, which was afterward published. This was

/the first public address delivered on behalf of the college on such an occasion.
"After Professor Tilton's resignation in the fall of 1840,* William M.
Pratt was chosen principal, but never assumed the duties of the position, and
T. J. Cottingham occupied the seminary for a private school for some time
at a rental of two dollars a month. In May, 1841, VVilliam M. Pratt, F. M.
Finch, A. R. Hinckley and Henry Bradley were appointed a committee to
recommend a plan for a suitable building, and the executive committe was in-
structed to advertise for sealed proposals for its construction, but owing to
the low state of the college finances, the bids were returned unopened. The
year 1841 was a particularly gloomy one for the college, and when the Gen-
eral Association met at Aurora, in the fall of that year, the friends of the
college were ready to despair. After long and deliberate consultation, which
lasted nearly all night, the following resolution was adopted : ^Resolved, that
we who are present solemnly pledge to attend the next meeting of the board,
except the providence of God prevents, and do all in our power to build up and
sustain the institution.'

ic I "This resolution was signed by J. L. Holman, Robert Tisdale, Henry

^^ I Bradley, A. F. Tilton, J. Currier, George C. Chandler, E. D. Owen, Simon G.

Minor and William M. Pratt. The board met at Franklin, November 2Sth
following, and, true to their pledge, almost all who had signed the resolution
^ere present. Joshua Currier was appointed principal, and William J. Robin-
f//jj and his sister, Julia, were appointed teachers. School was again opened in
imber of that year, and while Mr. Currier never accepted the position
/^f^^:x'ed him, William J. Robinson and his sister were both teachers in the
'^ ^.-t i tution for the next year and a half, and their work was highly satisfac-
^(^-t-^^ to the board. At this time young ladies were admitted to all privileges
of -tine school, and in August, 1842, the board took steps to organize a young
\a.cJi^s' department and invited Misses Sarah S. and Harriett L. Kingsley to

*■ Professor Hougham says: "On the 4th day of April, 1838, Professor TUton's sal-
ary '^as raised to eight hundred dollars, but later the board reduced it to six hundred
dol^l sugars, and even this was only partially paid. He was requested to act as agent during
vflkoci.'t.ion to solicit and collect funcU^ to pay his own salary. And in February, 1840,
0^^ 't^oard appointed a committee to look for a competent teacher who would serve
toT -tlie tuition fees. Probably, an unwillinsrness to brook the thought of failure im-
^llo^ Mr. Tilton to accept the terms for ci^ht months. But. October 2, 1840, he re-
Am»«^. He die<l at the Age of forty, in the home later owned by Dr. P. W. Payne.—
mttior.

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take charge of it. They never did so, but Mrs. A. F. Tilton appears to have
had charge of this department the next year.

**The records of the trustees concerning the opening of the college under
the care of this brother and sister are brief, but pointed :

*'*i. Resolved, that there be but thirty-three weeks of instruction for
the present year, which shall be considered three- fourths of an academic year.

** *2. Resolved, that we recommend the teachers to open the schools on the
second Monday of December, and continue twenty-two weeks: that after one
week of vacation, the second session begin and continue eleven weeks.

" *3. Resolved, That for reading, writing, spelling, and the elements of
arithmetic, geography and grammar, two dollars be charged per quarter. For
those further advanced in above studies, also natural philosophy, chemistry,
astronomy, etc., three dollars. Higher branches of mathematics and the
languages, four dollars.

" *4. That the three departments be designated as primary, teacher's
and classical.'*

"In August, 1842, the board adopted a plan for a brick building, twenty-
six by thirty-six feet, and two stories high, and it is believed to be substan-
tially the same plan as the present north college building, except that it was
afterward made forty-two by eighty-four feet, and three stories high. In
December, 1842, Prof. A. F. Tilton submitted to the board a plan to raise ten
thousand dollars endowment. His plan was substantially this: He would be
one of one hundred men to give one hundred dollars each by the ist day of
January, 1844: seven thousand dollars of the amount to be used as a perma-
nent endowment fund, and three thousand dollars to be used in the erection
of a building. The fly in the ointment in this plan was the reservation of a
six-years' scholarship by each donor, and the board was thus induced to launch
various schemes for scholarship endowment, which, in the end, all proved
financially disastrous to the college.

"Just about this time may be noted the first donation of books for the
library. The books were given by Mr. Dow, and the list is as follows :
Benedict's 'History of the Baptists'; 'Abercrombie on The Intellectual
Powers' : 'Letters on the Mode and Subjects of Baptism,' by Stephen Chapin ;
Baldwin on 'Baptism,' and Baldwin's Letters.

"On April 10, 1843, Prof. Robinson and his sister were compelled to
leave the institution by reason of the death of their father. The board elected

♦Upon the authority of Professor Hougham, Principal Robinson and his sister re-
ceived two hundred dollars each for their first year, and that the principal was re-
engaged at a salary of three hundred dollars for the year. Miss Julia Robinson did
not teach In the second year. — Author.

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the Rev. George C. Chandler principal, and he entered upon his work at once.
The following summer Prof. William Brand became connected with the
college, and about a year later Prof. John B. Tisdale was added to the
faculty.*

"In June, 1843, ^^e board decided to dispose of the eight-acre tract be-
longing to the college and apply the proceeds at once to the erection of a build-
ing. Soon after a sale was made to Lewis Hendricks, the consideration being
two hundred sixty-six thousand bricks to be laid in the wall of the new build-
ing. A committee was also appointed on the plan of the building; but the
plan of the North building, as finally adopted, was proposed by Professors
Chandler and Brand, the third story being afterward changed to accommodate
the chapel. The North building was therefore planned and its construction
begun in August, 1843; but the building w^s not completed and ready for
use until the fall of 1847. After the completion of part of the brick work by
Lewis Hendricks, what was left to be done was let to Samuel Hall; the
carpenter work was done by Travis Burnett and A. C. Compton; the roof was
built by Isaac Garrison, and the plastering was let to a contractor named
Anderson.

"All the work on the building was done by piece-meal, as the board had
money and as contractors were willing to wait for their pay. Many were the
experiences of the board while the work was progressing. On one occasion,
Samuel Hall, the brick contractor, sued the college on an order, and final
judgment was averted by the purchase of the order by Lewis Hendricks.
Deductions on the bill of Travis Burnett for making sash, because the sash
would not fit: but Mr. Burnett refused to accept the reduction or arbitrate
the matter, and the board finally paid the whole bill under protest. During
the whole of the time the North building was in process of erection, the board
Ify^S iising the trowel or the hammer with one hand, and warding off impatient
^^ iters with the other.

* 'Various were the expedients resorjed to in order to procure money.

^^^roocJs and wares donated to the college were sold either in Franklin or in

otVier parts of the state. At one time the board consulted the county com-

Tnisstoners and took legal advice on the subject of peddling clocks donated

to the college; clock peddling in those days was the essence of evil in the

*Brand came from the Salem Academy of Washlnjrton County, New York, but little
^ taiown of Tisdale. He died in this city October 2, 1841. Chandler was called from
^^ pastorate of the Baptist church at Indianapolis.— Author.

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eyes of the law.* The cost of the North building (in recent years called the
Chandler Hall) is nowhere in the records minutely summed up, but as nearly
as it can be approximated, it was five thousand six hundred dollars. The
foundation (not the corner stone, for it was made wholly of bricks) was laid
in the autumn of 1844, and Prof. John Stevens, of Cincinnati, delivered the
address on that occasion.

"A regular course of collegiate studies was adopted in the fall of 1844,
and the next year the institution was rechartered with the name Franklin
College, instead of Indiana Baptist Manual Labor Institute. The first de-
gree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred August 4, 1847, upon John W.
Dame, afterward tutor in the college, and treasurer of the board. The first
mention of literary societies was July 14, 1847, when the north attic was
assigned to the Ciceronian Society and the south attic to the Demosthenian
Society. These societies, if I am rightly informed, were afterwards merged
into the Union Literary Society, and from this body the present societies —
the Periclesian and the Webster.** ^

"In 1848, Prof. John S. Hougham and Achilles J. Vawter became mem-
bers of the faculty, and the following year Mr. Vawter, as librarian, reported
755 volumes in the College Library, of which number 581 had been donated
during the year. On July 26, 1848, Milton Stapp, who had been made chair-
man of a committee to investigate the college books, and the manner of keep-
ing them, reported on the financial condition of the college, and by a forced
double entry balance, made the following result :

Resources,
^'Subscriptions, $982.50; real estate, $9,500; bills receivable, $2,295;
college furniture, $1,000; total resources. $13,777.50.

Liabilities,

"Scholarship No. i, $2,296.67; scholarship No. 2, $2,720; bills payaWe,
$2,121.77; orders outstanding, $i,%oo.88; due Milton Stapp for philosophical
apparatus, $600; total liabilities, $8,999.32.

"Balance in favor of the college, $4,778.18.

"President Chandler resigned his position October 5, 1849, and*his in-
tention of so doing was made known to the board in the following letter :

" 'Gentlemen of the Board : After mature deliberation, and I trust
sincere prayer, I have concluded that it is my duty to tender you my resigna-

♦It was merely the old method of taxation— the collection of license fees from
merchants, tavern keepers, ferrymen, etc. — Author.

♦*Tho Perlclesinn Society was orRanized In 1853, and the Webster a few months
later. — ^Author.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. ^ 289

tion of the honorable and responsible position of president of your college;
this resignation to take effect at the close of the present collegiate year.

'' 'George C. Chandler.^

"President Chandler's resignation was, in all probability, due to the
financial condition of the college*, and a requirement of the board that each
member of the faculty should do one-third of a year's agency work. His ad-
ministration was no failure. He found the institution an academy, he left
it a college. He found it almost without buildings, he left it w^ith a building
equal, at that time, to most of the college buildings of the state. He left
it, too, through no fault of his own; overwhelmed with debt, and with few
resources. President Chandler's labors were not properly appreciated by the
Baptists of the state, nor did the denomination know, at that time, what it
cost to make a college. The Baptist Abrahams who had bound Isaac and
laid him on the altar of higher education were indeed few. Their sacrifices
and support were largely in the form of resolutions.

"The two years following President Chandler's resignation were full of
gloom and despondency for the college. In July, 1850, the debt of the institu-
tion was $3,281.74, with scarcely a cent in the treasury. Part of this debt
was in the form of a judgment in favor of the estate of Lewis Hendricks.
On this judgment an execution had been issued, and the sheriff of Johnson
county stood ready to levy upon and sell the college property. This disaster
was happily averted by some friends of the college assuming the payment of
the judgment. The board recommended as a plan for lifting the debt of the
college, that each friend of the institution give one hundred dollars toward
that object and Professor Hougham and the Rev. T. R. Cressy were appointed
a committee to carry out that plan. After the resignation of President
Chandler, Professors Hougham, Brand and Dame constituted the teaching
force of the college, but on July 28, 1852, the board elected Dr. Silas Bailey
president, and he entered upon his work the next fall.

"Previous to Dr. Bailey's acceptance of the presidency, various endow-
ment movements had been set on foot with considerable promise of success,
but with little else than promise. At one time the board had voted to sell

♦The record of Chandler's engagement on August 12, 1843, reads: "The committee
appointed to see Brothers Chandler and Brand would report that they waited upon them
and obtained the following proposal : Brother Chandler will teach four hours a day for
two hundred dollars a year; Brother Brand will teach seven hours a day for four hun-
dred dollars a year; and if the tuition amounts to more, they are to have It, unless
more teaching should be required. Brethren Chandler and Brand propose to divide
the duties of teaching between themselves." — Author.

(19)

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six-year scholarships at thirty dollars — what is now less than the cost of a
year's tuition in the college. But the proposition was afterward modified.
How to endow Franklin College without giving anything was a problem
which weighed heavily upon the heart of the denomination in those days.

"After Doctor Bailey assumed the presidency the outlook began to be
more hopeful, so much so that in January, 1853, the board appointed Doctor
Bailey and Professor Hougham a committee on another building. The com-
mittee was authorized to borrow sufficient funds to erect a building the same
size and dimensions as the North building. The money thus borrowed was
paid out of the endowment fund. The building committee made a final report
in December, 1855, which is full and complete, and entered upon the records
of the board. The total cost of the South building, including part of the fur-
nishing thereof, was about $7,400.

**The question of establishing a department of agricultural chemistry
was brought before the board in 1853, and it was proposed to raise for its
support an endowment of twelve thousand dollars. Some teaching in this
department was done by Professor Hougham, but for lack of means the
work was soon abandoned. Doctor Bailey, in addition to his regular work,
taught classes in theology and at one time was appointed to a chair of
theology. ^

• "In the winter of 1855- 1856 occurred, perhaps, the most serious internal
trouble the college has ever experienced, the famous snow-ball rebellion. The
students, having engaged in a snow-ball fight, one party took refuge in one of
the college buildings, still pelting their outside assailants. The outside party,
forgetting that college property was between them and the foe, began throw-
ing through the windows until considerable damage had been done. Some
attempts were made by the students to repair the damage, but the faculty
decided to prosecute them for malicious trespass. The boys were convicted
before a justice of the peace, but on appeal to the common pleas court, they
were acquitted on the ground that the trespass was without malice, the law
at that time providing for the punishment of malicious trespass only, instead
of mischievous and malicious trespass, as at present. In April, 1856, about
twenty -five students petitioned for the removal of Doctor Bailey, but the
board, after giving the petition a respected hearing, passed resolutions
strongly sustaining President Bailey, and recommending the expulsion of
several students. Milder counsels at last prevailed, and before the next
college year began, the trouble had healed over.

"Under Doctor Bailey's administration endowment and scholarship
pledges continued to increase, but it seemed well nigh impossible to collect

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' ^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 29I

the pledges made. For this reason, the board, at its annual meeting in June,
1858, adopted some stringent instructions to its agents to resort to legal
process to collect endowment notes. Forgetting the old adage not to look a
gift horse in the mouth, the board went even further, and when the horse
was not forthcoming, proceeded to replevin him from the donor. In the main,
these lawsuits were hiirtful to the best interests of the college, and to this
day endowment work is hindered in some localities in the state by the re-
membrance of the former action of the board.

"At the annual meeting of the board in June, 1859, the Hon. Martin L.
Pierce and Professor Hougham pledged ten thousand dollars toward the
endowment of a chair of agricultural chemistry, to be called the Pierce pro-
fessorship, provided fifty thousand dollars be raised for the further endow-
ment of the college. The board entered heartily into the undertaking, but
with small success. One great hindrance to the further prosecution of en-
dowment work was the agitation of the question of the removal of the col-
lege. When the Education Society met in connection with the state con-
vention, in October, 1859, at Terre Haute, the college board was recom-
mended to adopt vigorous measures to raise a larger endowment from John-
son county, as a means, of quieting the question of removal. Accordingly,
D. J. Huston and R. F. Grubbs were appointed to canvass Johnson county
for endowment, and so well did they do their work that in June, i860, they
were able to report eleven thousand forty-five dollars subscribed.

"In December, i860, the lx)ard began a more vigorous canvass of the
entire state. The Rev. U. B. Miller, of Indianaix)lis, was appointed agent,
but died before entering upon his work, and the Rev. A. S. Ames was ap-
pointed in June, 1861, and worked until the following spring. But the ex-
citement caused by the war of the Rebellion, the consequent unsettled state of
finance and business, the volunteering into the United States army of ilearly
all the young men who were students in the college, all tended to discourage
any progressive endowment work. We, therefore, find a committee of the
board on the state of the institution, in June, 1862, recommending that the
old endowment, when collected, shall be used to liquidate the indebtedness of
the college, leaving only the campus and buildings as a basis of credit. The
matter of reducing the faculty was also suggested, but the suggestion was
abandoned for the reason that any considerable reduction of the number of
the faculty, or retrenchment of expenses could not be made without changing
the character of the institution.

"In December, 1862, Doctor Bailey resigned the presidency of tht col-
lege. Those who knew Doctor Bailey best believe that his resignation was

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

^1
I-'

not due to the financial state of the institution, but wholly on account of the
state of his health. He had repeatedly stated that he intended to stand by
Franklin College until God called him elsewhere, and when God so touched
his brain as to impair his health and life by further mental work, he recog-
nized the call. Doctor Bailey's resignation was indeed a serious loss. He
had done far more for the college than it had ever done for him. He had
held on for ten years through evil report and through good report, when
offers were constantly coming to him of positions far more lucrative and far
more desirable.

''During his administration a new building had been erected, a con-
siderable endowment had been subscribed, though it was as yet in large part
uncollected, and hundreds of young men had learned to love him for his
sterling Christian manhood and his abilities as an instructor. A feeling of
insecurity for the college began to grow after Doctor Bailey's resignation.
Professor Hougham and James L. Bradley were appointed to secure from
George King and Harvey McCaslin a release of their supposed reversionary
titles to the land occupied by the college campus and buildings. The faculty
consented to teach until the end of the year, if adequate assistance could be
furnished. The college did continue in operation one year longer than
expected, until June, 1864, when, for lack of students, more than for any
other reason (nearly every student having enlisted in the war) the board
voted that the exercises of the college be suspended until such time as in
the judgment of the board, it should be deemed proper to resume operations.

"The teachers during the last year were F. M. Furgason, Jeremiah
Brumback and Barnett Wallace, with occasional lectures by Professor Houg-
ham during a part of the year. Professor Furgason resigned in March, 1864,
but Professors Brumback and Wallace taught until the end.

"No immediate efforts were made by the board to resume instruction in
the college, and the executive committee was authorized to lease the college
buildings and grounds until such time as the board should wish to resume
control of the institution. Under these instructions a lease was made to Prof.
F. M. Furgason in November, 1865, which terminated in March, 1867.
Professor Furgason taught a private school in the college buildings during
the school year 1865-66. The board, in March, 1865, ordered the return of
all old endowment notes, and the next year took steps to secure a release and
cancellation of all old scholarships.

"In the year 1867 Professors William Hill and J. H. Smith came to
Franklin from Ladoga, with the intention of reviving the college. They met
with a hearty co-operation from all the citizens of Franklin, and for the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 293

next two years taught a very successful private school in the college build-
ings.

"Little was done in securing an endowment until December, 1867,
when the board revived the Johnson county professorship plan, and appoint-
ed Prof. William Brand agent to raise fifteen thousand dollars. The princi-
pal of this endowment was to be held in trust for the college by the First
National Bank of Franklin, the interest being paid over to the board. The
whole fifteen thousand dollars was reported subscribed August 31, 1868, and
Doctor Wallace and Cas Byfield were appointed to turn over the notes to the
bank. The board also voted to allow the interest of the Johnson county en-
dowment to be applied on the salary of Prof. F. W. Brown, who was then
assisting Professor Hill, provided all paid-up scholarships should be honored.
Having completed the Johnson county professorship, the board at once took
steps to raise eighteen thousand dollars to endow what was to be called the
Indiana professorship. In September, 1869, the board voted to assume full
control of the college, although the Indiana professorship lacked a great deal
of completion.

"Dr. W. T. Stott, Prof. William Hill, Prof. F. W. Brown and Mrs. M.
A. Fisher were chosen as the faculty, and Perrin H. Sumner was appointed
agent. Professor Hill, however, did not accept his appointment as professor
of mathematics, and Prof. J. F. Walter was chosen instead. During the
summer of 1869 extensive repairs were made on the college buildings at a
cost of nearly seven thousand dollars, and to meet this expense the board had
to mortgage the college property. This was the beginning of the end finan-
cially. A report from Doctor Wallace, treasurer, entered upon the minutes
of February 2, 1870, shows an excess of liabilities over assets of $5,995.06.
In fact, the period from 1869 to 1872 may properly be called a period of
inflated expenditure, when the board seemed to catch the spirit that pre-
vailed throughout the country. The salaries of the faculty were raised,
when the board had not the means to pay them. The agent was paid two
thousand dollars a year, twice as much as any former agent had ever re-
ceived. The interest on the endowment notes was anticipated by borrowing
money to meet current expenses.

"In July, 1869, Dr. H. L. Wayland was elected president of the college
and entered upon his duties in September following. All friends of the
college lived in the hope that the Baptists of Indiana would rally to his sup-
port, but the hope soon proved a delusion. The board kept getting deeper in
debt to meet current expenses nor was there any very substantial increase in
endowment, although in November, 1870, Martin L. Pierce, of Lafayette,

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offered to give land valued at ten thousand dollars, provided enough addi-
tional subscriptions were made to complete an endowment of one hundred
thousand dollars. With the finances of the institution in such a state, it
caused no surprise that the board, at its meeting November 15, 1871, passed
a resolution 'that unless the endowment can be raised to seventy-five thousand
dollars, in reliable funds, by June 15, 1872, it is the opinion of the board
that the college at that time will have to suspend; that the board borrow
fourteen thousand dollars to liquidate the present indebtedness and meet cur-
rent expenses for the present year, and that the proper officers of the board
are hereby ordered to execute a mortgage on the college property to secure
said loan, provided thirty-five persons will sign a guarantee of such loan/

"The endowment did not reach seventy-five thousand dollars, nor did the
college reach June 15, 1872, before the end came. Doctor Wayland resigned
January 31, 1872, and the same day the board resolved 'that the college so far
as teaching is concerned be suspended, and that the executive committee is
instructed to proceed at once to pay off the debts of the college, by disposing
of a sufficient amount of the property of the college as may be needed for
such use. And that the president and secretary of 'the board are hereby
ordered and authorized to convey the title to all, or any part of the real estate
belonging to Franklin College, whenever a sale can be effected by the execu-
tive committee and whenever said committee shall direct.'

'This was the last act of the old board of directors, and it was the end
of Franklin College as it was controlled by the Education Society. Many
friends of the college believed that it had died, and sorrowed as those without
hope. Other friends lived in the hope of a speedy resurrection, and that
hope was based upon the organization of the Franklin College Association.

'The Franklin College Association had its inception with the citizens
of Franklin, who recognized the benefit the college had been to Johnson
county and who knew that its death would be an irreparable loss to the com-
munity where it was located.

"Prior to the resignation of Doctor Wayland some citizens of Franklin
and Johnson county had formed an association, and at one time proposed
to lease the college. After the suspension subscriptions were vigorously
pushed for the organization of a joint-stock association to take the place of
the old Education Society. The manner in which the citizens of Johnson
county responded to the call to subscribe to the stock of Franklin College
shows how well they had come to know the worth of the institution. The
result ought forever to set at rest all talk about the college not being appre-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 295

ciated by the people among whom it is located. For the third time Johnson
county came to the rescue.

*The subscribers to the stock of the college met on June 21, 1872, at the
Baptist church in Franklin and completed the organization necessary to make
them a corporation by filing articles of association with the recorder of the
county. At this date the total subscriptions to the capital stock of the college
amounted to $51,175. Of this amount nearly $36,000 was subscribed by
citizens of Johnson county, and of this $36,000 about one-half was sub-
scribed by citizens of the county who were identified with the Baptist denom-
ination. As provided by the articles of association, the stockholders elected a
board of directors, consisting of a president, vice-president, treasurer, secre-
tary and twelve trustees on the day of its organization.

"The Franklin College Association assumed the debts of the old or-
ganization, about $i3;ooo, and by the foreclosure of a mortgage against the
old board and the purchase of the college grounds at sheriflF's sale, secured a
title to the campus and buildings. College was resumed in September, 1872,
with Dr. W. T. Stott, Prof. J. E. Walter and Miss R. J. Thompson as mem-
bers of the faculty, and it has been in continuous operation ever since."

The number of students entering Franklin College under the new regime
in 1872 was but thirty, and the total enrollment for the year was seventy-five.
Professor Walter had the chair of mathematics, Professor Thompson the
teaching of history and natural science, and, to quote Doctor Stott himself,
he "was obliged to teach whate\^er he could not conscientiously ask the other
two to take. And notwithstanding the hard work done there was manifest
a feeling akin to loneliness the whole year through. A college yell would
have startled us beyond measure, but probably done us good.*' Professor
Walter remained but one year, when he was succeeded by Prof. Rebecca J.
Thompson, who for the succeeding thirty-eight years was the head of the de-
partment of mathematics. Her name will be honored as long as Franklin
College students under her tuition remain among us. Professor Moncrief
also came in 1873, taking charge of work in the preparatory department, and
E. S. Hopkins taught Latin and natural science. The enrollment for the year
was seventy-seven, — a small number, — ^but at the end of the year four were
graduated, the first graduating class since 1862. The class of 1874 consisted
of Prudence G. Hougham, Theodosia Parks Hall, Viola Parks Edwards and
George H. Taylor.

In 1875 there was but one graduate, Dr. Gaddis H. Elgin, afterwards
editor of the Indiana Baptist. In 1876 there were no graduates, but this
experience was never after repeated save for one year, 1882. Be^innin.s: with

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the year 1885 the student body began to increase rapidly in numbers, the regis-
tration being as follows: 1885, 196: 1886, 215; 1887, 223; 1888, 218;
1889, ^59; 1890, 273; 1891, 249; 1892, 255; 1893, 216; 1894, 207; 1895,
238; 1896, 265: 1897, 259; 1898, 271 ; 1899, 251.

For the next few years there was a falling off in the attendance, an
average of less than 200 students, but, in the first year of Doctor Bryan's ad-
ministration, the enrollment went up to 270, and in the next year to 291.
The highest figure in attendance was reached in 1907-08, 320, of which num-
ber 210 were doing regular collegiate work. Doctor Bryan's unexpected
retirement weakened the influence of the college and since that date the at-
tendance has been around the 200 mark.

From the re-opening of the college in 1872 to 1890, the catalogues
advised that "Rooms in the college are furnished with bedsteads, chairs,
stove, table and wardrobe frame." These were the days of college pranks,
when the boys rooming in the North building made sudden midnight forays,
to the alarm of the citizens of East Franklin and sometimes to the consterna-
tion of the mischief makers. College spirit found a vent not in organized
games and carefully staged displays of college exercises, but carefully se-
lected groups of brawny and brainy youths spent days in planning some
*^*joke" on the faculty, the townspeople, or another set of students. Rooms in
the dormitories were despoiled, buckets of water were hung over the doors.
Uncle George Zoda or other janitor was aroused, the college bell was set
ringing, movable college property was certain to be misplaced, and a regular
course in certain tricks and "stimts" was imposed on each new student who
showed promise of affording entertainment to the old boys. In particular, the
ministerial student or a "faculty pet" was the mark of the dormitories. Col-
lege professofs were expected to do detective duty, and Doctor Stott was
chief executioner. But, withal, there was little harm in the rowdyism and
laughter-provoking mischief, and the president's manner of handling the
questions of discipline was admirable. He could inflict punishment in fewer
words at the chapel exercises or in a heart-to-heart talk than any instructor
the writer has known, and so strong was his personality and so kindly his
reproof that the delinquent student, though not always repentant, loved him
as a man and respected his authority.

The writer entered Franklin College in September, 1886, to remain as a
student for six years. In the first year the old North and South buildings
were the only college structures on the campus, save the woodshed and
other outbuildings. The buildings were antiquated and much in need of
repair and fresh paint. The class rooms were poorly lighted and heated, and

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the overworked janitor could seldom make his rounds. In the North build-
ing Doctor Stott's class rooms, the music and art rooms were on the first
floor ; Professor Hall's class room and the boys* dormitories were on the
second floor ; the chapel, the Periclesian hall and Miss Thompson's room were
on the third floor ; and the Athenian hall and a "f rat" hall was in the attic.
In the South building Professor Owen held forth on the first floor; Pro-
fessors Chaffee and Williams, with Janitor Zoda, occupied the second; and
on the third were Professor Moncrief's history room and the Webster hall.
There were no athletic park, no gymnasium, and but the beginnings of a
library. But students of that day will assert that Stott, Hall, Thompson,
Chaffee, Owen, Moncrief and Williams made up a faculty team whose effect-
ive teaching strength has never been surpassed in the history of Franklin
College.

With the year 1888 began the work of improvement of the college
property. Stott hall (the central building connecting the old North and
South buildings) was then begim, but the work progressed slowly, and it was
not finished until 1895. In 1903 the old buildings were entirely remodeled
and improved, through the generosity of A. A. Barnes, of Indianapolis, and
Grafton Johnson, of Greenwood. In 1904 the library building. Shirk hall,
was completed with funds provided by the Shirk family of Lafayette, to
whom the college is indebted for many benefactions. The girls* dormitory,
the gymnasium and the heating plant were completed in 1908, the last-named
building being erected in large part from funds contributed by Johnson county
citizens. The dormitory and gymnasium were built fi'om the general funds
of the college and the action of the board in diverting endowment to this use
met with much criticism in the state. The action is justified, perhaps, in the
imperative demand for these improvements and from the fact that the
**Dorm'' is now yielding an income of about four per cent, on the "invest-
ment."

On September 17, 1907, the old Franklin College Association passed out
of legal existence, and Franklin College of Indiana was incorporated, suc-
ceeding to all the property rights of the old joint-stock association. The new
incorporation was to have a self -perpetuating board of twenty-four direc-
tors, eight of whom should be elected annually for a three-year term. In
June, 1908, the college was admitted to the retiring allowance system of the
Carnegie Foundation, and under this arrangement Prof. F. W. Brown,
David A. Owen, Rebecca J. Thompson and Columbus H. Hall, and ex-
Treasurer Barnett Wallace enjoy allowances. In this step. Hon. Robert A.

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Brown was the prime mover, and was the special representative of the board
in giving to the college this fortunate opportunity.

Three financial campaigns ought to be briefly noted. The first under
the Rev. Norman Car, who became financial secretary in 1883, was an effort
to secure $50,000 endowment by May i, 1892. In this campaign John D.
Rockefeller gave $10,000 and the friends of the college $40,000. In the
"Business Men's Campaign," inaugurated December 20, 1897, ^^^ carried
to a successful conclusion June i, 1899, $75,000 was added to the endow-
ment, Mr. Rockefeller's contribution being $15,000. Milton Shirk, of Peru,
D. M. Parry, of Indianapolis, W. N. Matthews, of Bedford, A. J. Thurston,
of Shelbyville, and many others contributed largely in this movement. At the
end of twenty years of earnest effort Rev. N. Carr resigned, his last w^ork
being the completion of the Greek professorship, endowed with $20,000. The
place of "financial secretary" is a difficult one to fill, and naturally Mr. Carr's
methods met some criticism, but no friend of the college cfuestions the unflag-
ging zeal and persistent effort he put forth for Franklin College for a score
of years. The recent movement to raise the endowment to the half million
mark, under the leadership of Dr. Myron N. Haines, was only partially suc-
cessful. In this campaign, closing July i, 1913, the General Education Board
pledged $75,000 on condition that the college procure pledges for $325,000,
but the total sum raised from all sources aggregated about $300,000. The
financial problems recently confronting the board are not yet worked out, and
their history must be reserved to a later period.

COLLEGE ORGANIZATIONS.

Today the Greek-letter fraternity is the controlling factor in college life,
but in the early history of Franklin College the literary societies furnished
the means of social intercourse and gave to their members a training in public
speaking that no class room work can ever give. Especially in the eighties
and nineties did the literary societies flourish both in numbers and influence.

The Periclesian Society was founded on January i, 1853, but w2ls
disorganized in 1861 by its membership leaving the institution as volunteers
in the g^eat war. Its activities were resumed in 1871, and the ''Beacon"
again gave forth its light on every Friday evening. Afternoon business meet-
ings were conducted with scrupulous observance of Roberts' rules of order,
and most students in its membership became proficient in parliamentary rules
and skillful in handling debatable questions on the floor or from the chair.
The evening entertainment was varied with declamations, essays, "medleys,"

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original stories, papers on current events, "eulogies and invectives/' and
orations, but interest centered chiefly in the debates, which were carefully
prepared and delivered with much earnestness. All the exercises were care-
fully "censored," and mistakes in grammar, in delivery and general deport-
ment were ruthlessly pointed out in the "criticisms" at the close. The social
half-hour was usually interrupted by the janitor's round promptly at lo
o'clock with the order of "lights out."

The constitution of the Periclesian Society is of record in the clerk's
office (record 5, page i6i) and contains the unique initiation ceremonies of
the society. It is required that "candidates for admission to ordinary mem-
bership, after being proposed and having received the unanimous suffrage of
the society, shall obligate themselves by taking the following oath of allegi-
ance: 'Mr. B , do you solemnly affirm in the presence of the Almighty

Creator that you will ever while a member of this social body support the
spirit of the constitution and laws, and submit to the penalties of the same;
that you will use every reasonable effort to advance its interests and make it
a source of pleasure and improvement?' After which he shall sign this con-
stitution and be presented to the society and welcomed to all her privileges.
Members shall rise to their feet when a newly initiated member is to l^e pre-
sented, salute them respectfully, and resume their seat." This constitution
is signed by E. E. Simpson, J. D. P. Hungate, U. Mullikin, G. W. Clark/ P.
K. Parr and F. M. Furgason.

The Webster Society was also organized in 1853 ^^^ ^^^ for eleven years
exclusively a society for men, as was also the Periclesian. In 1864 it sus-
pended its meetings, to be revived in 1873 as a ladies' society. In 1877 ^^
received a number of men who withdrew from the Periclesians and has con-
tinued its organization ever since. The rivalry between it and the Periclesian
Society was quite keen, and new students were "spiked" with great energy
and ingenuity. In its later years it was known as a "barb" organization for
the reason that its members were not identified with any Greek-letter "frats."
College politics was usually divided along the lines of "Greek" and "Barbar-
ian."

The Athenian Society was organized by former members of the Pericles-
ian Society in 1884 ^ind prospered for a decade, but was compelled to dis-
band in 1896. The Ofer Gans followed with a brief existence, and the most
recent organization of the kind was the Linconia, founded in March, 1908.

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GREEK-LETTER FRATERNITIES.

The oldest and most influential of the college fraternities is the Phi
Delta Theta, founded at Miami University in 1848. Indiana Delta Chapter
was instituted in Franklin College on April 20, i860, the charter members
being David D. Banta, William T. Scott, Thomas J. Morgan, George W.
Grubbs and Casablanca Byfield, all of whom lived to fill places of distinction.
Among prominent men who have been members oiF the local chapter are Dr.
Columbus H. Hall and Prof. David A. Owen, long connected with the fac-
ulty; Congressman William S. Holman and Francis M. Griffith, Gen. T. J.
Morgan, at one time United States commissioner of Indian affairs; Hon.
Robert A. Brown, ex-clerk of the supreme court; Prof. C. E. Goodell, of
Denison University; Rev. Cassius M. Carter, LL. D., now of Los Angeles;
Prof. J. T. C. Noe, of Kentucky State College; Hon. G. M. Lambertson, of
Lincoln, Nebraska; Prof. John W. Moncrief, of Chicago University; Alva
Otis Neal, state high school inspector; Frank Martin, deputy state auditor.
The Phi Delts now own a fine chapter house at the corner of Madison and
Jackson, and find the same a real home for the active chapter and a pleasant
social center for the local and visiting alumni.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon was founded in 1856 at the University of Alabama,
and Indiana Alpha was installed in Franklin College February 14, 1892. Its
founders were James M. Berryhill, C. D. Hazelton, J. M. Batterton, J. H.
Howard, Hugh Miller, Henry W. Davis, F. D. Johnson, John A. Hill and
Edgar Burton. The chapter has thrived and has filled a worthy place in the
college life.

Pi Beta Phi Fraternity was founded at Monmouth College of Illinois
in 1867, the first organization of college girls under Greek bands. Indiana
Alpha Chapter was instituted in Franklin College January 16, 1888. Pro-
fessors Zeppenfeld and Palmer have long been active in support of the local
chapter; of the other alumni members Emma Harper Turner, former grand
president of the fraternity, has brought honor to the chapter.

Alpha Gamma Alpha, a local fraternity, was instituted in Franklin
College, January 31, 1896, and at once took high rank among the social
organizations. Its charter members were Mary Payne Beck, Sybil S. Taylor,
Jessie Upjohn Waldo, Jennie Merrill, Elizabeth Ward and Nellie Miller
White. This organization became, in September, 1912, a chapter of the
national sorority. Delta Delta Delta, giving its members a better standing
and a wider influence.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 3OI

Phi Alpha Pi, a local fraternity, was organized October 30, 1909, and
has made a good record, especially striving to excel in scholarship, an example
which has stimulated the other fraternities to do better class work and limit
somewhat their social activities.

PRESIDENTS OF THE BOARD.

The following have served as president of the board of directors : Sam-
uel Harding, 1835-36; John L. Richmond, 1836; Lewis Morgan, 1836-39;
Jesse L. Holman, 1839-42; Lewis Hendricks, 1842-43; E. D. Owen, 1843-44;
George C Chandler, 1844-51; John S. Hougham, 1851-53; Silas Bailey,
1853-59; Judson R. Osgood, 1859-62; A. S. Ames, 1862-63; Isom W. San-
ders, 1863-68; L N. Clark, 186J8-71; J. S. Boyden, 1871-72; R. W. Pearson,
1872-74; Grafton Johnson, Sr., 1874-76; James Forsythe, 1876-77; James
L. Bradley, 1877-1891 ; J. T. Polk, 1891-1898; A. J. Thurston, 1898-1913;
Grafton Johnson, 1913.

Of the other officers of the board two deserve especial mention, Dr.
Barnett Wallace, treasurer of the board from 1867 to 1909, the longest term
of service of any officer or teacher connected with the school; and Rev.
Norman Carr, secretary, whose services are elsewhere spoken of.

The present board of directors consists of the following named :

Qass I, term expires June, 1914 — Arthur J. Thurston, Shelbyville;
Will A. Burton, Franklin; Clarke R. Parker, Terre Haute; Arthur Jordan,
Indianapolis; Louis E. Endsley, Lafayette; Henry C. Barnett, Franklin;
Nathan M. Jennings, Franklin ; E. L. Branigin, Franklin.

Class n, term expires June, 191 5 — Greene V. Woollen, Indianapolis;
Henry Eitel, Indianapolis; Grafton Johnson, Greenwood; W. A. Waldo, Mun-
cie; Ezra Mattingly, Washington; A. Z. Polhamus, Fort Wayne; William
A. Guthrie, Dupont : William E. Morris, Cumberland.

Class III, term expires June, 1916 — ^Albert A. Barnes, Indianapolis;
plmer E. Stevenson, Indianapolis ; Joseph H. Shirk, Peni ; Joe Moss, Linton ;
Elmer U. Wood, Columbus ; Henry P. Klyver, Franklin ; M. J. Voris, Frank-
lin.

FRANKLIN COLLEGE PRESIDENTS.

Rev. George C. Chandler, D. D., 1844-50; Rev. Silas Bailey, D. D.,
1852-62; Rev. H. L. Wayland, D. D., 1870-72; Rev. William T. Stott, D. D.,
1872-1905; Elmer Burritt Bryan, LL. D., 1905-09; Elijah A. Hanley, D. D.,

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1911. Rev. William T. Stott also served as acting president in 1869-70,
and Melvin E. Crowell, A. M., as president pro tempore from 1909 to 191 1.

TEACHERS 6F THE INDIANA BAPTIST MANUAL LABOR INSTITUTE.

Albert Freeman Tilton, 1837-40; Rev. A. R. Hinckley, 1837-38: Will-
iam J. Robinson, 1841-43: Julia Robinson, 1841-43: Mrs. A. F. Tilton,
1842-43: Rev. George C. Chandler, 1843-44; William Brand, 1843-44. In
1836 Rev. Byron Lawrence taught a private school for three months in the
original school building, and in 1841 rooms were rented to Thomas J. Cot-
tingham to conduct a private school.

FRANKLIN COLLEGE PROFESSORS.

Rev. William Brand, D. D., 1844-55, languages and mathematics: Rev.
John W. Tisdale, A. M., 1846-47, mathematics: Jonathan Berry, 1847-48,
mathematics; John S. Hougham, LL. D., 1848-63, mathematics and natural
philosophy: Mark Bailey, A. M., 1853-58, mathematics; Jeremiah Brumback,
A. M., 1858-64. mathematics: Rev. William Hill, A. M., 1867-69; Rev. J. H.
Smith, A. M., 1867-69; Rev. William T. Stott, D. D., 1869-70, natural
science, 1872-1905, mental and moral philosophy; Rev. Francis W. Brown,
A. M., 1869-72, languages, 1887-1908, Latin: Rev. J. E. Walter, A. M.,
1869-73, mathematics: Rebecca J. Thompson, A. M., 1873-74, his-
torv and natural science, 1874-1911, mathematics: Rev. T. R.
Palmer, D. D., 1875-76; John W. Moncrief, A. M., 1875-79, Greek, 1881-94,
history: Rev. Columbus H. Hall, D. D.. 1875-76, natural science,
1876-79, Latin, 1879-1912, Greek, vice-president, 1885-1912; G. E. Bailey,
Ph. D., 1878-79, science; Arthur B. Chaffee, A. M., 1879-1887, Latin,
1887-89, chemistry and physics: David A. Owen, A. M., 1881-87. science,
1887-1909, geology and botany; William J. Williams, A. M., 1885-87, peda-
gogy; Wellington B. Johnson, A. M., 1889-99, chemistry and physics: Charles
E. Goodell, A. M., 1894-1900, history; William E. Henry, A. M., 1894-97,
English; Jeannette Zeppenfeld, M. S., 1895-1914, modern languages: Rev.
E. S. Gardner. A. M., 1897-05, English: Melvin E. Crowell. A. M., 1899-
1914, chemistry and physics; Augustus Raymond Hatton, Ph. B., 1900-01,
history: Arthur P. Bestor, A. M., 1901-04, history: Minnie Bruner, 1900-14,
music: Charles N. Peak. A. B., 1904-05, history: William H. Allison. Ph. D.,
1905-08, history: Joseph H. Robinson, A. M., 1905-07, English: Arthur
Train Belknap, A. M., 1907-1914, English: Bertha M. Miller. Ph. B., 1907-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 303

08, domestic science; Rowland C Merrill,' A. M., 1908-1914, Latin; Charles
M. Phillips, A. B., 1908, English Bible: Electa A. Henley, 1908,
domestic science; Herriott Clare Palmer, A. M., 1908-1914, history; Fred
W. Clark, B. S., 1909-14, physics and chemistry; John William Adams, B. S.,
1909-January, 191 1, biology; Frederick H. Hodge, A. M., 1910-14, mathe-
matics; Charles A. Deppe, A. M., 1910-14, biology; Frank Devvitt Simons,
Ph. D., 1910-11. education; Howard C. Tilton, A. M., 1911-14, education.

INSTRUCTORS.

George H. Keith, 1847-48, preparatory department; Achilles J. Vaw-
ter. A. M., 1848-49, preparatory department; John \V. Davis, A. M., 1848,
languages and mathematics: Jeremiah Brumback, A. M., 1856-58, mathe-
matics; Francis M. Furgason, A. M., 1856-64; Barnett Wallace, A. M., 1860-
64; Rev. Frank J. Martin, A. M., 1863-64; Mrs. M. A. Fisher, 1869-72,
preparatory department; A. J. Teed, A. M., 1871-72, mathematics; John W.
Moncrief, A. M., 1872-75, languages; E. S. Hopkins, A. M., 1873-74; Mrs.
Theodosia Parks Hall, M. S., 1874-75, Latin and English: David A. Owen,
A. M., 1879-1881, geology and chemistry; Arthur B. Chaffee, A. M., 1884-
87, analytical chemistry; John W. Moncrief, A. M., 1884-87, German and
French; James M. Dungan, 1887-80. 1881-1896, music; James D. Bruner,
A. M., 1887-89, modern languages; Lucia M. Wyant, 1887-89, elocution;
Myrtle Burdick, 188S-89, pedagogy; Charles E. Goodell, A. M., 1889-90,
modern languages; Rev. Eugene S. Gardiner, 1890-92, modem languages;
Jeannette Zeppenfeld, A. M., 1890-1895, modern languages: Henry E.
Coblentz, A. B., 1894-95, English; Augustus R. Hatton, A. M., 1898-99, his-
tory; Bertha M. Miller, A. B., 1906-07, domestic science; James R. Ormsby,
A. B., 1906-07, oratory; E. A. Spauding, A. B., 1909-10, biology; Paul Van
Riper, A. M., 1911-14, education; Mar\- W. Cross, A. M., 1912-13, English.

ART INSTRUCTORS.

Mrs. M. L. Wagner Debolt, 1867-69; Mrs. M. M. McPherson, 1869-72;
Mrs. Arabella R. Stott, 1872-1898; Binnie Ream Goode, 1908-10.

IN§TRUCTORS IN MUSIC.

Minnie Bruner, 1894-1901 ; Clarke R. Parker, 1897-01 ; Alice F. Evans,
1901-02; Jessie D. Lewis, 1902-08, 1910-14; Bertha Dakin Smith, 1908-1910.

PHYSICAL DIRECTORS.

John L. Goheen, 1909-10; Byron S. Whitney, 1910-12; John M. Thuf-
ber, I9I2-I4,

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CHAPTER X.

CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS HISTORY.

In the early history of the Christian church of Johnson county many
efforts were made to unify the services, and because of the scattered popula-
tion many communities united in the worship of God in the district school
houses. The early statutes had made provision for the erection of school
houses and provided that all inhabitants should be free to use the same for
purposes of religious worship, for meetings of Masonic lodges and for the
holding of schools, and for the first ten or fifteen years of the county's
history nearly every community held its religious worship in its local log
cabin school house.

After the court house was built in the city of Franklin it became for
many years the meeting house of the various religious bodies and not until
the erection of the Presbyterian church in that city was any denomination
provided with) a separate house of worship. Nor only did the state and county
make such provision for the holding of religious services of all creeds, but
several public-spirited citizens of the county donated lands and the neighbors
erected buildings thereon for the holding of religious services by the members
of the different creeds, and in the beginning many of these meetings held in
these log houses were visited by intinerant preachers who were obliged to
hold their services, if their visit was timed on a week day, at the noon hour
when school was not in session. In other communities, particular religious
bodies were recognized, as for example, the site now occupied by the Hurri-
cane Baptist church was conveyed by Samuel Overstreet as trustee for the
Methodists, to Stephen Tilson, as trustee for the regular Baptists, and to
Andrew McCaslin as trustee for the United Brethren, and it is fairly certain
that all these denominations met for worship in the same house.

The first Sunday school in the county was a union Sunday school organ-
ized by the members of the Presbyterian and Baptist churches in the year
1826. Samuel Herriott, then the clerk of said county and the most prominent
citizen of the village, was chosen superintendent, but Mr. Herriott declined
to act, stating that he was not a praying man and that someone should be
chosen who would be able to open the school with prayer. Wassen McCaslin,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 305

a Presb)rterian, was made superintendent and Williain Robinson, a Methodist,
was his co-superintendent. This Sunday school was held in the second story
of the old log court house and prospered until about the year 1832. At that
time the Presbyterian leader of the school insisted that the catechism of his
church should be taught in the Sunday school, but other members of the
school, we should imagine the Baptists, insisted that only the Bible should
be the subject of study, and this led to a division and the Presbyterians
started a Simday school of their own.

What we have said would indicate a very happy spirit of common fellow-
ship between the different faiths, but the road was not always smooth. It
was remembered by Simon Covert, of Hopewell, that when the first Sunday
school celebration of the county was held in the town of Franklin, on the
Fourth of July, 1828, a parade was had and after the Sunday school scholars
marched down Jefferson street in procession to the court house and a hymn
was sung, no one was present who could preach a sermon or deliver an ad-
dress. It being learned that the Rev. James Havens, a pioneer Methodist
preacher, was at the hotel then run by John Smiley, where the Franklin Na-
tional Bank is now located, Mr. Covert was deputized to wait upon the preach-
er and ask him to come over and address this union Sunday school. Mr.
Havens curtly replied, "No, I fear that the Presbyterians will be greatly in the
way in my work in this region/' and the Sunday school celebration was
obliged to disperse without the services of a preacher for the occasion.

It is a matter of some doubt as to just what faith was first represented
by preaching in Johnson county. John P. Bamett, who came to the county
in 182 1, was a Baptist preacher, and in 1823 a Baptist church was planted in
Blue River township. Early in the history of Nineveh township a Baptist
church under the preaching of Mordecai Cole was organized at the house of
Daniel Musselman, and when Richardson Hensley, after whom Hensley
township took its name, moved to the neighborhood of Indian creek, a
Baptist church was planted in that neighborhood. In 1823 the Rev. James
Scott, an itinerant minister, unlearned in the books, but of unbounded zeal,
came on horseback to the White River country and began his ministry there.
His first sermon was preached from the door of a cabin built near the bluffs
of White river, the women of his congregation seated within and the men
lounging upon the earth or leaning against trees without. The first sermon
preached in Union township was at the house of Peter Vandivier in 1827 by
Elder William Irving, and in 1831 Elder James Ashley preached at the Utter-

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back neighborhood and in the following year a Baptist church was organized
in that neighborhood. The first Presbyterian church in Union township was
organized at the Shiloh church by James Young, Jacob Banta and Cyril
Winchester.

It has often been said that the first sermon preached in the town of
Franklin was at the home of David W. McCaslin in the month of December,

1823, but from a letter written by Rev. James H. Johnston and read at the
semi-centennial celebration of the Presbyterian church at Franklin it is cer-
tain that the first religious servkes were held in the last week of December,

1824. The Rev. Mr. Johnston says:

**The first time I passed through Franklin was in the last week of
December, 1824. I reached Madison, in Jefferson county, on the 9th day of
that month. I preached on the first Sabbath that I spent in this state some
thirteen miles north of Madison, preached the next Sabbath at Madison, then
started for the interior of the state in a direct course to Indianapolis. I
reached James Young's, at the forks of Sugar creek and Young's creek,
early Friday evening or early enough on Saturday to have word circulated
for preaching at his house on the Sabbath and sent an appointment to Frank-
lin for preaching there on Sabbath evening."

The first sermon preached in Pleasant township, according to the Rev.
Isaac Read, was delivered by the Rev. George Bush at the house of J. B.
Smock. To understand the condition of the religious life of that early day
it is necessary to take into account not only the physical conditions of living,
but the moral and spiritual relations of the people. When the first church
was built in the coiinty there were not to exceed one hundred voters within
the boundaries of the county. Not a single inhabitant was to be found in the
township of Hensley and Union, but one man lived in Clark, perhaps a half
dozen in Pleasant, not to exceed thirty voters in the White River country,
thirty or forty voters in the neighborhood of Edinburg and a few families in
Nineveh. The settlers were all very poor, without money, and had settled in
a wilderness which required all their courage and energy to conquer. The
moral conditions were not of the best. While the majority of the pioneer
settlers were from good families of Kentucky and came here to establish
permanent homes, there was a considerable element of the rough and vicious
class which is ever found in frontier life. The spirit of the times was not
favorable to the reception of the Christian doctrines. As is pointed out in
another connection, the spirit of turbulence and disorder was rife, neighbor-
hood quarrels and affrays were matters of every-day occurrence, and it was

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difficult to form any organization strong enough to resist the inclination of
each settler to enjoy the unbounded freedom inspired by his life in the woods.

Naturally the first church buildings were erected in the towns, but it was
not long until in every community effort was made to obtain real estate and
erect church buildings. It may be profitable to inquire at what time these
various churches acquired their^ real estate, for by this we may judge when
real church organization became effective for work in the communities. The
first Methodist church building mentioned in our records was erected on
ground conveyed by John S. Barger of lands in White River township on
August II, 1831. On March 2, 1832, the Hurricane Methodist church ac-
quired one acre of land from Isom Blankenship; Friendship Methodist church
in Hensley township, was erected on land given by Alexander Stephens on
August ID, 1833 ; ground for a Methodist church was also acquired in section
18 in Nineveh township on August 22, 1836, but the later history of this last
named. church is not known.

The earliest Baptist church planted in the county in the country districts
was the Blue River Baptist church in the southeast corner of the east half of
the northeast quarter of section 10, in Blue River township on February 3,
1826. This church became the parent church of the Franklin Baptist church.
Not long after the organization of the Blue River Baptist church, another
Baptist church was organized and a church house built on the county road
leading from Edinburg to Smiley's Mill, at that time called by the name of
Mount Lebanon. Both of these Baptist churches soon passed out of exist-
ence. In 1837 the south Stott's Creek Regular Baptist church procured a site
of Thomas Sturgeon at the southwest corner of section i in Hensley town-
ship, just west of Trafalgar. The oldest country Baptist church in the county
which yet maintains its organization is the Mount Pleasant Baptist church,
which acquires its property in the northwest corner of section 29, in what was
then Union township, but is now a part of Franklin township. The Bethel
Regular Baptist church was given a one-acre tract of ground in the southwest
corner of the northwest quarter of section ii, in l^nion township, by Zeleck
McOuinn on the 25th of May, 1839. Just when this organization changed to
the "Hardsheir* branch of the church, the writer is not informed. In the
same year the Second Mount Pleasant Regular Baptist church acquired its
present site in Needham township by donations from John Webb and Jesse
Beard. . A Predestinarian Baptist church at Providence became the owner of
Its site on the 3d of June. 184T. Lick Spring Baptist church acquired its
present grounds on May i. 1843; Bethlehem Baptist church in Hensley town-

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ship and the Amity Baptist church both acquired lands in the year 1858. A
Baptist church in White River township about a half mile north of Browns-
town was also organized at an early day, but its more recent history is not
recorded.

The United Brethren church acquired sites to their properties in White
River township early in the forties.

The first Catholic church lands were acquired by the Edinburg church in
1852.

FRANKLIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The history of the Presbyterian church in Franklin dates from the 20th
day of November, 1824, at which time George and Eleanor King, Joseph and
Nancy Young and David McCaslin signed articles of agreement and consti-
tuting themselves a church organization and proceeded to elect George King
and David McCaslin elders. From the record it appears that the sermon of
the day w^as preached by the Rev. John M. Dickey, assisted by the Rev. George
Bush. The latter was a Princeton man and afterward became prominent as
a teacher of oriental languages in the University of New York. The first
convert to the new- church was Jane McCaslin, wife of the elder, and on the
25th of June of the following year Simon Covert and his wife, Mary, were re-
ceived on letter from their Kentucky church. At the same time their infant
daughter, Dorothy Ann, was baptized and this was the first celebration of this
ordinance occurring within the county. For the first few years the growth
of the church was very slow, only three were added in 1825, only seven in
1827 and four in 1828, and of all these only four upon confession of faith.
The first revival in the church was held in 1829, and in this year twenty-one
were added to the church roll upon examination. The church then prospered,
although there seems to have been neither ])astor nor stated place of worship.
Sometimes the meetings were held at Hopewell ; sometimes the members met
at the homes of the members, occasionally in the open woods, but oftener in
the old log court house. The congregation was ministered to by missionaries,
among them the Rev. Isaac Reed, then living at Bloomington ; the Rev. Will-
iam Duncan, a Scotch divine and a preacher of long, doctrinal sermons. It
is remembered of him that he was very fond of tobacco and ahvays preached
with a quid in his mouth and the younger members of the congregation kept
count of the number of chews taken in an effort to approximate the end of
the sermon. It is also said of him that he was not averse to the use of liquor,
justifying himself in the language of Paul to Timothy where he says : *'Kver\'

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Stiles' Tavern, now Stilesville. Accommodations were very poor and from
the exposure consequent, my mother caught a severe cold which caused her
death within a year. We were well supplied with meat at Stiles' from a pigeon
roost, where great numbers could be captured at night with torches. Passing
on from Stiles' through the almost uninhabited forest, we arrived at Otter
Creek prairie on Saturday evening of the second week and remained there
until Monday morning, and on the next day came to Terre Haute, then a vil-
lage of about six hundred inhabitants."

The Presbyterian meeting house in Franklin was erected on grounds
acquired by Thomas Graham, Newton McCaslin and Hezekiah McKinney on
the 30th day of July, 1831. At about this same time forty members of
Franklin church were dismissed to the church of Hopewell. Some of the
records under Dr. Monfort's ministry point to the peculiar customs of the
religious exercises of the time. The custom observed in celebrating the Lord's
Supper differed materially from the custom at the present. Long tables were
prepared in the aisles of the meeting house, covered with snow white cloths
and the communicants, each of whom had been presented by the officers of the
church with a "token," usually a piece of lead resembling in shape and size a
silver dime, as a sign of his or her right to eat the supper, took their seats at
this table of the Lord and after presenting their '^tokens," partook of the
sacramental feast. The records of the time also show the election of singing
clerks. The singing clerk was a man of much more coqsequence in those days
than even the leader of the choir in our modern churches. He occupied a
seat in front of the high, old-fashioned pulpit, and it was his duty not only
to pitch the tunes, but to line out each hymn as it was sung. Hymn books
were not plentiful, perhaps many of the worshippers could not have read them
if they had had them, and a singing clerk was as much needed as a preacher.

During the early part of Pastor Monfort's ministry he preached at Hope-
well also and it was not until 1838 that the Franklin church was enabled to
sup])ort a pastor on full time and even then the utmost the church could do
was to raise five hundred dollars for the pastor's salary and appeal to the state
board of missions for help in raising that amount. Tn the year 1834 a school
house was built on the rear of the lot adjoining the present church, and in this
school house the congregation worshiped until a frame church was built on
the corner in 1837. It was built by Peter Shuck at a cost of eight hundred
and sixteen dollars, not including the seats in the pulpit, and being the first
church edifice in the town. It was regarded as a ver}^ pretentious structure.

Dr. Monfort continued his ministry in the Franklin church until 1850

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and up to that time the church numbered one hundred and forty-three mem-
bers. It had been somewhat weakened by discord and dissension and had
fewer communicants than some fifteen years prior thereto. It is remembered
by some of the older citizens of the town that the pastor's wife kept a private
school in this church as a means of supplementing her husband's small
salary. The Rev. James A. McKee, then preaching at Vernon, was called to
the Franklin church in 1850 at a salary of seven hundred dollars per year.
Dr. McKee was a Pennsylvanian by birth, but had been educated in the school
and theological seminary then located at Hanover. In the beginning Dr.
McKee's work was very successful, but after a few years dissension and dis-
cord again arose and in 1855 not a single addition was made to the church
and the same thing occurred in 1857, but in the latter part of McKee's pastor-
ate, peace again having reunited the membership, many additions were made
to the church. In i860 Dr. McKee resigned and was succeeded by the Rev.
A. B. Morey. Mr. Morey was a native of New York and an alumnus of
Princeton. Dr. Morey was a very successful pastor, three hundred and
seventy- four being added to the membership during his pastorate. Dr. Morey
was succeeded by the Rev. S. E. Wishard in 1871. Dr. Wishard was a native,
of Johnson county, an alumnus of Wabash College and of Lane Seminary.
Dr. Wishard was succeeded in the year 1877 by the Rev. William Torrence,.
a very able divine whose pastorate continued nine years and he in turn was
succeeded by the Rev. Ernest McMillan in the year 1886. Rev. McMillan
resigned about the first of the year 1889, and on April 3r(l of that year, Rev.
Leon P. Marshall, of the Peru church, was called. He was installed May
21, 1889, and began a long and successful pastorate. For a full score of years,
he served his congregation faithfully, and his name is yet a household word
in this community.

In 1909, Dr. B. W. Tyler was called from a chair in Hanover College, to
the Franklin church, and worthily fills the place distinguished by his pred-
ecessors. This church has had but seven pastors in eighty-nine years — an
altogether remarkable record in this community. Its membership now
numbers 562.

GREENWOOD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

On the 1 8th day of December, 1864, the Rev. P. S. Cleland, of Green-
wood, preached a sermon in the Presbyterian church of that town, that day
being celebrated as the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ministry to that church.
The sermon is replete with facts and incidents relating to the early history
of that community, and vividly portrays the experiences of the faithful pastor

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

and his small flock under the trying conditions of the time. The author has
been fortunate enough to secure a copy of that sermon, and thinks it worthy
a place in this history.

A quarter-century discourse, delivered at Greenwood, Indiana, December
18, 1864, at the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ministry to the Presb3rterian
church in that place, by the Rev. P. S. Cleland :

I Sam. vii :i2 — Then Samuel took a hand and set it between Mizpah and
Shen and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying: "Hitherto hath the Lord
helped us."

Psalms Ixxx :8 — Thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it.

I Cor. ii:i — And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with ex-
cellency of speech.' or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

I Thess. ii:i9 — For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?
Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

Events of interest and importance are usually commemorated by signifi-
cant ceremonies and memorials.

When the Israelites had passed over Jordan, "the I^rd spake unto
Joshua, saying: Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tri])e a
man, and command ye them, saying, take you hence out of the midst of Jordan,
out of the place where the Priest's feet stood firm, twelve stones; and ye shall
carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place where ye shall
lodge this night.

"That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their
fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye
shall answer them, that the waters of Jordan were cut ofl^ before the ark of
the covenant of the Lord ; when it passed over Jordan the waters of Jordan
were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of
Israel forever.''

In subsequent times, when the Lord wrought a great deliverance of the
people of Israel from a long and grevious oppression by the Philistines, Samuel
took a stone, and set it up, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, "Hither-
to hath the Lord helped us."

The occasion which we have assembled to commemorate, though it is of
no importance to the outside world at large, has interest and importance to
us sufficient to warrant a passing notice. This is an era in our history. As
pastor and flock, we meet to celebrate our silver wedding. Twenty-five years
ago, the relation of minister and people was instituted between us, and it has
continued in uninterrupted harmony to the present time It becomes iis to

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 313

meet to-day and set up our Ebenezer, for we can say, as did Israel of old,
"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us/'

What shall be our Ebenezer? The best and most appropriate offering
we can render to God is the sacrifice of an humble, grateful heart. The most
suitable memorial that I can offer for those who may come after us is, to place
on record a sketch of the history of this church, especially of that portion of
it with which I have been identified..

ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH.

The original name of this church was Greenfield. According to the testi-
mony of Rev. Isaac Reed, **the name Greenfield was given in July, 1825, by
mutual agreeement between those immediately concerned, to the settlement
along both sides of the State road leading from Franklin to Indianapolis. It
embraces a tract along the north part of Johnson and the south part of Marion
counties, near the said road. The name was chosen, and designed to be the
name of a church, a school and a post office.. All these were future and
prospective. It was fixed upon by James Smock, Isaac Smock, John B,
Smock, and the Rev. Isaac Reed, who, the preceding day. had entered into a
plan for founding and rearing up such society and school."

,The first land in this settlement, thus defined, was purchased by Jacob
Smock, in May, 1822, and the first land cleared, and the first cabin raised.
was by him in the summer of 1823. "The first families of the settlement
were Isaac Smock\s, John B. Smock's, and Jacob Smock's, from Mercer
county, Kentucky. They all arrived the same day, which was the last day of
September, 1823." These were "in advance of all others.*' Jacob Smock
settled on the farm immediately north of the village of Southport. The first
lands opened, and cabins built, in this immediate locality, were by Isaac Smock
and John B. Smock, in the fall of 1823. The former located on the farm
immediately south of the village of Greenwood: the latter on the farm now
owned by A. C. Woods.

These, pioneer families were soon followed by those of James Smock,
Henry Smock, Samuel Brewer, and others, so that in the course of three or
four years, a large number of families found a home in the new settlement.

It is the testimony of Rev. Isaac Reed, and others, that "the first sermon
preached in the settlement was by the Rev. George Bush, at the house of
J. B. Smock." The precise date of that sermon is not given, but it was in
the month of December, 1824. About the same time. Rev. James H. John-
ston passed through the settlement and preached. About the middle of De-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

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cember, 1824, he started from Madison on a tour, through what was then
called the "New Purchase/' He preached at various points on the way, and
on the third Sabbath, in that month — ^just forty years ago — ^he preached at
Mr. Young's, on Sugar creek, in the morning, and at Franklin in the even-
ing. "On Monday," he says, "I rode to what was then called Smock's set-
tlement, where Greenwood now is, and preached at Mr. James Smock's in
the evening, to a company that seemed highly gratified in enjoying the oppor-
timity of hearing Presbyterian preaching."

This church was organized December 31, 1825, at the house of John B.
Smock — ^two years and three months from the day of the arrival of the first
families. It was organized by the Rev. Isaac Reed, and consisted of nine
members, viz: James Smock, Charity Smock, Garrett Brewer, Isaac Smock,
Rachel Smock, Mary Smock, Henry Smock, John B. Smock, and Mary
Smock (wife of Jacob Smock). The first six of these persons united in the
organization on certificate, and the last three on examination.'

On the same day, James Smock and Garret Brewer were elected and or-
dained to the office of ruling elder.

Of the original number, none of them are now members of this church,
and but two of them are among the living — ^venerable in years, and awaiting
the summons to join those who have gone before, as we trust, to the church
of the First-bom in heaven. These two are Isaac Smock, of Kansas, and
Mary Smock (wife of Jacob Smock), of Iowa. The first communion of the
newly formed church was held on the day succeeding the organization, Jan-
uary I, 1826. The sermon on the occasion was preached by Rev. Isaac Reed,
from I Cor. 3:11 : "For other foundation can no man lay than is laid, which
is Jesus Christ." This sermon was subsequently published, and is entitled,
"The Foundation Stone." It was dedicated to my father by the author, for
reasons which are given in the dedication, which is as follows :

"To the Rev. Thomas Cleland, D. D. :

"Every member, sir, of the Greenfield church has come from your
bounds, and been a worshipper in one or the other of your congregations.
This fact, together with my long acquaintance with and friendship for you,
as a man, a Christian, and a gospel minister, and your pen having so often
and so ably moved in defense of that fundamental doctrine, which is the sub-
ject of the sermon, is my apology for using your name in this dedication.
"Cottage of Peace, February 3, 1826." "Isaac Reed."

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In the concluding part of the sermon the preacher addressed the congre-
gation in the following strain :

"This, brethren and friends of the Greenfield society, is a peculiar day.
It marks a new event to us. And I hope, expect and believe, that the memory
of this day will be blessed. We, I trust, shall cherish the remembrance of it
whilst we live, and I expect it will be dear to our children, and to our chil-
dren's children. We now first assemble under a new church name. A new
society has arisen. May it live forever. God, in whose hands our times are,
and whose are all our ways, in His providence hath severed us from our
brethren, our churches, and our ministers, in yon land of our fathers' sepul-
chres, and hath set us down here. But this day is witness, and we ourselves
are witnesses, that Jehovah's ways to us are full of mercy. For the church
of Harrodsburg and Providence, behold! He gives us a church in Green-
field. Scarcely is the wild man gone, scarcely is the wild beast fled, and the
banner of the Lord is set up."

Thus truly was this vine planted in the wilderness. God cast out the
heathen and planted it, for the remnant of Indian tribes were still in the
country, when the first emigrants arrived, and for some time afterward.

How far the hopes and faith of the venerable founder of the church
have been realized, will, in some degree, appear in the sequel of this discourse.

On the 4th day of January, 1826, "the school society was formed, and
trustees chosen, to receive a title and hold in trust, for the congregation, a
right to a piece of land for a meeting-house, school house, burying ground,
etc., donated to the congregation by Garret Brewer and Isaac Reed."

The first grave dug in this lot, and the first funeral in the settlement,
was that of William H. Kintner, who was killed about half a mile south of
the village, on September 21, 1827, by the falling of a tree, which was struck
by a wheel of the wagon that he was driving.

The first marriage in the settlement was that of Ephraim Robinson and
Elizabeth Alexander.

The first school in the settlement was taught by Mrs. Elizabeth Falls,
daughter of Rev. Mr. Duncan.

FIRST HOUSE OF WORSHIP.

The church, for a time, had no local habitation, the congregation wor-
shiping in private houses. During the year 1826 a hewed log house, 16x20
feet, was erected on the lot already spoken of, for the double purpose of a

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school house and a place of public worship. No record was made of the
time when the church took possession of their new sanctuary.

Though humble and rude in its structure and appearance, it was indeed
the house of God, and of this man and that it may be said, he was born there.
It was occupied as a house of worship until it became too small for the multi-
tudes that assembled in it. It at length gave place to a more commodious
structure. In 1836 it was taken down and removed a few rods, to the west
side of the road, and has ever since been occupied as a dwelling. It remains
to this dav. a relic of earlv times.

SECOND HOUSE OF WORSHIP.

In the autumn of 1832, the frame of a second house of worship, forty
feet wide by fifty feet long, was erected. The roof was put on, and twenty
feet on the east end of the building was enclosed and finished for the use of
the school and as a i)lace of worship. The other part of the house was com-
pleted, gradually, in the course of several years. The pulpit was built in
1839, and the seats put in in 1840. The house was divided into two apart-
ments by a swinging partition, by means of which the whole building, as oc-
casion required, could be converted into one large room. The house was
built chiefly by the personal labors of the congregation. The people had a
mind to work. Of silver and gold they had but little, hut all the money thai
was expended was for such work and material as could not be supplied by
the people themselves. The estimated value of the building was about one
thousand two hundred dollars, of which not more than a third was paid in
money.

The building, though unpretentious in appearance and style, was the
abode of the King of Glory. It was often filled with His presence. In it
He often manifested His power in the awakening and conversion of sinners,
and in building up His saints in the faith and order of the gospel. It was
occupied for twenty years as a sanctuary of God, and until the congregation
took possession of their present house of worship.

THIRD HOUSE OF WORSHIP.

Although it is anticipating the order of events, I will here dispose of
what I have to say in regard to the topic of houses of worship. The old
church being in need of much repairing, and the center of population having
changed by the springing up of a village some half a mile south of it, the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 317

congregation, early in the year 1852, took into consideration the propriety
of erecting a new sanctuary. The conclusion was to build in the village, and
this lot was selected as the site. Preparations for building were at once be-
gun, and the work of erecting the house, forty by sixty feet, was commenced
in the ensuing spring, and pushed on to completion, under the superintend-
ence of Isaac Smock, John R. Smock and W. H. Wisharcl, as a building
committee, at a cost of about two thousand five hundred dollars.

The house was solemnly consecrated to the worship of the one living
and true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, on September 17,
1853. The services of the occasion were as follows: Invocation and reading,
select passages of Scripture, by the pastor. Prayer by Rev. Henry Little,
of Madison. Sermon by Rev. Geo. M. Maxwell, then of Indianapolis, from
1st Tim. 3:15. Prayer of dedication by the pastor. On the 13th of October,
following, the synod of Indiana met in this house in annual session. Rev.
Ransom Hawley, moderator.

STATISTICS.

The church, as already stated, was organized with nine members. No
additions were made to the little flock for more than two years. The vine,
in the meantime, was taking root, and it now began to grow and bring forth
fruit. Additions began to be made, both by certificate and examination.
These additions were frequent and sometimes in large numbers, so that dur-
ing the first fourteen years after the organization of the church, to the time
when I took charge of it, the number of members that had been received was
208, viz: On examination, 119, and on certificate, 89. When I came to the
church there were 114 names on the roll of the church, so far as could be
ascertained from the imperfect state of the records ; consequently, up to that
time, 84 members had been dismissed or had died. Of the 114 members,
when I came, only 18 are in communion now. The whole number of mem-
bers received since I began my labors in this church is 223 ; viz : On exam-
ination, 155; on certificate, 68; making the whole number of members, since
the organization of the church, 431, viz: On examination, 274; on certificate,

157-

The number of deaths since January i, 1840, ofniembcrs of the

church, is 55: of dismissals, 147: of suspensions, 26. The whole nunil)cr of
members, at this time, 13 108.

Of the 114 who were members of the church when I took charge of it,

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about one-half are dead, making a total since the organization of the church.
of more than 100 communicants who have gone to the eternal world. The
greatest number of members received in one year, is 48, viz: on examination,
28; on certificate, 20. This was in the year 1830, during the ministry of Rev.
W. W. Woods. The next largest number admitted in one year is 32, viz:
on examination, 28 ; on certificate, 4.

There have been but four years, since the organization of the church, in
which no additions were made to it, viz: 1826, 1827, 1835, and 1848. The
average number admitted to the church during each of the twenty-five years
of my ministry, is a small fraction less than nine ; of this number, a fraction
over six were received on examination.

An analysis of these statistics suggests some interesting and useful re-
flections.

I. Notice the coincidence between the number of members in the church
twenty-five years ago, and the number belonging to it now — nearly the same.
The church is numerically no stronger now than it was then. Our loss by
dismission, suspension and death has exceeded the additions. Still there has
been growth. As has been stated, 223 persons have been added to it during
this period. If, therefore, there has been no diminution of our members, the
church would have had on her rolls, today, nearly 350 members. Where are
they? Some of them have gone to their final account, and of these, many
we have reason to believe, have gone "to the General Assembly and Church
of the first-born, which are written in heaven." The greater part of them
are scattered in various parts of the country, many of them being useful mem-
bers of other branches of'the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, and others have
gone back to the world.

This large depletion of our numbers, by removal, is a proof of the unset-
tled state of our western population, and suggests one great difficulty in build-
ing up large and stable churches in the west. Our population is fluctuating.
Every man is ready to sell when he can get his price, and seek his fortune in
other parts of the country, chiefly with the hope of improving his temporal
condition, and in so doing, some pitch their tents toward Sodom. Thus the
churches are weakened and often become extinct. But amidst all these
changes, it is a great relief to know that in the orderings of the great Head
of the Church, these scattered sheep are gathered into other folds, or become
centers around which other churches are gathered.

2. We are reminded that the church lives though her members die. The
good man is immortal till his work is done. Likewise the church is inde-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 319

structible till her redemption is complete. This branch of Zion was planted
nearly forty years ago, and though many of its members sleep in the grave,
and many more have gone out from us to other portions of the great* vine^
yard, it still survives, and when all the present members are gone, we believe
it will live, a blessing to successive generations, and a light to the world.

3. While there is abundant reason for gratitude to God for His favor
shown to this church, there is still greater reason for humiliation before Him.
While we rejoice in all the good that has been accomplished, how much more
might have been done if there had been more faith and zeal on the part of its
ministers and members. While many have been hopefully bom again, and
trained for heaven, how many have lived and died without hope, and how
many are still living among us impenitent and without God in the world ?

It IS proper, in closing this review of these statistics, to remark that at
no time has the church enjoyed much more than one-half of the time and la-
bors of its ministers. Far greater results might have been realized if the un-
divided labors of its ministers could have been bestowed on this field.

BAPTISMS.

I have baptized, in connection with this church, 46 adults and 155 infants.

MARRIAGES.

In the last twenty-five years, I have married 116 couples, and during
my whole ministry I have solemnized 122 marriages.

FUNERALS.

I have kept no account of the funerals I have attended, or of funeral
sermons I have preached. The whole number exceeds, by several fold, the
number of marriages.

SERMONS.

I have preached to this congregation not less than 1,800 or 2.000 sermons.

CHANGE OF NAME.

In consequence of the name of Greenfield having been given to the shire
town of Hancock county, the name of the postoffice and. subsequently, of the

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church, was changed to Greenwood. The precise dates of these changes I
have not been able to ascertain.

SABBATH SCHOOL.

1^ ^

I "

1 ! '

The Sabbath school was organized soon after the first house of worship
was built, and has been maintained, w ithout serious interruption, to the present
time. Many children and youth have been instructed in it, in the knowledge
of God's word. What the results of that instruction have been will be known
only in eternity. Though it has not received the moral and pecuniary sup-
port of the congregation which its importance and efficiency demanded, the
Sabbath school has been a nursery in which plants of righteousness have been
reared for the garden of the Lord on earth, and for Paradise above. The
superintendents, so far as I have learned, have been James Smock, Cornelius
Smock, John L. Carson, John Q. Smock, Robert Todd, W. H. Wishard,
Caleb Beckes and A. C. Woods.

OTHER CHURCHES.

For several years this church was the only ecclesiastical organization in
this vicinity. The population was homogeneous, and the people were almost
unanimous in their preference for Presbyterianism. On March 30, 1833, the
New Providence church was organized by Rev. W. W. Woods, with 23 mem-
bers ; of this number, 22 were set oflf from this church by order of presbytery.
The daughter has lived in harmony with the mother church, and has usually
enjoyed the labors of the same minister. It has been blessed with a good
degree of prosperity. It has shared in the changes and fluctuations so com-
mon to western churches. In the division of the Presbyterian church, in 1838,
it was rent in twain. It numbers at present about fifty members. The name
of the church has been changed to Southport.

The Baptist church was instituted at this place July 17, 1839, with 18
members. The w^hole number of members that have belonged to it is 224.
The present number of members is 103. Their present pastor is Rev. E. S.
Riley.

The Methodist Episcopal church was organized December 21, 1850, by
the late Rev. E. D. Long. The present number of members is 46. The
pastor in charge is Rev. James M. Crawford.

"The Second Presbyterian church, of Greenwood, Old School,'' was
organized by a committee of presbytery, March 11, 1854, with 8 members.

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The whole numbers of members that have been received into it is 26. The
present number of members is 15. It has been without a minister for a con-
siderable period.

'The Christian Church," of Greenwood was organized April 29, i860,
with 41 members. The present number of members is 60. Their minister is
Prof. R. T. Brown.

With all these churches we have lived in harmony, and our relations have
never been more fraternal than at the present time.

OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH — RULING ELDERS.

The following list comprises the names of those who have exercised the
office of ruling elder, in this church, with the time of their continuing in office :

Garret Brewer, ordained December 31, 1825, died June 16, i86a

James Smock, ordained December 31, 1825, died February 9, 1830.

Alexander Wilson, ordained March 4, 1829, resigned March 6, 1830..

Cornelius Smock, ordained March 6, 1830, dismissed February 15, 1839.

Garret Sorter, ordained March 6, 1830. ^

John Sebern, ordained March 6, 1830, dismissed March 30, 1833.

John L. Carson, installed June 16, 1833, died August 11, 1836.

Abraham V. Brewer, ordained November 20, 1836, resigned December
26, 1841.

Samuel Eccles, ordained November 20, 1836, dismissed June 17, 1855.

John R. Smock, ordained January 30, 1842.

John P. Garr, ordained January 30, 1842, dismissed May, 1845.

William H. Wishard, ordained May 25, 1845, dismissed January 5, 1861.

Robert Todd, ordained May 25, 1845, dismissed Octobeer 22, 1855.

John T. McClintick, ordained January 18, 1852, dismissed January 30,
1854.

Caleb Beckes, ordained April i, 1854, dismissed November 6, 1859.

Thomas B. Noble, ordained April i, 1854.

Woodford A. Woods, ordained October 6, i860.

Joseph M. Wishard, ordained October 6, i860.

David S. Whitenack, ordained October 6, i860.

The present eldership consists of Garret Sorter, John R. Smock, Thomas
B. Noble, Woodford A. Woods, Joseph M. Wishard and David S. Whitenack.

(21)

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DEACONS.

William McGee, ordained March 4, 1829, died October, 1846..

Garret Sorter, ordained March 4, 1829, resigned March 6, 1830.

Samuel Brewer, ordained March 6, 1830, dismissed March 30, 1833.

Samuel D. Comingore, ordained November 20, 1836, dismissed Septem-
ber 4, 1864.

John Whitenack, ordained November 20, 1836, dismissed 1839.

Peter Whitenack, ordained December, 1846.

John Brewer, ordained December, 1846.

Fielding R. Voris, dismissed February 2, 1853.

William Gregg, dismissed November 5, 1854.

Alfred C. Woods, dismissed November 5, 1854,

The present deacons of the church are Peter Whitenack. John Brewer,
William Gregg and Alfred C. Woods.

PHYSICAL CHANGES.

The country was originally covered with a heavy and dense forest. It
has required Herculean labor to open up the ground for cultivation. The
original settlers had to endure great exposure and hardships, and subject them-
selves to great privations. Twenty-four years ago the farms in this region
were but partially opened, and scarcely any land was enclosed except what
was cultivated with the plow. The people were very much isolated from
the rest of the world. There were no stores or points of trade nearer than
Indianapolis and Franklin, and those places afforded but indifferent markets
for the prodiKe of the country. To obtain their groceries and other neces-
saries of life, the farmers had to transport their produce, in wagons, to the
Ohio river and barter them, at very low rates, for such things as they needed.

For several years after I came here the greater part of the land on
which the village of Greenwood stands was covered with the native forest.
The village sprang up by the force of circumstances. It arose from the
necessities of the country. The first dry-goods store established here was in
1845, by James W. Parker. The branches of mechanical industry, usually
found in a country village, were soon afterwards introduced. The completion
of the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad in the fall of 1847, ^ve an impetus
to the village and to the industrial interests of the country. Of the two oldest
dwellings in the village, I built the second in 1840, clearing away the native

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te. It is now owned and occupied by Grafton Johnson, Esq.
essed the rise and growth of this village, and the wonderful
the surrounding country in appearance, wealth and the coni-

. EDUCATION.

e been noticed, the school was established almost as soon as
las been continued with but little interruption to the present
igh the standard of education in this community has never
as it should have been, and though our schools have not been
le as they should have been, they have maintained a position
superior to those in most of the rural districts of the country,
amber of young men within my field of labor have been mem-
r or shorter period, of Wabash College, three of whom have
raduated from that institution. Of those, one is a minister
; is a physician, and the other is in the army. It is a humili-
) one has entered the ministry from this church, and but one
my labor. Rev. S. E. Wishard, of Tecumseh, Michigan.

THE .\RMY.

Ration has contributed more than twenty soldiers to the army
this time of the nation's trial, of whom the greater part were
church. Of these two are ruling elders, and of the whole
^e fallen by disease contracted in the army.

REVIVALS.

is a vine of God's own planting. He has baptized it copiously
It has enjoyed many seasons of refreshing from the presence
) special record has been kept of the many revivals of religion

the history of the church. I know nothing of these revivals
linistry here, except what may be inferred from the additions
rch, from time to time from the world. The first general
; seems to have taken place in 1829, in which year twenty-
^ere added to the church, twenty-one of whom were received

faith. In the succeeding year there was a still more exten-
ice, resulting in the addition of forty-eight members to the
ight of them from the world. In the following year, 183 1,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

another revival occurred, as the result of which, sixteen persons united with
the church on examination. In 1833 ^^^ Holy Spirit was again poured out
upon the congregation, by which seventeen were hopefully converted. Con-
siderable accessions were made from the world in "1837, 1838 and 1839.

The first revival after I commenced my ministery was enjoyed in 1840,
bringing seventeen into the church from the world. The two following years
were also signalized by the visitations of the Divine Spirit, resulting in the
addition of twenty in 1841, and nineteen in 1842 on examination. The years
1850 and 1853, were marked by seasons of special religious interest. The
revival in 1856, resulted in larger additions to the church than from any season
of refreshing enjoyed during my ministry. As the fruits of that work,
twenty-eight persons were experienced in 1858, i860 and 1862. And at other
times there have been manifestations of the presence of the Holy Spirit, in
Irfs quickening and sanctifying influence. Although the most enlarged Christ-
tlan charity will not require or justify us in saying or believing, that all those
who have been admitted to the church from the world have been born again,
the evidence of a genuine work of grace in many hearts is too palpable to ad-
mit of a doubt that God has put the seal of his favor upon the church in re-
peated instances. And thus the church, under God, has been the spiritual
mother of many precious souls. These repeated manifestations of the divine
favor should encourage us to pray for new and more glorious outpourings of
the Holy Spirit.

Camp meetings were held in the autumn of 1833 and 1834, a mile north
of where we are, which were attended with much apparent interest and profit.

MINISTERS.

The church was without the regular ministration of the gospel for nearly
three years after its organization. From the sermon preached by Rev. Isaac
Reed on the day succeeding the organization of the church, we learn that he
had been invited, and expected, **to form a ministerial relation" with the
church. But, for reasons not given, the relation was not consummated. Mr.
Reed was a pioneer in this state; he came into it in 1818. He traveled
extensively in the state, and organized more churches in the state, probably,
than any other man. He came to this state from Kentucky, though he was a
native, I believe, of New York, He died January 14, 1858, in Olney, Illinois,
after many years of arduous and unrequited toil. The church enjoyed the.
preaching of the word only occasionally. Among those who occasionally
preached for the people was Rev. Mr. Duncan. He resided at Vevay, in this

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State. He was of Scotch descent, had been connected with the Associate or
Associate Reformed church. He wais a very sensible man, intei^esting a,nd
instructive in conversation, but not attractive as a preacher. He seems never
to have had a charge, but he made frequent missionary ex(!ursions, and re-
ceived such compensation as the people saw fit to give. He died more than
thirty years ago, very suddenly and unexpectedly, at the house of a friend, a
few miles north of Madison, where he had stopped merely to spend the night.
The first minister who regularly supplied the church seems to have been
the Rev. Jeremiah Hill. He was a native of Maine, born June 7, 1793. He
was a very wicked boy, and spent several years of his early manhood in the
commission of acts of crime and gross immorality. He embraced the doc-
trine of universal salvation, and then atheism. He went to western Pennsyl-
vania, where he was the leader in every vice. He found a home in a pious
family, through W'hose instrumentality, especially that of the mother, he was
converted from the error of his ways. Burning with a desire to do something
to advance the kingdom of Christ, after visiting his mother, he went to the
Cherokee nation, among whom the American Board had established a mission.
Not approving the manner in which the mission was conducted, he went to an-
other place, built a cabin, cleared some ground, and collected some scholars.
During the year he raised more corn and taught more scholars than they did
at the mission without missionary aid. His course in regard to the mission
soon brought him into notice, and he received encouragement and aid from
ery, to enable him to acquire a partial education, which he ob-
ville, Tennessee. He was licensed by Union presbytery in the
5, and was probably ordained by the same body a short time
noved to Indiana in September, 1828, and took charge of the
ranklin and Hopewell, and he gave a p^rt of his time to this
sral months, until the arrival of Rev. W. W. Woods, in January,
n took an agency for the American Sunday School Union, and
lat work about a year. In the latter part of 1830 he commenced
ited supply in Bethany church in Owen county, and continued
md in parts adjacent, till the spring of 1836. In July following
►wnstown. Soon after, he ceased from his labors. On the 22d
left home to attend a sacramental meeting near Bedford. He
iwell at the time, but at the request of the ministers present, he
e Sabbath, August 24th. Immediately after the sermon, which
id a half in length, he was taken severely ill. and was conveyed
He died on the following Sabbath, August 31, 1836. Mr.

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Hillj as a preacher, is represented to have been zealous, plain and pointed.
He was at times uncouth and severe in his remarks, and he oftentimes gave
great offense. But there was general confidence in his sincerity and piety, and
his labors were blessed to the salvation of many souls.

Rev. William W. Woods succeeded Mr. Hill in this church. He com-
menced his ministry to this church in June, 1829, and continued to supply it
for four years, until May or June, 1833. He then took an agency for the
American Sunday School Union for two years, from June, 1833, and after
this he was agent for the American Tract Society for two years. In the fall
of 1837, he removed to Putnamville, in this state, and in 1841 he settled in
Iowa City, where he now resides. At present, he is chaplain in the army.

Mr. Woods was born in Washington county, Virginia, September 18,
1799; removed to Tennessee in 1812, graduated at Greenville College, Tennes-
see, in 1826, and having studied theology previous to his graduation, he was
licensed to preach in 1826 by Union presbytery, and was ordained by the same
presbytery at Washington, Tennessee, in 1827. Mr. Woods' ministry to this
church of four years was very successful in building up the church; more than
one hundred members were added to it on examination and certificate within
that period.

After Mr. Woods gave up the charge of the church, Rev. Hillary Patrick
supplied the pulpit of the church for six months, having charge of the school
at the same time. At the close of that period, he removed to Mississippi. He
now resides in Tamaroa, Illinois. The church was in a flourishing state while
under his charge ; additions were made to it, but how many, I have not been
able to ascertain.

Rev. Eliphalet Kent succeeded Mr. Patrick. He received a call, in due
form, from the church to become its pastor. I have not been able to learn
the precise date at which he began his ministry here; but on May 9th, 1834,
he was installed the first pastor of the church by the Indianapolis presbytery.
Sermon by Rev. Mr. Herd, and charge to the pastor and people by Rev. W.
W. Woods.

Mr. Kent was born in Dorset, Vermont, March 17, 1800; graduated at
Williams College in 1825 ; pursued his theological course at Auburn Seminary ;
was licensed to preach by the Berkshire (Mass.) Association in 1829, and was
ordained shortly afterwards by the Rutland (Vt.) Association. He came to
Indiana in the fall of 1829, and spent a year as a home missionary in Barthol-
omew and Shelby counties. After that his labors were confined to Shelby
county, until his removal to this field. His labors were much blessed in the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 32/

[ organization of several churches in Shelby county. He re-
ral office in 1839, and at the meeting of the presbytery in Octo-
, the relation between him and this church was dissolved. He
liately to Shelby county, where he continues to reside. His

fruitful one; upwards of seventy members were added to the
he six years of his ministry. During most of this time, Mrs.
e of the school. She was an excellent and successful teacher,
f is fragrant in the hearts of many of her pupils at this day.
1 Mr. Kent as minister of this church. In regard to my pre-

would state that I was born in what is now Marion county,
imber 27, 181 1. I graduated at Centre College, Kentucky, in
ed my studies at the Theological Seminary in Andover, Massa-
iting with the class of 1835. I was licensed to preach by the
iation in April, 1835. On returning west in the fall of that

an invitation to the Presbyterian church in Jeffersonville, in
itered on my labors there January i, 1836, and was ordained
stor of that church in November of the same year. The plow-
)n, which ran through the Presbyterian church in 1838, dis-
irch. This greatly weakened that part of the church which
e ; so much so, that I found it necessary for me to resign my

closed my labors there, at the end of June, 1839, after a
je years and a half.

hiis congregation, by invitation of the session, in November,
ched my first sermon within its bounds, on the 17th of that
louse of one of the elders, Mr. Sorter, who then lived seven

place. On the evening of the same day I preached my first
:hool room of the old church.

ult of that visit, this church and the New Providence church
itation to the work of the ministry among them. The invita-
id, and I arrived with my family on Saturday evening, Decem-
id commenced my labors the next day, preaching my first ser-

2:20, 21, and, having obtained help of God, I continue with
esent day.

pledged for only one-half of my labors to this church, for
devoted three-quarters of my time here, and the other c|uarter
v^ Providence church. About the year 1848, I took charge of
it church, giving to it one-fourth of my time, until the close of
vhen, in consequence of the almost entire extinction of that
1 and removal, I ceased to preach at that point.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

After a probation of more than ten years, I was installed pastor of this
and the associate churches of Southport and Mt. Pleasant, May 2, 1850. Rev.
C E. Babb preached the sermon, on the occasion, from ist Cor. 2:2. Rev.
A. S. Avery gave the charge to the pastor, and Rev. Charles Merwin gave
the charge to the people.

In February, 1853, I resigned the charge of the New Providence church
in order that that church might secure a minister who could give them more
preaching and pastoral supervision than I could bestow. Rev. William A.
Campbell, of Tennessee, was immediately employed by that church, and he
continued his labors 'until his removal by death, August 25th following. In
the early part of 1854, Rev. B. M. Nyce was employed to fill the vacant pulpit,
which he continued to do till the spring of 1855. Mr. Nyce was immediately
succeeded by Rev. James Brownlee, who remained until August, 1856. Mr.
Nyce was again employed until the close of 1857.

On the 1st of January. 1858, I again took charge of that church and have
continued my labors there to the present time. My time is divided equally
between that church and this.

♦ CONCLUDING REMARKS.

In view of this retrospect of the past, the following remarks suggest
themselves :

I. We are reminded of the rapid passage of time and the near approach
of our final account. A quarter of a century has passed away since I became
your minister. How rapidly the years have come and gone ! Like a tale that
is told, or a dream when one awaketh ! I came among you in the freshness
and vigor of youth. Gray hairs are upon me now. A new generation has
come up around me. Some of you who were little children when I came, and
one whom I sprinkled with the water of baptismal consecration, have families
.of your own, and on some of your children I have performed the same conse-
crating act which I did for you.

How many are there here to-day who were present at my first sermon ?
Who that saw the congregation then would recognize it now ? How great the
change! The fathers and mothers, where are they? Where is that Israelite,
indeed, Garret Brewer? Where are James Smock, John L. Carson, Wm.
Woods, John B. Smock, Rachel Smock, and other godly women as v^ell as
men, whose names I have not time to mention? Having washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, as we trust, they are worship-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 329

ing in the upper sanctuary to-day, and, perhaps, are interested ^ectators of
this memorial scene.

We, too, must soon give up our stewardship. Twenty-five years are a
large portion of a minister's pastoral life. This is our silver wedding. We
shall never celebrate our golden wedding. Before the lapse of twenty-five
years this tongue will, in all probability, be still in death, and many of you
who hear me will sleep in the grave. We shall have gone to our final account.
How momentous will be the issue of that account ! What a record we have
rt years !

is the account which the minister of the gospel must render
final Judge! Overwhelming responsibilities are laid upon
5 ambassador to a race in rebellion against the government
1 commissioned to teach men the way of life and salvation,
nption that is in Christ Jesus, and to persuade men to be
He is to be a guide to the blind, an instructor of the
acher of babes. He is a leader of the sacramental host of
J required to be an example to all the flock. Who is suflS-
igs? And yet all this responsibility is committed to "earthen
nister is a man of like passions w'lth other men, subject to
:y, temptations and adverse influences as other men. He
to holiness and heaven, but has to attain them by the same
*s do. In the prosecution of his work he is often assailed by
3ach, his motives are impugned, and all the obstacles which
c ingenuity can devise are thrown in his way. Often he is
t apathy, the waywardness, and even opposition of members
o should be his fellow helpers in the gospel. Added to all
epressing influence arising from an inadequate and irregular
Well may the minister of the gospel look forward, with
ime when he shall give an account of his stewardship. How
ministry among you will stand, I shall not attempt to divine.
o{ the word, too, as well as the preacher, must give an ac-
^ovement of their privileges. How have you received the
From my lips? Have I been a savior of life unto life to any
>een a sevior of death unto death to you ? Soon your places
ctuary will be vacant. Some of you, I doubt not, will then
f God in heaven, to go no more out : but is there not reason
3f you who have long heard me preach will perish with them

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

2.. The commencement and continuance of my ministry among you have
been, as I verily believe, of the Lord. My coming here was not of my own
seeking; it seemed to be the plain ordering of Providence that I should come
to this field. I was not drawn hither by any external attractions. The country
was new and the place very secluded. But the path of duty seemed plain and
I enterediupon it cheerfully.

I have. not remained with you for considerations of a pecuniary nature.
My salary has always been small, never haying been more than sufficient to
meet, with the strictest economy, the physical necessities of my family, and at
no time enough to meet all the expenses of it. He whose is the silver and the
gold, has, in a most remarkable manner, and in most unexpected ways, sup-
plied my wants. I have coveted no man's gold or silver. I have rejoiced in
all your prosperity. I have endeavored not to be anxious about this world,
and to cast my cares on Him who knoweth what we have need of, and who has
pledged Himself to provide for those who seek first the Kingdom of God and
its righteousness. And here let me remark that I do not think it a breach
of delicacy or propriety for me to say in this public manner, that if I have
been able to live among you in comfort, and have contributed to your spiritual
welfare, it is, in a great measure, to be attributed, under God, to her whom
He has given me for a help-meet and companion. Her frugality, energy, self-
denial and prudence have contributed largely to my usefulness and your spirit-
ual interests. I can adopt the words of Solomon, "The heart of her husband
doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do
him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She looketh well to the ways
of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

My continuance with you, for so many years, has seemed to me to be as
much the orderings of Providence as my coming. At several different times
it has appeared to be right and proper for me to remove to other fields of labor,
but in every attempt to go my way has been hedged up, and the voice of
Providence seemed to say, "go not up hence." I have been with you in
"weakness and in fear, and in much trembling." I think I can say with the
Apostle, "When I came to you, I came not with excellency of speech or of wis-
dom, declaring unto you the testimony of God." I have not attempted the
arts of a polished rhetoric or the display of worldly wisdom, to win your ap-
plause or gain your assent to the truth of the gospel. I have endeavored to
declare unto you plainly, the whole counsel of God. I have tried to explain
and enforce the great doctrines of the Christian scheme. I have not, inten-
tionally, kept back any truth of God's word from you. I have insisted upon

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 33 1

enjoined in the scriptures. I have sought to convince gain-

the careless, to guide the enquiring, to reprove the erring and
nd to comfort and edify the people of God. I have endeavored,
apply the principles of the gospel to the sins and vices of the age.
1 plainly against intemperance, slavery. Sabbath-breaking, and
)f iniquity. I have had no hobbies. I have obtruded no one
Lindue frequency and prominence, upon you, nor have I evaded

fear of exciting your displeasure and losing your support. I
to instruct you in all the great truths of revelation, and to lead
e the virtues enjoined in the viord of God.
say this much, I am deeply conscious and ashamed of the im-
'' my ministry. None of you have a more disparaging opinion
as, and other public performances, than I have. You have

many errors and inconsistencies in my ministerial and christian
ink you for your forbearance and ask you to cover them with

charity, and I pray God not to enter into judgment with his
ese things. I have been with you in sickness and in health. I
h you in your seasons of festivity and affliction. I have gath-

you into the fold of Christ. I have attended your weddings,
children and buried your dead. Thus I have been bound to you

tender and sacred ties which naught but death can sunder. I
many tokens of kindness and affection from you, for which you
:eful thanks. My course has not always been on a smooth

-At times the heavens have been overcast wHth clouds, the
sen to a gale, and the waves have run high. My course has
ated excitement and aroused opposition. But the winds have
I the waves have died away without serious damage; the sun,
rs have come out again, and the usual calm has prevailed. I
[ht peace by a cowardly betrayal of truth. I have courted no
lor have I used flattering words. At the same time I have tried
postolic precepts, "speaking the truth in love : sound speech that
demned, that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed,
1 thing to say of you.'* Whatever anathemas may have been
linst me, in my absence, it gives me great pleasure to say that

excitements and oppositions which my ministrations have oc-
^e uniformly been treated with respect. No one has offered me
or insult. It is a matter of great gratification, and an instance
I of truth, that vast changes have taken place in public sentiment

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

about me, as well as throughout the country, generally, especially in favor of
universal freedom.

3. The occasion wo^ld justify an extended reply to the inquiry, has
there been an adequate return for the expense in time, labor and money in sus-
taining this church? It costs something to sustain the institutions of religion.
Some regard it as a waste of money to spend it for such purposes. Others
consider it an act of charity to support the Gospel. By many it is felt to be a
burden and a tax to sustain the means of grace, for which there is no adequate
compensation. It has cost, probably, $20,000 to meet all the expenses of this
church since its organization. Has this been a wise expenditure of money?
Does the gospel pay? Does a community receive an equivalent for what is
expended in sustaining the ordinances of religion? Would it be better for
society to expend this money in some other way ? To this it may be replied,
in general, that **godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the
life that now is, and of that which is to come/' But churches and ministers
are necessary to the promotion of religion.

Leaving out of view all the bearings of the Gospel on the spiritual and
eternal welfare of men, we maintain that its influence on the temporal inter-
ests of the world exceeds its cost far beyond what any arithmetical formulas
can compute. This may be made to appear from several considerations :

1st. Consider the effect of the gospel on the pecuniary interests of man-
kind. It gives almost its entire value to property. What gives property its
value? One of the main things is, the security of the tenure by which it is
held. If this is uncertain, if property is insecure, it is so far worthless. Was
not property worth more under the reigns of David and Solomon, than under
the reign of the unprincipled and rapacious Ahab? Was property in Sodom,
in the time of Lot as valuable as in the community where Abraham bore rule?
But what made the difference? Had not religion much to do with it?

Is not a farm in Indiana worth far more than one of equal size and fertil-
ity in Mexico, where misrule and revolution, like waves of desolation, roll
over the country in quick succession? And what w^ould these fertile acres
be worth if they were still the hunting grounds of the Indian, and if the viMg-
wam had never given place to the sanctuary, and the yell of the savage had not
been changed for the voice of the living preacher? Moreover, what builds
our railroads, constructs our steamboats^ and whitens every sea with our can-
vas, and thus opens the markets of the world for our products? It is Chris-
tianity that generates that confidence among men, which produces that com-
bination of wealth and enterprise necessary to such grand results. And by

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 333

whom is Christianity brought into contact with the hearts and consciences of
men so effectually as by the ministers of the gospel ? Why is property more
valuable in a community of churches and schools, than in one of an opposite
character ? Why is the wealth and the enterprise of the world in the hands
of Christian nations? But what would become of that wealth if the pulpits of
Christendom were closed?

2. Consider the influence of Christianity on the civilization and intelli-
gence of the world. It is the patron of art, science and literature. The arts
md flourish under her auspices. The school, the academy, and
ng up and flourish only under the fostering care of the church,
nces with the expansion of religion. The superiority of Chris-
en lands, in intelligence, intellectual vigor, philosophy, science,
nt and grasp of knowledge is to be attributed to the influence
Christianity quickens and invigorates the mind, and gives
jrgy to the intellectual movements and agencies of the world,
f the gospel are the earnest advocates and zealous promoters of
the country is indebted to them more than to any other class
advanced state of intelligence and the excellence of our institu-
ig. The church is the grand preserver of the nation from
►ranee and mental imbecility.

due of the church may be seen in its influence on the regenera-
e of society.

vity of the race is universal, and the consequent train of evils
inkind is frightful in extent, and malignant in effect. The
vhere cursed with vices of giant magnitude, and crushed be-
f tyranny and grinding oppression. Now, what is the cause of
ade-spread evils under which the human race is groaning, and
edy? The problem to be solved is how to get rid of evil, how
it from a tree whose apples have hitherto been so bitter: "how
devil, whose name is Legion, from human society, and bring
:o a paradisiacal state?" The attempt has been made to form
naterials, and by human institutions, a perfect state of society.
1 of this world has proved itself, on this question, to be folly,
as chimerical as the effort to discover the philosopher's stone,
had its dreamers, and though they may have dreamed on a
le, their visions have been magnificent failures. And so must
e to be that fails to recognize the source of human ills.
1, is that tree from which bitter fruits have been gathered?

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334 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

It is sin ; the natural depravity of every individual man. This is the true Pan-
dora's box, the bitter fountain whence issue the streams of human woe. That
fountain must be purified before its poisonous streams will cease to flow.

The gospel is the divine and only remedy for the ills of the world. Make
the tree good, and its fruit will be good. Christianity has wrought all the
great moral changes in the world. Wherever it has gone, it has produced
individual peace and social happiness. The best regulated communities are
those where Christianity most prevails. Human government, laws, organiza-
tions, and appliances of whatever kind, are ineffectual to produce social order,
except so far as the gospel is brought to bear on the hearts and consciences
of men. We claim for Christianity all the virtue and happiness that exist in
society. Thus religion contributes, in a thousand ways, to the prosperity,
wealth, peace, intelligence and happiness of the world. We are indebted to
the gospel for everything we possess that is valuable. Though regarded too
much as an object of charity, the riches of the world are the princely gifts of
its hands ; it is the world's greatest benefactor. The pulpit, so far from being
in debt to the pew, is the largest contributor to the wealth, intelligence, and
peace of society. The church has amply liquidated all the claims which the
world has to bring against her. Ministers should l>e regarded as something
more than pensioners on the liberality of the church or the charity of the
world. The laborer is worthy of his hire.

Who can estimate the good which this church has accomplished in this
community in the promotion of morals, education and wealth? Tf, now, we
take a higher view, and if we could estimate the good which has been done
by this church to the spiritual interests of many who have been brought under
her influence, how immeasurable the gain above the expense. Twenty thou-
sand dollars are as nothing in comparison. A thousand fold would be as a
drop in the bucket.

4. The rewards of the faithful minister of the gospel are very great.
Notwithstanding the crushing responsibilities, trials, labors and pecuniary
embarrassments of the ministry, there is much in the ministerial life to support
and comfort us. There is no class of men more happy than ministers. They
are more cheerful than men of other professions. They are less burdened
.with care and corroding anxiety than men of business. They are admitted to
the best circles of society, and hold delightful communion with the wise and
good of the present and former times. .And great is their joy when they see
the work of the Lord prospering in their hands. And still greater bliss and
glory await them at the final day. "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 335

of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at
his coming?" A crown of righteousness shall be given to all them that love
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. It will be a crown of glory ; but with
some it will be a crown without a jewel. But the faithful and successful
minister of the gospel shall wear a diadem sparkling 'with gems of the rich-
est lustre. They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for-
ever and ever. When the riches of the world are all consumed, and the
thrones and coronets of kings and queens have melted in the fires of the last
great day, the true and faithful minister of Christ will have his greatest
reward.

**Now was come his rest.

His triumph day. Illustrious like the sun,

In that assembly, he, shining from afar.

Most excellent in glory stood assured,

Waiting the promised throne.

The welcome, and approval of his Love.
And round him gathered, clad

In white, the vouchers of his ministry.

The flock his care had nourished, fed and saved.''

What scene can be more glorious and blissful in the day of judgment than
the servant of Christ with the seals of his ministry about him and receiving
the approbation of the Master, and a crown garnished with redeemed spirits,
shining like precious stones, with the light of heaven ! What are all thd trials,
self-denial, self-reproach and poverty of the ministry compared with such a
consummation! I know not that such a reward awaits me: but "when the
Chief Shepherd shall appear," may I receive a crown of glory that fadeth
not away, and may each of my dear people be set in it as a jewel to reflect the
lustre of the King of Glory. Amen and Amen.

Succeeding P. S. Cleland in 1866, Rev. Horace Bushnell was the pastor
of the Greenwood Presbyterian church for three years. The next pastor was
Rev. A. Dunn, who served until 1878, to be followed by Rev. J. B. Logan for
two years. Rev. J. B. Jones became pastor in 1880, who after one year was
succeeded by Mr. Dunn for a second pastorate of eighteen months. Rev.
James Williamson then served the church until October, 1887. when Rev. D.
•R. Love was called. He was followed by S. V. McKee and the latter by E.
Smith Miller. W. B. Durham was called in 1901 and remained two years.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Rev. Thomas J. Simons followed Durham, and in 1907 E. L. Williams be-
came pastor. On December i, 191 1, William L. Clarke, the present able
pastor, was called, and the church is now in excellent condition, with two
hundred and eighteen active members.

The congregation occupies a handsome church edifice, erected in 1898,
and dedicated with appropriate religious exercises on November 6th of that
year.

HOPEWELL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Hopewell Presbyterian church had its beginning in the mind and heart
of Thomas Henderson, although he, like his nearest neighbor, Simon Covert,
first sought membership at Franklin. Judge Banta is authority for the state-
ment that the first sermon preached in the neighborhood was at the house
of Simon Covert in 1825 by the Rev. Samuel Gregg, of Tennessee. Others
who very early came to minister to the spiritual needs of the community
were Rev. Isaac Reed, father of many churches in central Indiana, William
Lowery, William Henderson, William Duncan, Jeremiah Hill, J. R. More-
land and E. Kent.

The church was first organized on May 23, 1 831, by the Revs. Moreland
and Monfort, the latter being its first pastor and at the same time serving the
Franklin church. The first church services were held in the old log school
house, of which mention is made in another chapter. The first regular church
building was erected in 1835, a plain but substantial building, forty-five by
sixty feet. After Dr. Monfort resigned to give all of his time to the Frank-
lin church, he was succeeded by William Sickles for about a year. Rev.
Sayers Gazley succeeded hihi for about two and a half years.

Rev. D. V. Smock was pastor from 1842 to 1849. He was followed by
Rev. James Gallatin, as supply, and in 1851 Rev. F. K. Lyon came to serve
the people until 1854. Then came the Rev. A. C. Allen for nearly five years.
In November, 1859, Rev. John F. Smith was called, and continued as pastor
until his death, in 1864. Rev. S. F. Barr was the next pastor for ten years,
succeeded by Rev. F. Black for eight years. In December, 1883, Rev. J. W.
Pugh was called to the pastorate and served seven years, resigning June 22,
1890. Rev. E. I. Davies was installed as pastor shortly thereafter, and he re-
mained at Hopewell until January 28, 1894. Rev. John H. Bright began his
pastorate June 2, 1894, and served six years and nine months. Albert R.
Woodson was formerly called January it, 1902, and was installed May 23d
following. He resigned June 12, 1904. About two months later. Dr. J. H.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 337

Alalcolm was extended a call, and continued his ministry at Hopewell until

i^ovember 17, 19 12. About a month later the Rev. John B. Ferguson, the

present pastor, began his connection with the church.

A Sunday school was organized at Hopewell as early as 1827, and a

parsonage was provided for the pastor during the ministry of Rev. D. V.

^mock. Many of Hopewell's sons have entered the gospel ministry. Rev.

;^. Smith Miller and Rev. James Harvey VanNuys, both now deceased; the
Jievs. Daniel B. Banta, Samuel W. LaGrange, David S. McCaslin, Robert
^haw, William C. Covert, Victor B. Demaree, J. Thomas Henderson, W.
I^owrie VanNuys, RoUin McCaslin, Charles H. McCaslin, Ezra VanNuys,
I^owrey Moore and Gilbert Voorhies, all belong to that goodly band of
(Christian gentlemen who received their training in the schools and church
at Hopewell.

BETHANY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

,0^ ^ V,

Bethany Presbyterian church (Whiteland) was organized September,
""v. David Monfort and William Sickles, pursuant to an order
ianapolis presbytery. The following are the names of those who
r an organization: A. V. and Emma Banta, Jane, Jane Ann,
rancis Dobbins, John Fitzpatrick, Thomas, L. R., Samuel C.
nes H., Archibald C and Polly Graham, Samuel C. and Jane
The organization was effected at the residence of Lewis Gra-
distance from the present site of Whiteland, and at the first
following persons additional to those enumerated were received
hip: A. Banta, Adaline Dobbins, Allen D. and Elizabeth Gra-
X)ut four years services were regularly held in a school house
> of a mile southeast of Whiteland, and at the end of that time a
he especial use of the church was erected about two miles north-
llage. This was a frame edifice, thirty by forty feet in size, and
1 the purposes for which it was intended until 1866. In that
Ful brick building, forty by sixty feet in size, was erected' in the
liteland at a cost of four thousand dollars. A neat parsonage
[875, and the church property is among the best in the county.

SHILOH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

^resbyterian church (Union township) was organized on the
October, 1832, at the residence of James Wylie by Rev. David

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338 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Monfort, the following persons presenting certificates of admission: Jesse
Young and Margaret, his wife, from Strait Creek, Ohio; Rebecca Clark,
Rachel Titus and Rachel Young, from West Union, Ohio, and John Young,
from Franklin, Indiana. Jesse Young was elected, ordained and installed
ruling elder, and it was unanimously resolved to call the new organization
the Shiloh Presbyterian church. Before July, 1834, four additional mem-
bers were received, all upon examination: Joseph Young, Mary Young,
Thomas Titus and Mary Titus. The congregation had occasional preaching
until Jluy, 1834, when the first church building was erected. The first meeting
in this house was held July 30, 1834, Rev. David Monfort preaching and
ordaining and installing an additional ruling elder, Joseph Young. From
this period until 1840 the church record shows an addition of forty-one mem-
bers. From the same source it is learned that from the organization until
1887 two hundred and forty-three members had been received into the
church, of whom only twelve were remaining July, 1887. It was in the
decade between 1840 and 1850 that the log meeting house was removed and
the present tasteful frame structure erected in its stead.

On December 6, 1888, at a meeting of all the resident members, it was
unanimously agreed to remove the records and membership to the Hopewell
church. The twelve remaining members were received into the Hopewell
church on Sunday. January 6, 1889. The Shiloh church never had but one
regular pastor, the Rev. David V. Smock, from 1843 ^^ 1850. all other min-
isters engaged being supplies.

EDINBURG PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The Presbyterian church in Edinburg was organized by the Rev. Henry
Little, D. D., September 4, 1864, in connection with the New School branch
of the Presbyterian church. The original members were twelve in number,
namely: A. S. Rominger, Amanda Rominger, Clarissa Remley, Rachel
Stuart, Martha Toner, Catherine Cox, Sarah Deming, Sarah Adams, Mary
(Shipp) Givens, Emily Rominger and Adelaide Rominger. A. S. Rominger
was elected ruling elder. The first minister was the Rev. William I. Clark,
who preached his first sermon in March, 1865. He served the church nearly
two years. Rev. G. D. Parker began his labors with the church as stated
supply April 21, 1867, and closed the same in April, 1869. Different pastors
served the church until April, 1882, after which the church was supplied
more or less recrularlv bv seiiiinarv students for several vears. The church

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 339

began with twelve members, and has had a checkered career, but has done
faithful service and has been greatly blessed at times. The highest number
enrolled was in Rev. H. L. Nave's pastorate, when there was reported a total
of one hundred and thirty-one and an actual membership of one hundred and
eight.

NEW PISGAH CHURCH.

New Pisgah (Old School) Presbyterian church, Needham township,
was organized August 6, 1842, by the Rev. John M. Dickey, sixteen persons
uniting with the organization: James Magill, Maria Magill, James Patter-
son, Cretia Patterson, Thomas Patterson, Nancy Ann Patterson, Madison
Kelly, Eliza Kelly, Jefferson Kelly, Catherine Kelly, William Kelly, Julia
Ann Kelly, Henry Kelly, Francis Stewart, David McAlpin and Diana Pullen.
David McAlpin, James Magill and James Patterson were elected elders. The
succession of stated supplies was Revs. William M. Stimson, Benjamin W.
Nyce, John B. Saye, James McCoy, John Fairchild, James Brownlee, L. P.
Webber, T. A. Steele and William Clark. In the same neighborhood with the
New Pisgah church the New Prospect (Old School) church was organized
by Rev. B'. F. Wood April 10, 1850, the following persons joining the or-
ganization : John Henderson, Isabell Henderson, Joseph Henderson, Mitchell
Henderson, James Henderson, Sarah Henderson, Jane McAlpin, Sarah Mc-
Alpin, John McCord, George Allison, John P. Henderson, Jane Henderson,
Thomas Patterson, Nancy Patterson, William H. Patterson, Eliza Jane Pat-
terson and Sarah Patterson. Thomas Patterson and John P. Henderson
were chosen ruling elders. The Rev. B. F. Wood was the first stated supply,
followed by Revs. Blackburn, Leffler, John Gilchrist, John O. McKeehan and
James Gilchri.st. On September 5. 1870, the Nevv Pisgah (New School)
and the New Prospect (Old School) churches were consolidated. The united
church assumed the New School name and occupied the Old School building,
the membership l)eing fifty. The Rev. J. (1. Williamson was the first stated
supply ; the Rev. A. R. Naylor and Rev. Mr. Reeves followed, supplying the
church in the order named. In 1875 Rev. James Williamson commenced to
supply the church and continued to do so for twelve years, closing his labors
October i, 1887, the membership at that time being about seventy-five.

In iSgi-a new brick church house was built by this congregation. Since
1888 the following pastors have served this church : D. R. Love, 1888: F. M.
Weatherwax, 1889-1891 : W. J. Alexander, 1891-1893: R. F. Hawley, 1893-
1898; A. Vonderlippe, 1898-1900: C. E. Alexander. T900-1904: T. Hender-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

son, 1906; P. Birrell, 1907-1910; R. E. Hawley, 1910-1912; and A. V.
Crow, the present pastor.

SHILOH CHURCH.

Shiloh (Cumberland Presbyterian) church, Needham township, was or-
ganized about the year 1835 in a school house one mile north of the present
site of Amity village, Rev. Alexander Downey officiating. Among the charter
members, seventeen in number, were John Kerr and wife, David Alexander
and wife, John Alexander and wife, John Gribben and wife, James Taylor
and wife, John Taylor and wife and John R. Kerr and wife. The first house
of worship, which was not erected until several years after the organization,
stood about a half mile north of Amity. For some reason not now known
this building was never completed. In 1852 a frame house was erected about
three and a half miles southeast of Franklin, in Needham township, on land
donated by James Taylor. It was a fair building and answered the purposes
for which it was intended until 1882. In that year the present temple of
worship, a beautiful frame edifice, thirty-two by forty-two feet, was built on
the same lot at a cost of sixteen hundred dollars, the membership at that
time being about one hundred.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF FRANKLIN.

Dr. William T. Stott, ex-president of Franklin College, is the historian
of the Franklin Baptist church, and his history of the first fifty years of that
church, printed in the Franklin Jeffersonian in its issue of August 31, 1882,
is the basis of the following article :

The history of the Franklin Baptist church begins with the year 1832,
although it was not until December 17, 184 1, that the church organization
acquired title to a building site. The Franklin Baptist church is an oflfspring
of the Blue River Baptist church, and as early as January 23, 1829, a part of
the Blue River congregation laid plans to found a church in Franklin. Elder
Chauncey Butler, the father of the founder of Butler University, was the
moderator at that meeting and the Rev. Samuel Harding, clerk. At that
time the latter was requested to preach once a month for the church. The first
organization of the Baptists in Franklin was formed on the thirji Sabbath in
August, 1832, and the following named were charter members: Simon
Shafer, Sarah Shafer, John Adams, Jefferson D. Jones, Eleanor Jones, John
Foster, Eleanor Foster, Simon Hunt, Stephen Tilson, Mary Frary, Catherine
Bennett, Abraham Stark, John Johns, Martha McDaniel, Mary Tracy, Keziah

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 34 1

Tracy, Andrew Vannoy, Rebecca Vannoy and Elizabeth Cravens. The first

pastor of the church, Elder Samuel Harding, lived near Smiley's Mill in

Shelby county, Indiana, and came to preach at the Franklin church for the

ensuing four years. In June, 1836, Elder Byram Lawrence was called to the

F»astorate and at the same time taught school in the town. He was suspected

^^f being too friendly toward the doctrines of Alexander Campbell to be

Entirely acceptable to the Baptists of that day and remained with the church

only a little more than a year. In October, 1837, the Rev. A. R. Hinkley was

called to the church and was the most scholarly of the early preachers of

that day in the county. Hinkley was educated at Waterville College, now

Colby, and at Newton Theological Seminary, and on coming to Franklin was

much interested in the P'ranklin Manual Labor Institute, then just beginning.

During the pastorate of Mr. Hinkley the church first erected a meeting house

U a cost of twenty-five hundred dollars. The building was at that time the

ie^^rt church house in the town and had few superiors in the state. This

hot,i^<^ was dedicated on the 28th day of January, 1841. Among the leaders

of trl^at early church were Prof. A. F. Tilton and Deacon J. A. Dimlap.

nkley came to the church its membership numbered forty-one,

t of his death, in 1841, the church had increased to a member-
ndred. This was the day of much controversy between minis-
*nt faiths and quite a spirited controversy was maintained
ess between the Rev. David Monfort, pastor of the Presbyterian
iv. Mr. Hinkley on the subject of baptism,
pastor of the church was Elder S. G. Miner, who l)egan preach-
gmaining just one year, but during this one year one hundred
I the church. Pastor Miner was succeeded by the Rev. Dr.
indler, who came from the pastorate of the First church at In-
accept at the same time the presidency of the college. Dr.
a native of Maine, a graduate of Madison University and of
ogical Seminary. It is remembered of him that he was very
racter and was not inclined to conceal his differences with many
3 and prejudices of his membership. As an Eastern man, he
isapproval upon the habits of thought and life, as well as the
irship of his brethren and sisters from the states of Tennessee
As Dr. Stott has said of him, he admired backbone, but made
at many make in supposing that the best backbone consists of
Dr. Stott mentions one instance. The church had been in
having the hymns lined out. Pastor Chandler expected his

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34^ JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

people to sing from books. To make their meaning clear the church at their
regular business meeting on Saturday voted that the preacher line the hymns:
On the next morning Pastor Chandler read the resolution and order of the
church and added: **If you want the hymns lined you get somebody to do it;
I won't." As a result of Pastor Chandler's somewhat obstinate methods
division arose in the congregation that later found expression in a separate
church organization. Dr. Chandler resigned shortly before his resignation
as president of Franklin College, and he was succeeded by B. C. Moore, or
possibly John Currier, but no record is left of either of these pastors. Ben-
jamin Reece was elected pastor in 1850 and continued until August, 185 1,
when Elder J. C. Post was called to the pastorate. During his pastorate a new
Baptist church was organized in Franklin, its principal members being those
connected with Franklin College. Among them were Dr. Bailey, Professor
Hbugham, Professor Vawter, George W. Grubbs, then a student in the col-
lege, Professor Brand and Professor Dame. This new church was at great
,|j^ ; pains to prepare its articles of faith and its church covenant, and President

,]i Bailey of the college became its first pastor. A Sunday school was also

begun and all the meetings of the church were held in the college chapel until
September 16, 1859, when the members all went back to the First Baptist
church. During these six years that the church was divided the interest in
this college church to some extent weakened the older organization. Of
the parent church in the meantime the Rev. E. J. Todd became the pastor in
1853, preaching there three- fourths of his time at a salary of three hundred
dollars. He was followed in 1855 by the Rev. J- W. B. Tisdale, who re-
mained a little more than a year. Rev. E. J. Todd was again called to the
pastorate and served about one year and he was fallowed by the Rev. J. G.
Kerr. When the church became reunited President Bailey was engaged as
pastor at the very liberal salary of five dollars for each Sabbath. Professor
Ferguson was the leader of the choir and the superintendent of the Sunday
school. In 1866 one of the church members preferred charges against T>r.
Bailey for preaching hyper-Calvinism, and the church assembled on June
i6th to hear the case. The charges were preferred by a Mrs. Lacv, who
acted as her own attorney and showed considerable spirit at the trial. Dr.
Bailey was exonerated and the troublesome member was in the September fol-
lowing arraigned and tried on a charge of staying away from church, for
want of Christian spirit, for reviling and railing, arid was expelled from* mem-
, b^rship: In July, 1861, Dr. Bailey resigned and the Rev. J. S. Read was elected
pastor at a four-hundfed-dollar salary. Prof. Jeremiah Brumback was the next

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 343

pastor, serving from July, 1863, for one year. The Rev. M. D. Gage was.
then called in July, 1864, and remained fifteen months. On August 14, 1867,
the Rev. J. H. Smith was called at a salary of five hundred dollars, with an
agreement that he be allowed to spend a portion of his time as teacher in the
private school then being conducted in the college by Prof. William Hill. In
November, 1868, Rev. I. N. Qark became pastor, remaining with the con-
gregation until 1 87 1, when the Rev. J. S. Boy den was engaged at a salary
of twelve hundred dollars. This was up to this time much the largest salary
ever paid by the church. A year later the Rev. L. D. Robinson was elected
pastor and given the privilege of preaching once a. month at the Hurricane
Baptist church. From December, 1876, until February, 1878, the church was
without a pastor. Services were held regularly, with occasional sermons by
members of the college faculty, but for the most part the Sunday morning
service was devoted to a prayer meeting. At the end of that time the Rev. F.
M. Huckleberry became pastor, but owing to dissension in the church his
work was greatly weakened and he soon resigned. In October, 1881, the
Rev. C. S. Scott became church pastor and remained to serve the congregation
until 1885. The Rev. Albert M. Ogle, of Seymour, was at once called and
from that date begins a steady march forward in the work of the church..
The new church structure was begun in the year 1885, the corner stone being
laid on August 6th of that year.

Succeeding Pastor Ogle, the Rev. E. S. Gardiner was called January
13, 1889, and served until June, 1897. Rev. J. A. Knovvlton was pastor from
1897 to April 16, 1899; Wallace St. John from March 11, 1900, to May 31,
1903; F. O. Lamoreux from September 13, 1903, to April 21, 1905; Pleasant
L. Powell from September 24, 1905, to August 28, 1910. Dr. Henry P.
Klyver, the present pastor, began his duties October 2, 1910.

This church maintains a mission at the **North Baptist Church," and
has an active, enthusiastic membership. The Sunday school, under Jesse C.
Webb, county superintendent of schools, has an average attendance of two
hundred and fifty. The church owns a parsonage and is in a good financial
condition.

GREENWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH.

The Baptist church at Greenwood was constituted on the r7th day of
July, 1839, by the Rev. T. W. Haynes, wM*th eighteen members, seven of
whom had been baptized by Mr. Haynes, while eleven held letters of recom-
mendation from Regular Baptist churches elsewhere. After a sermon by

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344

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

M ■ '

Mr. Haynes and the giving of the right hand of fellowship by the brethren
present, principles of faith and rules of decorum were adopted, and under
the name of *The Regular Baptists of Jesus Christ, at Greenwood," the
organization was completed. The names of the constituent members were as
follows: Elder Henry Hunter and wife, Mrs. Nancy Ransdale, Elizabeth
Smith, Abigail Smith, A. H. Bryan, Mrs. Ann Bryan, Garrett Vandiver and
wife, M. D. West, John Whitenack, Sr., Addison Wilson and wife, Mrs.
Abbott, Jesse Weathers, Mrs. Weathers, Miss Ann Vandiver, Mrs. Van
Dyke and Miss Urey Van Dyke. The first meetings were held in a grove
near Greenwood, and at one of the earliest business sessions a committee .
was appointed to circulate a petition for the purpose of raising funds for the
erection of a house of worship. The necessary steps were taken, but several
years elapsed before the building was completed. It was finished about the
year 1844, ^"^ stood a short distance west of the village, on ground now
included within corporate limits. Rev. Mr. Haynes served as pastor several
years, and was succeeded by Rev. Thomas S. Townsend, who was called by
the church in 1844. H. H. Hunter preached at intervals for some years, as
•did also Rev. J. Brumback, both of whom sustained the pastoral relations.
About the year 1858 Rev. J. W. B. Tisdale held a series of meetings, the im-
mediate result of which was the addition of quite a number to the church,
and a great revival of interest among its members. The next preacher was
Rev. Mr. Golden, who was followed in a short time by Rev. I. N. Clark,
whose pastorate extended over a period of three years. Rev. E. S. Riley
preached at intervals for about ten years, and was succeeded by Rev. R. W.
Arnold. Following Arnold came Rev. Mr. Keplinger, since whose time the
church has been served by different pastors, at one time the Rev. C. H. Hall,
of Franklin College, being pastor.

Since Prof. C. H. Hall's pastorate the follown'ng have served this church :
Revs. L. L. Tumey, 1895; T. J. Keith, 1896-1899: J. R. Henry, 1 899-1 902 ;
H. P. Fudge, 1902; D. R. Landis, 1903-1908; E. M. Martinson, 1908-1911 :
S. A. Sherman, present pastor. The church now has one hundred and twenty
members, worshiping in a handsome edifice erected in 1899 at the corner of
Main and Brewer streets.

AMITY BAPTIST CHURCH.

Amity Baptist church was constituted April 10, 1858, Rev. John Vaw-
ter officiating. The original members were ; Travis Burnett, Milton S. Vaw-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 345

ter, James S. Vawtcr, James M. Goldsborough, William Shipp, Harrison Bur-
nett, William Brown, Mrs. Caroline Shipp, Rozanna Goldsborough, Martha
E. Armstrong and Caroline Shipp, the majority of whom had formerly be-
longed to the old Blue River church, in Shelby county, and Mount Pleasant
congregation, near Trafalgar. James S. Vawter was the first clerk, and in
1859 he was duly licensed to preach the gospel. The year in which this or-
ganization was effected witnessed the erection of a large and commodious
brick temple of worship, thirty-five by sixty feet in size, with a seating
capacity of about four hundred.

MT. ZION BAPTIST CHURCH.

Mt. Zion Baptist church (Trafalgar) was formally organized on June 8,
1844, ^t what was known as **School District No. i,'' a short distance from
the town of Trafalgar, by Elders Reece and Chandler. A council from
Franklin, Second Mt. Pleasant and First Mt. Pleasant churches, was con-
vened for the purpose of constituting the organization and, after a sermon
by Elder Reece, the following persons were formally organized into a Regu-
lar Baptist church : Frederick Ragsdale, Sarah Ragsdale, Simpson Sturgeon,
Sarah Sturgeon, William M. Clark, Martha Clark, Annie B. Lee, Mary
Sturgeon, Absalom Clark, Samuel Sturgeon, Burgess Waggoner and John W.
Ragsdale. Elder J. Reece was called to the pastorate in 1844, and the same
year a committee was appointed to select a suitable site for a house of wor-
ship. The ground chosen was "one acre on the northeast corner of Steth
Daniers land/' and in October, 1845,' a frame building, thirty by forty feet in
size, was decided upon by the committee. The house was not erected until
some time later. It was a frame structure and answered the purpose for
which it was intended until 1866, at which time a new building in the village
of Trafalgar was erected. This house was in size thirty-six by fifty feet and
was built at a cost of twenty-five hundred dollars.

FIRST MT. PLEASANT CHURCH.

First Mt. Pleasant (Franklin township), one of the oldest Baptist
churches in Johnson county, was constituted July, 1828. The following were
among its earliest members: Henry Byers, Elizabeth Byers, Peter Zook,
Margaret Zook, Seaton Beadles, John Gashwiler, John Brunk, Aaron Mit-
chell, Nolly Kilboum, Maria Vaughn, James P. Beadles, Lamenta Beadles.
Elizabeth Zook, Polly Helms, George Burkhardt, Elizabeth Burkhardt. Sarah

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346 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

(Byers) Leach, Benetta Beadles, George P. Bartlett, Thomas Bartlett, Nancy
Roberts, Francis Elliott, George Bridges, Polly Harbert and Abraham Brunk.
One of the first preachers was Rev. John Reece, who held meetings in a little
log school house which stood a short distance from the present church build-
ing. About the year 1837, or perhaps a little earlier, dissensions arose in
the church between the conservative and progressive or missionary elements,
the result of which was a division of the congregation. In May, 1838, the
difficulty was partially adjusted by a reorganization under the original name,
since which time the society has been known as a Missionary Baptist church.
The reorganization was brought about by the efforts of Rev. A. R. Hinkley.
The first house of worship was a log structure erected many years ago and
used until the building of the present edifice. The present church is brick,
well finished and furnished, and stands about five miles southwest of Franklin
on the Martinsville turnpike.

SECOND MT. PLEASANT CHURCH.

The Second Mt. Pleasant Baptist church, which is near the Shelby county
line in Needham township, was organized on July 11, 1835, with eight mem-
bers. Five more united with the church before the close of that year. . Meet-
ings were held in private residences and school houses for some time, when
the first church building was erected, which was a frame structure built in
1836. This was a fair building and answered the purposes for w^hich it was
intended until the year 1865, when the present brick building was erected.
The following is a list of the pastors and their terms of service : B. Reece,
1835-1853; I. Gleason, 1854-1855; John Reece, 1855-1857; D. J. Hunter,
1857-1858; W. Golding, 1858-1859; E. J. Todd, 1859-1861 ; C. Blood. 1861-
1864; I. N. Clark, 1864-1869; A. C. Edwards, 1869-1872; R. M. Parks,
1872-1873; John Reece, 1 873- 1 876; I. W. Hammack, 1876-1877! J. W.
Ragsdale, 1877-1879; W. T. Jolly, 1879-1882; L. E. Duncan, 1882-1883;
F. M. Huckleberry, 1883-1884; G. H. Elgin, 1884-1886: W. T. Vancleve,
1886-887: P. O. Duncan, 1887-1901 : John G. York, 1902-1903: I. M. Flem-
ing, 1903-1904; E. T. Carter, 1905-1906: F. M. Huckleberry, 1906-1907; I.
F. Huckleberry, 1907-1910; O. A. Cook, 1910-

HURRICANE BAPTIST CHURCH.

Hurricane Baptist church (Clark township) was organized about the year
1840 or 1841 as a branch of the Franklin congregation and continued as such

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 347

for about three years, when it was constituted an independent organization.
The following were among the earlier members: Stephen Tilson, Lemuel
Tilson and wife, James Tilson and wife, Mrs. John Brown, John White-
sides, Even Barnett and wife, Conrad McClain and wife and James White-
sides and wife. The organization was effected by the Rev. Benjamin Reece,
who preached for several years thereafter, holding meetings in the old log
building known as Friendship church. Later, about the yeaf 1851, a frame
building was erected on the ground where the old house stood and served the
purposes of a place of worship until the growth of the congregation made
the erection of a larger house a necessity. In 1879 the present handsome
temple, a brick edifice, representing a capital of three thousand two hundred
dollars, was erected. The following as a list of the pastors of Hurricane
church. Revs. Benjamin Reece, John Reece. Miner and Todd, who were
pastors prior to 1861. Since 1861 — ^J. L. Irwin, 1861 ; Caleb Blood, 1862;
Q. N. Qark, 1863; John W. Ragsdale, 1865; M. D. Gage, 1865; F- Moro,
1866; A. J. Essex, 1867; L. D. Robinson, 1872; G. H. Elgin, 1874; J. R.
Edwards, 1875; J^^n W. Ragsdale, 1877; Charles Boaz, 1879; in May, 1880,
Columbus H. Hall, professor of Greek in Franklin College, was called to the
pastorate and he has served the church continuously since.

BEECH GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH.

This church is located in the northwest corner of Hensley township
and was organized in 1867 in the "Old Log Church,'* a quarter of a mile
west of the present church edifice, which is three miles west of Trafalgar, and
appears to have been the outgrowth of the Primitive and Separate Baptist
churches, organizations of which denominations . were founded in the neigh-
borhood prior to the Civil war. The following is a list of the pastors : J. W.
Ragsdale, 1867-1872; J. M. Barrow, 1872-1879; J. W. Ragsdale, 1879-1882;
J. M. Barrow, 1882^1887: E. E. Stewart, 1887- 1889; F- A. Aspey, 1889-

1891 ; F. G. Gather, 1891-1893 ; F. A. Aspey, 1894- ; George F. Ragsdale,

1895-1899; W. G. Everson, 1899-1903; C. H. Hall, 1903-1905; W. Hen-
drickson, 1905-1906; C. A. Wade, 1906-1909; H. C. Merrill, 1909-1910;
J. I. Slater, 1910-1911; J. G. Brengle, 1911-1913. The church property is
valued at twenty-two thousand dollars and is in good repair. The church
maintains a good Sunday school and also a Ladies' Aid Society.

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348

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH OF FRANKLIN COLORED.

This church was organized in August, 1871, at the home of George
Young on East Monroe street with a membership of nine members. Services
were held in the old academy building. From there to the Union Hall on
East Court street, now the Durbin building. From there to West Madison
street, the property now owned by George Robinson; from there to East
Monroe street, in property owned by Samuel Dirty; from there to Madison
and West streets, its present location. The church property is valued at
seven thousand dollars. A Baptist Young People's Union is maintained, also
home and foreign missionary societies.

The following is a list of the pastors and their term of service : William
Singleton, 1871-1872; Thomas Robinson, 1872-1874; E. E. Tyler, 1874-1880;
George Smith, 1 880-1 881 ; D. S. Slaughter, 1881-1882; W. P. Thornton,
1882-1883; S. C. Manuel, 1883-1885; C. C. Louis, 1885-1888: Henry Polk,
1888-1889; P. P. Hollins, 1889-1890; F. P. Green, 1890-1893; Alexander
Smith, 1893-1894: C. H. Duvall, 1894-1900; G. N. Thompson, 1900-1901 ;
H. Smith, 1901-1902; W. H. Patterson, 1902-1910; R. D. Leonard, 1910-
191 2. In April, 191 2, Samuel Howard was called to the pastorate and is
still serving the congregation.

EDINBURG BAPTIST CHURCH — COLORED.

This church was organized in t\}t fall of 1881 by Rev. John R. Miller,
with the following constituent members: Henry Gooden and wife. Esther
Canady, Thomas E. Hill, Mrs. Hill, George Quinn, David Beeler and wife,
David Johnson and wife, Elizabeth Gooden, Letitia Lee and Elizabeth John-
son. Rev. A. R. Miller served as pastor four years and was succeeded by
Rev. Mr. Walker, who preached one year. Then came Rev. David Slaughter.

The building used by the church was erected a short time before the
organization went into effect. It is a substantial frame edifice and will
comfortably .seat a congregation of three hundred persons.

LICK SPRINGS BAPTIST CHURCH.

This church is located in Nineveh township and was organized in the
year 1836. Among the early members were the following: Aaron Hen-
dricks, Merida Wilkerson, Separate Hendricks, Susan Hendricks and Nancy

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 349

Handy. The church building was erected about 1839 and rebuilt in 1850. *
In the latter year there was a good membership, about one hundred, but
since then the number has greatly decreased. The following were among the
pastors of this church: Samuel Randolph, Jariah Randolph, James Mc-
Queen, Joshua McQueen, Pond and Asa Dowd.

WHITELAND BAPTIST CHURCH.

This church became a mission of Emanuel Baptist church of Indianapo-
lis, then under the pastorate of Rev. J. R. Henry, February, 1905. One year
later the organization of the Whiteland Baptist church was effected, and the
following officers were chosen: Qerk, Bertram Brown; church treasurer,
R. A. Roberson. In January, 1906, John M. Phipps, J. I. Scott, George W.
Veath and J. F. Smiley were elected trustees. Rev. Truman was called to the
pastorate in February, 1905, and resigned on July 11, 1905. In November,
1905, Rev. Hamilton was called to the pastorate and began work in Decem-
ber, resigning in August, 1906. The church was pastorless until the spring
of 1907, when Rev. T. A. Child was called and continued in this service three
years and six months. The church had occasional supplies until September,
191 1, when Rev. Childs was again called to the pastorate and still continues
his labors.

In 1905 the Methodist Episcopal church of Whiteland built a beautiful
brick structure and their former church building was purchased by the Bap-
tists and refitted. It is a very respectable church home and serves its purpose
well. It is valued at twenty-five hundred dollars and in size is thirty by
forty-five by eighteen feet, will seat two hundred persons and is supplied
with comfortable furniture, also a piano. The church maintains a Sunday
school, Ladies' Missionary Circle, Ladies' Aid Society and prayer meeting.
The present clerk is Archie Pierce and the treasurer is C. M. Durham, who is
also superintendent of the Sunday school.

BETHEL PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH.

As noted elsewhere, this church, then known as the Bethel Regular Bap-
tist church, was organized in the thirties, obtaining a church site from Zelek
McQuinn on the 25th day of May, 1839. I^ ^s located five miles south of
Franklin on the Franklin and Nineveh road, and has a substantial brick
house of worship. It is the strongest and best known church of the Primitive

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350 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Baptist faith in the county and, while not numerically strong, its membership
is zealous and faithful.

Among its pastors have been Elders Riley Knowles, Asa Nay, Willett
Tyler, Peterson K. Parr ^nd Isaac Sawin. For the past twelve years Elder
I^wrence Reagan has preached acceptably.

BETHLEHEM PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH.

This church is located in Hensley township, and was organized a number

of years ago and is now one of the oldest religious societies in the southern

part of the county. Of its early history but little is known save that the

Bass, Roberts, Hensley, Davenport, McNutt, Holman and Hughes families

were among the first members. The organization was brought about by the

labors of Elder Hiram T. Craig, a preacher of fine ability. He preached for

the Bethlehem congregation a number of years. The first house of worship

i| was a log structure which stood near w^here the present one now stands. It

lI was used several years, but finally gave place to the frame building in which

.;» the congregation now meets. The society is not as strong in numbers as in

t;' the early days of its history, having lost quite a number of its members in

l\i recent years by deaths or removals. Services are still held in the church

building and the present membership is very small.

SOUTH STOTT S CREEK PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH.

This church was located in Union township and was organized April,
1836, at a school house near the present site of Trafalgar. The following
were among the first members : Thomas Sturgeon and wife, Simpson Stur-
geon and wife, William Clark and wife, Frederick Ragsdale and wife, Henry
Musselman and wife, Jane Forsyth, Jane Allen and Mary Catlett. Frederick
Ragsdale was the first moderator and J. R. Callihan first clerk. For a num-
ber of years Rev. Asa B. Nay ministered to the congregation and much of its
success was due to his efforts. Revs. Ransom Riggs and William Tyler
preached for the church at different times. School houses and dwellings were
used for meeting places until about the year 1845, ^^ which time a frame
temple of worship was erected in Union tow^nship, section 25. The building
was afterward improved and is still used by the congregation, which has a
membership of about twenty-five. Elder Robert Thompson has been acting
as supply for several years.

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johnson county, indiana. 351

stott's creek baptist (old school).

Some time in the thirties there was erected in section lo, near the present
site of Union village, a log building which served as a place of worship for
several denominations. In this house what is known as Stott's Creek Bap-
tist church (Old School) was organized over sixty years ago. The following
are the names of a few of the early members of the organization : Bennett
Jacobs and wife, Austin Jacobs and wife, William Burkhardt and wife,
David Vidito and wife, James Jacobs and wife, William Utterback and
wife and Andrew Wysick and wife. Elder Bennett Jacobs was an early
minister, Hiram Craig and Enoch Tabor preached for the congregation, as
did others whose names are not now remembered. The building in which the
congregation worshiped for many years was a small frame structure near
Union village, erected about the year 1856 or 1857. The society was never
strong numerically and the organization has been disbanded.

FRANKLIN CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

The first authentic history of the Franklin Christian church dates back
to the year 1846, when a small band of disciples met at the home of Sister
Herriott Henderson for the first time and Brother Elijah Goodwin was in-
vited to visit them and arrangements were made to hold a series of meetings
in the old court house, which resulted in much good, encouraging the little
band to stand by the principles underlying the Restoration movement. Prior
to this William Irwin and William Keaton did valuable service*; in preaching
the gospel in this vicinity.

In 1847, through the kindness and invitation of the Baptist denomina-
tion, the Christians held meetings at stated intervals in the Baptist church for
one year. But as the little band began to make inroads into the community
they were compelled to give up worshiping in the Baptist church and return
to the court house. In the meantime George and Jesse Brahani, with their
families, moved to Franklin from Vernon, Indiana, accompanied by John B.
Cobb, who rendered valuable service in the early days of the church. Elder
Goodwin was again called and a second series of meetings resulted in the first
organization of the church. The following account is taken from early
records :

"Franklin, Indiana, July 3, 1848.

"We, the undersigned members of the Church of Christ, residing in and

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352^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

near the town of Franklin, Johnson county, Indiana, agree and do now enter
into the organization of a church for the purpose of keeping the ordinances of
the Lord's house, to be known as the Church of Christ in Franklin, and that
we may grow* in grace and the knowledge of the truth, we will meet for
public worship as often as circumstances wall permit, not having any place
of public worship of our own. Signed :

"John B. Cobb, W. M. Bridges,

'* Horatio Jones, John McCoule,

''John W. Parrish, Rhoda Koyle,

"Elizabeth Howard, Nancy Jones,

"Mary Bran ham, Mary E. Branham,

"Lucretia Branham, J. N. Branham,

"William Koyle, Sanderson Howard,

"Herriott Henderson, Mary Palmer,

"Mary Bridges, Elizabeth Bridges,

"Catora Chenoworth, Eliza Howard,

"George W. Branham, Elizabeth Hague/'

John B. Cobb and G. W. Branham were elected elders and W. M.
Bridges and Jesse V. Branham were elected deacons. John B. Cobb, now
of Columbus. Indiana, is the only living charter member of this church so far
as known.

A daughter of Brother Branham is supposed to be living in Minnesota.
She united with the church at the organization meeting.

During the summer of 1848, when the organization was perfected, the
New School Presbyterians owned the building now occupied by the Catholics,
at Home avenue and Wayne street, and this house was secured when no
meetings were held by them. John B. Cobb was called to preach for the
church at a salary of three hundred dollars per year. He continued as pastor
until 1 85 1, when inroads were being made on the Presbyterians and the
Disciples were forced to abandon this place of worship.

The court house in the meantime having been destroyed by fire, this
little band of undaunted disciples found themselves wholly without a place
of )Vorship. At this time George and Jesse Branham, charter members,
erected a two-story brick building on the northeast corner of Water and
Jefferson streets, and when completed, in March, 1852, deeded the upper
room to the board of trustees, elected by the church, to be held by them so
long as used for church purposes. During this time Elder Henry R.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

from Coltunbus, Indiana, and held a meeting^
lis to the church. Elder J. L. Jones in 1852 serv
!^obb had resigned. Brother Jones was followed
^r, who continued to preach for the church until

During the pastorate of Brother Miller, Alexj

new church and, as the room was too small, 1
t new court house, Alexander Campbell preachin
aac Errett, founder of the Christian Standard, 0
f at night. In April, 1859, J. J. Moss began hi
inued until May, i860. It was during his pasto
is held with Col. Samuel P. Oyler upon the subj
anuary, 1862, Elder John C. Miller held a series
urteen accessions to the church. A call was

but he declined, preferring to work with the 1
)ther charges, which he did until he fell asleep ii

In December, 1863, John B. New and O. A. !
vices, resulting in nine accessions. January, 181
V, now of St. Louis, Missouri, began his first pc
itinuing until 1866. H. T. Buff served the chui
; times, from 1867 to 1870. From 1870 to 187
[>f Mr. Davis, but resulted in little good being a
72, Live H. Jameson, the ''sweet singer,'' was call
w months. He was followed by W. F. Parker, (

remained less than a year. These short pastora
- James Land, of Hamilton, Ohio, who began
the church until 1875. It was during his mini:

was erected on the southeast corner of Yandes ;

Bronson, having fallen heir to a large sum, stai
5ix thousand dollars, and Ebenezer Baldwin, ow
te the lot, valued at twelve hundred dollars, an<
money, providing the building was erected on tht
ted and the building committee was composed o
Payne and John T. Vawter, all large givers to
^as erected at a cost of eighteen thousand doll;
)ril, 1874. The room at Water and Jefferson st:
1 for church purposes, it reverted to the owners
msideration on April g, 1876.

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;

354

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Thus pa^^sed into history the first church building of this congregation
and the history of the second building was begun. On October i, 1875, Elder
E. L. Frazier, of Marion, Indiana, began as pastor and continued until De-
cember 31, 1881. This was the longest pastorate in the history of the church
and its greatest growth to that time was obtained, two hundred and seventy-
five having united. Elder John C. Miller, of Nineveh, Indiana, and Evan-
gelist Robert T. Matthews held successful meetings. In 1882 Elder A. W.
Connor preached for nearly a 'year. He resigned to attend Butler College.
The next call was extended in January, 1884, to Elder Samuel F. Fowler.
His pastorate is next to Elder Frazier's in point of duration, remaining until
the fall of 1888. During his ministry over two hundred united with the
church. On June 15, 1885, during a severe storm, the church was struck by
lightning and destroyed by fire, only the walls remained standing. It was
rebuilt at once at a cost of five thousand dollars. The building was in charge
of Dr. James Richardson, Nelson Richardson and John T. Vawter, commit-
tee. Elder H. H. Nesslage was pastor from 1889 until the close of 1890.
During the pastorate the Christian Endeavor Society was organized. George
E. Piatt was pastor in 1891, followed by Thomas M. Wiles, 1891 to 1893.
Elder xAmzi Atwater, of Bloomington, Indiana, accepted a call in 1893 ^^^
remained until the fall of 1895. During his pastorate the Christian Endeavor
library was established. Elder J. S. Ashley was pastor part of 1895 *'^"^^
1896. and J. Z. Armstrong from the fall of 1896 to the summef of 1897.
October i. 1897, Elder Charles R. Hudson was called to the pastorate and
continued as such to July, 1903.

Since the church was established in 1848 eight of her sons have entered
the ministry and today are preaching God's word. They are Wiley Acknian,
Wesley Vandiver, L. E. Sellers, Robert Sellers, Harvey McKane. W. G.
McCauley, Thomas Mavity and Edgar F. Daugherty.

During the pastorate of Brother Hudson, from October, 1897, to July.
1903, three hundred and forty-five persons were received into the church, the
greatest in its history in point of membership. He solemnized seventy-one
marriages, conducted one hundred and two funerals and inculcated the spirit
of work within the church. Three successful revivals were held by Brother
Hudson, the last one was from January 6th to 31st, inclusive, 1902, when
one hundred and fifty-one persons united with the church, through the match-
less teaching and pleading of the grand and eloquent servant. Elder Victor W.
Dorris, of Georgetown, Kentucky, who assisted Brother Hudson.

The membership of the church having grown to over eight hundred

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 355

souls, a nevv house of worship was inaugurated. Sunday, June 2, 1901, at a
regular meeting of the official board the following resolution w as unanimous-
ly adopted :

**First, that the lx)ard take steps at once toward the erection of a new
Christian church building in Franklin. Indiana, amended that the building
be centrally located.

**Second, that Lord's day, June 9, 1901, be set apart as rally day for the
new church and that Brother Z. T. Sweeney: of Columbus, Indiana, be in-
vited to be present and address the meeting on the occasion.*'

The following meml)ers were appointed soliciting committee: Dr. H. J.
Hall, \V. V. King, (leorge 1. White, Samuel Harris, H. M. Fisher, Samuel
C. Yager, H. C. Barnett, J. M. Coble and James L. Vawter. At this rally-
day meeting Brother Sw-eeney secured the sum of fourteen thousand seven
hundred and eighty-five dollars. After this meeting of June 9, 1901, the
committee on location of new church was composed of Samuel Harris,
George I. White and Henry C. Barnett. The finance committee was Dr.
H. J. riall, John W. Terman, H. M. Fisher, James R. Iteming and Will
Featherngill. The building committee was W. V. King, chairman ; Dr. H. J.
Hall, H. C. Barnett, Frank Garshwiler, Samuel Harris and Charles R. Hud-
son, secretary. The committee on location secured the '^Hamilton lot" on the
southwest corner of Water and King streets, in August. Ji)0}, for three
thousand three hundred dollars. The lot was cleared of buildings and bids
were advertised for on plans and specifications prepared by Messrs. Harris
& Shopbell, of Evansville. Indiana. The contract for the new building was
awarded to Cieorge Anderson, of Martinsville. Indiana. Ground was broken
on Tuesday, December 3, 1901, appropriate exercises Ijeing conducted by the
pastor, assisted by the other city ministers. The first shovel full of dirt was
removed by Barnard Peter, the oldest meml)er of the church and a life-time
elder ; the second by Miss Margaret Jones, aged thirteen, the youngest mem-
ber of the church. In March, 1902, work began on the nevv building and on
the 8th day of July, 1902, the corner stone was laid with appropriate exer-
cises.

The new building was completed the last of June and dedicated Sunday,
July 5, 1903. It is constructed with blue limestone foundation, buff^ Bed-
ford stone wall, trimmed in Kentucky white limestone. The style is the old
Spanish mission, revised, Gothic in design. Two tablets have been placed at
the entrance : "Christ, the Only Creed,'' on the left : "That Ye All May Be
One," upon the right. The auditorium is seated with circular pews to ac-

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356

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

^':

commodate five hundred people, is octagonal, with pulpit, organ and choir
in the corner. It has been decorated in the most artistic style by B. F.
Harris, of .Union City, Indiana, and Daniel Stewart & Company, of Indian-
apolis, glaziers. It contains four pictures, setting forth the four phases of
the Qirist life, worked out in art glass and painted on canvas. The first,
**Christ Among the Doctors,'' by Hoffman, has been placed as a memorial
of Hugh Mullendore, and represents the growth life of the Christ; the sec-
ond, "The Good Shepherd," by Plockhurst, represents the working life of
Christ; the third, Hoffman's "Gethsemane," represents the suffering Christ;
the fourth, "The Ascension," by Bierman, represents the glorified Messiah
who reigns as Head over the church, filling the church with his spirit and the
church filling the world.

The chapel is equipped for work, being surrounded by two parlor^, thir-
teen class rooms, toilet rooms, reading rooms, robing rooms and hallwayss.
.The pastor's study is at the comer of the auditorium, convenient to the pub-
lic. The basement contains corridor, ladies' sewing room, dining room and
kitchen, with furnace and fuel rooms to meet all demands.

Almost the entire first floor space and galleries can be used for the
auditorium and will seat about twelve hundred; all at a cost of near twenty-
five thousand dollars.

Brother Hudson remained with the church as pastor until November,

1904, when he resigned to become minister of the Christian church at Frank-
fort, Kentucky, in January, 1905. A call was extended to Rev. Harry
Granison Hill to become supply minister in January, 1905. During Brother
Hill's pastorate a permanent call was extended to him to become resident
minister, but as he had just completed a new home at Irvington, Indiana, he
was unwilling to remove to Franklin. lie resigned at the close of September,

1905, and a call was extended to Rev. Robert E. Moss, of Maysville, Ken-
tucky, in October, 1905.

During Brother Moss's pastorate a revival was held by Rev. L. E.
Sellers, of Terre Haute, Indiana, when over ninety persons united with the
church. Rev. Moss remained pastor of the church until October, 1908, when
he accepted a call to Murfreestero, Tennessee. A new church was just estab-
lished there and he became its first minister. The local pulpit remained
vacant until February, 1909, when a call was accepted by Dr. Menlo B.
Ainsworth, of Danville, Illinois, to become pastor at a salary the largest in
the history of the church. During his three years' pastorate the Sunday
school was thoroughly organized and the attendance more than doubled.

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There were four hundred and sixty persons added to the member
two hundred of whom united during a meeting held in a tempoi
nacle at Home avenue and Wayne street by Rev. Charles Reign
September, 1909. In response to Dr. Ainsworth's strong appeals
became a "Living Link" in the American Missionary Society and
gave liberally to the missionary and benevolent interests of the ch
power of spiritual discernment was very much developed and he (
with great power the spiritual elements of the Christian religion
held in the highest esteem both in the Christian churches of the c<
by all the denominations of the city for his ability and Christian
Upon leaving Franklin in February, 191 2, he accepted a call tc
Christian church at Georgetown, Kentucky, where lie is now Ic
May. 1912, Rev. W. J. Wright, of Enid. Oklahoma, became past<
continued as such to the present time (September, 1913). The
the official board are Henry C. Bamett, president ; James V. Deer,
dent ; Livy A. Young, treasurer, and Robert W. Wilson, clerk. T
membership of the church is about eight hundred seventy-five.

EDINBURG CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

the first attempt to establish a Christian church in Edinburg

in 1834, although traveling ministers had visited the village a

Pi"evious to that date and held meetings in the houses of the fev

^ tl^t town and vicinity. Among these early preachers are re

.A^^^^Ts William Irvin, J. Fawcett and James M. Mathes. under w

^^^^<z>x-s, on the 23d day of February of the above year, a small or

csi,*^ effected, with the following members: Gavin Mitchell, Rel

cb.^11 • David McCoy. C. McCoy. J. W. Dupree. Thomas W.

VAiz-^beth Thrailkeld, Abram Dupree and Hannah Dupree. Of

Vitt:!^ band, none are now living. The society held its first meeti

residences of the different members, and later obtained the use of

i^^ff erected by the Edinburg Benevolent Association in 1834. Here

"^^t snd prospered until 1845, ^^ which time the increasing grc

^Aa.clc:>wed the necessity of a building of larger proportions. Acco

^*^^t vear, a movement was inaugurated to erect a house of worsli

^^^Hisive use of the congregation. A lot on Walnut street was

^nd a. frame house, forty by fifty feet, erected. At the close of 1834

^'"sHip of the society numbered twenty-two, and among the additic

y^ar -vvere the Thompsons, Rnowltons, Waylands, Smiths, Vaughn

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

ers, whose names cannot be recalled. In 1846 Abram Dupree was licensed to
preach the gospel, and for that year the records show a membership of one
hundred and ninety-eight.

For a number of years after its organization the church was minis-
tered to in vyord and doctrine by Abram Dupree, William Irvin and William
Oldham. Frorii 1834 until 1870 the church enjoyed the labors of twenty-
eight transient preachers. The first regular pastor appears to have been
Elder B. K. Smith, who began his labors in 1852 and served one year. Fol-
lowing him, in the order named, came J. R. Frame, Knowles Shaw, D. H.
Gary, T. J. Tomlinson, R. T. Brown, J. F. Sloan, W. L. Germane, W. T.
Sellers, William Hough, A. W. Conner, W. W. Carter, E. W. Darst, J. H. O.
Smith, N. S. McCallum, Elder P. S. Rhodes.

In 1886 a new building was commenced on that part of the lot lying
south of the old house, which covers an area of ninety by sixty feet, and the
ceiling of the auditorium is twenty-eight feet high. The Sunday school room
in front will seat three hundred, the gallery one hundred, and when all the
rooms are thrown together, which can be easily done, a congregation of eight
hundred persons can l>e conveniently accommodated. The aggregate cost of
the structure was about eighteen thousand five hundred dollars. Not the
least among the potent working forces of the church is the Eureka Aid So-
ciety, organized December 8, 1883, *or the ostensible purpose of raising
funds for furnishing or assisting in furnishing the new hou.se of worship.
The ladies deserve great credit for their untiring efforts in behalf of the
church.

This church has a handsome brick parsonage on the north of the church
valued at three thousand dollars. In its church work its meml^ers are active
and progressive, having Young People's Societies of Chri.stian Endeavor,
both senior and junior; a Women's Christian Board of Missions Society, and
an athletic society for boys. The Bible school is strictly up-to-date in its
methods. The list of ministers serving the Edinburg church since 1889 is as
follows : Matthew Small, 1889-1895 ; Earle Wilfrey, 1895-1896: T. J. Shuey.
T896-1898: S. W. Brown. 1898-1900: D. R. Lucas, 1901 ; L. Q. Mercer.
1901-1903; Matthew Small, 1904; Thomas H. Adams, 1905-1908: George
W. Sweeney, 1908-1912: and William Grant Smith, the present pastor, who
was called in October, 191 2.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 359

WILLIAMSBURG CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

Among the early settlers of the vicinity of Williamsburg was Elder
William Irvvin, a Baptist minister, who, having been convinced of the cor-
rectness of the views promulgated by Alexander Campbell, went into the cur-
rent Reformation, and in the spring of 1831 was instrumental in organizing a
small congregation. Among the earliest members of this society were Will-
iam Keeton and family, Alonzo Gale and family, Aaron Dunham and family,
Jeremiah Dunham, Emily White, Richard Gonsey and family, John Prime
and wife, John Elliott and wife, Milton McQuade and wife, John Wilkes and
wife, and David Dunham and wife, the majority of whom had belonged pre-
viously to the Baptist church. Elder Irwin is remembered as a man of emi-
nent social qualities and a good preacher. Under his ministrations the little
band of worshipers soon increased until a house of worship was necessary.
Accordingly, a small log building was erected a year or two later, about a
quarter of a mile northwest of the present site of the town. It answered the
two-fold purpose of church and school house, and was used until about the
year 1840, at which time the place of meeting was changed to Williamsburg,
where a more commodious frame structure was erected. In the early years
of its history the society enjoyed the ministerial lalx>rs of Elders Irwin and
Joseph Fawcett, the latter a learned and logical preacher. Elders John L.
Jones, J. M. Mathes, Aaron Hubbard, Asa Holingsworth and Hardin Watson
visited the congregation at intervals, and in the meantime Elan Richard Gon-
sey, a local evangelist, preached for the church, when not similarly employed
in other fields. Since 1850. the congregation has been ministered to by differ-
ent pastors of the faith. The brick temple of worship now in use was erected
in i860, at a cost of al)out three thousand dollars. It stands in the southeas-
em part of the village and is one of the best churches in the county.

GRKENWCK)D CHRLSTIAN CHl^RCII.

This church is the successor of an old society which was organized a
short di.stance north of the town in Marion county, as early as 1838 or 1839.
In the fall of 1837, George Shortridge moved to the locality from Wayne
county and, being a devoted member of the church, soon induced preachers to
visit the neighborhood and hold public services in his dwelling and barn. In
order to build up a serviceable church of his own choice, Mr. Shortridge, about
the year 1840 or 1842, erected a small house of worship on his farm, in which

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

an organization was soon effected. Among the earliest members of this
society, were Mr. Shortridge, Charles Robinson and family, James Webb and
wife, and a few others, whose names have been forgotten. Services were
held regularly for several years, by Elders L. H. Jameson, Asa Holingsworth
and other pioneer ministers of the Reformation, but owing to the unsettled
conditions of the early residents of the community, many of whom were
transients, the society soon lost the majority of its members and was in course
of time abandoned. Early in the fifties, exact date unknown, a society was
organized in Greenwood, with which several of the members of the old church
at once became identified. Among the early members of the Greenwood
society were the following: William Blake and wife, Joseph Harmon and
wife, John Shortridge and wife, George Oldaker and wife, Edward Pate and
wife, James Pate, Simeon Frazier and wife, Mrs. James Stewart and Hugh
A. Morris. The village school house had been purchased a short time pre-
vious and fitted up for church purposes, and it was in this building that the
organization took place. The school house was used as a meeting place for
several years, but the constantly increasing congregation made the erection of
a building of enlarged proportions, necessary. Accordingly a lot in Dobbins'
addition was donated by Dr. Guthree, and within a short time thereafter a
brick temple of worship was erected at a cost of four thousand five hundred
dollars. The church has enjoyed the labors of a number of able ministers.
The first elders of the church were Hugh A. Myers, William Blake and
Joseph Harmon.

TRAFALGAR CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

The early history of the Trafalgar Christian church is enveloped in con-
siderable obscurity. From the most reliable information it appears that
services were held at the residence of Thomas Lynam as early as 1848, and
among the first members were the Lynam, Watkins, Duckworth and Thomp-
son families. Henry Branch, Benjamin Branch, William Clark, E. Clark,
Absalom Clark, w ith others, became members in a very early day also. Elders
Thomas Lynam and Asa Holingsworth did the first preaching for the congre-
gation. A small log building, with ohe door and a single window, was erected
about 1849 o^ 1850. It stood about one mile southwest of the village on
Indian creek, and was used by the congregation until replaced by a frame
structure a few years later. The second building stood a short distance south
of the present house of worship, and answered the purposes for which it was
intended until about the year 1870. For a number of years the organization

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA* 36 1

was known as the Hensley Town Christian church, and among the members
in i860 were the following: George Duckworth, Thomas Gillaspy, G. T.
Bridges, Jerry Dunham, Thomas Lynam, Nancy E. Lynam, Eliza H. Lynam,
Matilda M. Lynam, James S. Lynam, Thomas O. Lynam and Johp D. Lynam.
The present house of worship is a frame building, erected about 1870, in size
is thirty-five by forty-four feet and was erected at a cost of fourteen hundred
dollars.

Since 1890, the following have ministered to the church at Trafalgar:
John C. Miller, C. A. Stephens, Prof. Garvin, J. C. Ashley, Rev. Creighton,
C. A. Johnson, Jabez Hall (1902 and 1905), J. W. Carpenter (1903 and
1904), I. N. Grisso (1906 and 1907), B. F. Dailey (1908 to 1911), C. R.
Bulgin (1911), W. C. Morro (1912), and C. H. Scriven (1913).

UNION CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

This church is located in Nineveh township and was organized on June
12, 1853, Elder Richard Gosney officiating. The organization was the out-
growth of a series of meetings conducted by Elder Asa Holingsworth, during
the progress of which a great religious awakening was experienced, resulting
in the conversions of over thirty persons. The organization was effected
with the following members: Clark Tucker, Sr., Margaret Tucker, Lydia
Tucker, George Hargan, Benjamin Branch, Matilda Branch, Susan Branch,
Mary Sattewhite, Henry Branch, Sarah A. Branch, Francis Branch, Delia M.
Tucker, John H. Featherngill, Martha J. Feathemgill, Thomas Branigin,
Paulina Branigin, James Kimberlin, George F. Feathemgill, George Huston,
Emily Beadles, James Townsend, John Morgan, James Lawhorn, Sarah
Kerby, Joseph Lee, Sarah Duckworth, Mary A. Huston, Sarah J. Hunter,
Samuel Brown, Mary G. Brown, Parthena Tucker, Loven G. Pritchard and
Nancy Pritchard. The first church officers were Benjamin Branch, elder:
Thomas Tucker and D. F. Featherngill, deacons. Meetings were first held
in a log school house, but soon after the organization a frame building was
erected on land donated for the purpose near the line of Franklin and Nineveh
townships. This was a substantial edifice, thirty by forty f^et in size, and
served as a place of worship until 1869. In the year the present handsome
brick stnicture was built at a cost of nine thousand dollars. It is a two-story
building, forty by sixty feet.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

CLARKSBURG CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

This chiirch was organized in what was known as the Leatherwood school
house, about one mile north of Clarksburg, on the 14th day of April, 1846,
by Elder Love H. Jameson, of Indianapolis. The charter members were C.
G. Dungan and wife, John Irwin and wife, David C. Mitchell and wife, Joseph
Dupree and wife, John Eastburn and wife, L. M. Dupree and wife, Moses F.
Clark and wife, Robert Ross and wife, Oliver Harbert and wife, John Harb-
ert and wife, Richard Harbert and wife, Stephen Tinker and wife, John W.
Curry and wife, James Williams and wife, Silas Breeding and wife, John J.
Dungan and wife, R. B. Green and wife, Thomas Parttock and wife, Joseph
Irwin, James Tinker, Amos Williams, Parens Harbert, Mary A. Parttock,
Hisler A. Green and Father Harbert. The first officers were as follows:
Elders, C. G. Dungan and Joseph Dupree; deacons, M. F. Clark and J. J.
Dungan. The building was not fully completed until 1849, ^^^ was used as a
meeting place until 1873. During the first few years of its history the
church had no regular pastor, but was ministered to from time to time by
different preachers, among whom were Elders L. J. Jameson, Thoriias
Lockhart, Asa Holingsworth, John O'Kane and George Campbell. In 1849,
Elder Giles Holmes became pastor, and labored as such the greater part of the
time until his death, in i860. The present pastor is Rev. Samuel Small and
the present membership is three hundred, and there is a flourishing Sunday
school maintained. Other pastors of recent years are the Revs. Frazier,
Conner, Manker, Davis, Yocum, and Mullendore. Of these the last named,
the Rev. William Mullendore, of Franklin, has served the congregation the
longest time.

MT. CARMEL CHRKSTIAN CHURCH.

This church is located in Nineveh township and was organized by Elder
John C Miller, on the 28th day of March, 1870. The priginal members were :
Valentine Burget. Nancy Burget, Lucinda Burget, James B. Bell, Mary Bell,
Cynthia A. Cook, John W. Collins, A. B. Dunham, Nancy Dunham, Mary
Gillaspy, Catherine A. Linton, J. W. Linton, Noah F. Linton, Charles M.
Linton, Nancy Matthews, Sarah E. McFaddin, Cornelius McFadden, T. J.
McMurry, Christina McMurry. Lethana McMurry, Mary McMurry, Sophia
Jacobs, P. C. Jacobs, Sarah J. Slack, Rebecca A. Smyser, Sarah J. Smyser,
Amelia Smyser, Mary E. Smyser, James Shoemaker, Susan Shoemaker, J. F.
Wheaton, Lucinda Wheaton, James Work, Margaret Work and W. W. Wilk-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 363

house in which this congregation now worships is a neat frame
I was erected in 1870.

SAMARIA CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

ristian church at Samaria was organized several years ago, and
lie met for worship in a store building, which had been fitted up
mrposes by the Christians, Methodists and Baptists. In the fall
Hise for the especial use of the Christian congregation was erected,
time the church has grown and prospered. There is a good mem-
is time. There is a congregation of the Christian church at the
[eedham, where a neat and substantial temple of worship was
ral years ago, and this society has accomplished a good work in
ity. There is also a flourishing Christian church in Blue River
few miles from Edinburg, which has a large membership. The
rship is a commodious frame structure, and the society has been
or for good in the community.

UNION VILLAGE CHURCH.

ng to some, the Church of Christ at Union village was organized
nee of Wesley Deer as early as the year 1834. The first record
le writer's notice reads as follows : **The disciples of Christ at
n Union township, in Johnson county, Indiana, knowing it to be
id privilege to live together in a church relation to each other, do
ves to their Lord and one another, taking the gospel of Christ as
of faith and practice. Done by agreement this 28th September,

'homas Jones was among the first preachers, and a log house of
erected near the present residence of ex-Trustee James Brown.
For the property was obtained, a subsequent owner of the land re-
igregation the use of the building, and later a frame building was
:he farm of Wesley Deer. This building was burned by an
^s it was supposed, and it was replaced by another structure,
Iso destroyed by fire during the Civil war.

he close of the war, the church erected a building at Union Vil-
ng to Banta's History. But better evidence is at hand that the
removed to Union Village December i, 1846. The present fine
dedicated August 19, 1896.

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364 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Among its pastors have been the following : B. K. Smith, Joseph Davis,
Aaron Hollingsworth (who preached nine years for a total salary of sixty-five
dollars), Hiram Deer, Thomas Lockhart, Perry Blankenship, Hamilton Phil-
lips, John R. Surface, James Heney, William H. Boles, S. J. Tomlinson, B. F.
Dailey, B. F. Treat, 1899 and 1901, Edgar Daugherty, J. M. Cross, F. D.
Mjse, 1902-1905, M. V. Grisso, 1905-1907, I. N. Grisso, 1905 and 1912,
Aubrey Moore 1907-1911, B. L. Allen, 1911, C. E. Dobson, 1913.

Elder John C. Miller preached to this church continuously from 1857 ^^
1900, except for nine years. Thirty-four years of self-sacrifice and devotion
to his work has made John C. Miller's name revered in the community.

BLUFF CREEK CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

This church is located in White River township and was organized a
number of years ago, as early, perhaps, as 1834 or 1835, in a Baptist church
that stood near the village of Far West. The Baptist society had been in
existence for some years, but at the time services began to be held by ministers
of the Christian church, it was extinct. Among the early members of the
Bluff Creek congregation were Henry Brown, Mar}' Brown, Daniel Brag,
Lydia Boaz, Jacob Sutton, Abigail Sutton, William Dunn, Christina Dunn,
John Warren dnd wife, Barbara Tresslar, Valentinfe Tresslar, Mary Tresslar,
Henry J. Tresslar and others whose names cannot be recalled. Elders Will-
iam Irwin, James Fawcett, John B. New and J. L. Jones ministered to the
congregation during the early years of its history, and later it enjoyed the labor
of some of the leading preachers of the Reformation. For many years the
old Baptist church building served as a place of worship. Tt was removed to
the village of Brownstown in 1884, and thoroughly remodeled and greatly
improved. The church has been a potent factor for good in the community,
and is still in a flourishing condition.

BARGERSVILLE CHURCH.

The Church of Christ at Bargersville was organized in a school house
near the village, April 7, 1861, by Elder J. R. Surface, twenty-eight persons
constituting the original membership. The first officers were the following:
Elders, Willis Deer, George O. List and John Clore : deacons, Joseph Combs,
Abraham Qore and Abner Clark: treasurer, Abraham Qore: clerk, John
Gore. Since its organization the church has been ministered to by different
pastors from time to time.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 365

CHRISTIAN CHAPEL, UNION TOWNSHIP.

This society was organized at the Beech Grove church, Hensley township,
in January, 1876, by Elder A. Ehnore. The original membership was eigh-
teen. In the fall of the above year, a frame building was erected in Union
township, and since that time the congregation has been in prosperous condi-
tion with a steadily increasing membership. The first officers were I. L. Rags-
dale, Benjamin Thompson and Frank Vandiver, deacons. Benjamin Thomp-
son was also treasurer and James Davis, secretary.

NEW HOPE, WHITE RIVER TOWNSHIP.

The New Hope Christian church was organized December, 1883, i^ what
is known as school house No. 10, White River township, Elder E. W. Darst
officiating. About sixty-five members went into the organization, and at the
first meeting elected the following officers : Elders, C. M. McCool, George
W. Wyrick and R. J. Johnson ; deacons, W. H. Dresslar, W. F. Williams, J.
W. Stewart and John Hardin ; treasurer, David Glassburn ; clerk, L. B. Zaring.
The church has made commendable progress.

^MT. PLEASANT CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

This church in White River township on the Morgantown Road one half

^Jit south of the county line, was organized on the 17th day of April, 1884,

^ .i^lders B. M. Blount and E. W. Darst, with a membership considerably

^:^^:ctss of sixty. The first meetings were held in a building formerly used

^ -tine Presbyterians. But the same year in which the organization was

[T^^^^'ted a subscription was taken, resulting in the erection of the present beau-

Drship, in section 28, which was formally dedicated the fol-

membership has steadily increased and Mt. Pleasant, at this

; flourishing Christian churches of the county, numbering at

dred communicants. A good Sunday school is maintained

ar and has proved a valuable auxiliary to the church. The

ors in their order are: Neil McCallum, L. R. Wilson, John

d Daugherty, W. C. Moore, J. C. Anderson, Baird,

N. D. Starr.

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366 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

YOUNGS CREEK CHURCH (CHRISTIAN CONNECTION).

This is an old organization, dating its history from about the year 1829
or 1830. It was founded by Elder Joseph Ashley, one of the earliest settlers
on Young s creek, and among its first members the following names are the
most familiar: Elijah Dawson and family, William Harter and wife, James
Mitchell and wife, Samuel Dawson and wife, Fleming Harter and wife,
Lucinda Ware, Martha Williams and members of Elder Ashley's family.
For some years meetings were held in private residences, but later a school
house about one mile north of the present building was secured for church
puri)oses. A frame edifice a short distance north of the present house was
erected in the yeaf 1851 or 1852, and was used by the congregation until 1875.
In the latter year the neat frame building in which the church now worships
was erected at a cost of fifteen hundred dollars. The church has a good Sun-
day school, which has proved an able auxiliary.

FRANKLIN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

It is in:possible to fix definitely the date of the organization of the Meth-
odist church in Franklin, as the records of the original class, if any were kept,
are not accessible. It is known that the settlement in the county of a number
of Methodist families secured the presence and attention of traveling ministers,
and doubtless led to the temporary formation of classes or societies, as they
are called, and in that way unquestionably gave the church hefe a historical
existence in a very early day, yet it is not at all certain that the denomination
had any permanent footing in Franklin until about the year 1832. From the
most relial)le information obtainable, the first class ai)pears to have been organ-
ized in one of the above years, Init memory fails to recall the names of but two
of the original members, W. W. Robinson and wife, parents of Rev. D. R.
Robinson, D. D., of Indianapolis. For some years after the organization the
class met for worship in the dwellings of the members, and later in neighbor-
ing school houses, but the methods of the church in those early days were such
that it is not |X)ssible now to give a reliable account of what it accomplished.
About the year 1844. a room in the county seminary was secured for church
purposes, and here the congregation worshiped until 1847-48. The increase
in membership in the meantime foreshadowed the necessity of a building for
the especial use of the church: accordingly, in 1848, a lot on the corner of
JeflFerson street, between Madison street and Home avenue, was procured, and

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 367

in due time a substantial frame edifice, fifty by sixty feet in size, was erected
thereon. The building was formally dedicated by Rev. E. R. Ames, after-
ward Bishop Ames, and served the purpose for which it was intended until
1869. Owing to the absence of the early records of the church, it will be
impossible to give a Hst of those who served as pastors in the early days. Until
1850 the church was the head of Franklin circuit, which for a number of
years included several appointments: Edinburg, Greenwood, Mt. Auburn,
Salem, Waverly, Shiloh, Glade, Clarksburg and others. Franklin was made
a charge the above year, with Rev. J. B. Lathrop as the first stationed pastor.

During the pastorate of J. M. Crawford, in 1867, the church took the
necessary steps toward the erection of a more commodious house of worship,
and secured for the purpose a beautiful lot on the corner of Madison street and
Home avenue. . W^ork on the new building was pushed forward as raoidly as
circumstances would permit, but some time elapsed before the edifice was com-
pleted. It was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies, in September, 1869,
Bishop Simpson officiating. The building is a handsome brick structure, fifty
by eighty feet in size, surmounted I>y a lofty and graceful spire, and repre-
sents a capital of twenty-three thousand dollars. It is a very useful religious
organization in the county, with an active membership of about four hundred.
A Sunday school was organized shortly after the church was established and,
with but little interruption, has since continued. At present it is in a flourish-
ing condition, numbering about two hundred.

The following pastors have served since the erection of the second build-
ing in 1869: John Lozier, E. L. Dolph, A. M. Marlatt, E. L. Dolph (second
pastorate), J. K. Pye, J. S. Reager, R. D. Black, J. W. Duncan, R. Andrus,
S. A. Bright. C. E. Line, Charles W. Tinsley, E. H. Wood, George Smith,
Thomas G. Cocks, M. S. Heavenridge, R. R. Bryan, Samuel Reid, A. D.
Batchelor, and the present pastor, W. E. Edgin.

EDINBURG METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHl'RCH.

But limited satisfaction was derived from tracing the early history of
Methodism in the city of Edinburg, as the records of the first class have long
since been lost or misplaced. According to the most reliable information it
appears that a small class was organized about three miles northwest of Edin-
burg, on Sugar creek, early in the twenties, and for some years public worship
was held in private residences, principally in the dwelling of an early settler by
the name of GifFord. The preaching was done by traveling missionaries, who

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

visited the neighborhood at regular intervals. Unfortunately the names of
these early pioneers of the Cross have been forgotten. Among the early
members of the old Sugar Creek class are remembered William Freeman,
Isaac Marshall, Arthur Robinson, Mr. Gifford and members of their respec-
tive families, all of whom have long since passed from the "church militant to
the church triumphant." One of the early preachers, but by no means the
earliest, was Rev. Mr. Strange, who is remembered as a very devoted and
earnest Christian man and good pulpit orator. After meeting for two or three
years on Sugar creek, it was decided to move the organization to Edinburg,
where services were afterward held in the private residence of William Hunt,
one of the earliest Methodists of the town. Here the class continued to meet
until the erection of a house of worship by the Edinburg Benevolent Society,
after which services were regularly held in said building for several years, the
congregation increasing in numbers and influence in the meantime. In 1846 a
frame building for the especial use of the congregation was erected on Walnut
street.

It was made a station some time in the fifties, and among the early pastors
were Andrew Hester, David Stiver, John F. McClain, Jesse Brockway, Samuel
Noble, William Mopin, John K. Pye, Enoch G. Wood, Robert Roberts, Francis
Potts, Dr. Gelet, Henry E. Woods, Charles W. Lee, James W. Turner and
Martine L. Wells. The church prospered greatly under the ministry of Rev.
J. K. Pye, whose labors were blessed by a large increase in the membership.
Rev. Mr. Roberts also was instrumental in strengthening the church, and dur-
ing the pastorates of Revs. Lee, Turner and Wood large revivals were held
resulting in many additions to the congfregation. In 1869, a movement was
inaugurated for the erection of a building of enlarged proportions. Accord-
ingly, a beautiful lot on the corner of Main and Thompson streets was pro-
cured for the purpose. Work upon the new building was pushed forward as
rapidly as circumstances would permit and the structure, fully completed, was
formally dedicated in the year 1870.

WILLIAMSBURG METHODIST CHURCH.

This society is the successor of an old class which was organized in the
vicinity of the village as early as 1824 or 1825. Of the early history of the
class but little is now know^n, save that meetings were held in private resi-
dences for a number of years, and that it was disorganized some time prior to
1850. A re-organization was effected in 1853, with about thirty or forty
members, and the same year witnessed the erection of a house of worship in

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JOHNSON COUNTY, IKDIAKA. . 369

the town, the one now used by the congregation. Among the early ministers
since the re-organization were Revs. Talbott, Rice, Woods, Fish and later,
Thomas Jones, Sydney Tinker, E. M. Farr, Thomas Brooks, George B. Young,
J. B. Alley, Mr. Clouds, Thomas McClain, James Jamison and Isaac Turner.

GLADE METHOMST EPISCOPAL CHURCH — PLEASANT TOWNSHIP.

The history of this flourishing society dates back to a very early period
in the settlement of that part of Johnson county embraced within the present
limits of Pleasant township. The first meetings were held in what was known
as the Glade schoolhouse, near the eastern boundary of the township, as early
as 1840, by Rev. Mr. Huffaker, who, the year following, organized a small
class, among the first members of which were the following: John L. Mc-
Clain and wife, Henry McClain and wife, Jesse McClain and wife, Jacob
Pcggs and wife, Sophia Cummings, Sarah J. Cummings, Elizabeth Cummings,
Moses McClain and wife, Isabelle Peggs and Nancy Peggs. Of the original
members all have passed from the scenes of their earthly labors. The school-
house was used for a meeting place six or eight years, after which a frame
temple of worship was erected upon ground donated for the purpose by Elijah
Cummings. This building answered well the purposes for which it was in-
tended until the growth of the congregation made a house of larger propor-
tions necessary, when a more commodious structure was erected on land of
Benjamin Draper, a short distance east of the original place of worship.
Among the early pastors of the church are remembered Revs. J. V. R. Miller,
Havens, Winchester, J. W. McMullen and William Goodwin. The church
is in a prosperous condition.

GREENWOOD METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

In the summer of 1849 ^^e pastor of Franklin circuit, Rev. Mr. Shafer,
began stated preaching in the Baptist church of Greenwood, and the year fol-
lowing, Rev. Elijah D. Long, pastor of the Southport circuit, continued
preaching and organized a class, among the early members of which were the
following: M. Pashiel and wife, Mrs. Selch, Mrs. Prewett, George Noble,
Louisa NoWe, Noah Noble, Rev. Samuel Noble, John Vorhies and wife and
others whose names are not now remembered. In the fall of 1850 Greenwood
was made the head of a circuit and Rev. John A. Winchester appointed pas-
tor. During his pastorate the erection of a church building was undertaken,
(24)

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370 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

and prosecuted to successful completion in the early part of the conference
year following. The building was a substantial frame edifice which stood
near the central part of town, and cost about twenty-five hundred dollars. In
the fall of 1 85 1, Rev. Jacob Whitman was appointed to the pastorate. For
the conference years of 1852-53-54 Rev. J. W. T. McMullen served as pastor,
with Rev. Strange Sinclair as assistant the second year. Rev. Sinclair came
next. Succeeding him were Revs. William K. Ream, W. R. Goodwin, L.
Havens, A. Kennedy, J. M. Crawford, F. S. Turk, T. W. Jones, Samuel
Langden, D. C. Benjamin, A. H. Reat, Jesse Miller, W. S. Falkenburg. Rev.
Samuel Noble was appointed in 1882, Rev. N. Falkenburg having been trans-
ferred to the Texas conference that year. In the fall of 1882 W. H. Wyd-
man was appointed pastor, serving until the fall of 1885, and wias succeeded
by Rev. Alonzo Murphy, who, in September, 1887, was followed by Rev. C.
W. Rinsley. In the spring of 1887, the society began the erection of a new
house of worship, which was completed and dedicated in December, 1887.

WHITELAND METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The organization of which the present class of Whiteland is an out-
growth was founded a number of years ago at the residence of Martha Le-
masters, about three-quarters of a mile southwest of the present site of the
village of Whiteland. Among the early members were a Mr. Crawford, Mrs.
Lemasters, Isaac Clem and wife, Creed Dawson and wife, and John Smith
and wife. The first meetings were held at the residence of Mrs. Lemasters,
and later a schoolhouse about three miles southwest of Whiteland served the
congregation for a place of worship. Early in the forties a log house, espe-
cially for church purposes, was built a short distance west of the present site
of Whiteland, and was known in the early days by the name of Mt. Vernon.
It was used until the growth of the congregation made a more commodious
building necessary, when a frame structure was erected, about two miles west,
on the land of David Smith, and the name changed to Pleasant Grove church.
Here the congregation met and prospered until 1881, at which time it was
mutually agreed to erect a building in Whiteland and move the organization
to the village. Accordingly a beautiful frame edifice, costing two thousand
dollars, was built that year, and since its completion the society has been mak-
ing substantial progress in numbers and financial strength. For the first few
years the church was an appointment of the Franklin circuit and later it was
attached to the Greenwood circuit. The majority of the preachers mentioned

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 37 1

in connection with the Greenwood class ministered to the Whiteland church
at different times.

FAIRVIEW METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

This church is located in White River township and was formerly known
as Pleasant Hill, being organized some time between 1830 and 1835. Of its
early history little that is reliable is now known. The old Pleasant Hill so-
ciety was kept up for several years and accomplished much good in the com-
munity. A part of the class afterward withdrew and formed what is now the
Mt. Auburn church, and still later the original society ceased to exist. Sub-
sequently, a remnant of its former members reorganized and, taking sub-
scriptions, succeeded in raising a building fund with which the present frame
house of worship in section 28 was erected. Among the early members of
the class were William K. Davis and wife, Joseph Smith and wife, Nicholas
Orme and wife and others. The church is reputed as one of the flourishing
appointments of Southport circuit.

MT. AUBURN CHURCH.

The history of Mt. Auburn Methodist Episcopal church dates back to
1826. The few Methodists of this neighborhood worshiped at that time in
a frame church called Pleasant Hill. Its size was about twenty-four by thirty
feet, and it was located on the banks of Pleasant run, one mile west of where
Fairview church now stands. A few names of members of that early church
now recalled are: Henry Brinton, Abner Leonard and wife, George Wright,
Jesse Hughes. Julia Prewett, Franklin Sanders. Margaret Smart, Thomas
Davis, Nicholas Orme, Nancy Hughes, Scott Hall, Nathan Culver, William
Hull, Martin Christian, William Norton, Nathaniel St. John, Rebecca Can
ter and William Sanders. About 1840, a camp-meeting of much interest was
held near that church under the ministrations of Revs. James Havens, E. R.
Ames, William Richards, James Scott, Henry Brinton, William Hull and
John Robe. The Pleasant Run church was discontinued about the year 1852.

In the year 1835, the first Methodist class at Mt. Auburn was organized
at the home of William Harrell, now occupied by George Hughes. It was
partly the outgrowth of the last named church, numbering among its mem-
bers Jesse Hughes and wife, John Surface and wife, William Harrell and
wife, John Robe and wife, Abner Leonard and wife, Amos Smith and wife.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

J 1 • .

David Melton and wife, V. C. Carter and wife, J. B. Dobyns and wife, Cath-
erine Sells, W. K. Smith, John Andis and Michael Surface.

In 1836, the members of this class and others erected "the old mud school
house," one-half mile west of Mt. Auburn, the building serving as church and
school house for about thirteen years. Among the pioneer preachers in this
house and at the near-by camp grounds during the camp meetings of 1843,
1844 and 1845 were James Havens, E. R. Ames, James Scott, Absalom Parris,
H. Lathrop, John Powell, J. V. R. Miller, James Mitchell and John Robe. In
1848 or 1849, 21 church edifice was erected, but left in an unfinished condi-
tion until 1853, when it was placed in good order. In the early days of
Methodism large circuits and week-day appointments were the rule. On
December 21, 1850, the first quarterly meeting for the Greenwood circuit was
held in this church, J. S. Winchester, preacher in charge, and C. W, Ruter,
presiding elder. At that time there were nine appointments on the work, and
the total amount paid to the presiding elder and preacher that year wias

$364.90.

The following is a list of preachers' names serving at this church since
1850 to 1900: J. S. Winchester, Jacob Whiteman, J. W. T. McMullen, S. W.
Sinclair, H. M. Boyer, W. K. Ream, W. R. Goodwin, Landy Havens, A,
Kennedy, J. M. Crawford, F. S. Turk, T. W. Jones, Samuel Longdon, D. C.
Benjamin, A, H. Reat, Jesse Miller, W. S. Falkenburg, S. C. Noble (supply),
W. H. Wydman, A. Murphey, C. W. Tinsley, M. L. Wells, D. A. Robertson,
C E. Mead, J. T. Jones, T. K. Willis.

TRAFALGAR METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

This society is the successor of the old Pleasant Grove church, which
was organized in the northwest part of Nineveh township as early as the year
1827. A number of pioneer families of that locality were Methodists and
the names familiar in the early history of the church were the Thompsons,
Baileys, Watkins, Days, Carrolls, Laws and Wilsons. Early meetings were
held in the cabins of the settlers, and later the Watkins schoolhouse served as
a place of worship until a building for the especial use of the congregation
could be erected. Late in the thirties, Mr. Mullendore, an early settler in the
northern part of the township, donated for a church building a lot about one-
half mile north of the schoolhouse, and in due time a frame edifice was erected
thereon. Here the society met and flourished for a number of years, and at
one time became a strong organization with over one hundred members. James
Hill, S. W. McHaughton and George F. Mullendore were among the early

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 373

preachers and stated supplies of the church. Owing to deaths, removals and
other causes, the membership gradually became weaker, until at one time the
meetings ceased nearly altogether. A reorganization was effected in 1870,
and the place of meeting changed to Trafalgar, where the same year a frame
house of worship, costing the sum of one thousand six hundred and fifty
dollars, was erected. This building stands near the central part of the vil-
lage and affords a comfortable and commodious meeting place. Among the
pastors of the church since its reorganization have been the following : Revs.
Tinker, McClain, Cloud, Young, Farr, Alley and Jamison.

The Nineveh Methodist Episcopal circuit is composed of six churches:
Nineveh, with 95 members; Trafalgar, with 93 members; Pis^h, with 94
members; Friendship, with 66 members; Mt. Olive, with 67 members, and
Kansas, with 42 members, the last named being located in Bartholomew
county. Services are held in each church ever}^ alternate Sunday. Since
1890, the following pastors have served this circuit : Revs. W. C Crawford,
W. O. Wycoflf, H. L. Sterrett, S. W. Troyer, U. G. Abbott, John F. Harvey,
W. A. Schell, Charles H. Rose, George Church, J. M. Huddleson, A. E.
Pierce, J. W. Weekly and J. W. Cordrcy.

The Pisgah Methodist Episcopal church is one of the oldest church or-
ganizations in the county, having acquired a church site from Robert Davis
on August 7, 1833, located at the center of section 19 in Blue Riyer township.
In 1866, a substantial brick house was erected, in which the congregation still
worships.

WESLEY CHAPEL METHODIST EPISCOPAL UNION.

This church was organized in the spring of 1878, as a branch of Shiloh
church, in Morgan county. For some time meetings were held in a school-
house near the village, but in the fall of the above year a neat frame building
was erected. Among the early members of the class were the following per-
sons : James Matthews, George Smith, John W. Taylor, John Selch, Henry
ICnok, John Shrockmorton and John L. Knox. The following preachers
have ministered to the church since its organization : Revs. Charles Woods,
Asbury, Thomas Thomas Jones, J. V. R. Miller, Charles Spray, Samuel C.
Kennedy and John D. Hartsock. The society belongs to the Waverly cir-
cuit, Indianapolis district.

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374

JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

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FRIENDSHIP CHURCH, METHODIST EPISCOPAL.

This is an old organization located in Hensley township, and meets for*
worship in a frame building, not far from the Morgan county line. This
society is not as strong as formerly, but is still in good condition.

SALEM METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

This is an old organization in White River township and dates its ex-
istence from about 1834 or 1835. The first meetings were conducted by Rev.
Jacob Brumwell, at the residence of Anthony Brunnemer, and among those
who became members in an early day were Jacob and Charlotte Brumwell,
Berrien and Catherine Reynolds, William Dresslar, Margaret Dresslar, George
Duke, Mary Duke, John Taylor, Sarah Taylor, Anthony Brunnemer, Magda-
lene Brunnemer, Henry Dresslar, Malinda Dresslar, William Brunnehier,
Sarah Brunnemer, Abraham Lowe, Harriett Lowe and a number of other
early settlers of the community. In 1848, Henry and Elizabeth Dresslar
deeded to the trustees of the congregation a lot for church purposes, upon
purpose for which it was intended until 1868, at which time the present frame
edifice was erected upon the same lot. Among the pastors of Salem in the
which was erected, a little later, a log house of worship. It answered the
early days are remembered the following: Revs. Farmer, Beck, Brown,
Crawford, Huflfaker. McMullen, W. C. Crawford, George Havens, Landy
Havens, Goodwin Sparks, Shelton, St. Clair. J. M. Crawford. Boyer, Ream,
Kennedy, Smith, Wilks. Crane, Heavenridge, Woods, Charles Woods, Jones,
Asbury, Rhoades, Miller, Sray, C. Kennedy, and Hastrock. The church is
reported in a prosperous condition.

ROCK LANE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

This church was organized at Clarksburg alx)ut the year 1873 ^^ 1874.
A substantial frame house of worship was afterward erected at a cost of two
thousand dollars, and the society, though weak in numbers, the membership
being about forty, made substantial progress. The church is a point on the
Acton circuit, and is ministered to at this time by W. D. Woods, and the
present membership is one hundred twenty-five. Other recent pastors have
been Revs. H. E. Davis, Martin Brown, George Garrison, Austin Young,
Troyer and Hall.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 375

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, FRANKLIN.

This church was organized in the year 1868, with the following mem-
bers : Augustus Hammond, Mary Leonard, Mary Elkins, Jane Blakely and
Mary Stark, Rev. Whitton Lankford officiating. The following pastors have
ministered to the church from time to time: Revs. Henry Brown, Henry
Depew, Hezekiah Harper, Joseph Alexander, Whitton Lankford, John Fer-
geson, Danial Winslow, Alexander Smith, John Jordan, M. Lewis, Richard
Titus, Nathaniel Jones, George Pope. The building in which the congrega-
tion formerly met for worship, a frame structure on West Madison street,
was erected and dedicated in the year 1868.

METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH, JOLLITY.

While a few of the survivors of pioneer times still remain, many have
passed away and with them the landmarks they erected. A few of the pioneer
incidents have been preserved and cherished, but man is mortal and the mem-
ory weak and uncertain, hence much of the early history of this community-
is buried in eternal oblivion.

Pleasant, yet sad it is, to recall the scenes of the past. Pleasant because
we see faces of dear ones. Sad, because it is a picture of memory, unreal,
and will vanish like the mists of the morning.

Back in the gray and misty dawn of the history of Jackson township
there came two men and settled in what is now known as the Jollity neigh-
borhood. These men, William Shipp and Burgess Waggoner, brought their
families from Kentucky and settled, the former in the field across the road
from the present residence of William Brockman, the latter on the place now
owned by George Sanders, Jr.

In the latter part of the following year, 1823, Richard Shipp and fam-
ily, Tandy Brockman and family and Samuel D. Sandefur, just east of school-
house No. 3, on land now owned by Mrs. Marsh. Most of these had come
from Baptist communities in Kentucky, and after coming into their new homes
in the wilderness they continued to live as neighbors, meeting from time to
time in their respective homes for the purpose of worshiping God. In 1828
or 1829 they formed themselves into what in the early history of the Metho-
dist Protestant church was known as Union societies, which afterward took
the name of Associated Methodists.

In 1830, soon after the convention at Baltimore, Maryland, where all

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376

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the Associated Methodists, as a denomination, took the name of Methodist
Protestant, these four families organized as a Methodist Protestant church
and elected Thomas Shipp as class leader. The church was organized at the
home of Tandy Brockman, and the eight members who w«it into the orgau-
ization at that time were Tandy Brockman, Martha Brockman, Richard Shi{q>
and Mary Shipp, his wife, Thomas Shipp, his son and Mary, his daughter-
in-law, Samuel D. Sandefur and his wife, Elizabeth.

In 1832 Peter Clinger came as the first Methodist Protestant preacher.
Concerning the pastors from 1832 to 1840 we have no record,, but in 1837
a committee was elected to plan and oversee the building of a house suitable
for worship, as they no longer wished to worship in the public building which
stood on the land now owned by James Sanders, Jr. The house was built by
Matthew Kelly and Josiah Frady for the sum of three hundred dollars, the
timber being furnished by Thomas Shipp. The house was completed and
dedicated in 1840 or 1841.

The following is a list of the pastors who served the work while a part
of Sugar Creek circuit: Thomas Shipp, 1840, and in 1841 Thomas Shipp
with George Evans as assistant; 1842, Thomas Shipp; Charles F. Williams
from 1843; 1844, Joseph Shipp; T. Shipp and Samuel Morrison, 1845 and
1846; James Edmiston, 1847; 1848-50, H. Collings; 1850-53, Thomas Shipp;
1853-54, Union J. Gardiner; 1854-55, J. W. B. Taylor; 1855-1856, Thomas
Bland; 1856-1857, John Bogle; 1857-1858, John Bogle and S. Gentry; 1858-
1859, Thomas Shipp: 1859-1860, S. M. Gentry; 1861-1862, John Gardner;
1862-1863, Charles Williams; 1863-1865, Samuel Louden; 1865-1866, E. M.
Moels; 1866- 1868, Hugh Stackhouse; 1868-1872, H. M. Boyer, the last year
of whose ministry the present building was erected at a cost of five thousand
dollars. This buildmg was damaged later to the extent of four hundred and
fifty dollars by the cyclone of 1876.

Those who have served as pastors in the present building arc: 1872-
1873, Salem Shumway; 1873-1874, KL M. Boycs; 1874-1876, J. H. Luse;
1876-1879, John Heim; 1 879-1 880, .B. M. Clark; 1880-1882, S. H. Flood;*
1882-1885, T. E. Lancaster; 1885-1888, S. J. Jones; 1888-1890, John Mc-
Phail; 1890-1895, J. O. Ledbetter; 1895-1897, J. R. Lenhart; 1897-1900,
J. G. Smith; 1900-1902, S. S. Stanton; 1902-1903, M. F. Iliflf.

MT. ZION METHOPXST PROTESTANT CHUaCH.

This church was built in 1852 and was dedicated by the Rev. Thomas
Shipp. The charter members were as follows: Isaac Duckworth, Robert

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 377

Richey and wife, David Wilde and wife and Patrick Beard and wife. Among
the first ministers were: Rev. Gardner, Mottes, Carlton, H, Stackhouse, F. M.
Hassey, McKinney, John Heim, McFale, Lancaster and Laughy. The later
ministers were Rev. J. S. Ricketts, Mary E. Ayers, John Stines, E. Ca)rwood,
Ballad Ensminger, D. W. Hetrick, A. R. Com, A. W. Vermillion, the pres-
ent pastor being Rev. Perry B. Leach.

PLEASANT HILL METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH.

This flourishing organization dates its history from the year 1836. The
first minister of the Methodist Protestant church in the Hurricane neighbor-
hood was Rev. Mr. Cable, who, by invitation, preached at the residence of
David Parr, as early as the above year. Subsequently, Rev. Peter dinger
became his associate, and the result of their labors was the organization of a
Methodist Protestant church, consisting of the following famihes: Samuel
Orerstreet and wife, David Parr and wife, Milton Knapp and wife, Henry
-WcAlpin and wife, Lewis Jones and wife, and Nancy Yager, all of whom are
^ow dead. In the year 1836 a place of worship was in demand, and the new
^/granization united with the Baptists and United Brethren in building the
o/cf icDg church known as "Friendship/' which was used as a place of worship
h t:l:i^ three denominations, also as a school house. This old log church w^as
mlt: in the years 1836 and 1837, on a lot donated by the late Harvey Sloan,
of IF^:ranklin, and now occupied by the Hurricane Baptist church. Samuel
Ov^:«— street appears to have been the first Methodist Protestant trustee. The
first: I^ethodist Protestant pastor was Peter dinger, who was followed by
Geo-x^^are Baxter, John Williams and Thomas Shipp. From 1840 to 1842 the
chui-«-^:rli had the joint services of T. Shipp and C. H. Williams as pastors, and
Isa^cr Wills and wife became members of the church. From 1842 to 1843
T. ^li^ipp was pastor. From 1843 to 1845 ^^^ church had the services of James
^A'Tn^^ston as pastor. In February, 1844, the Methodist Protestant church re-
^^^ v^<:3 to build for themselves a separate place of worship, and, having secured
^ t^^si-xatiful lot (deeded to, and held in trust by, Milton Knapp, Jackson Will-
iams ^nd Lewis Jones, as trustees), began immediately to build the old frame
cnurcrli known as Pleasant Hill Methodist Protestant church, situated on the
K^n'i<:ane pike four and one-half miles northeast of Franklin, in Clark town-
ship, Johnson county, Indiana. From the years 1845 ^o 1848 H. Collings was
Pastor; from 1848 to 1851, T. Shipp; from 1851 to 1854, J. Gardner. From
the y^ar 1^54 to 1855, I. W. B. Taylor was pastor. Others who followed
^'er^ -X. Bland, T. Shipp, J. S. M. Louden, S. M. Gentry, George Hunt, Joseph

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378 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Prpctor, H. Duckworth, O. R. Carlton, A. S. Baker, H. Stackhouse, A. W.
Motz, C. Caddy, E. Conn, H. M. Boyer, S. H. Flood and M. Gustin, John
Heim, J. H. C. McKinney.

At the conference of 1879, ^^e church, having been left without a pastor,
was supplied by S. T. Deekens and Prof. J. H. Martin, during whose services
the building of the present church building was begun. Early in January,
1880, the church, having decided to build a new house of w^orship, elected a
building committee, consisting of J. W. Davis, Rufus Williams, S. W. Dun-
gan, John Ballard, W. W. McCaslin, George Cutsinger and T. B. Wood,
through whose efforts the subscription was raised and zander whose supervision
the contract was let for building. The present building is of brick, thirty-
eight by sixty feet in size, finished and furnished in the latest style at a cost
of six thousand dollars. The contract for constructing the building was let
on the 14th day of March, 1880, to Robert Wagoner. The building was com-
menced in April, 1880, and completed October ist of the same year, and was
dedicated to the worship of God on the loth day of October, 1880. Since
1879 the church has been ministered to by the following pastors : J. M. Lang-
ley. F. M. Hussey. J. L. Barclay.

HONEY CREEK CHURCH. UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST.

This is an old organization in the western part of White River township,
and was founded as early as the year 1835. Many of the pioneer families of
the neighborhood became identified with the society in an early day, and for a
period of over a half century it has been a flourishing organization, numbering
among its members the leading citizens of the community. Among those who
became members in an early day were: John Scott and wife, Amos Smith
and wife, Ira Stater and wife, Margaret Harrell and others. Rev. Charles
McCarty was an early minister, as were also Revs. George, Muth and Farmer,
who, with others, did much toward establishing the church upon its present
substantial foundation. For several years the society met for worship in a
neighboring school house, but about the year 1845 a frame building was erected
near the site of the present church. It answered the purposes for which it
was intended until 1866, when it was replaced by the present building, a neat
frame structure.

BETHEL UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH.

This church was organized about the year 1858, in a school h^use which
stood near the present site of the church building, in White River township.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. X7^)

The organization was effected with quite a number of members, among whom
were Mr. Nelson, Sarah Scott, Henry Pruner, Wyrmla Pruner, Rev. W. J.
Pruner, Harvey Vorhies, Bathsheba Vorhies and others. Rev. H. K. Muth
officiated at the organization, and preached for the society some time there-
after.

OLIVE BRANCH UNITED BRETHREN CHITRCH.

This church is located near the central part of White River township, and
was organized about the year 1858 by Rev. Henry K. Muth. Among the early
members of the same were Shelby Fullen, Elizabeth Fullen, Evans A. Ogburn
and wife, James M. Barger and wife and John G. Barger. Among the first
pastors are remembered Revs. Cox, Evans A. Cabrich and A. J. Bowh'ng.

EDINBURG CATHOLIC CHURCH.

The first priest to celebrate mass in Edinburg was Rev. Vincent Bacquelin,
who visited the village as early as 1836 and held services in the house of Mrs.
Tierney, one of the early settlers of the community. At that time there were
but few Catholics in the neighborhood, but in 1845 John Walsh, Dr. William
Ruch and Michael Fogarty settled here, and two years later came Mrs. Hannah
Ryan, mother of James, Thomas and Richard Ryan and Sister St. Charles.
In 1850 the Catholic population was increased by the arrival of Thomas Fitz-
gibbon, James Mullen, Michael Lynch, Michael McGrayee and Henry Sweet-
men, all of whom proved valuable additions to the church. Services were
held at diflFerent places until 1851, at which time a neat frame temple of wor-
ship was erected in the western part of town on a beautiful eminence over-
looking Main Cross street. The building was blessed by Bishop De Saint
Palais, assisted by Revs. William Doyle and Daniel Maloney and named Holy
Trinity. For several years Edinburg was the center of the Columbus, Frank-
lin, Seymour, Henryville, Greenwood, Brownstown, Taylorville, Mt. Erin and
Mt. Liberty missions, and consequently became an important point in the Vin-
cennes diocese. The first building was used until 1886, when it was replaced
by the present handsome brick structure at a cost of five thousand dollars.
This is one of the finest church edifices in Johnson county and reflects great
credit upon the parish. Among the priests who have ministered to this church
are Fathers Vincent Bacquelin. Daniel Maloney, Edward Martimoore, F.
Goesse, Joseph Pettit, William H. Orem, D. J. McMullen. Victor A. Schnell,
Anthony Oster, Wagner and Delaney.

The Catholic church at Franklin first acquired church property, when it

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380 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

became the owner in 1868 of the old Cumberland Presbyterian church house
on South Home avenue. After the Franklin Christian church removed to the
corner of Water and King streets, the old church property at Yandes and
Madison was bought by the Catholic church, and services have been regularly
conducted in that house since. The church is maintained as a mission of the
Indianapolis diocese^ and for the past four or five years has been ministered
to by Father Patrick H. Griffin.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, FRANKLIN.

This church was organized and a charter procured in the year 1906. It
is a branch of the mother church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston.
It now occupies a suite of rooms in the Axt building, where services are held
regularly, Elizabeth Alexander being now the reader. A free lecture is given
each year on the subject of Christian Science.

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CHAPTER XL

LODGES AND FRATERNAL ORDERS.

i Lodge No. 107, Free and Accepted Masons, was chartered May
ving worked under dis^nsation since January i6th preceding,
embers were Fabius M. Finch, W. H. Hunter, J. Edwards, Jonii-
liams, S. F. McGuffin, W. C. Hendryx and A. Shaffer. For
the lodge held its sessions in a room over McCoUough's drug
1868, through the liberality of John T. Vawter, the order was
rooms on the third floor of the Vawter block. The entrance
^ay at the rear of Yager's store.

, Franklin Lodge purchased of Mrs. Adda Tanner additional
ling the Vawter block on the west and doubled its floor space.
IS had seasons of adversity, but for the past twenty years has
t prosperity. Its membership, January i, 191 3, numbered three
eighty-one. Among its officers, Isaiah Armstrong, now deceased,
K Waldren are entitled to the credit for much of the success this
semasonry has attained.

masters are as follows: Fabius M. Finch (dispensation), Janu-
; Fabius M. Finch (charter). May 29, 1850; Joshua Edwards,
31, 1850; William H. Hunter, to June 17, 185 1; William H.
mc 27, 1852; Fabius M. Finch, to June 21, 1853; ^^' Joseph P.
20, 1854; Dr. James T. Jones, to June 12, 1855; Dr. Joseph P.
[7, 1856; Dr. James T. Jones, to June 23, 1857; John T. Vawter,
[858; Henry Keneaster, to June 21, 1859; John T. Vawter, to
3: Dr. Joseph P. Gill, to June 18, 1861 ; William W. Woollen,
1862; John B. Burnett, to December 31. 1862: William W.
fanuary 31, 1863; Dr. Joseph P. Gill, to 1864, 1865, 1866; John
> 1867; Isaiah J. Armstrong, 1868, 1869, 1870. 1871, 1872, 1873,
1878, 1879, 1881: Francis J. Pusey, 1875; William B. Mc-
76; Dr. James T. Jones, 1880; Columbus H. Hall 1882; Isaac
n, 1883, 1884, 1887; Charles W. McDaniel, 1885, 1886; Elmer
[888; Robert S. Thompson, 1889: Daniel D. Waldren. 1890,
J93, 1894, 1896, 1897; Samuel B. Eccles (resigned July 2, 1895),

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382 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

1895; Leland C. Payne, 1895; Arthur A. Alexander, 1898, 1899; James L.
Vawter, 1900; Dr. John C. Wood, 1901 ; Eugene O. Collins, 1902; Elba L.
Branigan, 1903; L. Ert Slack, 1904; A. Bert Weyl, 1905; David B. Kelly,
1906; Ivory I. Drybread, 1907; J. M. Robinson, 1908; D. D. Waldren, 1909;
Will W. Suckow, 1910; Jesse H. Lanam, 191 1 ; Ed. A. Weaver, 1912; C. W.
Nields, 1913.

Franklin Chapter No. 65, Royal Arch Masons, was chartered May 21,
1867. Two hundred forty members were enrolled at the beginning of this
year. The principal office, that of high priest, has been filled by the follow-
ing: J. C. Bennett, 1867, 1868. 1871, 1875; J. T. Jones, 1869, ^^77^ 1890,
1892, 1893; R. T. Taylor, 1870, 1872; W. H. Mitchell, 1873, 1874; Michael
Walker, 1876, 1879, 1888, 1891 ; Bernard Peter, 1878: Charles Day, 1880,
1881, 1882, 1885, 1886, 1887; Frank Pusey, 1883; R. S. Thompson, 1884;
I. J. Armstrong, 1889; Isaac M. Thompson, 1894, 1895, 1896; Leland Chester
Payne, 1897 to 1902; Charlton Coble, 1902, 1903; Rev. E. S. Gardiner, 1904;
J. M. Robinson, 1905; Harry E. Smock, 1906; David B. Kelly, 1907, 1908;
Lyman E. Ott, 1909, 1911: C. W. Nields, 1910; James E. Handley, 1912:
William W. Suckow, Jr., 1913.

Franklin Commandery No. 23, Knights Templar, was instituted April 3,
1872, with the following charter members : Henry H. Boyce, James C. Ben-
nett, I. J. Armstrong, John H. Lozier, W. W. Browning, James J. Jones. A.
L. Bone, John B. Hopper, George M. Payne, Daniel W. Howe, Richard T.
Taylor and Moses R. McGregor. Among its members. Past Eminent Com-
mander Luther Short was in 1909 honored with the office of grand commander
of the grand commandery of the state, and Past Eminent Commander Colum-
bus H. Hall is now prelate of the grand commandery. Its present member-
ship numbers one hundred and sixtv-four. The commandery has a state-wide
reputation for the excellence of its ritualistic work and the execution of the
military tactics of the order, having in recent years ranked among the first
commanderies of the state in exemplification of work and in its opening drill.
This excellence is due largely to the work of Excellent Prelate Columbus H.
Hall, who has for thirty-five years led in the ritual, and to John H. Tarlton.
who has for more than twenty years directed the military exercises.

The following are the names of the past eminent commanders of Frank-
lin Commandery: Henry H. Boyce, 1871-1874; I. J, Armstrong, 1874, 1875.
1876, 1881 ; Isaac M. Thompson, 1876, 1879, 1880, 1885, 1890, and 1893 t^
1899; William I. Peters, 1877; William B. Ellis, 1878; Frank J. Pusey; 1882,
1883, 1886; Luther Short, 1887-1890 and 1899-1902; Charles Day, 1884;

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 383

Robert C Wood, 1891, 1892; Alva O. Neal, 1902; John W. Ragsdale, 1903,
1904; Daniel D. Waldren, 1905, 1906; Elba L. Branigin, 1907; Henry E.
Lochry, 1908; L. Ert Slack, 1909; Harry Bridges, 1910; Columbus H. Hall,
191 1 ; John H. Tarlton, 1912 ; Eugene O. Collins, 1913.

Franklin Council No. 92, Royal and Select Masters, was instituted Octo-
ber 18, 1899, with the following charter members: James L. Davis, W. M.
Neal, J. M. Storey, I. M. Thompson, M. Walker and A. W. Winterberg.
Its membership now numbers one hundred and ninety-five, and its present
roster of officers is: David B. Kelley, thrice illustrious master; Clarence
Nields, illustrious deputy master; J. R. Lanam, illustrious principal conductor
of the work: J. H. Dean, recorder; E. P. Ervin, captain of the guard ; E. A.
Weaver, conductor of the council, and A. A. Alexander, treasurer.

Edinburg Lodge No. 100, Free and. Accepted Masons, is the oldest
Masonic body in the county. It is now quartered in a new brick building at
the corner of Walnut and Thompson streets, the most pretentious lodge edifice
in the county. The first floor has office rooms and a large auditorium with a
seating capacity of six hundred. It is fitted with stage and modern stage
fittings, and is used as an opera house. On the second floor are spacious
lodge rooms, banquet hall and kitchens, with new equipment throughout. It
was erected at a cost of about fifteen thousand dollars. The blue lodge num-
bers about two hundred, and Edinburg Chapter No. 140, Royal Arch Masons,
uses the same quarters. The charter members of the order were F. M. Finch,
Abram Clark, Milton Treadway, George M. Smith, Thomas Russell, Joseph
Wayland, Z. Tannehill and Joseph P. Gill. Its past masters liave been :
Abram Clark, 1850-1853; Jno. A. Thompson, Sr., 1853-1856: H.*N. Pinney,
1856-1857; Jno. A. Thompson, Sr., 1857-1858; Abram Clark, 1858-1860; G.
W. Downs, 1860-1862; I. M. Thompson, 1862-1864; E. R. Hosford, 1864-
1865; Abram Clark, 1865-1866; I. M. Thompson, 1866-1867; Luther Payne,
1867-1869: I .M. Thompson. 1869-1870; A. W. Winterberg, 1870- 1871 ; Jno.
A. Thompson, Sr.. 1871-1872; G. W. Downs. 1872-1873; J. W. Landis, 1873-
1874: A. W. Winterberg, 1874-1875 ; J. W. Landis, 1875-1876; Jos. Johnson,
1876-1877; Luther Payne, 1877-1878; Geo. A. Mutz, 1878-1879; W. F. Joyce,
1879-1880: C M. A. Hess, 1880-1881; Wm. Threlkeld, 1881-1882; Jno. S.
Cox, 1882-1884; F. Winterl)erg, Sr., 1884-1886; W. F. Joyce, 1886-1890;
J. M. Kelly, 1890-1891 ; W. B. Owen, 1891-1892; D. L. Deming, 1892-1893;
F. F. Mayfield, 1893-1897; F. Winterberg. Sr., 1897-1900; Thos. J. Stout,
190Q-1901; F. Winterberg, Sr., 1901-1907: Robt. C. Mayhall, 1907-1909;
Otis Freese, 1909-1912.

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384 JOHKSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Greenwood Lodge No. 514, Free and Accepted Masons, was chartered
May 25, 1875. ^" organization of the same order known as Greenwood
Lodge No. 128 was organized about the time of the Civil war, but it did not
flourish and its charter was surrendered. The oflfcers at the time No. 514
was organized were Hezekiah Hinkson, worshipful master; Alexander H.
Sedam, senior warden, and Franklin L. Barger, junior .warden.

Greenwood Lodge No. 514 is now quartered in a new building of its
own on Main street. The building is a fine three-story brick, erected in 1909
and dedicated on March 8th of that year. It is nicely furnished, and affords
ample accommodation to its two hundred and eight members. The present
officers are James O. Adams, worshipful master; William I. Sharkey, senior
warden; Thomas E. Newsom, junior warden; William Adcock, treasurer;
C. Ebert Dearmin, secretary ; Byron W. Dunlavy, senior deacon, and Lynn W.
Templeton, junior deacon.

The following have served as past masters within the past ten years:
James O. Adams, 1904, 1905, 191 3; Harry McCartney, 1906, 1907; Henry
H. Larkin, 1908, 1909; Sidney E. Wright, 1910; Clyde B. Wilson, 191 1;
Alonzo H. Brown, 1912.

Greenwood Chapter No. 137, Royal Arch Masons, was chartered May
9, 191 1, and now has a membership of thirty-two. Its officers are William
Adcock, high priest; Frank M. Polk, eminent king; Sidney E. Wright, eminent
scribe; Thomas N. Rush, treasurer; Joseph C. Drake, secretary. Greenwood
Chapter has in recent years furnished many candidates to Franklin Command-
ery No. 23.

Unioil Village Lodge No. 545, Free and Accepted Masons, was instituted
in 1876, and received its charter June 16, 1877. Albert P. Charles, acting
as special deputy, installed the following as its first officers : Samuel Harris,
worshipful master; William M. Province, senior warden; Jesse W. Knox,
junior warden; John R. Garshwiler, treasurer, and Winston B. Garr, secre-
tary. Other charter members were James N. Robinson, Jesse T. Harris,
William Rivers, Wm. M. Brunnemer, Daniel G. Doty and David D. Glass-
bum. All the charter members are dead with the exception of Dr. Province
and Daniel G. Doty.

Past masters serving Union Village Lodge have been : Samuel Harris,
1877-1880; Jordon Utterback, 1880; William T. Rivers. 1881, 1882, 1885,
1886, 1890, 1891, 1892; James N. Robinson, 1883; Philip Rivers, 1884, 1893,
1894; William M. Province, 1887, 1888, 1889; Robert J. Johnson, 1895,
1896: James T. Gilmore, 1897, 1898, 1899; James A. Selch, 1900, 1904; EH

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

P. Haymaker,. 1901^ 1902; John Hall, 1903; Albert Jacob
Utterback, 1906, 1908; Leslie Rivers, 1907; Oren Cook,
Narel L. Boaz, 1^12, 191 3.

Other officers of the order at the present time are :
warden; Chas. O. VVagaman, junior warden; Robert L.
Eara 1- Brawner,. secretary; John Hall, senior deacon;
junior deacon> aad Robert W. Sekh>. tyler. The lodge h;
membership numbers one himdred and one enthusiastic f

Nineveh Lodge No. 317, Free and Accepted Masom
the village of Nineveh May 24, 1865, in the D. H. Chase 1
afterward destroyed by fire. It is- now located in the secon(
ing occupied by McQuinn's grocery store. Its charter m
H. Pudney, who was installed as its first worshipful mastei
senior warden ; Samuel W. McNaughten, junior warden ;
urer; G. B. Schofield, secretary; L. G. Pritchard, senior (
junior deacon, and Galen Maddock, with W. M. Lattimo
J. M. Pritchard,. G. Z. Ychacall, W. M. Mounts, Martin
more, W. M. Smyser, D. J. Lattimore, Dillon Asher, A. \
Mellette and J. B. Ream, the two last named being pron
the town. Its present membership numbers sixty-eight,
filled the highest office are: J. H. Pudney, 1865, i860,
Pritchard, 1867', 1868; A. J. Belk, 1871 ; J. M. Marsh,
Slack, 1882; J. H. Lanam, 1885; E. E. Cobb, 1906; ?
1909; W. S. Griffith, 1910, 1912, 1913; F. D. Britton, 191

Its present corps of officers are : W. S. Griffith, wors
A. Belk, senior warden ; Omer Campbell, junior warden ;
treasurer ; Robert L. Ralston, secretary ; Fred Keaton, ser
Burgett, junior deacon, and Wm. Britton, tyler.

Trafalgar Lodge No. 413, Free and Accepted Mas
May 24, 1870, but had worked for a year previous undei
first worshipful master was Cornelius McFadden. Its
destroyed in the destructive fire which swept the town
of the records have been lost. On December 31, 191 2, t
seventy, with the following as the principal officers : Free
ful master, and D. O. Turner, secretary.

. BIufT Creek Lodge No. 615, Free and Accepted Masc
branch of tlie order of Freemasons in the county. Its pre

(2.0

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386

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

thirty-five. Otto Paul was worshipful master and George Champlin. secre-
tary, on the date of its last report.

KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS.

Hesperian Lodge No. 12, Knights of P)rthias, was instituted November
23, 1870. Its charter members were Samuel P. Oyler, William L. Dunlap, J.
F. Jelleff, John H. Lozier, Levi Springer, Morris Springer, Junius R. Bice,
J. C. Dunlap, R. B. Craner and John Beard. H. C. Allison was the first candi-
date to receive the work. Its present membership numbers three hundred
and sixty-five, and it has a fine location on the third floor of the Axt block,
its holdings being valued at fifteen thousand dollars.

The local order has twice been honored by one of its members being raised
to the position of grand chancellor in the persons of Samuel P. Oyler and
William L. Dunlap, and Robert A. Brown is the present grand vice-chancellor,
and will probably be elevated to the same high office at the next state meeting.
Martin Sellers, Oscar V. Nay and Charles W. Farmer have served as deputy
^rand chancellor of this district.

The order has had five homes : First, on East Court street, on the north
side of the alley, second floor; second, on the second floor of the Hlilsman
block, corner of Jeflferson and Water streets ; third, on the third floor of same
block, in the Odd Fellows' hall; and fourth, on the third floor of the first-
named buildings ; and fifth, its present home.

Its past chancellors have been: S. P. Oyler, W. L. Dunlap, H. C. .\llison,
J. R. Bice, A. G. Hicks, I. M. Thompson, W. E. Lane, C. H. Smith, A. A.
Blizzard, W. H. Younce, W. S. Young, R. A. Brown. William Featherngifl,
A. J. Merritt, J. R. Fleming, W. V. Slack, O. V. Nay, G. W. Clemmer, R. O.
Henning, Martin Sellers, J. E. Handley, H. M. Fisher, W. B. House, W. S.
Draper, J. E. VanNuys, E. V. Bergen, George Forsythe, J. C. Owens. John L.
Hill, S. S. Gooden, John Jackson, W. E. Deupree, J. B. Applegate, O. O.
Forsyth, A. A. Jones. R. S. Parr, M. G. Henley, S. R. Reno, C. E. Carnine,
Chas. W. Farmer, F. E. McQellan, Cyrus Alexander, William R. Johnson,
Samuel Featherngill, Joseph Price, Cyrus Alexander. T. H. Alexander, W.
H. Mcllvain, B. G. Pitcher, Robert Truman, G. H. Barnhill, A. A. Moore,
W. C. Jolliflfe, S. F. Watson and J. D. Thompson.

Needham Lodge No. 450, Knights of Pythias was instituted March. 19,
1897, with the following charter members: M. L. Nay, C. E. Gay, John T.
Cutsinger, Joseph Terman, Homer Patterson, B. F. McLean, John D. Patter-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

387

e Patterson, Albert Cole, Samuel White, T. G. Vandivier, Andrew
Warrane Judd, J. J. Beard, N. Kinnick.

»sent membership is thirty-four, with Charles Oldham, chancellor
and A. C. Devore, keeper of records and seal. That the member-
is evidenced by their recent winnings of player pianos in a popu-
t over many organizations of large membership,
ood Lodge No. 238, Knights of Pythias, was organized January
I the hall now owned by Isaac Sheek. There were thirty-eight
fibers and the healthy growth of this branch of Pythianism is
^ the fact that they now have one hundred and eighty-three niem-
irst officers were as follows : W. J. Spruce, past chancellor; J. T.
icellor commander; J. C. Courtney, vice-chancellor ; W. E. Tinkle,
rk Bass, keeper of records and seal : W. H. Turner, master of
D. E. Trout, master of exchequer.

ige now owns its own castle hall and, including paraphernalia,
sets at five thousand five hundred dollars. There are thirty-seven
ors in good standing and its present roster of officers is as follows :
dley, past chancellor: C. B. Cornelius, chancellor commander;
t. vice-chancellor; Charles Fee, prelate; O. V. Kingery, inner
I. Moore, outer guard : R. A. Moore, keeper of records and seal ;
ler, master of finance: R. M. Whitesides, master of exchequer,
are Robert Fendley, Gus Day and J. B. Lemasters.
1 Lodge No. 344, Knights of Pythias, was instituted February 5,
the following charter members: C. J. Mcllvain, W. N. Dry-
'. Dunham, Frank Boswell, J. S. Tucker, T. W. Cravens, T. N.
. Wynegar, Joshua Hawkins, Clarence Drybread, Val. Ullery,
»rs, Arch Winkler, Daniel Ealy, George Botsford, George Park,
herngill, John Barnhill, Edward Clark, S. Furnas, W. S. Griffith,
mdore, Erwin Hibbs, Albert Drybread, A. E. Richardson, John
. D, White, Ira Vandivier and Ben Hardin.

rch I, 1900, the lodge met with a heavy fire loss. With the in-
ized, a new home was purchased and the order is now in a prosper-
n. It numbers one hundred and twenty-six of the best citizens
lunity, twenty of whom have ser\Td as past chancellors, as fol-
i W. Calvin, George Park, H. S. McQuinn, W. S. Griffith, O. D.
. N. Kiser, Asa Cobb, Ed. Clark, J. M. Cross, M. N. Wheaton,
:t, George Hibbs, James Burgett, L. E. Runshe. C. S. Dunham, T.
, C. M. Slack, T. B. Galey, George Walker, and Samuel Perry.

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388

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Roy Milnes is the present chancellor commander; O. A. Land, vice-chancellor;
T. N. Kiser, prelate; George Walker, master of work; W. S Griffith, keeper
of records and seal ; Roscoe Short, master of finance ; Levi McQirinn, master
of exchequer; and Avery Dunham, master at arms.

Johnson Lodge Na 437, Kiiights of Pythias, of Trafalgar, Indiana, was
instituted April i, 1896, with the following charter members: E. H. Bur-
ton, C. L. Paris, M. V, Taylor, J. W. Ragsdale, J. C. Feaster, L. W. Howard,
W. E. Musselman, W. H. HemphiU, M. S. Forsyth, Elza VaadegriflF, W. H.
Garshwiler, Joseph White, C. M. Eaton, E. L. Shake, W. M. Wells, W. R.
Stephens, T. H. Alexander, P. S. Hamilton, W. E. Thompson, P. W. Lock-
hart, S. L. Bridges, Cyrus Alexander, Samuel Hemphill, and J. A. Shake.

Eighteen members have served as chancellor commander : P. S. Hamil-
ton, W.#M. Wells, W. E. Musselman, Elza Burton, J. C. Feaster, O. R. Avery,
J. W. Ragsdale, Walter Prickett, M. V. Taylor, O. B. McClain.

The lodge building is located on the north side of West Pearl street and,
though the membership is not large, numbering but forty-two, the order gives
promise of success in the town. John W. Hensley is the present chancellor
commander, and Robert Truman, keeper of records and seal.

Fidelity Lodge No. 42, Knights of Pythias, of Edinburg, Indiana, is a
flourishing branch with one hundred and twenty members. Its present roster
of officers includes W. A. Gooden, chancellor commander: Elmer Hemphill,
vice-chancellor; William Butler, prelate; W. H. Porter, master of work; John
C. Richards, keeper of records and seal ; Ben. F. Hill, inner guard, and Charles
Ward, outer guard. Its past chancellors are Jacob Klein, Jacob Maley, A. W.
Neible, W. E. Downs, L. F. Adams, S. H. Cunningham, Charles Breeding,
Louis Thomas, W. A. Gooden, T. A. Gooden, E. S. Carter, John ShoUer,
Frank Sholler, H. M. Scholler, D. C. Marsh, John Malson, L. S. Waltz, Ros-
coe Stafford, Ed. Gerstoff, George Cobb, Arch Davis, H. E. Cordray, W. T.
Butler, Ben. F. Hill and W. H. Porter.

The Knights of Pythias also have a lodge at Stone's Crossing, and an-
other at Smith's Valley, but their officers have failed to accede to requests for
information.

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS.

Johnson Lodge No. 76, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was insti-
tuted at Franklin, January 14, 1850, under a charter granted by the grand
lodge of Indiana to T. J. Humphreys, W. S. Johnson, C. C. Hamilton, F. M.
Finch, A. S. Vorse, G. C. Mathews, and Edward May, the latter being elected
the first noble grand.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 389

In 1862, SO many of the members were engaged in their country's service,
it was deemed necessary to surrender their charter. In May, 1867, the charter
was renewed with the following members affiliating: W. H. Jennings, James
Crow, W. I. Peters, L, W. Fletcher, D. G. Vawter, G. M. Overstreet, Wm. H.
Bamett. W. S. Ragsdale, W. A. Webb, Samuel P. Oyler, H. L. McClellan,
John Beall, J. W. Higgins and Samuel Brown.

Among those who have filled the office of noble grand are W. L. Dunlap,
John Ragsdale, William H. Fisher, Charles Byfield, Thomas R. Moore, W.
M. Neal, J. M. Parkhurst, J. P. Jordan, Charles H. Frame, James F. Jelleff,
Nicholas Brown, Robert Hamilton, Thomas B. Wood, Cornelius Hill, William
C. West, M. Walker, William Riddle, A. B. I^Grange, H. N. Dunlap, Arthur
Covert, O. E. Frady, Riley Riggs, W. C. Parson, C. F. Solenberg, Samuel
Harris, B. R. Ransdell, lather Short, W. L. Vandegriff, W. S. Vandivier, H.
L. Knox, George A. Graves, L. A. Rawlings, O. E. Vandivier, F. B. Hughes,
E. F. Walden, Albert Alexander, S. S. Gooden, Ora O. Forsyth, A. A. Jones,
J. P. Reed, A. A. Neff, Homer Gee, Will M. Alexander, Harry SimpsoA,
Edgil Herriott, R. J. Henry, S. E. Vandivier, J. M. Haymaker, Otis WooHey,
Winfred Ransdell, the last named being the present noWe grand.

With Johnson Lodge are connected Indiana Encampment No. 40, and a
prosperous lodge of Rebekahs.

Hemdon Lodge No. 95, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of E^in-
burg, was instituted March 23, 185 1, with the following charter members:
T. S. Jelf, W. M. Toner, Eph Adams, Robert Stackhouse, J. J. Hurt, Ed M.
Hubbard, Stewart Wilson, A. Clark and J. R. Hancock. The present mem-
bership numbers ninety-three, with the following present roster of officers :
George W. Snyder, noble grand : Samuel Stine. vice-grand : J. C. Freese, treas-
urer ; J. T. Armstrong, secretary : and W. D. Wells, L. A. Farr and Thomas
Woodard, trustees.

The following have served as noble grand : Isaac M. Thompson, Adam
Mutz, John A. Carvin, Alf Thompson, T. S. Moore, Joseph P. Shipp, Luther
Paine, W. N. Kyle, E. D. Paine. John Ward, George W. King, Henry Lang,
Joseph W. Kinsey, C. C. Forr, A. Dalmbert. Ephram Adams, George L.
Paine, J. W. Landis, M. H. Mitchell, John A. Thompson, Frank Mayfield, A.
J. Pruitt, Charles L. Moorman. William Hockman, Charles Henderson, W. S.
Hood, T. G. Vaughn, A. J. Loughery, A. R. Wright, Frank Winterberg,
George W. Weare. Levin A. Farr, J.'M. Coble, W. E. Dupree. William Ashby,
L. E. Paine, A. W. Pruitt, W. A. Pruitt, Charles J. Hamilton, J. V. Gupton,
W. D. Wells, J. W. Winterberg, W. H. Cotterell, Joseph Brooks, D. G.

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ill

390

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Mitchell, George W. Snepp, Lora Cotterell, Silas Wallace, George W. Snyder,
Thomas Woodard, A. S. Payne, Ira S. Isley, W. H. Freeman, J. T. Arm-
strong, E. W. Isley, Louis L. Snepp, A. W. Winterberg, Jasper Bogie, Samuel
Stine, Albert Dragoo, James McFadden, D. C. Marsh.

Connected with Hemdon Lodge are Logan Encampment No. 41 and a
lodge of Rebekahs Judge William E. Deupree is the district deputy for the
Rebekahs in this jurisdiction.

Trafalgar Lodge No. 181, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was
instituted January 14, 1857, and was then known as Hensley Lodge, that part
of Trafalgar being then known as Hensley Town. The charter members
were J. W. F^ton, C. R. Ragsdale, W. T. Ragsdale, J. T. Ragsdale and S. W.
Hunter. This lodge worked under its original charter for fifteen years, when,
owing to the troubled conditions of the times, the charter was abandoned. In
April, 1880, the lodge was re-instituted by Samuel P. Oyler, grand master,
with the following charter members : John T. Ragsdale, S. W. Hunter, D.
M. Foster, William Dawson, C. R. Ragsdale, Martin Warren, J. N. Stout,
David Howard and G. R. Sims.

The new lodge retained the old number and was at once successful. For
one year it occupied J. J. Moore's hall, then moved to Forsyth's hall for three
years. The order then bought a site of its own on the north side of Main
street, and erected a lodge room, which was occupied for about eleven years.
In 1895 ^he present lodge hall was dedicated. It is a fine two-story brick
building, sixty by one hundred and forty, with three store rooms below, the
lodge and banquet rooms being in the second story. The lodge property
is valued at six thousand dollars, and the order has surplus funds in the
treasury. The present membership is one hundred and twenty-five, and the
following is the present roster of officers: Charles Forsyth, noble grand;
R. D. Vandlvier, vice-grand; Tillus Clark, secretary; Webster Pickerel, re-
cording secretary; J. B. Anderson, treasurer: Otis Bridges, George Gallon
and Floyd Burgett, trustees. The order has had sixty-two past grands.

Greenwood Lodge No. 198, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was
first instituted May 19, 1858, with the following charter members: A Vaught.
J. W. Branham, L. P. Creasy, E. C. Smith, J. M. Wishard, W. Henderson.
W. A. Holman, I. B. Vanvalkenburg, S. Frazier, J. F. McClellan, H. Satter-
white and W. L. Johnson.

Greenwood Lodge now has pleasant quarters on East Main street, valued
at eight thousand dollars, with a membership of two hundred and two. Its
present official body is: W. E. Myers, noble grand; Byron Dunlavy, vice-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 39I

grand; Joseph Lyons, financial secretary; W. A. Wishard, recording secrcT
tary; I. W. Bowden, Robert Polk and S. S. Fix, trustees. Other branches
of the order at Greenwood are Johnson Encampment No. 279, with ninety-
six members, and Greenwood Rebekahs No. 141, with a membership of sev-
enty-eight

Smith's Valley Lodge No. 674, Independent Order of Odd Fellows (post-
office Greenwood, Indiana, Rural Free Delivery No. 18) was instituted April
22, 1891, with the following charter members : T. W. Colbert, G. M. Hardin,
Jesse R. Hull, J. D. Robinson, P. D. Sutton, John F. Russell, John A. Dresslar,
Jesse Ballard, Milton Hardin, Josiah Bell, John W. Russell, John R. Neese,.
Jacob W. Sutton, Levi Evans, F. M. Kephart, Daniel Sutton.

No. 674 now has forty-eight members quartered in ample lodge room,
and has assets valued at one thousand dollars. Its present officers are:
Harry Gregg, noble grand; John Fuhner, vice-grand; Otis C. Shufflebarger^
secretary; John W. Brown, treasurer; and D. M. Patterson, Harry Gregg
and Fred Surface, trustees.

Bargersville Lodge No. 872, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was
instituted November 18, 1909, with the following charter members : F. M.
Kephart, F. E. Cline, J. L. Plummer, Bluford Utterback, J. A. Robards, Ira
Matheny, W. E. Hilderbrand, J. F. Glass, Thomas Kephart, J. C. Haymaker,
A. J. Doty, Horace Throckmorton, Fred McClain, B. G. McClain, E. T.
Baker, O. E. Fulmer, Omer Park, Elmer Henderson, John F. Henderson,.
Jacob Foglesong, W. E. McClain, Ira Verbryck, W. L. Rush, M. D. Carroll,
W. A. Allred, W. L. Powell, J. E. Burgess, G. F. Blaich, P. D. Sutton, J. O.
Holman, Marshal Henderson, George P. Deer, H. P. Martin, Evert Verbryck,
A. J. Dorrell, Loss Terhune, G. E. Glassburn, H. G. Fleming, O. O. Cagley,
J. A. Hilderbrand, Omer Harper, E. A. Park and Frank Hardin.

The lodge occupies rented quarters in stone block opposite the Farmers
State Bank. The present membership is fifty-seven, with Russell Etter, noble
grand; George E. Glassburn, vice-grand; and Elmer D. Thompson, secretary.

MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA.

Oak Leaf Camp No. 3640, Modern Woodmen of America, was char-
tered March 4, 1896, with fifteen charter members, of whom the official body
was : First clerk, Edgar A. Weaver ; first venerable consul, Will K. Cooper ;
first worthy adviser, R. T. Parkhurst; banker, John F. Zarp; escort, John M.
Schinnerer; watchman, Frank M. Haggard; sentry, Charles A. Haggard;
physician. Homer J. Hall; delegate, C. W. Neal; managers, W. K. Cooper,
A. M. Ragsdale and H. J. Hall. Since that date the following have served

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392 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

as veneraWe consul : Fred Zarp, J. W. Terman, Harry Butler, T. M. Davis,
L. A. Rawlings, J. A. LaGrange, J. E. Handley, J. W. Ransddl, S. R. Reno,
Theo. Douglas, C. W. Farmer, William E. Holsclaw and Samuel Rosenthal.
The camp now has two hundred and sixteen members, and in the seveitteen
years of its existence has paid sixteen death claims, totaling $20,000, •nd has
a surplus account at the head camp of $9,100.55.

Edinburg Camp No. 5362, Modem Woodmen of America, was char-
tered February 28, 1898. The camp numbers fifty-eight members, and has
tieen very fortunate, only two of its members having died in the fifteen years.
The following have served as clerks : John Bradford for twelve years, Ed
Pritchard, Qarence Porter and JtAn Mathcs.

Greenwood Camp, Modem Woodmen of America, was chartered in 1904,
and Lindley G. Hester served as clerk continuously until January i, 1913.
George Davis is the present clerk, and the order, with ninety benefit mem-
bers, is in a flourishing condition.

IMPROVED ORDER OF RED MEN.

The Improved Order of Red Men have five tribes in the county, their
number, name, location and secretary being as follows: No. 86, Mineola,
Franklin, S. A. Trout; No. 1 18, Metamo^av "Edinburg, Sidney Parr; No. 289,
Saranac, Greenwood, Mack Babbitt; No. 398, Yakima, Banta, Leslie Tackett;
No. 493, Choluk, Bargersville, Wayne Utterback.

Of these, the first named is. the strongest, vwith a membership of three
hundred and fifty-one. Its past sachems are Johri^iiuragart, S. A. Trout,
B. R. Ransdell, J. W. Baldwin, Isaac HeUerick, L." D. kothbau^, E. F. Wal-
dcn, John Walden, T. W. Herod, J. R. Walden, J. B. Duckworth, Frank Mc-
Conaughey, A. A. Jones, D. C. Webb, Robert Henry, John JoUiflFe, W. E.
Drake, Ora Forsythe, O. E. Vandivier, H. L. Knox, Scott Green, Ott Barker,
Russe Hillis, Charles Waltz, J. J. McChtin, Jacob Winters, Gerald Winters,
Oscar V. Nay, Wilse Robison, Virgil Robison, John Smith, W. D. Barker,
John Polk, Samuel Reno, John C. Warner, Jesse Smith, W. T. Orr, C. W.
Neal and John H. Boyd.

The last named tribe was instituted November 19, 1909, with thirty-
seven charter members. It now has quarters in Border's hall, and has an
active membership of sixty-seven. Its past sachems are Ernest A. Park,
Qiarl^ Matbena, J. A. Totten, Tilford Mathena, Russell Btter, Guy Hay-
maker, Oren Cook and Pearl Miller. Its present official body is: Prophet,
Orcn Cook; sachem, W. H. White; senior sagamore, Otis Bleich; junior
sagamore, Elba Boaz ; chief of records. Wayne Utterback ; keeper of wampum,
J. W. Scott.

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THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND
TlLDEti FOUNOATldNS

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CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK, FRANKLIN

NORTH MAIN STREET. FRANKLIN

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CHAPTER XII.

BANKS AND BANKING.

FKAlTKLIlf.

The first bank organized in the county was the Indiana Farmers' Bank,
an outgrowth of the Franklin Insurance Company. It was chartered January
I, 1856, with a capital stock of $200,000, its principal stock-holders being
Samuel Herriott, Nathan Kyle, John S. Hougham, John P. Banta, George
King and George W. Branham. The Franklin Insurance Company was
given $40,000 of the stock in exchange for its property ri^ts acquired by
the new bank. Its first officers were Samuel Herriott, president, who had
also been the president of the Franklin Insurance Company, and Richard T.
Overstreet became cashier. It was organized as a state bank and was quite
successful, but as soon as the national banking law went into cflfect application
was made for a national charter and the same was issued on June 30, 1863.
Under this charter the name was changed to The Second National Bank and
its capital stock was fixed at one hundred thousand dollars. George W. Bran-
ham became president of the new bank and Mr. Overstreet was continued as
cashier. Its business was conducted at the second door east of the northeast
comer of Main and Jefferson streets, adjoining the site of the old First Na-
tional Bank.

Mr. Branham retired from the presidency of the institution on September
30, 1865, and was succeeded by John Clark. On January i, 1878, William
H. LaGrange succeeded Mr. Qark as president

At the expiration of the charter the bank was reorganized in 1882 under
the state law, at a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, under the
name of the Franklin Bank. L. W. Fletcher became the president and R. T.
Overstreet, cashier. Mr. Fletcher retired January 2, 1883, and Mr. Over-
street was promoted to the presidency and E. C. Miller was advanced to the
position of cashier. In 1885 the institution was again reorganized under
the national banking law, with the same capital stock and under the name of

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394 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

The Franklin National Bank. The new directorate elected John T. Vawter,
president, and E. C. Miller, cashier. In the meantime, in August, 1882, the
Naticmal Bank of Franklin had been organized with a capital stock of
$50,000, under the management of John Clarke, president ; W. H. LaGrang^
vice-president, and J. C. Smith, cashier. This banking house was located the
first door %\'est of Woods' drug store, then loccated at the northwest comer
of Main and Jefferson streets.

On January 27, 1888, the National Bank of Franklin surrendered its
charter and became consolidated with the Franklin National Bank, under the
name of the latter organization. At the time of the consolidation the Frank-
lin National Bank removed to the site formerly occupied by the National
Bank of Franklin and John Qarke became president of the consolidated banks.
E. C. Miller was continued as cashier of the new bank. John Clarke con-
tinued to serve as president of The Franklin National Bank until January
14, 1896, when William H. I^Grange was elected president and E. C. Miller,
cashier.

The charter of the bank was renewed in January, 1905, at which time Mr.
Miller was promoted to the position of vice-president and C. A. Overstreet
became cashier. On January 9, 1909, the capital stock was increased to
$150,000. The present official body is: William H. LaGrange, president;
E. C. Miller, vice-president; C. A. Overstreet, cashier; Louis Zeppenfeld, as-
sistant cashier; R. C. Byfield and H. C. Hougham, bookkeepers. It is said
by Judge Banta that at the time when the National Bank of Franklin was con-
solidated with the Franklin National Bank, Franklin was the only city in the
state that supported fwo national banks.

The report of the condition of the Franklin National Bank at the close
of business, October 21, 1913, was as follows:

RESOURCES.

Loans and Discounts $373,908.07

Overdrafts, secured and unsecured 283.01

U. S. Bonds to secure circulation 125,000.00

U. S. Bonds to secure U. S. Deposits 1,000.00

Other Bonds to secure Postal Savings 3,000.00

Premiums on U. S. Bonds . 900.00

Bonds, Securities, etc. I7J33-34

Banking house. Furniture and Fixtures 27,000.00

Other Real Estate owned 13,500.00

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 395

Due from National Banks (not reserve agents) __ 1,607.66

Due from State and Private Banks and Bankers, Trust Companies,

and Savings Banks 5i^-9i

Due from apjproved Reserve Agents 62,913.99

Checks and other Cash Items ^ 3^123.35

Notes of other National Banks 6,210.00

Fractional Paper Currency, Nickles, and Cents., i5i-99

Lawful Money Reserve in bank, viz :

Specie ,- $43,820.50

Legal-tender notes 500.00 44,320.50

Redemption fund with U. S. Treasurer (5 per cent, of circula-
tion) 6,250.00

Total $686,814.82

LIABILITIES.

Caj^ital Stock paid in 1 $125,000.00

"^Lix-x^lus fund ^ 25,000.00

yr:»<rl :ivided Profits, less Expenses and Taxes paid 7,108.05

">si.<ri onal Bank Notes outstanding 125,000.00

^L^^^^ to Tnist Companies and Savings Banks 6,406.01

'^ci i "^'idual Deposits subject to check 333»576-97

^i«^^:"m^s certificates of deposit 63,163.35

Ur»-i-Cz^d States deposits 1,000.00

Po^"^r,sil Savings Deposits 560.44

Total $686,814.82

The next bank to be organized in Franklin after the Indiana Farmers
B^^*'^^^-^ was a private bank, organized in i860 by Willis S. Webb, W. W.
W^^^^-^zz^llen and Theodore Pinkney. This bank was successful and in 1863 a
ti^^i^^^^nal charter was secured, with a capital stock of $132,000. Mr. Webb
>^'^^ elected president and Mr. Woollen, cashier. This was bank No. 50 and

0^^ of the very first banks organized in Indiana under the national banking

\9S^ .

In 1865 Capt. John P. Banta was elected president and Thomas W.
^ ^^<^llen, cashier. A little later on Mr. Woollen was promoted to the office
0^ 1> resident and E. G. Brewer was elected cashier.

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39^) JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

The next president of the bank was James Forsyth and its next cashier,
Richard T. Taylor. Mr. Forsyth was a fanner and almost the entire business
of the bank was entrusted to the cashier. Taylor was a young man of great
promise, but soon became involved in speculations and became a defaulter
to a large amount. The last entry on the books of The First National Bank
of Franklin reads as follows : "Tuesday, February 6th, 1877, bank closed at
noon, on account of defalcation R. T. Taylor, cashier, who was led on, step by
step, in speculations in real estate in Indianapolis and margins in Chicago. I
am innocent of all of his business transactions as a babe born one minute ago,
as would only be believed at the great final reckoning of accounts. (Signed)
E. W. Taylor, Assistant Cashier.'*

The Citizens' National Bank of Franklin was chartered on January 3,
1889, w^th a capital stock of $50,000 and the following official body : Thomas
W. Woollen, president; David D. Banta, vice-president; John W. Ragsdale,
cashier; Samuel Harris, assistant cashier, and Oren C. Dunn, lx)okkeeper.
The new bank opened for business in the old banking room of the Second
National Bank on Monday, January 21, 1889. Judge Woollen continued as
president of the institution until January, 1898. In 1890 Mr. Dunn was
promoted to the place of assistant cashier, succeeding Samuel Harris and
John H. Tarlton was made bookkeeper. Judge Banta resigned as vice-presi-
dent on Septemljer 13, 1892, and was succeeded by John W. Ragsdale. Mr.
Dunn was promoted to the place of cashier and Mr. Tarlton to that of as-
sistant cashier. On January it, 1898, the capital stock of the bank was in^
creased to $75,000, and the following officers were elected : John W. Rags-
dale, president: Victor Smith, vice-president: Oren C. Dunn, cashier, and
John H. Tarlton, assistant cashier. Victor Smith resigned on January 25,
1904, and assumed large business interests in southern California and he was
succeeded by Arthur A. Alexander. John W. Ragsdale retired as president
January 9, 1906, and was succeeded by Robert A. Alexander as president.
On January 12, 1909, Arthur A. Alexander was advanced to the presidency.
Oren C. Dunn l)ecame vice-president; John H. Tarlton, cashier: William A.
Burton, assistant cashier. Six months later Mr. Burton resigned, to become
treasurer of Franklin College and was succeeded by Rollin L. Ott. In Jtine
of 1909 the capital stock was increased to $100,000. The following named
are now the officers of this most flourishing bank: Arthur A. Alexander,
president; Oren C. Dunn, vice-president: John H. Tarlton. cashier: Rollin
L. Ott, assistant cashier; Arthur R. 0^vens and Corwin Trout, bookkeepers.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 397

The report of the conditioo of the Citizens' National Bank at the close
of business October 21, 1913, was as follows:

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts $368,600.52

Overdrafts, secured and unsecured 311.11

U. S. bonds to secure circulation 86,tX)0.oo

U. S. bonds to secure U. S. deposits 10,000.00

Other bonds to secure postal savings 1,000.00

Bonds, securities, etc. 1,210.01

Banking house, furniture and fixtures 33,600.00

Due from state and private banks and bankers, trust companies

and savings banks 2,807.74

Ehie from approved reserve agents 38,414.49

Checks and other cash items 3*998.46

Notes of other national banks 2,950.00

Fractional paper currency, nickels and cents 348.80

Lawful money reserve in bank, viz :

Specie $29,248.90

Legal-tender notes 1,500.00 30,748.90

Redemption fund with U. S. treasurer (5 per cent, of circulation) 4,300.00

Total $584,290.03

TJABILITIES.

Capital stock paid in $100,000.00

Surplus fund 50,000.00

Undivided profits, less expenses and taxes paid 4,898.78

National bank notes outstanding 86,000.00

Due to trust companies and savings banks 2,966.93

Individual deposits subject to check 260,338.35

Time certificates of deposit 69,469.62

United States deposits 10,000.00

Postal savings deposits 4i^-35

Total $584,290.03

The Union Trust Company of Franklin was incorporated May 13, 1912.

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398 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

with a capital stock of $30,000, fully paid up. This institution is the suc-
cessor to the real estate and insurance business of Wilson & Henderson, who
have for a long time been engaged in that business at their present location.

The Union Trust Company began business June i, 19 12, with the fol-
lowing officers: Samuel A. Wilson, president; S. M. George, vice-president:
Charles B. Henderson, secretary-treasurer. The directors are M. J. Voris,
S. M. George, F. F. Smith, Clarence Province, Samuel A. Wilson and
Charles B. Henderson.

The condensed statement of the condition of the Union Trust Company
at the close of its business on October 21, 1913, was as follows:

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts $43,332.15

Overdrafts 53-02

Premiums paid on business 4,000.00

Furniture and fixtures 936.29

Due from departments 1,306.73

Due from banks and trust companies 9,524.84

Cash on hand 827.97

Current expenses 2,308.07

Total ^ $62,289.07

LIABILITIES.

Capital stock — paid in $30,000.00

Undivided profits — net 444.87

Interest, discount and other earnings 3*994- 50

Demand deposits, except banks 6,375.28

Time deposits, except banks 3,032.50

Trust deposits, except banks 12,993.47

Special deposits, except banks 5,448.45

Total $62,289.07

The Farmers' Trust Company was organized May 28, 1912, with a
capital stock of $40,000, of which $34,000 is fully paid up. Shortly after
incorporation they became the owners of the Wyrick block, at the southeast
comer of Water and JeflFerson streets, and erected a new building thereon.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 399

occupying the comer room as a banking room. The original officers were
L. B. Qore, president ; Robert A. Brown, secretary-treasurer, and L. A.
Young, assistant secretary. The trust company was delayed by reason of its
building operations in opening its doors until October i8, 19 12, and has just
completed its first year of operations. Mr. Clore resigned at the end of the
first year to become county agricultural agent for La Porte county and E. P.
Ervin was elected to succeed him. Merritt Blizzard, formerly of the Frank-
lin National Bank, has been since October i, 19 13, bookkeeper.

The condensed statement of the condition of the Farmers' Trust Com-
pany at the close of its business on October 21, 1913, was as follows :

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts $111,295.49

Overdrafts Si 03

Company's building 14,947.29

Furniture and fixtures 2,884.64

Advances to real estates and trusts 388.83

Due from banks and trust companies 9.407.02

Cash on hand 5,347.10

Cash items 285.04

Taxes and interest paid 9.80

Current expenses 35I-5S

Total $144,997.70

LIABILITIES.

Capital stock — paid in 1 $ 34,000.00

Interest, discount and other earnings 146.95

Demand deposits, except banks 57,424.15

Time deposits, except banks . 45,995.61

Trust deposits, except banks 50.00.

Savings deposits, except banks 7,352.15

Due departments 2893

Total $144,997.79

Total liabilities on surety bonds ^ 4,750.00

Premium received on bonds issued 12.00

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400 J(>HN90N COUNTY, INDIANA.

EDfNBUHG.

The Lewis Bank, at Edinburg, established in 1868, by Harvey Lewis,
was the first bank started in that town. The venture was unsuccessful and
the bank closed its doors in 1872.

The private bank of John A. Thompson began business in 1874, and
until the death of the owner, in 1886, was successful and influential. After
his death the bank suffered reverses, and in September, 1896, a receiver was
appointed by the Johnson circuit court to wind up its affairs. Martin Cut-
singer acted as receiver, and the trust was satisfactorily administered, every
creditor being paid in full.

A. C. Thompson & Co., Bankers, began business in Edinburg in 1870
as a private bank. It was founded by A. C. Thompson and E. C. Thompson,
and was at once successful. In 1875 John A. Thompson, Jr., was admitted
to the firm. On the death of the father, in January, 1889, the business was
continued under the same name by the brothers. On December 19, 1902,
E. C. Thompson died, his interests passing to his brother, John A. Thompson,
and a sister, Hannah E. McEwen. On July i, 1905, the bank was reor-
ganized under the act of 1905, under the name The Thompson Bank, with
the following oflkers: John A. Thompson, president; A. J. Loughery,
cashier, and F. D. Thompson, assistant cashier. Mr. Loughery came into the
bank in 1890. Its statement of date August 9, 1913, is as follows:

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts $321,269.18

Overdrafts 88.51

Other bonds and securities 4,776.15

Due from banks and trust companies 72,173.40

Cash on hand 13,554.62

Current expenses '. 460.34

Total $412,322.20

LIABILITIES.

Capital stock — paid in $ 50,000.00

Undivided profits 1,000.00

Demand deposits 312,871.26

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JOHNSON COCNTY, INDIANA. 4OI

Demand certificates 13^17.93

Time certificates 28,938.61

Certified checks 5,025.51

Exchange discounts, etc. . 1,425.43

Total $412,322.20

GREENWOOD.

The First National Bank of Greenwood had its inception in the Green-
wood Banking Company, a private bank, organized July 15, 1893, ^V ^^^
shareholders, all equally interested. Among them were Grafton Johnson,
J. T. Polk, John A. Polk, Harvey Brewer, C. B. Cook and Grafton Peek.
Later eight of the shareholders retired, leaving Grafton Johnson and J.
Albert Johnson sole proprietors.

In 1906 the business had grown until the needs of the community re-
quired a national bank, and it was reorganized under the name it now bears.
The capital stock was $25,000. Grafton Johnson became president and J.
Albert Johnson, vice-president, and their successful management has made
it the leading bank in the north end of the county. Its financial statement is
as follows:

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts $181,348.81

Overdrafts, secured and tmsecured 55i-03

U. S. bonds to secure circulation 25,000.00

Other bonds to secure postal savings 1,000.00

Bonds, securities, etc. 13,320.00

Banking house, furniture and fixtures 1,055.65

Due from national banks (not reserve agents) 3,610.80

Due from state and private banks -and bankers, trust companies

and savings banks 10,1,92.34

Due from approved reserve agents 102,070.95

Checks and other cash items 11,999.37

Notes of other national banks , 205.00

Fractional paper currency, nickels and cents 74-75

(26)

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402^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Lawful money reserve in bank, viz :

Specie 9,964.00

Legal-tender notes ^ 2,300.00

Redemption fund with U. S. treasurer (5 per cent, circulation) __ 1.250.00

Total $363,942.70

LIABILITIES.

Capital stock — paid in $ 25,000.00

Surplus fund 30,000.00

Undivided profits, less expenses and taxes paid 4,077.24

National bank notes outstanding 24,095.00

Due to other national banks 12,536.64

Due to state and private banks and bankers 11,259.83

Individual deposits subject to check ' 201,207.41

Demand certificates of deposit 35,052.71

Time certificates of deposit 20,000.00

Postal savings deposits 1 13-47

Reserved for taxes - 600.40

Total $363,942.70

The Citizens' National Bank of Greenwood was chartered October 31,
1906^ with a capital stock of $25,000, and the following official body: Har-
vey Brewer, president; Camillus B. Cook, vice-president, and William Adcock,
cashier. The presidency has been made vacant by the death of Mr. Brewer,
October 2, 1913. Mr. Cook died on December 5, 1910, and his place has
l>een filled by the election of David E. Demott. Its current report is as fol-
lows:

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts $ii9»654.57

Overdrafts, secured and unsecured 759-33

U. S. bonds to secure circulation 25,000.00

Other bonds to secure postal savingsl 2,000.00

Premiums on U. S. bonds 200.00

Bonds, securities, etc. 2,620.00

Banking house, furniture and fixtures 1.822. 17

Due from national banks (not reserve agents) ^4'075-45

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 4O3

Due from approved reserve agents — 26,83190

Checks and other cash items ^ - 925.88

Notes of other national banks 2,400.00

Fractional paper currency, nickels and cents 79-78

Lawful money reserve in bank, viz :

Specie 1 4»909-75

Legal-tender notes 4,800.00

Redemption fund with U. S. treasurer (5 per cent, circulation)— 1,250.00

Total $206,828.83

LIABILITIES.

Capital stock paid in $ 25,000.00

Surplus fund 15,000.00

Undivided profits, less expenses and taxes paid 1,402.43

National bank notes outstanding. 25,000.00

Due to other national banks 934-09

Individual deposits subject to check I09»756.03

Demand certificates of deposit 29,364.88

Postal savings deposits 37140

Total $206,828.83

WHTTELAND.

The Whiteland National Bank was organized April 14, 1909, with a
capital stock of $25,000. Its officers were Samuel E. Brewer, president; M.
J. Tracy, vice-president, and C. M. Durham, cashier. Since Mr. Tracy's
death, Scott Curry has been vice-president.

The report of the condition of the Whiteland National Bank at the close
of business October 21, 1913, was as follows:

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts $ 71,071.87

Overdrafts, secured and unsecured ' 939-03

U. S. bonds to secure circulation 25,000.00

Other bonds to secure postal savings 500.00

Bonds, securities, etc. 500.76

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404 JOHNSON CX)UNTy^ INDIANA.

Banking house, furniture and fixtures 4,937.49

Due from national banks (not reserve agents) 36.64

Due from approved reserve agents 8,877.02

Notes of other national banks 500.00

Fractional paper currency, nickels and cents 250.19

Lawful money reserve in bank, viz:

Specie $2,911.55

Legal-tender notes 1,950.00 4,861.55

Redemption fund with U. S. treasurer (5 per cent, of circulation) 150.00

Total $117,624.55 ,

LIABILITIES.

Capital stock paid in $ 25,000.00

Surplus fund 2,700.00

Undivided profits, less expenses and taxes paid 1,130.37

National bank notes outstanding 23,895.00

Individual deposits subject to check S3»952.36

Time certificates of deposit 7,946.82

Notes and bills rediscounted 3,000.00

Total $117,624.55

TRAFALGAR.

The Farmers' National Bank of Trafalgar, Indiana, was organized Sep-
tember, 1904, with twenty stockholders and nine directors. Consisting of R.
Day Willan, John W. Garshwiler, Nathan Smith, J. J. Moore, Harrison
Paskins, W. R. Willan, E. B. Willan, Frank Hellerick and Robert McFadden.
Officers: R. Day Willan, president: Frank Hellerick, vice-president; A. C.
Brock, cashier.

The building was erected by George Anderson and completed in time to
open for business April 15, 1905. The opening day twenty thousand was
received on deposit, which have had a gradual growth since.

The board has always retained its number of nine, but after a little over
a year's service Dr. E. B. Willan sold his interest and his place was filled by
C. E, Willan, who is still a member. After three years* service W. R. Willan
sold his stock and his place was filled by Harry Garshwiler (still a member of

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 405

the board). Frank Hellerick having moved away and established himself
permanently in business in Philadelphia, W. D. Terhune was elected in his
place on the board and John W. Garshwiler was made vice-president and still
holds that office. After two years' service Mr. Terhune was succeeded by
H. A. Shank, who is on the present board. J. J. Moore served until his death
and was succeeded by his son, F. F. Moore, also on the present board. Robert
McFadden served on the board until his death, and was succeeded by J. O.
Wilkes, a member of the present board.

The president and cashier have never been changed — only the vice-presi-
dent. The present board, as changes show, consists of R. Day Willan, John
W. Garshwiler, Nathan Smith, Harrison Paskins, Harry Gashwiler, C. E.
Willan, F. F. Moore, H. A. Shank and J. O. Wilkes.

The bank has paid their stockholders six per cent, above taxes ever since
they started and have built up their surplus and undivided profits to their
present showing. The report of the condition of the Farmers' National Bank
at Trafalgar at the close of business October 21, 191 3, was as follows:

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts $ 84,963.17

Overdrafts, secured and unsecured 80.62

U. S. bonds to secure circulation 6,250.00

U. S. bonds on hand 16,000.00

Due from national banks (not reserve agents) 4.12

Due from approved reserve agents 9,638.09

Checks and other cash items 123.82

Notes of other national banks 915.00

Fractional paper currency, nickels and cents 1 18.16

Lawful money reserve in bank, viz :

Specie -$2,869.00

Legal-tender notes 1,000.00

Redemption fund with U. S. treasurer (5 per cent, of circulation) 312.50

Total $128,474.48

Banking house, furniture and fixtures 6.200.00

LIABILITIES.

Capital stock paid in $ 25,000.00

Surplus fund 4,000.00

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406 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Undivided profits, less expenses and taxes paid 5»7i8.34

National bank notes outstanding : 6,250.00

Individual deposits subject to check 54,737.88

Time certificates of deposit 6,738.26

Bonds borrowed 16,000.00

Notes and bills rediscounted 10,000.00

Total __-.$i28,474.48

BARGERSVILLE,

The Farmers' State Bank at Bargersville was chartered April 15, 1909,
with a capita] stock of $25,000. Its officers are William H. Paddock, presi-
dent; E. H. Pottenger, vice-president, and E. H. Connell, cashier. Its report
of date October 21, 1913, shows a healthy condition :

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts $ 91,875.06

Overdrafts 236.31

Other bonds and securities 7>554-75

Banking house 4,670.00

Furniture and fixtures - 2,100.00

Due from banks and trust companies 6,045.20

Cash on hand 3,470.23

Cash items 32.00

Total $ii5»983.55

LIABILITIES.

Capital stock paid in $ 25,000.00

Surplus 3,000.00

Undivided profits 1,000.00

Exchange, discounts and interest 377-70

Demand deposits 73,962.91

Demand certificates 12,642.94

Total $115,983.55

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 407

BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS.

The Mutual Building and Loan Association of Franklin was incorporated
on the nth day of February, 1890, the original subscribers to the stock
being W. B. McCollough, W. H. Younce, R. A. Alexander, A. A. Blizzard,
W. A. McNaughton, E. C. Miller, J. N. Dooley, Samuel Harris, Frank F.
Smith, Joseph A. Schmith, S. C. Brown, W. S. Young and C. A. Overstreet.
The association has had a prosperous existence and has helped hundreds in
this community to acquire homes and to establish the habit of saving the
small sums. W. H. Younce has been the president since its organization;
E. C. Miller, the treasurer, with the exception of one year, when the office
was filled by Victor Smith. Only three secretaries have served the stock-
holders, S. Cal. Brown, William S. Young and Martin Sellers, Mr. Young
having served prior to February, 19 11, for nearly twenty years. W. T.
Pritchard was the attorney of the association until his death, when he was
succeeded by Thomas Williams. Its financial condition is best shown by its
last annual report :

RECEIPTS. * i .

Cash on hand December 31, 1911 $ 9,881.14

Dues on running stock 53>774-S5

Loans on mortgage security repaid I7>575-Oo

Loans on stock or pass book security repaid 6,468.50

Interest 13,613.92

Membership fees 332.25

Transfer fees 46.25

Borrowed money 4,000.00

Real estate 9,885.00

Refunder insurance and taxes 64.77

Total $115,641.38

DISBURSEMENTS.

Loans on mortgage security $ 30,875.00

Loans on pass book or stock security 4,393.oo

Withdrawals of running stock and dividends 17,304.41

Matured stock and dividends 39,664.49

Expenses, as per schedule 347-45

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408 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Borrowed money repaid 1-. 4,000.00

Interest on borrowed money 180.15

Insurance and taxes paid for borrower 142.18

Real estate 4,225.00

Salaries 420.00

Total $115,641.38

ASSETS.

Cash on hand December 31, 1912 14,089.70

Loans on mortgage security 130,902.57

Loans on stock or pass book security ^ 3>43SOO

Furniture and fixtures 287.25

Real estate 39,458.82

Due for insurance and taxes 693.48

Total $188,866.82

LIABILITIES.

Dues and dividends on running stock $181,791.92

Fund for contingent losses 859.08*

Undivided profits 6,215.82

Total $i88.86i6.82

The Franklin Building and Loan Association was organized January 16,
1895, by the following subscribers to the stock: W. H. Coons, Samuel
Harris. John W. Ragsdale, R. C. Wood, Strather Herod, Charles Byfield, D.
H. Miller, George W. Clemmer, Edward F. White, David Swift, T. W.
Woollen, S. A. Wilson, S. B. Eccles and Dr. P. W. Payne. Dr. D. H. Miller
became president and remained in office until his death, when he was suc-
ceeded by James R. Fleming : Samuel A. Wilson has acted as secretary during
almost the whole of the life of the organization.

The following is a statement of the financial condition of the Franklin
Building and Loan Association at the close of the fiscal year, ending Decem-
ber 31, 1912:

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 409
ASSETS.

Cash on hand December 31, 1912 $ 8,767.37

Loans on mortgage security 76,112.00

Loans on stock or pass book security 577-00

Furniture and fixtures 90.00

Real estate — actual value (sold on bond) 11,101.00

Total $ 96.647.37

LIABILrriES.

Dues and dividends on running stock $ 95,969.90

Paid up and prepaid stock and dividends 200.00

Fund for contingent losses 357-86

LTndivi<led profits • 1 19.61

Total $ 96.647.37

RECEIPTS.

Cash on hand December 31, 191 1 $ 9,482.60

Dues on running stock 28,916.50

Paid up and prepaid stock 100.00

Loans on mortgage security repaid 17.770.00

Loans on stock or pass book security repaid 445oo

Interest 5.855.96

Membership fees 1__ 154-75

Borrowred money 3.000.00

Real estate 4,600.00

Transfer fees 64.00

Total _!. $ 70,388.81

DISBURSEMENTS.

Loans on mortgage security $ 21,630.00

Loans on stock or pass book security . 752.00

Withdrawals of running stock and dividends 10,532.58

Withdrawals paid up 5,600.00

Matured stock 14,938.54

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4IO JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Dividends on paid up stock 90.06

Expenses, as per schedule 277.50

Borrowed money repaid 3,000.00

Interest on borrowed money 25.28

Insurance 5.06

Real estate 4,766.00

Interest refunded 4.48

Cash on hand December 31, 1912 8,767.37

Total ^ $ 70,388.81

A private bank was organized at Greenwood by Dwiggins, Starbuck &
Company in the early nineties, under the name of the Bank of Greenwood.
Ex-Governor Chase allowed the management the use of his name as an officer,
and when the institution became insolvent, in 1893, some adverse criticism
was directed toward Governor Chase. On application to the Johnson circuit
court, Grafton Johnson w^as appointed receiver May 12, 1893. The final
report of the receiver showed assets of $27,669.76, and liabilities amounting
to $37*958. 16.

The Farmers National Bank of Edinburg has a capital stock of $25,000,
and has been running about seven years. Its officers are Dr. J. T. Middleton,
president; Eliza Breeding, vice-president; William H. Breeding, cashier, and
John F. Drybread. Its cashier is a modest gentleman, who dislikes to see his
name in print, and refused the writer information necessary to further notice.

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CHAPTER XIII.

JOURNALISM IN JOHNSON COUNTY.

In the outset, the local historian in attempting a sketch of the jouraalism
of the county is confronted with the fact that scarcely any of the files of the
local papers have been preserved. Editqrs have thought so little of the value
of their papers as chronicles of local current events that no efforts were made,
as a rule, to preserve the files and the back numbers soon f oimd their way to
the junk pile. Evidence is at hand that Judge Banta had access to the files
of The Franklin Examiner, but the writer has tried without success to locate
where they are now preserved. A careful inquiry has revealed that none of
the newspapers prior to the entrance of Luther Short and Robert A. Brown
into the field of local journalism have been properly preserved. Mr. Short
and Mr. Brown did keep and bind their files, and they remain the most val-
uable sources of information to the writer of local history.

The law makes provision for the county recorder to keep a file of all local
newspapers, and the county commissioners should at once take action to rem-
edy so far as possible the carelessness of other days. And it will be the duty
of the Franklin Public Library, recently organized, to make an effort to collect
and preserv'e these sources of local history. A Johnson County Historical
Society could do a distinct public service in collecting scattered copies of
such papers, with such letters and diaries as have escaped the waste basket and
the junk heap.

Prior to the year 1845 all legal publications were given in newspapers of
the capital city or of one of the surrounding count jes, whenever notice by
publication in newspaper was required. However, an inspection of the pro-
bate records during the twenties and thirties discloses that knowledge of no-
tices required by law were given by posting of notices in public places and it
was very seldom that the court required notice to be given by newspaper pub-
lication.

The first newspaper mentioned in our records was The Western Censor ^
of Indianapolis, a notice to non-residents having been given by publication in
that paper in the year 1825!

The Indiana Journal, also published at Indianapolis, was the medium of
notice to non-residents as early as 183 1.

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412 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

John R. Kerr, remembered as the **blind printer/' of Franklin, came to
Johnson county from the state of Tennessee in 1839 and entered a tract of
land near Sugar Creek. He had been a school teacher in his native state, but
for years his eyes had given him trouble and in 184:2 he became totally blind.
He had also learned the printer's trade back in Tennessee, and in 1845 con-
cluded to start a newspaper in the town of Franklin. On December 13, 1845,
The Franklin Examiner, the first newspaper printed and published in John-
son county, was issued from a local press by Mr. Kerr as editor. The Exam-
iner was a small local sheet, made up largely of clippings from other publi-
cations, but in that day reading matter was scarce, the schools were inefficient
and this newspaper was eagerly sought in the schoolrooms and in the homes
of the county.

Mr. Kerr sold the paper in 1852 to Jonathan Williams, who was then
auditor of the county. Mr. Kerr then removed to Gosport, where he and his
cousin, Frank Kerr, published the Gosport Chronotype. In 1854 he became
postmaster of Gosport and remained in office until the third year of Grant's
term. He died in that town in the year 1880.

When Jonathan H. Williams became the owner of The Examiner^ the
name was changed to The Franklin Jeffcrsonian, and l>ecanie Democratic
in politics. Two years later Greorge W. Allison purchased the paper and on
January i, 1857, his brother, Harvey W. Allison, became part owner. The
Jeffersonian continued to be the mouthpiece of the Democratic party in John-
son county, but it was never a pro-slavery organ. When the lines became
closely drawn between the Southern Democracy and the Douglas Democrats,
The Jeffersonian became the organ of the Douglas Democrats in the county
and so remained until the breaking out of the Civil war. In the meantime
George W. Allison had become auditor of the county and his brother became
the active manager of the newspaper.

In 1861 George W. Allison raised a company of soldiers for the Seven-
teenth Indiana Regiment and entered the Union service. This left Harvey
C. Allison in entire control of the paper, as editor and manager, and the same
thenceforth became a Republican newspaper. The Allisons continued in the
ownership and control of The Jeffersonian until July i, 1882, when John F.
Moses became the proprietor. Inasmuch as the name was at that time some-
what misleading, Mr. Moses determined to change the name and it was thence-
forth known as The Franklin Republican, Moses remained in Franklin until
October, 1882, when his paper was sold to Henry Holt, who continued to
successfully manage the paper until 1886. For some time the paper had been

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA 4I3

published in what was known as the Union block in the Finch building, east
of the courthouse square. Mr. Holt secured more pleasant quarters in Vaw-
ter's building, over what was then known as Brown & Yager's book store,
where it was printed for several years.

D. W. Barnett became editor and proprietor of The Franklin Republican
in 1886, and continued to edit the paper as a Republican weekly until Jan-
uary I. 1889, when the paper became the property of Robert A. Brown. Mr.
Brown was a Johnson county boy, an alumnus of Frankliix College and had
had much experience in newspaper work, coming to this city from the news-
paper business in Logansport.

The next o^Tier of The Franklin Republican was Lewis Elbie De Pue,
who became owner of the paper in February, 1895. Mr. De Pue was also a
Johnson county boy, a son of William De Pue, a prominent farmer of Nineveh
township. He had been connected with the paper for two or three years
prior thereto and was a hustling, able young man, but death called him within
a few months and on November 18 of the same year the paper was sold by
his administrator to Albion Smith and Harry J. Martin.

Mr. Smith shortly thereafter parted with his interest to Will Martin add
The Republican was edited and published by Martin & Martin until October,
1902. At that time William R. Voris and C. E. Fisher became proprietors,
the former being still connected with the paper. Mr. Fisher retired in Oc-
tober, 1907, and became identified with The Pacific Monthly at Portland, Ore-
gon. He is now an associate editor of The Sunset Magazine of San Fran-
cisco. The political complexion of the paper, as indicated by its name, is Re-
publican.

A copy of the Franklin Jeffersonian of date October 22, 1864, is before
me. Its headlines show its publication from an office in the third story of
Deitch's building. Its motto is "Let justice be done, though the heavens
fall," its subscription price two dollars per year. Among its local advertisers
are W. H. Manwaring and E. R. Moore, boots and shoes ; Franklin Brewery,
Peter Noll, proprietor; John Beall. stove store; Scholfield & Co., hardware;
J. T. Vawter, druggist; Gill, Holmes & Tresslar, dry goods; C. Frame,
jeweler: C. Bums, jeweler; G. S. Mangun, tombstones; High & Gibson, har-
ness shop; Isaac Bumgamer, undertaker; Armstrong, Magill & Co., clothing;
Solon C. Bramwell, general store ; Knobe & Hamilton, Samuel Mains, P. E.
Branham, grocers ; Henry Service and Jacob Crider, shoemakers : John Nichol-
son, photographer.

Its leading editorial discusses the result of the county election and its

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414 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

vitriolic language was characteristic of the times. As a fair sample of war^
time '^patriotic" literature it is worth copying:

■ . ■'

"the election fraud/'

"The election on Tuesday of last week resulted in the defeat and de-
moralization of the copperhead party in Johnson county. The leaders of that
party were laying quietly on tiieir oars, little dreaming of defeat, but think-
ing all the while that the only thing they would have to do would be, after the
election, to walk up and take possession of the offices. The Union men were
wide awake and by a thorough canvass carried the day. When the result was
announced, it is not easy to imagine the consternation it created among the
leading copperheads. Frantic with rage, they flew about our city and through
Ae country crying fraud — that the ballot box had been stuffed, and many
Other falsdioods.

"The success of the Union ticket in Johnson county is too hard for the
greedy copperheads who thirst for office to bear, and we must make a degree
of allowance for the falsehoods they are telling as the reasons why they were
defeated. They have so long held possession of the offices that it is now very
cruel for the honest voters to declare by ballot that they will make a change
and give the offices to men who are in favor of crushing out the rebellion.

"But to the facts. The copperheads say that the ballot box in Franklin
township was stuffed. Now the board of election in this township was com-
posed of three Union men and two opposition. At noon the box was locked,"
the key and ballot entrances securely sealed, placed in a bank vault and the
keys given to the judges. When the polls were opened in the afternoon, the
box was taken out of the bank just as it was put in. In the evening, the box
was again locked and seakd, and, the bank being closed, was taken to the resi-
dence of the inspector and safely guarded by a man of each party until after
supper, when the board continued their work until all the ballots were counted
and the result announced.

"So. if the box was stuffed, of course the opposition menil)ers had a hand
in it, and the copperhead leaders dare not charge the board with criminality.
Then, all their charges about the ballot box being stuflFed amount to nothing.

"But, again, the copperheads charge that there was illegal voting. Well,
thif* we know to be a fact, but this illegal voting was done on the copperhead
side, and if they wish to make a test of illegal voting, they will have their
hamds full.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 415

"^The copperheads were expecting to carry Johnson county by a major^
jf^ ^^^ -^ five to six hundred. They were defeated and they attempt to make th^
Pg^^-^jl ^ believe that they were defeated by fraud. But all their false clamor
„.j| J .^^vail them nothing. The vote on Tuesday of last week shows that th*
^u^-nM- "^ ^^^ sick and tired of this copperhead party and fully linderstand its de-
sien^ and the purposes of its leaders. The day for copperhead Democracy ih
lolix^ ^^on county is past, for it has been condemned by a fair and honest ver-
dict ^c^^f the people.*'

-^I^Che incidents referred to in the editorial above quoted led to a contest of

section upon the part of the candidates for sheriff, treasurer, coroner and

-^ commissioner from the second district. On November 17, 1864, John

liggins, Democrat, contests the election of Squire O. W. Garrett, Re-

:-^n, for the sheriff's office ; William S. Ragsdale, Democrat, contests the

»n of Melvin Wheat, Republican, for treasurer; Lemuel Tilson, Demo^

rontests the election of Jefferson D. Jones, Republican, for coroner, and

Shuck, Democrat, contests the election of Abraham Good, Republican,

cr-^zir^mmissioner. The board of commissioners finds for the contestors in

eachi ^zi^^ase, and appeals were taken to the Johnson circuit court. On change of

venia^^ ^ the action was tried before the Hon. Silas C. Colgrove, special judge,

who "1 ikewise found for the contestor, William S. Ragsdale, in the only case

whiol— M. came to trial. This was apparently a test case, for the record shows

^ >fnd ^ ng for the other contestors without trial.

• , J"'^d^e Colgrove's opinion and finding in the Ragsdale- Wheat case is re-

Car-ci^<::3 in full in the order book, and makes interesting reading. He finds that

.^^^^ is no evidence to charge any of the election officers with fraud, but that

tri^y x;^^jrere giu'lty of negligence, which enabled some outsider to stuff the ballot

"^^^^- "He finds that the ballot box was at the noon recess of the board left in

th^ "v-^iilt of the Second National Bank; that while the'vaulf was locked, it

^^-^ ^^^.sy to gain access to the same ; that the ballot box bore evidence of having

^^^ "tampered with when the board reconvened at one p. rrt., the seal over

^ ^'p>erture showing evidence of resealing; that the board did not separate

* - "^t^^ evening, but carefully guarded the same, until the count began; that

^Poi^ the first count, nine hundred ninety-seven ballots were found in the

"^^* A?vhile the poll books showed that only nine hundred eighty-two voters

/ ^ >^oted in the township : that the box was deposited in the same vault that

^ .^"^"t, and that upon a recount the next morning twenty of the ballots had

*^'^^T>p>€ared; the court then, upon the evidence heard, admissions of parties

t^^cie, and agreements as to facts, finds that fifty-one illegal votes were cast

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4l6 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

in the precinct by minors and non-residents for the contestee, and diat the
count ought to show seventy-six votes for the contestor which had been re-
moved from the box, and upon the whole evidence, finds for the contestor, and
declares him to have been legally elected treasurer of the county.

The episode attracted very wide interest, and the October election of
1864 was for many a day a weapon for thrust and parry between the con-
tending parties. It is now quite generally known that the ballot box was
corrupted by a then prominent abolitionist, who by prearrangement concealed
himself in the vault of the bank, and attempted to help out his party by "stuf-
fing" the box and removing genuine ballots.

The use of the columns of the local papers as a vehicle of personal abuse
and vilification was not confined to the war times, but was kept up well toward
the close of the past century. And while the files preserved now bring a smile
to the face as one reads the editorials of "Farmer Aikens," "Granny Short**
and "Ananias Bob,*' by which affectionate nicknames the editors of the Peo-
ple's Paper, the Democrat and the Republican were wont to refer to each
other, we congratulate ourselves that we are not now obliged to depend upon
such cheap and petty means of furthering partisan interests. The spirit of a
community is well reflected in the columns of the local newspaper, and the
old time rancor has well nigh disappeared from the political field. Neighbors
and friends no longer think it necessary or proper to engage in slander, ma-
licious libel and personal abuse, and tfie muckraker has moved to the broader
field of metropolitan joumalisnL

The Star of Hope was established in Franklin in the year 1853 by W. T.
Hatch, who remained the proprietor until 1855. It was then sold to E. W.
Jeffreys, who published it as a Republican newspaper under the name of The
Republican until 1857, when it was acquired by George Allison and merged
into The Jeffersonian.

The next newspaper to be published in Franklin was The Franklin Her-
cdd, founded in 1859 by a number of influential Democratic politicians, with
Henry J. Sharp as editor. Sharp was soon succeeded by M. R. Slater, a
writer of average ability and a shrewd politician, and it was at once recog-
nized as the party organ of the Democratic party in Johnson county. The
office was burned in 1861 and its Democratic friends provided a new outfit and
continued Slater in charge as editor and publisher. Slater was a fire eater
and the Herald made many enemies during the early years of the war. The
office was mobbed in 1863 by a detachment of Pennsylvania troops, acting on
the information from some enemy of the editor that the paper was being pub-

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JOHNSON COTNTV, INDIANA. 417

lished in the interests of the South. The newspaper was entirely ruined, all
the presses were destroyed and all the office material was scattered in the
streets. For some time thereafter no effort was made to revive the paper,
but in 1-867 Charles Patterson revived the office and established a paper under
the name of The Johnson County Press, During a part of this time John M.
Farley was the editor, but Mr. Slater again took editorial control in 1870,
changing its name to The Democratic Herald. In the year 1876 many of the
local Democratic politicians, who were not pleased with the editorial policy
of Mr. Slater, started an opposition paper under the name of The Democrat.
This paper was edited by W. S. Bliss, who in 1878 also acquired The Demo-
cratic Herald and both papers were issued under the name of The Herald-
Democrat.

In June, 1879, Luther Short, then a practicing attorney, was solicited
by the Democrats holding control of The Herald-Democrat to become its edi-
tor, and he, with the aid of G. E. Finney, an old newspaper man of Columbus,
took charge of the paper and adopted the simple name. The Democrat, In
1886 Mr. Short purchased the entire interests in the paper and became sole
editor and proprietor. Mr. Short continued editor and proprietor of The
Democrat until January i, 1892, at which time he transferred the same to
Albert N. Crecraft, who still retains the management and ownership of the
paper.

When Mr. Slater was ousted from his connection with the Democratic
organ he started another paper, under the name of The Jacksonian. It was
ably edited, although, like most newspapers of that day, was made the organ
of all the petty animosities of the contending factions of the party with which
Mr. Slater was connected. Slater procured an appointment to a government
position in Arizona in 1886 and his connection with the newspaper life of the
county then ceased.

Many attempts had been made to establish a daily newspaper in Frank-
lin, but all met with disaster financially and were short lived. While W. S.
Bliss was editor of The Herald-Democrat he issued a small folio under the
name of The Daily Herald for about three months ; then James B. Wilson, an
employe in the office of Mr. Bliss, became editor of the Daily, but was soon
compelled to suspend publication. A little later Frederick C. Williams re-
vived the paper and published it for four or five years, but he was likewise
unsuccessful.

In November, 1880, The Daily Argos, a small, four-column folio, was
(27)

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4X8 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

established by N. B. Milleson and George L. Higgins, but it, like its prede-
cessors, had a short career.

In the same year The Daily News was published by Frank McQellan and
James Moody, from the Democratic office, but only a few months were neces-
sary to prove the want of a demand at that time for a local daily newspaper.

The Daily Gazette ^ under the editorship of Bert Fesler and George
Bundy, was also published from the Democratic office, for a short time.

The Franklin Daily Star, established in July, 1885, by W. W. Aikens and
Mr. Needham, is the only local daily newspaper which ever secured a perma-
nent foothold in the city of Franklin. The Star, which was first issued from
Franklin College, was a small three-column folio, very humble in appearance
and with very limited circulation. Mr. Needham only remained with the
paper for a few months, when Mr. Aikens became sole proprietor and has re-
mained in entire charge of the paper to the present time. At the end of a
year the venture had proven so successful that Mr. Aikens removed from the
college to quarters on Jefferson street and within three years had built up a
circulation of seven hundred and had begun to interest the Franklin business
men in advertising. In 1905 Mr. Aikens erected his own building on North
Mail) street and the Star office is today one of the best managed and best
equipped printing offices in any county seat in the state.

In January, 1890, Mr. Aikens established, in connection with his daily
paper, the People's Paper, an eight-page weekly. It was at once successful
and became the medium of the new party known as the People's party, in the
early nineties. When the Bull Moose campaign was started in the last cam-
paign, the Peopled s Paper passed under the control of Omar I. Demaree and
Ray Sellers, and has since that time been issued under the auspices of the
Roosevelt Republicans of the county.

In addition to the papers above named, other local sheets have appeared
from time to time, but none of them could be dignified with the name of
"newspaper.'' Some of them have been mere advertising sheets, issued to
boost the Franklin fair or other local enterprise; some have been made the
vehicle of church propaganda, under the auspices of church societies and
Christian Endeavor organizations. Others still have been issued to carry on
controversies between partisans of the different religious faiths or of political
creeds. When Dr. David Monfort and the Rev. A. R. Hinckley were the
leading pastors of the town, they engaged in a wordy controversy on the sub-
ject of Christian baptism and each published several pamphlets, which had a
wide circulation in the county in the early forties. During the war I>r.
Pinckney published several pamphlets on the causes of the rebellion and about

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 4I9

the same time another pamphlet, containing a funeral discourse, preached upon
the occasion of the death of a colored man, attracted much attention and
aroused much bitter debate.

The Edinburg Courier was established in that town in 1875, under the
editorship of Harvey Allison, who in 1877 became associated with E. M.
Hardy in its publication. A year later Mr. Hardy became the sole owner
and conducted the paper quite successfully until July i, 1889, at which time he
sold the paper to his former associate, Mr. Allison, and Mr. Allison published
the Courier with varying success until his death in 1912.

The Evening Call, a five-column, four-page daily paper, was started in
Edinburg in April, 1891, by W. J. Spruce, former proprietor of The Green-
wood Graphic. It was not successful and six months later passed under the
editorial control of Ray Mutz and was printed as a four-column folio from the
oflioe of the Courier. Later the Call passed into the control of the Allisons,
^nd the daily and weekly both took the name of The Courier,

X-Jpon the death of Harvey C. Allison in 1912. the paper was acquired by
i). KI. Stewart, W. L. Neible and W. T. Thompson. Mr. Stewart, who is
^tisLTkSL^er and editor, is making The Courier a very attractive and readable
ne'wsp^aper, and is helping to make Edinburg a prosperous and progressive
towr^.

JL'he first newspaper published in the town of Greenwood was The
Gfd'/yfMrdc, established by Sumner Rose in 1888. W. J. Spruce became owner
of th^ paper in 1889, ^tnd two years later sold it to Frank McAlpin and Harry
Scudd^r. McAlpin soon parted with his interest to his partner, who con-
tiaued to publish it until February 17, 1893, when I. B. Muchmore became
editor and proprietor. Publication was discontinued in the autumn of that
year s^nd the plant was removed to Ingalls. Some evidence is before the writer
that '\^/'. W. Hayward edited the paper between the dates of the ownership of
Spruo^ and Scudder given above.

Tlie Greenwood Era dates from March 18, 1892, when Frank McQellan,

an old Franklin printer, and Mark L. Bass began its publication. It received

^ t^^3.x-ty welcome, and drove its predecessor from the field. But at best, the

^^"^"^itiory which a local paper can reach from Greenwood is very limited, the

Indistnapolis dailies having in recent years come into almost every household.

TW^ Era has, therefore, had a very irregular success, and since the date last

tia^Tn^cj jias been owned and edited by Douglas Dobbins, A. L. Hemphill, E. A.

^^^.ee, Goldsberry & Galespy, John A. Swan, and the present editor, George

A- ^^oorman, the latter being editor and proprietor since April 2, 1906.

Under the present management, the Era has become a successful and at-
tf Active paper, and is well supported by the community.

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CHAPTER XIV.

JOHNSON COUNTY AND THE CIVIL WAR.

Johnson county played an honorable part in defense of the Union and
sent from within its borders more than two thousand men to defend the flag.
The part they played has been fully recorded in Judge Banta's History of
Johnson County ( 1888), and to the present writer little has been left to say
of the general military affairs of the county.

The present generation has come to feel a very impersonal interest in
the great Civil war. The grandchildren of the veterans of 1861 look upon the
events of that war with the unconcern with which they read the school history
accounts of the war of the Revolution. To stimulate interest in the life
stories of the men who so gallantly went to the field of battle, we have sought
and found a story which ought to make an appeal to every patriotic impulse.

Samuel Watson Van Nuys, son of John H. Van Nuys, of the Hopewell
neighborhood, a junior in the Hopewell Academy at the outbreak of the Civil
war, volunteered in Capt. T. A. Jeffer^^'s Comj)any F, Seventh Regiment
Indiana Volunteer Infantry. His diaries and letters written from the front
have been preserved and, by permission of the family, they are here first
given publication. The account begins with his service in the hospitals of
Washington, D. C, and closes with his death on the field of batde on Septem-
ber 29, 1864. He rests in an honored grave in our own Greenlawn cemetery,
and his memory is still cherished by many of the same company who are still
among the living.

MEMORANDA OF SAMUEL W. VAN NUYS, COMPANY F, SEVENTH INDIANA

VOLUNTEERS.

Sunday, June i, 1862.
Today finds me in Washington City at Cousin Newt's. Attended church
with Newt and Jennie at Dr. Gurley's Church, had an excellent sermon. In
evening Newt and I visited various places in the city. Visited Jackson Square,
White House, Treasury Department, Post Office and Interior Departments;
also Williard's Hotel. Bade cousins farewell late in evening and returned to
the hospital.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 421

Monday, June 2, 1862.
Surgeons having got orders to clear the hospitals for wounded men, as-
signed me to garrison duty, but by hard entreaty I prevailed on them to send
me to the regiment. Wrote Newt a letter and prepared to leave in morning.

Tuesday, June 3, 1862.
Surgeon discharged me and I left for the regiment. Took a boat and ran
down to Alexandria. Took the cars at Alexandria for Fort Royal. Went
as far as Manassas and stopped for the night.

Wednesday, June 4, 1862.
Had a very uncomfortable night's rest. Rained all day. Ran as far as
Cioose Creek, found one l)ridge unsafe and had to lay over till ne:^t day.
Officers were veiy uneasy during the nighty as we were in a hostile part of the
country, without a guard. At ten o'clock the report of a musket rang out on
the still night air; in an instant all was alarm and confusion. We hastily
scrambled out of the car and ran down to the engine, where we learned that
the engineer had fired at two men coming towards the train, who turned and
fled. We went back to the car and nothing more occurred during the night.

Thursday, June 5, 1862.
Train started about noon. Reached Front Royal at four p. m. Found
the town full of troops and no place to stay. Heard that our brigade was be-
yond Luray. In company with six others I started for the regiment. Went
a mile out of town and stopped for the night in an odd barn, r

Friday, June 6, 1862.
Started for Luray, distant 25 miles. Marched hard all day and reached
town at six p. m. Slept again in an old barn.

Saturday, June 7, 1862.
Learned that our brigade was six miles beyond town, accordingly started
for it. When we reached the place we learned that the brigade liad sent back
their baggage and were at least 18 miles ahead of us, marchifig toward Stanton.
Were at a loss to know what to do, but finally determined to stay with secon'^
brigade for the present. Went to the 139th Illinois and got some grub. Slept
^n an old barn again.

Sunday, June 8, 1S62.
Knocked around till late in evening. Then determined to go ahead. Met

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4^:2 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the major, who said they were 50 miles up the river. He told me to go back
to Luray and stay with the sick. Did as I was ordered.

Monday, June 9, 1862.
Lieut. Jeffery, with a lot of sick boys, came back to Luray. Saw Dunlap
and Young. Being unfit for duty. Lieutenant gave me a furlough of thirty
days. Left same day for home.

Tuesday, June 10, 1862.
Reached Winchester in evening, pretty tired.

Wednesday, June 11, 1862.
Reached Martinsburg in time to take the four o'clock train for home.
Stranded all night ; got to Bellaire next morning.

Thursday, Jime 12, 1862.

Left Bellaire at five a. m. on Ohio Central R. R., got to Columbus at two
p. m. Took Belle fontaine Road and reached Indianapolis at six a. m. next
morning.

Friday, June 13, 1862.

Reached Franklin at eight a. m. Went to Uncle Doc's. They were
much surprised to see me.

Started for home and met several old friends on the road who did not
know me.

Took pa and ma by surprise while canning currants. They were very
much astonished and pleased to see me.

Little Mollie failed to know me, but soon found out I was Brother Watt.
Found the friends all well and everything looking perfectly right.

Saturday, June 14, 1862.
Looked around over the place some. Visited Uncle Ike and Aunt Ellen
in evening with ma and Mollie.

Learned by today's paper that our boys have had a fight and are badly
cut up.

Sunday, June 15, 1862.
Went to church both in morning and evening. Met many old friends.
All anxious for me to visit them.

Monday, June 16, 1862.
Went to Franklin for the mail. Uncle James and Aunt Betsey came to
see us in the evening.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 423

Tuesday, June 17, 1862.
Ma, Mollie and I visited Uncle Dory's. I found them very anxious about
Sam. Heard that Uncle Dick had his leg broke in the late fight.

Wednesday, June 18, 1862.
Pa and I attended the Union convention at Indianapolis. Went up on
cars, and met Lieut. Holmes coming home wounded. He says Uncle Dick's
leg is badly broken. James Bone, Ben Trout and John H. Vanneys are
missing.

Thursday, June 19, 1862.
Went to town, visited Uncle William and Allen. Uncles Will, Allen,
Pete, Corneal, John, and Corneal Vanneys, met at our house and made
arrangements to send John to nurse Richard.

Friday, June 20, 1862.
Wrote a letter to Newt Voris. Nothing worthy of note.

Saturday, Jime 21, 1862.
Found my furlough was defective, went to Indianapolis and got it rem*
edied by Dr. Bobbs.

Sunday, June 22, 1862.
A beautiful day. Attended church in morning and evening.

Monday, June 23, 1862.
Went to Franklin for the mail. Got Dr. Donnell to vaccinate me.

Tuesday, June 24, 1862.
Ma, Mollie and I visited Uncle Dan, met Minnie and Doc there. Had
a very pleasant time. Called at Mr. Henderson's and took supper.

Wednesday, June 25, 1862.
At home all day. Uncle Doc and Aunt Kate made us a visit. No news
from any quarter.

Thursday, June 26, 1862.
No news; no letters; nothing worthy of note.

Friday, June 27, 1862.
Visited Uncle Corneal in morning. In evening attended a school picnic :
had an exceedingly pleasant time. Some of the girls went home with us.
Doce & Tom Brewer spent the night.

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4^4 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Saturday, June 28, 1862.
Our folks commenced harvesting; assisted them some. Uncle Harve
came out today on visit.

Sunday, June 29, 1862.
Attended church both in morning and evening. Went to Uncle Sam's
for dinner.

Monday, June 30, 1862.
Worked in the harvest field all day ; very tiresome.

Tuesday, July i, 1862.
. Still in the field, (iot the news of severe fighting at' Richmond. All are
intensely interested in the news.

Wednesday, July 2, 1862.
Went to town to get the news and take Uncle Harve to the cars. Brought
Aunt Beck back on a visit. Spent the evening at I'ncle Corneal's.

Thursday, July 3, 1862.
Visited Uncle Jimmie's. Read letters from John S: Kate.

Friday, July 4, 1862.
Went to town. Our men reported beaten at Richmond. \^isited by
Mr. & Mrs. Henderson.

Saturday. July 3, i8C)2.
Making preparations to leave for the regiment coming Monday. Went
wnth Aunt l^eck to town to get some miniatures taken.

Sunday, July 6, 1862.
This is my last Sunday at home. Attended church in morn and eve.
Bade many friends goodbye and rec'd letters for l)oys.

Monday, July 7, 1862.
Packed my knapsack. Bid friends farewell and left for the Regiment.
Fell in with Uncle Orion at Tndianai)olis. Went to Bates House, where we
found Col. G^vin & Dr. Wooden. Ciot transportation and left with Dr,
Wooden and several others at 8:40 p. m. Go by way of Crestline, Pittsburg
& Baltimore.

Tuesday, July 8, 1862.
Seven o'clock found us in Crestline — 206 miles from Indianapolis. Took

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 425

cars for Pittsburg imnaediately — distance 288 miles. Reached Pittsburg at
two p. m. and left for Harrisburg — distance 250 miles.

Wednesday, July 9, 1862.
Got to Harrisburg at one a. m. and changed cars for Baltimore — dis-
tant 180 miles. Reached Baltimore at six a. m. Got breakfast and took cars
immediately for Washington — distance 50 miles. Reached Washington at
ten a. m. This I am writing from Jackson Square, where we are resting on
our way to the hospital to see Uncle Dick. Found Dick in good spirits and
doing well. Late in evening pushed On to» Alexandria and through to camp.
Found the Regiment three miles from Alexandria. Boys all well and recover-
ing from the fatigue of their late marches.

Thursday, July 10, 1862.
Stirred around camp. Boys in good camping ground, with a prospect of
staying for some time.

Friday, July 11, 1862.
Company drills in morning. Quite a warm day. Drill and dress parade
in evening.

Saturday, July 12, 1862.*
Drill in morning. Went ^'Dewberry" hunting with John Henderson.
Drew new guns — Enfield rifles. Dress parade in evening. Went bathing
with the boys. Helped w ith pay rolls.

Sunday, July 13. 1862.
Was detailed for guard. Xo preaching. \ ery warm day.

Monday, July 14, 1862.
Was relieved from guard. Train went to Washington after tents and
camp equipage.

Tuesday, July 15, 1862.
Made a draw on the commissary. Cjot a lot of cooking utensils and
clothes : got into our Sibley tents ; almost feel at home again.

Wednesday, July 16, 1862.
Signed the pay rolls and drew our money. I drew four months' pay
($52). Officers took a frolic and some of them got high and were scarcely
able to perform on dress parade. .

Thursday, July 17, 1862.
Went swimming with Sam and John H. The same old routine of drill
and parade.

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4^6 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Friday, July i8, 1862.
Was detailed for guard. Rained nearly all day. No news.

Saturday, July 19, 1862.
Our brigade was reviewed both in morning and evening by Gen. Carroll.
Wrote a letter home. No preaching.

Sunday, July 20, 1862.
Made a mistake in recording yesterday's events. The reviews took place
today instead of yesterday.

Monday, July 21, 1862.
Our brigade (Carroll's) and Gen. Tyler's were reviewed today by Gen.
Sturgis. It was very warm and boys suffered much.

Tuesday, July 22, 1862.
Nothing going on worthy of record.

Wednesday, July 23, 1862.
Sent to Alexandria with Will Davis and got a gold pen with which I
am now writing. Was drilled today by Gen. Carroll in the manual of arms.

Thursday, July 24, 1862.
Got orders to march at 12 m., but orders were soon countermanded.
Boys all loath to leave our present camp. Dress parade in evening. Got or-
ders to be ready to march at four o'clock next morning.

Friday, July 25, 1862.
Orderly got us up at three a. m., expecting to move at four o'clock.
Struck tents at eight and sent them to the R. R. Marched to the R. R. at i
p. m. and took the cars south. Understand we go into camp 30 miles south.
Reached Warrenton at nine p. m. Left cars and camped, sleeping on the
ground. Sloan, Overstreet and Jno. H. went to the hospital — ^none of them
much sick. Co. F. got five recruits today from Indiana.

Saturday, July 26, 1862.

Rose with the sun, having slept well. Got breakfast, fell into line and
marched through town to camp.

Warrenton is a beautiful town and strongly sesesh. Camped two miles
from town, putting up our Sibleys.

In the evening Sam and I went out blackberrying and got a fine lot
Boys all in the best of spirits. Clouds threaten rain.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 427

Sunday, July 2'/, 1862.
Rained very hard during the night. Inspection of arms in morning.
Preaching in evening by our Chaplain. Wrote a letter to Uncle Doc. Dress
parade as usual.

Monday, July 28, 1862.
Company drill in the morning. Also battalion. Regimental drill in the
evening — ^were drilled by Gen. Carroll. Many rumors are afloat about march-
ing orders — some say we go back to Alexandria; others, on towards Rich-
mond.

Tuesday, July 29, 1862.
Quite hot and sultry today. Sam List and Allison both unwell. Ser-
geant Smith, Adams and Brown were detailed today, to take charge of Gen.
Pope's baggage. Drill in morning and evening as usual.

Wednesday, July 30, 1862.
Very hot again. Sam and Allison still unwell. Health of the regiment
is getting very poor, on accoimt of poor water and hot weather. Our regi-
ment was drilled today by Gen. Carroll.

Thursday, July 31, 1862.
Very hot. Drill in the morning. No mail. Rumors of marching or-
ders again. John, Overstreet and Sloan returned from the hospital.

Friday, August i, 1862.

Col. Cheek being sick, we were drilled by Carroll. Heard that Col. Gavin

was wounded in Kentucky by guerillas and Lieutenant Braden killed. The

1 6th Ind. Battery has been firing salutes all day— cause Van Buren's death.

Still very warm. Good deal of sickness in the company. Wrote to A. J. T.

Saturday, August 2, 1862.
Got orders to march at 12 m. Turned over our tents to Government
Gen. McDowell and staff passed in morning. Marched at 12 o'clock for Sul-
phur Springs — distance 5 miles. Found the springs in a beautiful place. Went
bathing in the river near with Jno. H. Allison, Dunlap Covert and Voris.

Sunday, August 3, 1862.
Inspection of arms in morning. Preaching in the evening, by Kiger
from the text, "Lord, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom." A
man of our brigade was drowned by falling in the river. Dress parade as
usual.

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. 4^0 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

■!

li Monday, August 4, 1862.

i Review in the morning, by Gen. McDowell. Day was very warm. Boys

■ had to appear with knapsacks and suffered much from heat. Officers and

men denounced McDowell in unmeasured tenns. The greatest event of the
day was the reappearance of O. S. Springer, who was taken prisoner at Port
Republic. He was confined at Lynchburg and escaped after many adven-
tures and narrow escapes. Springer reports Bone and Fishback at Lynchburg.

Tuesday, August 5, 1862.
Marched at seven o'clock for Culpepper. 'Twas intensely warm and we
had our knapsacks to carr}'; consequently we suffered much — many of the
boys falling out of ranks. Reached Hazel river at 12 ni. and camped on its
banks, waiting for the teams. Boys were in water all evening. Late in
evening went swimming myself, with Allison, John H. Dunlap and others.
Pitched our **ponchos" and slept well.

Wednesday, August 6, 1862.
Marched again at six o'clock — our regiment leading the brigade. Had
.' our knapsacks hauled. Got along much better ; camped two miles from Cul-
pepper. Had hardly got into camp when Sergeant Fish of Co. A., who was
taken prisoner at Port Republic, came into camp, having escaped like Spring-
er. No reports. Sergeant Harden — of our Company, wounded and sujh
posed to have been killed at Port Republic — at Lynchburg, doing well.

Thursday, August 7, 1862.
Rebels are said to be crossing the Rapidan. Some excitement conse-
quently. Dress parade in the evening. Weather intensely hot.

Friday, August 8, 1862.
Was detailed for guard. Rumors came in all morning that sesesh were
advancing. At three o'clock p. m. orders came to march immediately, "Long
roll" was beat and much excitement ensued. Took the Culpep])er Road,
stopped in town two hours; marched through town and rested an hour, then
marched two miles and camped in the woods, without blankets. Davis and
T gathered a lot of leaves, made a bed and were soon in the land of dreams.

Saturday, August 9, 1862.
Slept tolerably well. Rose, got breakfast and were ready to start by
six o'clock. During the morning a large force of infantry and artillery
passed under Gen. Banks. After dinner a very heavy cannonading corn-

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JOHNSON COTNTY. INDIANA. 429

menced four miles from our camp and continued all evening. Stragglers
soon commenced coming back atid ref>orted a severe fight going on. At seven
o'clock p. m. we left camp for the battlefield. On the road we met the 3rd
brigade (Tyler's) straggling back, badly cut up. Arriving on the field, we
were immediately marched to the front. The rebels soon commenced shell-
ing us — the shells bursting all around and over us. One shell burst imme-
diately over our heads, severely wounding Will Young in the foot, Surface
in the knee, and cutting Esher's clothes. Young was just behind me and
Fisher in the file in front. Firing now ceased and we took a position along
a woods; here we remained quietly for an hour or more. In the meantime
the rebels brought a battery and two regiments of infantry and posted them
on our left, so as to rake our whole line. Our officers saw the danger and
reported it to the General, but he said he could not move us. The battery was
not more than 100 yards from our regiment. We heard the rebel officer g^ve
the command, *'Give them cannister — load — fire.'' A terrific storm of shot
was poured into our regiment. They stood tw^o or three rounds, then broke
in confusion and ran over the hill, where we reformed and marched to a new
position. A terrific cannonading now took place between the rebel battery
and one of ours and the rebels soon retired. Sloan and Gordon were slightly
wounded. Through the mercy of a kind Providence I escaped unhurt.

Sunday, August 10, 1862.
All expected another big battle today, but nothing beyond skirmishing
took place. We marched back a mile or more and remained idle during the
day. Will Young sent to hospital. Exceedingly warm.

Monday, August 11, 1862.
An armistice was agreed on till two o'clock, for the burial of the dead.
Some of our boys visited the battlefield. They represented it as a horrible
sight. Our men were undoubtedly worsted in the battle of Saturday. Gen.
Milroy came along and said the fight would commence again at two p. m.
I anticipate a very bloody battle. Some will fall, who will survive ? Serious
reflections force themselves on my mind. The Lord is all-powerful to save
and has promised, *T will never leave or forsake thee." In Him do I put my
trust.

Tuesday, August 12, 1862.
It is now seven o'clock a. m. Nearly everylx)dy predicts a battle today.
May the Lord have mercy on us all, and may the god of battles give us the
victory.

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43^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

It promises to be an exceedingly warm day. The officers say we have
100,000 men. Gen. Milroy, with a large cavalry force, had the advance. It
was soon ascertained that the rebels had fallen back. Our brigade was not
moved. During the day our baggage came up and we pitched our little
"ponchos.'' Scarcely were our tents up when we were ordered out on picket
No adventures.

Wednesday, August 13, 1862.

Came off picket at daylight. Gen. Milroy still in pursuit of Jackson.
Inspection of arms in evening.

Thursday, August 14, 1862.

Lieutenant Holmes returned today. Regimental drill and dress parade
in evening. Rumors of marching orders.

Friday, August 15, 1862.

Got orders to march at nine a. m., at which time our division (Rickctts)
moved towards Gordonsville. Marched eight miles and camped. Got a let-
ter from Sam List and one from Dick Ditmore.

Saturday, August 16, 1862.

Remained in camp all day. Many rumors current, about Jackson being
reinforced and advancing. Wrote a letter to Uncle Dick. Dress parade in
evening and got orders to cook three days' rations and prepare to march.
Weather cool.

Sunday, August 17, 1862.

A beautiful day. Feel quite unwell. Rumors this morning that we are
to fall back; also rumors of a 30-days armistice. In evening we marched
again; moved about five miles and camped on Cedar Run. Pitched our
^'ponchos" and went to roost. Col. Carrell badly wounded while out scouting.

Monday, August 18, 1862.
Remained in camp all day. General muster in morning, in accordance
with "Sec. of War's" order. In evening got orders to load up and send our
knapsacks and camp equipage to the rear. Jackson is reported advancing
with a very large force. Much speculation among the boys as to our future
movements — some think we will fight; others say we will retreat. At dark
we crawled into our "ponchos" without blankets and went to sleep.

Tuesday, August 19, 1862.
Last night at ten o'clock our officers roused us and gave us orders to fall
into line without noise. It now became evident we were going to retreat.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 43 1

Silently we got into line and marched towards Culpepper. Moved a mile
and a half and halted till daylight. Started then and marched steadily all
day. Passed through Culpepper at one p. m. with drums beating and colors
flying. Got into camp at ten o'clock at night, having marched i8 miles. Boys
thoroughly tired and grumbling and officers cursing.

Wednesday, August 20, 1862.

Rose at sunrise. Skirmishing soon commenced on the opposite side of
the river, which continued all day. Batteries were planted and forces drawn
up and every preparation made for giving Jackson a warm reception. In-
fantry got orders to carry 100 rounds of ammunition. Mail came, but no
letter for me.

Thursday, August 21, 1862.

Expected to move during the night, but morning still finds us on the
banks of Rappahannock. Brisk cannonading commenced at ten a. m. and
continued through remainder of the day. Infantry were not engaged. It is
evident there will be severe fighting on the Rappahannock. We hear Gen.
Reno has been fighting all day on our left. Sigel is on the right.

Friday, August 22, 1862.
Were awakened early by a heavy cannonading, which continued for an
hour. It soon commenced again, five or six miles up the river, where Sigel
is posted. Heard in evening that Sigel has captured a battery and demol-
ished a rebel brigade; think it all bosh. In evening our brigade moved a
short distance to the rear into a wood. Went with Davis and Henderson to
die river to bathe. Part of our force has crossed the river and taken posi-
tion. Am getting tired of this suspense. Have been living on coffee, sugar,
crackers and fresh meat for two weeks and am getting tired of the fare. Also
am going it without knapsack or blankets and without any mail. Such is the
life of a soldier. Rained hard during evening.

Saturday, August 23, 1862.
Morning opened cloudy. Ate breakfast. Ransdall and I then went to
the station to fill our canteens; while there the artillery opened and the firing
soon waxed exceedingly warm. Several of the enemy's shells passed over
and burst near us ; firing lasted two hours and then seemed to be transferred
up the river to Gen. Sigel's command. A heavy mail came in late last even-
ing; no letters from home. Heavy firing commenced again in our front at
ten a. m. and continued till 12 m., when our forces fell back towards War-

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43^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

renton. We marched till nine o'clock at night, when we camped in five miles
of Warrentop.

Sunday, August 24, 1862.

Felt very unwell — had fever during night. Doctor sent Covert and
me to hospital at Warrenton, but all the sick were ordered back to their regi-
ments. Consequently we returned to the regiment; some fever through the
day. Slept in the ambulance.

Monday, August 25, 1862.

Still sick. Several old acquaintances from Indiana came to regiment
as recruits. Got a letter from home. In evening regiment got orders to
move to Waterloo. I was hauled to Warrenton and left in hospital.

Tuesday, August 26, 1862.
Laid in church till evening, when I was put on cars for Alexandria. Ran
out of town a few miles and laid by till morning.

Wednesday, August 27, 1862.
Heard this morning that the rebels have burnt some of the railroad
bridges, so we can't get out. Laid in cars all day without any medicine or
provision.

Thursday, August 28, 1862.
Still in the cars, waiting for the railroad to be repaired. Understand
our forces are falling back from Warrenton and the enemy pursuing. Cars
ran up to the first bridge burnt. Late in the evening the surgeon ordered all
who were able to walk to get out and go on. I was very weak but walked on
to Briston Station.

Friday, August 29, 1862.
Pushed on this morning to Manassas Junction, where I come across Leo
Morgan from our company, also sick. In evening we went on to Bull Run.
I was very weak. Here we slept in the bushes.

Saturday, August 30, 1862.
Staid all day at Bull Run. Felt some better. Haven't drawn any pro-
visions for a w^eek; had to live on green corn, apples and potatoes. Very
heavy fighting took place today and yesterday in which our men were worsted..
I hear our boys were engaged and Tom Fisher was wounded.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 433

Sunday, AugusJ 31, 1862.
Remained at Bull Run till evening, when Bob Carter came along and we
went on to Fairfax Station. Am improving some.

Monday, September i, 1862.
Had a chance to go to the hospital from the station, but so many sick
and wounded were going that I determined not to go. Went with Carter
to Fairfax Court House. While there our wagons came along, going to
Alexandria. Being too weak to join the company, I went with the wagons
to Alexandria.

Tuesday, September 2, 1862.
Moved a little nearer town, where we remained during the day. Very
unwell again in evening and had a severe spell of cholera morbus during the
night.

Wednesday, September 3, 1862.
Felt very weak and bad this morning. Quartermaster got orders to
take the train to the regiment at Fals Church. Found the boys very much
worn down by exposure and fatigue.

Thursday, September 4, 1862.
Put up our little bivouacs and made ourselves comfortable as possible.
Have been in service just one year today and truly it has been an eventful
year. Our regiment is now in Doubleday's brigade and King's division. Am
still very unwell — ^got medicine from the doctor.

Friday, September 5, 1862.

Still sick — got more medicine from surgeon. Our army seems to be
acting on the defensive. It is rumored that the rebels are crossing the Poto-
mac into Maryland. Mail came in — got letter from D. B. Also wrote one
beoae.

Saturday, September 6, 1862.

Our regiment was sent into surrounding forts for garrison. Six com-
panies, our own included, went to Perkins Hill. Feel some better today-
Boys began fixing up things in expectation of staying some time, but at nine
p. m. got orders to march immediately. Lieutenant Jeffery reported about a
dozen from our company as unable to march. John H. Trout, Overstreet,
Sloan and Covert among others. New said we were going to march but a
mile or two and we could follow. Regiment started in the direction of
Washington. We followed awhile, then lay down till morning.

(28)

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434 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Sunday, September 7, 1862.
Followed on toward Washington. Found that our regiment had crossed
the river. We crossed over into Georgetown. Had much difficulty in finding
in which direction our regiment had gone. One of the boys — Sennett, got
too sick to walk; had to stop and rest; while resting a citizen came along
and took him home with him ; he then sent us a fine lot of bread and butter,
beef and peaches. Started on after the regiment. Got out a mile from town
and stopped for the night in a beautiful grove.

Monday, September 8, 1862.
Heard this morning that the regiment was 12 or 15 miles ahead of us.
None of us being able to march so far, we went back to Georgetown to get
into hospital, but could not get in without a certificate from surgeon. Bought
some eatibles, went back and stayed all night on last night's ground.

Tuesday, September 9, 1862.
Started ahead; came across our old brigade; found a number of our
boys with it; hear that our regiment is ordered back to it; concluded to
remain with it for present. At nine a. m. the brigade got orders to report
at Ft. Ellsworth. We crossed the Long Bridge, when our squad, being much
fatigued, stopped under a tree till morning.'

Wednesday, September 10, 1862.
Rose early and started ; found the brigade at Ft. Ellsworth. Came across
Low Allison and Norton, who are here in the convalescent camp. Rained in
afternoon. Slept in a barn. Am still very unwell. Face, stomach and
bowels much swollen.

Thursday, September 11, 1862.
John H. and I w^ent to surgeon of the 84th and got certificates of dis-
ability. Found the hospitals in Alexandria full. Had to sleep in an old
engine house. Got no medicine.

Friday, September 12, 1862.
Ben Trout came in with a "certificate.*' Spent the day as we pleased.
Most of the boys attended market in morning and laid in a supply of peaches,
etc. Can't get any medicine, on account of great number of wounded.

Saturday, September 13, 1862.
Spent a sleepless night. In evening were all sent out to Fairfax S^mitr-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 435

ary hospital — two miles from Alexandria. Got very comfortable quarters in
ward **B," but got shockingly bad grub. John H. and Trout both with me.

Sunday, September 14,. 1862.
Am very weak, but able to get around. About 2,000 patients in this
hospital— mostly wounded. Wrote a letter home, also to Uncle Dick.

Monday^ September. 15, 1862.
Doctor was around to see us for first time. He marks me down as suf-
fering "debility," but left no medicine. Felt stupid and bad all day.

Tuesday, S^tember 16, 1862.
Doctor gave me medicine this morning.

Wrote Brother John a letter. Good news this morning from our forces
in Maryland, but I allow a great deal for exaggeration.

Wednesday, September 17, 1862.
A death occurred in our ward last night. Thus another name is added
to the long list of the victims of this horrid war. Another soul perhaps is
ushered into eternity unprepared. Another wife perchance and loving chil-
dren are left to mourn the untimely fall of a fond father. Verily some one
will meet with fearful punishment for causing so much suffering, sorrow and
death. Anothe/ death took place during the day.

Thursday, September 18, 1862.
Nothing worthy of note occurred. Good news from oar army, if it is
to be credited.

Friday, September 19, 1862.
Everybody anxious to hear from our army. Attended prayer meeting in
evening. Received a letter from Uncle Dick.

Saturday, September 20, 1862.
Wrote a letter to Zack Wheat.

Sunday, September 21, 1862.
Had preaching in morning in the seminary chapel. Got a letter from
Uncle Dick, stating that he had his discharge papers and expected soon to
start for home. Prayer meeting in evening.

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436 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Monday, September 22, 1862.
Nothing worthy of note.

Tuesday, September 23, 1862.
Attended prayer meeting in evening. Had an interesting meeting.

Wednesday, September 24, 1862.
John H., Ben and I were discharged from the hospital and sent to the
convalescent camp. Wrote a letter home.

Thursday, September 25, 1862.
Nothing new.

Friday, September 26, 1862.
General Carroll sent over an order and had all the 7th Ind. boys sent to
his camp.

Found several of our boys there — Covert, Allison, Overstreet and others.

Saturday, September 27, 1862.
Our boys had a chance f of the small pox, which causes some uneasiness.

Sunday, September 28, 1862.
Had inspection in the morning. John H. and I took a stroll down to the
"Arlington House."

Monday, September ;29, 1862.
John H. and I tried to get a "pass" over into Washington, but failed.
Got the promise of one on the morrow.

Tuesday, September 30, 1862.
Got our pass and went over to Washington. Visited the patent office.
Spent much of the day at Cousin Newt's and took dinner there. Intended to
return tb canfip in evening, but they persuaded us to remain over night.

Wednesday, October i, 1862!.
Newt persuaded us to stay for dinner and Jennie would make us a
peach pie. Our appetites proved powerful auxiliaries to Newt's persuasion,
so we agreed to stay. Visited the Smithsonian Institute during the day and
viewed wonders and curiosities gathered from the four comers of the world.
At three p. m. returned to Newt's and partook of an old-fashioned dinner of
cabbage, peaches, potatoes anS many other good things too tedious to men-
tion— ^the whole being topped off with a magnificent "peach cobbler." It was
just such a dinner as mother gets up. Ah, it did my heart and stomach good.
Bid friends goodbye for camp.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 437

Thursday, October 2, 1862.
Sick today and not able to be out of my tent. Orderly Davis, command-
ing our squad, is also sick seriously.

Friday, October 3, 1862.
Still unable to be out my tent. Got medicine from the ist Virginia sur-
geon.

Saturday, October 4, 1862.
Feel somewhat better today — ^took no medicine.

Sunday, October 5, 1862.
More medicine today. Doctor says I have the remittent fever.

Monday, October 6, 1862.
Feel some better, but still took more "doctor's stuff."

Tuesday, October 7, 1862.
Lieutenant Thompson came into camp; says we are to go to the regi-
ment. Got orders to report at the depot in Washington in the morning.

Wednesday, October 8, 1862.
Fek very weak, but am going to go with the boys. Got into line, gave
three cheers for General Carroll, then started. I got to ride to the depot.
Waited all day for transportation. Felt very unwell toward night. Lieutenant
Thompson told me to go- to Cousin Newt Voris' and stay till well. Night
therefore finds me snugly ensconced in a feather bed at Newt's.

Thursday, October 9, 1,862.
Read a letter from pa to Newt. I find pa and ma are very uneasy in
regard to my health. Wrote a long letter home. John H. and Allison
dropped in towards evening, having had to stay all night and day at the depot.

Friday, October 10, 1862.
Think my health is improving. Wrote a letter to friend D. B.

Saturday, October 11, 1862.
In looking over the morning paper I saw a letter advertised for me. I
bolted down to the office and got it. It proved to be from home — the first for
nearly two months. The folks have nearly all been sick but are getting better.
Am still getting better.

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438 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Sunday, October 12, 1862.
Newt went to church. I did not go. It proved a gloomy, rainy day and
I almost got the blues, thinking of the hardships and dangers I must still
meet if my life is spared.

Monday, October 13, 1862.
Ugly, rainy day. Went to the postoffice, expecting to get letter, but
was disappointed. Am somewhat "blue."

Tuesday, October 14, 1862.
Today is election day in several of the states — Indiana among others-
am greatly interested in the result.

Went to postoffice, as usual, but *'nary" letter.

Wednesday, October 15, 1862.
Attended market after reading the morning paper to "pass off time."
Went to office for mail, but no letter. Am anxious to hear from home.
Weather cool and disagreeable.

Thursday, October 16, 1862.
Went out in town after reading the morning paper and spent a good part
of the day in strolling around. Came back in evening in time to read
"Abijah Beanpole," a story in Godey.

Friday, October 17, 1862.
Spent mpst of the day in trying to draw my pay, but failed to get it —
the paymaster being out of town. Saw "Batfnum's Band" with Tom Thumb
parading the streets. Returned to Newt's and found Jennie's cousins from
Pa. there ; also his brother-in-law.

Saturday, October 18, 1862.
Today went to the postoffice and lo! a letter from home! It contained
news both good and bad and something more substantial in the shape of a
"bank note." Returned to Newt's and wrote a long letter home. Health is
improving much.

Sunday, October 19, 1862.
Suffered considerably with toothache. Did not attend church. In the
evening took a stroll down town. Expect to report in the morning for the
regiment.

Monday, October 20, 1862.
With a sad heart I bid cousins Newt and Jennie farewell for the regi-
ment. After much delay I was directed to the medical director. Being the
only one reported for duty, I was sent for the present, to Epiphany hospital.
Reached the hospital at three p. m. — ^the Episcopal church.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 439

Tuesday, October 21, 1862.
Told the doctor I was not sent for medical treatment, but still he gave
me medicine.

Spent most of the day in reading *The Old Guard of Napoleon."

Had a tooth extracted.

Preaching in evening by the chaplain.

Wednesday, October 22, 1862.
Took some medicine during the day. Put in the day on the Philadelphia
Inquirer and the "Old Guard."

Preaching in evening by chaplain.

Thursday, October 23, 1862.
Finished the "Old Guard." Nothing worthy of note occurred.

Friday, October 24, 1862.
Nothing new. In evening services by chaplain.

Saturday, October 25, 1862.
CJot a pass out on the street. Called at Newt's and found Cousin Kate
there. Was much surprised and pleased to see her. Returned to hospital at
four o'clock p. m.

Sunday, October 26, 1862.
General Banks and Surgeon General Hammond visited the hospital.
Preaching in evening. Rained all day and night.

Monday, October 27, 1862.
Weather cleared oflf. Nothing new. Wrote to Charlie Smith. Received
a lot of letters from the regiment.

Tuesday, October 28, 1862.
Wrote to Zack Wheat. Nothing more.

Wednesday, October 28, 1862.
Wrote to John H. Services as usual by the chaplain.

Thursday, October 30, 1862.
Got a pass and visited Cousin Newt. Went with Kate to patent office.
Met Biers from our company in the hospital.

Friday, October 31, 1862.
Wrote a letter home. All patients in the hospital were mustered for pay.

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440 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Saturday, November i, 1862.
Hear we are all to be sent to our regiments. Minus news of any kind.

Sunday, November 2, 1862.
Commenced a letter to Uncle Harve. Had preaching in evening. Also a
visit from Cousins Newt Voris and Kate Vannuys.

Monday, November 3, 1862.
Finished and mailed my letter to Uncle Harve. Visited by Kate.

Tuesday, November 4, 1862.
Very unwell. Ate nothing scarcely all day.

Wednesday, November 5, 1862.
Some better today, but still very unwell. Nothing new.

Thursday, November 6, 1862.
All eager to hear the result of the election. Heard in evening the Demo-
crats had carried the day — ^somc jubilant, some mad.

Friday, Nevember 7, 1862.
States all gone Democratic. Nothing new. Wrote home.

Saturday, November 8, 1862.
Papers state that our regiment has been in another fight, in which Isaac
Magee, of our company, was killed. He was a good and brave soldier.

Sunday, November 9, 1862.
Paper states that McQellan has been removed, which causes a good deal
of speculation and indignation among the patients.

Monday, Nevember 10, 1862.
Drew overcoat and some other clothes from hospital stores. Much ex-
citement in consequence of McClellan's removal.

Tuesday, November 11, 1862.
No news of any importance. Was out in city on a pass.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 44I

Wednesday, November 12, 1862.
Was detailed by the steward as a clerk. Wrote in the office during the
day.

Thursday, November 13, 1862.
Wrote in office. Nothing new.

Friday, November 14, 1862.
Nothing worthy of note.

Saturday, NovemBer 15, 1862.
Visited cousins in evening. Also attended market.

Sunday, November 16, 1862.
Visited John H. in Casparis hospital. Found him sick, but improving.

Monday, Novembers 7, 1862.
Spent the day in the office.

Tuesday, November 18, 1862.
Had a visit from John H. and Kate.

Wednesday, November 19, 1862.
Gloomy, rainy day. Spent the evening at Newt's. Kate starts for home
in morning.

Thursday, November 20, 1862.
Still raining. Boys here all blue.

Friday, November 21, 1862.
Wrote all day in office. Was kept very busy.

Saturday, November 22, 1862.
Nothing new. Much excitement in consequence of Bumside's advance
on Fredericksburg.

Sunday, November 23, 1862.
Not much to do today. Visited John H. in Casparis.

Monday, November 24, 1862.
Got a letter from Billy Davis. Boys all well.

Tuesday, Novmeber 25, 862.
Wrote Billy Davis a letter. Nothing worthy of note occurred.

Wednesday, November 26, 1862.
Tried to draw my pay, but failed. No news from army. *

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442 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Thursday, November 2^, 1862.
Thanksgiving day ! Had an excellent dinner and supper, contributed by
benevolent friends.

Preaching in afternoon by chaplain and fine music by lady friends.
Everybody pleased.

Friday, November 28, 1862.
Received a visit from that most welcome of all government officials, the
paymaster. Dre\^two months' wages ($26.00). Three still due me. Wrote
home.

Saturday, November 29, 1862.
Went out in evening. Attended market. Bought a lot of apples.

Sunday, November 30, 1862.
Busy in office all day. Had. a call from Hon. McKee Dunn, M. C,
from Indiana. Said he had often heard of the **Vannuys family," etc. Had
quite a pleasant little conversation with the honorable M. C. Had a visit from
Newt Voris. Grot letter from Charlie Smith, also from Sam List. Wrote to
C. Smith.

Monday, December i, 1862.
, . Got information that our hospital is to be broken up. Nothing unusual
occurred.

Tuesday, December 2, 1862.
Visited Cousin Newt's in evening.

Wednesday, December 3, 1862.
Went to Newt's again in evening. Am trying to get a situation as clerk
in some hospital during the winter.

Thursday, December 4, 1862.
. Got orders to send convalescents to their regiments and close the hospital
soon as possible.

Friday, December 5, 1862.
Breaking up — everything in confusion. Thirty-two sent to their regi-
ments and thirty-seven to Carver hospital. Was very busy all day. Dr.
Bryan keeps me for the present. Wrote home in evening.

Saturday, December 6, 1862.
Righting things up; posting registers, etc. Steward says we will not
leave before Wednesday.

Sunday, December 7, 1862.
Did not attend church, for want of suitable clothing.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 443

Monday, December 8, 1862.
Still busy at the old church. In evening we were transferred to "13th
St. Hospital," which is still under charge of Dr. Bryan.

Tuesday, December 9, 1862.
Don't like our new quarters much — too public and inconvenient— am
still retained in the office as clerk.

Wednesday, December 10, 1862, .
Made up a lot of discharges — ^busy all day.

Thursday, December 11, 1862.
Nothing worthy of note occurred — am taking things easy.

Friday, December 12, 1862,
Got a letter from Charlie Smith ; also wrote one home.

Saturday, December 13, 1862,
Good deal of excitement in town. A dispatch came from Fredericks-
burg, announcing that the grand battle which is to determine the fate of the
Confederacy was commenced.

Sunday, J>ecember 14, 186;?.
Exciting news from the army. Our forces getting, the worst Oj£. it.
Wrote to C. Smith. - . . /

Monday, December :f5, 1862..
Took a stroll on the avenue after supper. Great excitement over news
from the army.

Tuesday, December 16/ 1862,
Nothing new worthy of note.

Wednesday, December 17, 1862.
Bumside repulsed with great slaughter. People much disheartened.

Thursday, December 18, 1862.
Wounded coming in from Fredericksburg. Much indignation manifested
against **some one*' on account of the blunder.

Friday, December 19, 1862.
Very busy all day. Mr. Cummings — our steward — is ordered off — ex-
pect I will have to shove for the regiment, as this is not a friend of mine.

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444 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Saturday, December 20, 1862.
Hospital was visited by the medical inspector and a general examination
had for discharges. Fifteen are to get discharges.

Sunday, December 21, 1862.
Busy all day making out discharges. About dusk was astonished beyond
measurement by a call from Uncle Corneal Vannuys and Newt. I went back
with them and spent the evening at Newt's ; had pleasant time ; uncle comes on
a pleasure tour. Got letters from Uncle Harve and Dick and from home.

Monday, December 22, 1862.
Visited the capitol and Smithsonian with Uncle Corneal — was in Senate
Chamber and Hall of the House and heard a speech from Senator Lane,
Spent the evening at Newt's. Wrote Sam List a letter.

Tuesday, December 23, 1862.
Nothing worthy of special note occurred. Visited the patent office with
uncle and spent the evening with him at Newt's.

Wednesday, December 24, 1862.
Went with untie to see the navy yard. Being a soldier, I am not con-
sidered entitled to the privileges of a white man ; consequently I was refused
admittance. Making great preparations for Christmas. Passed the evening
with uncle and cousins.

Thursday, December 25, 1862.
A glorious day. Everybody in the best of spirits. Had a splendid din-
ner, contributed by the ladies of Washington, and a good speech.

At this point, January i, 1863, we take up the story of Captain Van
Nuys* life from his letters to his father, John H. VanNuys. We omit all
matters of a purely personal character, but if space permitted they should be
printed in full to show how kindly was his interest in his comrades in arms,
how respectful was his devotion to his parents, and how high minded his
ambitions to serve his country. We withhold comment upon the letters given,
preferring to let the reader follow unguided this interesting story of one man's
sacrifice to his country's cause :

Washington, D. C, January 4, 1863.

Had another fine dinner on New Year's Eve of turkey, chicken, pies,
pudding, etc. Since I came tp this house I get much better grub than for-
merly, but at the expense, I guess, of other poor fellows. I eat now with the

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 445

family nurses and ward masters and get about as good provision as I would
at home.

People are a good deal exercised over the news from Rosecrans' army.
The despatches this morning are not at all favorable. If we should be de-
feated there we may as well say, "Wayward sisters depart in peace."

One of Helleck's clerks was in here a few days since. He says the Army
of the Potomac won't do any more fighting this winter. They will go into
winter quarters, make reconnoissances and demonstrations, so as to keep
Lee's army on the Rappahannock, while the fighting is done in the southwest.
I give it for what it's worth.

Washington, D. C, January ii, 1863.

Dr. Bryan got an order today to close this hospital. Ambulances will be
on hand at ten o'clock tomorrow to remove the patients to Columbian College
hospital. Don't know what is to become of me if Dr. Bryai? is placed in
charge of another hospital. I am pretty certain I can go with him. If not,
will get a recommendation from Dr. Bryan and go to the medical directors
and try to get another place. If I fail I am ready for my regiment.

Washington, D. C, January 19, 1863.

As to news, there is none worth naming. We decently whipped the rebs
at Murfreesboro — I suppose, if papers are to be trusted — and we got most
shockingly whipped at Vicksburg. So it goes — ^the scales seem evenly bal-
anced; neither party can gain any permanent advantage. The impression
seems to be general that Burnside will try his fortunes again in a few days. I
anticipate another repulse. Tell Paul just to mark it down in his day book
that the Army of the Potomac will never accomplish anything until Mac is at
its head and he will be there in less than two months.

The hospital is vacated now and the patients are scattered to the four
winds. I, with about a half dozen others, have been retained by Dr. Bryan,
to turn over the property. We expected to close shop some days since, but
red' tape is as slow as ever.

Washington, D. C, January 27, 1863.

I am still at the 13th Street Hospital; although the patients have all
been gone nearly two weeks. We have been very busy making out invoices of
property. I haven't had time to look for another place. I am not sanguine
of getting a place. A good many hospitals have been broken up and I expect
there are a surplus of fellows like myself looking for places.

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446 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Washington, D. G., February i, 1863.

I am writing this letter from Columbia College Hospital. We finished
all business at the 13th Street Hospital and I reported here last evening "as a
patient," but I am in excellent health and do not expect to take any medicfne.

I had a good recommendation from Dr. Bryan and tried to get another
situation in several offices in the city, but found they all had their full com-
plement of clerks, and consequently I am **out of business" and a candidate
for the regiment. ..u :^r . .

What think you of the late changes in the-'iVrfny of the Potomac? You
have now in command a man who will fight without doubt, but I* do not know
how he will takewith the army. He has the reputation of taking entirely too
Inuch whiskey for his own good or the good of others. I think s6 many
changes show a very weak and vacillating administration. Am fast losing
all confidence in old Abe's ability and begin to doubt his patriotism too.

Washington, D. C, February 5, 1863.
I see by the papers that the Butternuts are getting rather bold ip our
state. I am sorry that our state is taking the lead in such proceedings, but it is
nothing more than I expected. My only surprise is that they abstained so
long. We are gaining no victories and there is no prospect of any. Our
money is rapidly depreciating and the whole country is going to ruin. No
wonder the people are beginning to growl and grumble, get up demonstra-
tions and talk of peace. I notice gold is selling at 60c premium today. I
would not advise you to keep too many "greenbacks" on hand. I confess I
have not much confidence in them. I heard one of our foreign ministers
remai'k lately "that we will soon have to carry a basketful of 'greenbacks'/ to
get shaved with." '.

Camp Distribution, near Alexandria, Va., February 10, 1863.;
I write you a few lines to apprise you of my whereabouts and how I am
getting along. Last Friday my name was taken for the regiment. . Saturday
I shouldered my knapsack and was sent to the Soldiers Retreat. Sunday
morning I marched to Convalescent Camp. Here we were drawn .up into
line and those who wanted to go to their regiments were told to step. forward.
I volunteered for my regiment and was sent to this camp, which is a branch
of the Convalescent Camp, and is more familiarly known as the "Stragglers'
Camp," and here I am, waiting for transportation to the regiment. Frpm the
time I left the hospital until I reached this camp we were constantly under
guard. This is something new and certainly shows a want of confidence on

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 447

the part of the government in her soldiers. I do not know how long we will
remain here ; it is rumored we go tomorrow, but we may not go for a week —
the sooner the better.

Congress, I see, is trying to get the drafting machinery into operation
again. It is time they make some provision if they intend to prosecute the
war any further. Three hundred thousand troops go out by the first of June —
the idea of arming the niggers is played out already, and if I am not mistaken,
they cannot enforce another draft. I begin to think the war will be played
out in less than six months for want of men to continue it.

I hope to write my next from the company.

Pratts Point, Va., February 15, 1863.

I am once more with the company (Company F, 7.th Ind. Volunteers).
We left Convalescent Camp Wednesday morning and reached the regi-
ment Thursday noon ; found the boys under orders to march at three o'clock.
I just had time to roll up my blanket, get my dinner and a gun before we
started. We went to the landing, took a boat and steamed down the rivei-.
Object of the expedition was to scout around and gather forage. Towards
morning we ran aground on a sand bar and stuck fast. Towards noon we got
off. We then tried to eflfect a landing at Mattock's Creelc, but could not, on
account df the shallowness of the water. We then steamed down as far as
Nomining Bay and got aground several times while trying to land. Small
boats went ashore several times and found large quantities of wheat and corn,
but no rebels. They captured one '^contraband'' and brought him oflf as a
trophy. The oflfkers found they could not do anything with a boat as large
as ours, so we returned to camp last evening without accomplishing anything
more than the capture of the nigger. However, we bad a nice ride — the
weather was beautiful, the boys in fine spirits and we enjoyed it very much.

We are in the first army corps under General Reynolds, the first division
under General Wadsworth and the second brigade under Colonel Gavin. I
have no idea when we will march again. Hooker keeps his secrets to him-
self. I find the boys do not approve of the proclamation generally nor of
Uncle Abe*s idea of arming the negroes. They are in for anything to stop
the war, but haven't much faith in such measures accomplishing it.

Pratts Point, Va., February 23. 1863.
The weather has been verj^ disagreeable for the laist week. Saturday
night it commenced snowing and snowed all night and part of yesterday.
The snow is now seven or eight inches deep, and in some places, where it has

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44^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

drifted, much deeper, but we are in comfortable quarters and are getting
along finely. The snow and rain together I think will render any immediate
movement impossible.

General Hooker seems to be becoming more popular daily. He is a
shrewd man and understands how to get the good will of the troops. Since
he took command we have been well supplied with onions, potatoes, beans and
light bread four times a week. The picketing is done by regiment. Our regi-
ment has been on picket once since I came back. We did not see any rebs,
as we didn't go towards the Rappahaimock.

Pratts Point, Va., February 28, 1863.

I was truly glad to hear that you were in good health; also to hear of
the great reaction which is taking place in regard to the war. I think, too,
that a reaction is taking place, but unless it is sustained by speedy victories,
I fear it will soon turn against us again. You are wrong in thinking me dis-
couraged, although I see no prospect of peace at present. I am in as good
spirits as ever. I hope and think we will finally be successful if the Butter-
nuts don't raise a fire in our rear. Our superior resources and dogged ob-
stinancy will worry them out if we cannot whip them. I still think I was
right in saying three hundred thousand men go out by next June. Thirty-
eight regiments of two-year men go out in May and nearly all the boys from
the Eastern states by the last call are drafted men or nine-months' volunteers,
but the new militia bill will supply this deficiency.

Our boys are all in good health and spirits today ; they had a fine game of
ball. All the boys in the company are chess players and card playing is at a
discount.

Tomorrow we go on picket again.

Pratts Landing, Va., March 6. 1863.
You ask me if I really think McQellan ought to be entrusted with com-
mand again. All I can say is that I am not satisfied that he is not the best
general we have. He is undoubtedly the most popular. I never heard a
soldier abuse him and nothing irritates them so much as the "contemptible
denunciations" of him by the radical papers. I cannot think he is a traitor —
he has had too many good chances to place our army and Washington in the
hands of the rebels. I acknowledge that Northern traitors, shouting for Jeff
Davis and McQellan looks suspicious, but place Mc in command again and
these traitors in less than a month will be damning him as heartily as they do
old Abe now.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 449

So much in regard to McCIellan, but I am not in favor of giving him
command of this army again tmtil Hooker has been thoroughly tried. I hope
he is the coming man. He imdoubtedly will fight, but whether he is capable
of handling a large army remains to be seen.

Pratts Landing, Va., March 22, 1863.

There is no news worth noting. We have rumors of marching orders
and will have them daily imtil we do move. I do not think there will be a
general movement before the first of next month and perhaps not then. I
hope Hooker will not move until the rebs are in good condition, for it will
only be killing horses and men and accomplishing nothing. We cannot con-
quer the rebels and the elements too. The boys seem to be growing more
confident daily of whipping the rebs this simimer. They think the summer
campaign will certainly end it one way or the other. "So mote it be," I am
sorry to say that Farragut has failed to take Port Hudson. I fear our gun-
boats are losing their former prestige ; at least the rebels do not fear them as
they did a year ago.

Pratts Landing, Va., March 15, 1863.

Last Tuesday's orders were issued to brigade and regimental command-
ers to procure everything requisite for the campaign, so in one sense of the
word we are under marching orders. Hooker promises to begin a campaign
as soon as he can move a wagon. . The weather has been clear and quite
March-like for some days, but the mud is too deep to move yet.

When does the new conscript take place ? How many are to be drafted
in Indiana? There is much interest manifested by the boys in that draft. Is
Mr. Smith over forty-five ? I notice ministers are not exempted. John Hen-
derson says they are needed more than any other class of people.

Pratts Landing, Va., April 5, 1863.

The ''Grand Review" came off last Thursday. Our division was review-
ed by General Hooker and staff. Old Joe, of course, was the center of at-
traction. He is a much younger and healthier-looking man than I expected to
see. General Wads worth was on hand, too. He reminds me very much of
Uncle Billy Sickles.

General Cutler, commanding our brigade, is liked very well so far.

Governor Morton paid us a short visit on last Sabbath evening. We
were drawn up in line and he made us a short patriotic speech and then re-

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4SO JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

turned to Meredith's headquarters. About nine p. m. we were again formed
in line, and accompanied by the band, marched over and serenaded him. He
and Meredith made us very complimentary speeches and we wound up with
cheers for Morton, Meredith, Hooker, Old Abe and the Union. Thus passed
our Sabbath evening.

We see no more prospect of a move than there was two weeks since. I
suppose they are getting things in readiness, so that when we do go there will
be no waiting for pontoons, supplies, etc. They are supplying the army with
mules and pack saddles in places of wagons, two to each regiment. I suppose
they are for the accommodation of the officers. It is rumored that each
company is to have two mules to carry camp equipage and four *'contra-
bands" to cook.

Pratts landing, Va., March 29, 1863.

I suppose we are on the eve of important events. Hooker has issued
orders, warning officers to send their wives and extra baggage to the rear by
the first of April,'as no opportunity will be given after that date. The boys
interpret this as a declaration that we move at that time. I suppose a few
days will determine where we strike and how. Hooker keeps his plans to
himself, and we haven't the slightest idea of what he intends doing. It is
said the rebs are nearly all gone from Fredericksburg. We see Lowe's bal-
loon every day or so reconnoitering.

General Cutler took command of our brigade a few days since. He was
formerly colonel of the 6th Wisconsin and was made brigadier with the last
batch of appointments.

Gavin has gone home. He is still suffering from his wound and since
he failed to get a brigadiership will, I fear, resign.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sheeks has resigned and is also home, so Major
Grover is the only field officer we have with us.

Yesterday we were to have had a review of our corps, but it rained all
day and .it was postponed. The boys are very well satisfied with the result,
for these "grand reviews" are nothing but grand bores.

Sunday today, but no preaching.

Pratts Landing, Va., April 12, 1863.

We are still in camp. We are laying here much longer than I supposed

we would. Mac moved a month earlier last spring. However, we do not

complain, for we know what it is to flounder around in the mud. I think we

will move in a very few days. Furloughs to general officers and regimental

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JOH^^SON COUNTY, INDIANA. 45I

commanders were stopped yesterday. Our blacksmiths are working today
(Sunday) shoeing horses and mules and our pioneer corps have orders to be
ready to march tomorrow. Still we know nothing definite and may not move
for some days.

Last Thursday our corps was reviewed by President Lincoln and Hooker.
Uncle Abe is as homely as his pictures represent him ; in fact the ugliest man
I ever saw, except H. S. Lane.

Last Friday we had a general muster to ascertain how many conscripts
would be required to fill the regiment. Our company wants nineteen. It will
take three hundred or more to fill the regiment. Cutler is becoming very
strict with us. We have inspection once a day and sometimes twice. We are
compelled to keep our guns in good order and wear clean clothes or do all the
dirty work about camp. Some of the boys grumble, but I think it a fine thing.
It keeps up discipline and keeps the boys in healthy condition.

We have kept up our prayer meetings regularly twice a week all winter.
There are usually fifteen or twenty present and we have very interesting
meetings. Today I intend attending preaching in the 9Sth New York.

Pratts Landing, Va., April 17, 1863.

Our corps is still in camp. The cavalry has gone somewhere — don't
know where, and it is said some of the corps also are moving. I suppose the
whole army would now be in motion had it not stormed Tuesday night and
Wednesday. Camp is full of rumors of all kinds. It is said our cavalry have
had a big fight, capturing five hundred prisoners. Murfreesboro has been
taken; rebs all gone from Fredericksburg, etc., but you know much more about
the true state of affairs than we do. We never know anything until it is all
over and then we do not know half.

Today we were paid off — drew four months' pay. Captain intends going
to Aquia Creek tomorrow and express home all the boys want to send. I
send you forty-five dollars. I suppose it will be sent to Eph Jeffery or J. L.
Jones. You can call and get it and make the best disposition of it you can.

We found a seine while out on picket, went to the Potomac, hauled off
our clothes and hauled out a fine lot of fish. Our squad, including the Hope-
well boys, took in a rebel deserter. He belonged to Jackson's army.

Pratts Landing, Va., April 22, 1863.
Contrary to my expectations. Wednesday morning finds us in our old
camp. We have been expecting orders to move every hour for two or three

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452 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

days. General Doubleday's division of our corps moved to King George
Court House last Monday. Griffin's division was to move yesterday, but we
are still here. Suppose our turn will come today ot tomorrow. Yesterday
our sick were sent off, Sloan among others.

I received yours of the 12th a few days since. You had not yet re-
ceived that document (referring to his application for a commission) I sent
you. Have you got it yet? Do you think you can do anything with it? My
knapsack is getting very heavy.

We are just in from company drill. They are now detailing eight men
from each company for picket ; they are ordered to carry their knapsacks and
eight days' rations with them. It is hard marching with such a load and will
break down many before the campaign is fairly opened.

You speak of me seeking for promotion, so I will state my prospects and
ask your advice. Our Adjutant "Baily" goes on General Berry's staff, as as-
sistant adjutant-general. This leaves the adjutancy in our regiment vacant.
Captain Wolfe has been courtmartialed and cashiered for drunkenness; this
leaves a vacant captaincy. I can say that I stand high — with the field officers
and I think I can get either position; what shall I take? If I take the cap-
taincy I will be the junior captain (iiith in rank) will go to Company B — ^,
pretty hard company — and have a N. Y. rough for ist lieutenant (a tolerably
good fellow, however). An adjutant ranks as first lieutenant, has an easy
and honorable position ; is not responsible for any property, and is entitled to
a horse — ^which he provides himself. An adjutant does no duty of any kind,
not connected with his own Dept. ; he has much better .opportunity to post
himself, for he is compelled to understand all company and regimental busi-
ness. I have known adjutants to refuse a captaincy. The senior captain is
usually promoted to major when a vacancy occurs, but a faithful adjutant is
sometimes promoted to that position over the captains. The pay of an adju-
tant is $120.00 per month. Captain gets the same pay with an extra $10 per
month for care of property; which shall I take? provided I can have my
choice, for such things in army are exceedingly uncertain.

Pratts Landing, Va., April 26, 1863.
We are still in our old camp. I have missed it so often of late that I
won't prophesy again as to when we will march. Doubleday's division has
returned to their old quarters. They made a forced march to the lower
Rappahannock, pretended to throw pontoons across the river and then re-
turned to camp. I suppose it was a feint to cover a movement somewhere else.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 453

•

Tha'e has been a good deal of excitement among the boys of late on the
negro question. Some of our officers propose furnishing enough volimteers
from our regiment to officer a regiment of darkies. They have sent a petition
to the secretary of war and the names of those willing to take commissions.
Lieutenant Holmes, Sergeants Branch and Daniels and James Fisher volun-
teered from our company. I was urged to give my name for a second lieu-
tenancy, but refused for several reasons. I ain't hardly enough of an aboli-
tionist yet to go that far, but I believe I would have gone into* it if I could
have persuaded any of our boys to it. Two of our best captains are at the
head of it and it is daily becoming very popular with the boys. What would
the people of Johnson county think of a fellow who would descend so low as
to command "niggers ?"

You ask if we get anything from the sanitary commission. Troops in
the field do not. Contributions are sent to the sanitary commission in Wash-
ington and are distributed to the hospitals, which are pretty well supplied
with jellies, canned and dried fruits, and such articles, by the commission.
We have fared as well for the last three months as we would with an abund-
ance of such delicacies. It cannot be said that Hooker has not fed us well, and
this is one cause of his popularity.

Camp Near Rappahannock River, Va., May 8, 1863.

Yours of the 30th inst., stating your want of success with Governor Mor-
ton, came in a few hours since. I was much disappcwinted. I did not suppose
you would succeed unless new regiments were formed, and that does not
seem to be the policy of the government. You say Morton and Noble offer
to recommend me for a commission in an African regiment and ask if I
would be willing to accept such a position. I would prefer a white regiment,
but would take a place in an African regiment if offered.

I refused to sign the petition gotten n^ in our re^^cnt, not because xxdf
principles opposed it, but because I had no faith in it succeeding, being signed
by no one higher than a captain, and secondly because the public sentiment at
home was such that one embarking in such an enterprise would be considered
without the pale of decent society. Such I know was the case a year ago.

If you and Uncle Doc think there is any reasonable prospect of succeed-
ing in getting me a commission in a colored regiment, have time to spare and
are willing to make the effort, I will accept if you succeed.

Camp White Oak Church, Va., May 10, 1863.
We are now in camp near the river, about five miles below Fredericks-

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454 JOHNSON- COUNTY, INDIANA.

burg. Officers are putting up quarters and things indicate that we will remain
here some days, unless the rebs take the offensive. It is said they have been
largely reinforced and many think they will make for Washington again and
give us Bull Run No. 3, but we used them up too badly for them to make a
move of that kind. Had it not been for the disaster to the 6th corps we would
have had greatly the advantage of them. As it was, I think we had much the
best of it. Their loss in killed and wounded is undoubtedly greater than
ours. Just to our left they charged in our lines thirteen times — on Sunday —
and our batteries mowed them down by regiments with double charges of
cannister. Prisoners say the slaughter was truly awful. Don't think our
force was near all engaged. The loss in our corps was very small. In our
regiment three were wounded, one since died. The 27th Indiana — in another
corps-^had 165 killed, wounded and prisoners; the regiment acted very hand-
somely, it is said.

I suppose it will require some time to reorganize our army. The time of
nine months' and two-years' men is about over and I suppose they will be
mustered out. There are thirty-five regiments of two-years' men ; don't know
how many nine months. There are five regiments of the latter in our division.
The army, as far as I am able to judge, is still in excellent condition. Confi-
dence in Hooker is not impaired. Hopewell boys all well.

Camp Seventh Indiana Volimteers, May 15, 1863.

We are still in camp, but uncertain how long we remain. We had orders
last night to be under arms at daylight. We were ready at the appointed
time, but are still here and no prospect of moving today. It is said three
hundred rebels came over this morning and gave themselves up, and I suppose
our alarm arose from that fact — if fact it was.

Since our late battles gamWing has increased to an alarming extent. It
biecanie^a'conlmoil that 'you ccmlii not go into the woods without finding a
party under nearly every tree. This morning orders were read from Wads-
worth and Cutler, strictly prohibiting it. Offenders hereafter are to be
severely punished. 1

None of our boys have been engaged in it. Hof)ewell hasn't a single
card player in our company. Boys all seem as steady and moral as when at
home. Cutler has ordered company and regimental drills be resumed. Quite
a number of regiments whose time is up have gone home. Doubleday's entire
division, excepting two regiments, go out in a few days. Why isn't the gov-
emmerii drafting men to fill their place?

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 455

Camp Seventh Indiana Volunteers, May 21, 1863.

We are in the same old camp, with no prospects of moving and nine
months and two years boys are going home rapidly. It is said that there will
not be more than one division left in our corps when all are gone. The re-
cruits are put in other regiments. A recruit has to serve three years. When
the time of his regiment is up he is transferred to another regiment. It
causes much dissatisfaction among the recruits, as they expected to go out
with the others.

Since I last wrote we have been out on picket. Had a fine time with the
rebel pickets. They stood on one bank and we on the other of the Rappa-
hannock, only fifty to a hundred yards between us. We were forbidden to
hold any communication with them, but 'twas no use, the boys would talk
and trade. The rebs (Georgians) would fill a board with tobacco, trinkets
of various kinds, then swim over, pushing the board with them. Coffee,
knives, gold pens, anything we had they wanted. Our boys always got double
prices. Common knives they said were worth five or six dollars, pens worth
$2.50 with us they paid five dollars for. Quite a number of the boys got silver
finger rings. Jim Bone exchanged his testament with one of them.

The Seventh Louisiana Tigers also were opposite us. It was one of the
three regiments pitted against ours at Port Republic. They were not so
friendly as the Georgians, but a talkative old Irishman said we "gave them the
devir' at that place — killed their lieutenant-colonel and 150 men — said that
every man in the regiment shot at the man on the gray horse (meaning
Colonel Gavin).

Camp Seventh Indiana Volunteers, May 2y, 1863.

As to news, I haven't much worth writing. Officers have been dashing
about and wagon trains coming and going all day. I suppose, from what I
see, a general move is on the tapis. The 8th corps from Baltimore is said to
have arrived yesterday. It is reported that the rebels are falling back on
Richmond, and, if true, I suppose their movement is the cause of our present
orders. We have the news that Vicksburg is ours, but none of the details
after the battle at Baker's Creek. Grant has done some smashing business
there. Hope he has captured their entire army ; perhaps it would force them
to take the offensive here.

Yesterday I had a visit from Arch Voris. He came very unexpectedly,
but nevertheless was very welcome. Same old Arch yet in spite of shoulder
straps.

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4S6 . JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

This morning our regiment was out on picket. Not being well, I was
excused.

Wadsworth is now in Washington; General Meredith is in command of
the division; Cutler is pff somewhere, and Colonel Biddle of the 95th N. Y.
commands the brigade.

How I wish I was home to take care of things this summer, but this
must be done, and trusting in God, I will try and do my duty faithfully.

Camp Seventh Indiana Volunteers, May 31, 1863.

Contrary to my expectation, we are still in camp. Our marching orders
turned out a **flash in the pan." Commissary stores and everything else al-
most were laid up and remained so for several days. I see no signs of mov-
ing now, but we are liable to leave at any moment. A rebel movement of
some kind is undoubtedly going on, but whether they intend attacking us or
are preparing for another raid on Washington and into Maryland, or arc
falling back on Richmond, no one seems to know. If Grant has Vicksburg, I
guess the latter surmise is correct. I hope they are going to take the offensive.
Would like to see them try Washington again and get them over into Mary-
land. If we can get them on our own soil again they will not fare as well as
they did before.

Cutler and Wadsworth are both back again. Yesterday we had corps
review ; marched out of camp at six a. m. ; got up at four, cleaned our guns
and got things in order.

Camp Seventh Indiana Volunteers, June 5, 1863.

We are hourly expecting to march. Several times during the last few
days we have had orders to move, but each time they were countermanded.
The pontoon trains are now at the river — some say are across it. Troops
have been moving toward the river all day ; it is even said our men are over
the river and the rebels are all gone ; how true these reports are I cannot say,
but it seems to me it is madness to attempt to cross if the rebels are still there;
they are so strongly fortified that I fear they can never be whipped by an at-
tack from the front ; the only way to get at them is in their flank or rear. The
news from Vicksburg seems not very encouraging. Grant has a heavy job
on hand, and before he cuts through those fortifications I fear Johnson will
cut through and demolish him.

Centerville, Va., June 16, 1863.

We left camp 12th and reached here yesterday. Came by way of War-
renton Junction. It was an exceedingly hard march, but I made it as well as

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 457

the best of them. We are now in the Centerville fortifications. They say
we leave tonight — guess for Maryland. Another Pope affair.

Camp Seventh Indiana Volunteers, Frying Pan, Va., June 22, 1863.

We have had some very tough marching. The weather, until within the
last two or three days, has been very warm. A great many cases of sunstroke
occurred — several of them proving fatal. Sam narrowly escaped it. Yester-
day our regiment left our brigade within eight miles of Leesburg. We were
seftt back to this place to act as guards and hunt guerillas. This vicinity is
much infested by them; several of our wagons have been captured. After
getting here yesterday we sent out scouting parties, who succeeded in captur-
ing fifteen old citizens ; last night they were sent to General Reynolds' head-
quarters. Of course they protest their innocence, but I have no doubt they are'
guilty. We have not been in any fight or skirmish yet. There was a heavy
battle yesterday, I think in the direction of Snicker's Gap. We heard the
cannonading very distinctly. We know nothing about the whereabouts of
the rebels. Three corps of our army are in this region of country ; don't know
whether there are any more or not. Can't think the rebs are pushing into
Pennsylvania very fast or we would be pushing after them. Guess their
object is to get supplies and scare old Joe out of his reckoning. Yesterday I
received a permit from adjutant-general to appear before the board in Wash-
ington for examination. This morning the permit and application fof a pass
to Washington were enclosed by the colonel to General Reynolds. I fear in
the confusion of moving the "permit" may be lost, but there was no other
chance. I can't get to Washington w^ithout a pass and can't get a pass without
the "permit" goes with the application. Should I get to Washington I will be
examined vigorously by a board, of which Major General Casey is president.
Casey is a strict disciplinarian, so you can see my prospects are not particularly
bright.

Jeffersontown, Md., June 27, 1863.

While "Will Resting" I write a line. We are now in the Cumberland
Valley, moving towards South Mountain. Left Frying Pan day before yes-
terday. Came by Edwards Ferry, Poolsville, Bamstow, Greenfield and
Adamstown. Hopewell boys all well and with us except Henderson. He is
riding in the ambulance and is quite sick. Complains of giddiness and weak-
ness. Liver is out of order. Davis, Holmes and Jeffrey with us. Sam well.
All expect a big fight in here some place.

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4.S8 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Emmettsburg, Md., June 30, 1863.

While halting for dinner I write you a line. We are moving north into
Penn. Reached this place about an hour ago. Our regiment is Corp Main
guard and I suppose we are several miles in the rear of our corps. There are
a thousand rumors flying as to the whereabouts, strength and intentions of
the rebels. It is said they have Harrisburg, but don't believe it, but one thing
is certain, Lee is in downright earnest and may do a great deal of mischief.
But still I am glad the war is transferred from Va. to Penn. We now have
every advantage, and if we can't whip them on our own ground let us give in
at once. I am confident our own men will fight much more willingly here
than in Virginia — there is something worth fighting for here.

It is rumored that Hooker has been relieved— some say only temporarily.
Meade appears to be commanding now; if it proves true and Meade is to be
our commander, I fear there will be much dissatisfaction.

Haven't had mail or papers for some days. Think we will get mail t^is
evening. Therefore we are destitute of news. I hear just now that ''George
B. McClellan is commander-in-chief of the land forces of the U. S." If tr^e
it will cause great enthusiasm in the army of the Potomac. Strange how the
army admires that man. I am not as much for little Mac as I was before I
read "McClellan — who he is and what he has done/' by George Wilkes.

Gettysburg, Pa., July 5, 1863. (9:00 a. m.)
Have had another great battle and are victorious. Our regiment was
not engaged on first day, our division being left behind by General
Reynolds for Train guard. Were engaged Thursday night and Friday morn-
ing. John Shutters of our company was wounded through thigh — not badly.
None others in our company hurt. Two killed and five wounded in the
regiment. We are now in line, expecting to advance on the enemy. I have,
through a merciful Providence, escaped unhurt. All our boys are present
and well — Covert, Good, Dunlap, Trout, Sam List, Bone. Jim Dunlap is
behind.

Emmettsburg, Md., July 6, 1863.
I wrote you a line yesterday, stating we were in line of battle, expecting
to renew the engagement. We soon found out that Lee had "evacuated,"
leaving us in possession of the battlefield, all their dead, many wounded, and
an immense number of small arms. It is the most decisive repulse they havie
received from the army of the Potomac since the war commenced. Our
men acted entirely on the defensive after the first day's fighting, we being

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 459

behind breastworks and the rebs charging us. Their loss was very heayy^,^
as they had to advance over an open field, nearly half mile in width. More
artillery was engaged than was ever before used in one battle on this con-
tinent. Yesterday we buried the dead, gathered up arms, etc. This morning
we left Gettysburg. We are now near Emmettsburg — ^have lain here two
hours. No idea what comes next. None in our company hurt except Shut-
ters— wounded in leg, not badly. Two killed and five wounded in regiment.
Sam Covert, Good, Bone, Herriott, Ransdall, Allison, Trout, Davis, Holmes
and Jeffery all present and well.

Camp 7th Ind. Vols., Near Funkstown, Md., July ii, 1863.

I last wrote you from Emmettsburg. We left that place the 7th in pur-
suit of **Johnny Rebs/' crossed the Catoctin Mountains and Cumberland
Valley reaching South Mountain pass the evening of the 8th. Our forces
were there drawn up in battle order, expecting an attack from the enemy.
The rebs failing to pitch into us, our forces advanced yesterday morning.
The rebs fell back slowly imtil they reached Funksto^yn, w*here they seemed
disposed' to make a stand. Our forces were drawn up in line of battle ancl
things remain in statu quo still. In the afternoon considerable artillery firing
and skirmishing took place. No firing yet this morning. Our brigade is in
the rear. Troops in front 'have thrown up breastworks. Only
a portion of our army is here — ^perhaps three corps. It is said four
corps have gone up the river towards Sharpsburg. Some of the boys expect
a heavy battle today or tomorrow ; it may take place but i doubt it ; think Lee
is over the river on his way to Richmond rejoicing. Correspondents state
that Lee's pontoons are destroyed, communications cut off and his capture
very probable, &c., but any one with a grain of common sense knows Lee is
too shrewd to be without the means of retreat — if it should be necessary.
Stories about the killing, wounding and capturing of half of Lee's army are
nothing but senseless cards. We whipped them handsomely at Gettysburg
ind our cavalry have harrassed and damaged them a great deal on their re;
treat, cutting out trains and stragglers, but Lee has an army yet and one to9
wot to be despised.

It is reported this morning that our regiment is to be transferred to the
lith corps and the ist goes to Baltimore to recruit. The boys are much
exercised over the report, swear they won't have anything to do with "D— d
CO wAtdly Dutch." If it prove true, it will be very unjust. Other regiments
are rewarded for their men "playing off" straggling and deserting, with rest,
while ours, because' we have more pluck and keep our ranks full, is kept

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460 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

constantly in the field. This was the case when we left Carroirs brigade a
year ago.

Washington, D. C, July 21, 1863.

Last Saturday morning I received my papers orlering me to Washington
for examination. The boys were just starting across the river (at Berlin).
I watched them till they touched the sacred soil, then jumped aboard the
cars and reached here same evening. Yesterday I reported to the board,
but there are so many applicants that I can't get an examination until to-
morrow. Examinations are conducted privately, and are exceedingly rigid,
extending to grammar, geography, mathematics, ethics, history, &c. The
examination on tactics is very close. One of the clerks said about one out of
a hundred applicants succeeded — ^but I think he is certainly mistaken. I saw
a dozen or fifteen applicants this morning, most of them very civil, intelligent
fellows — in fact was very agreeably surprised in them.

I am not at all confident of succeeding. I am laboring under disad-
vantages. Have had no drilling for six weeks or more and we have, been
marching so constantly that I have not had time to even look at tactics — con-
sequently I am quite rusty. If I don't succeed it will be no disgrace and I
won't regret my trip here; but I intend to do my best. I go bade to the
regiment after examination and if the board report fav^orably I will be notified
of it by mail in eight or ten days.

Jennie starts for Indiana in morning; her health is poor, hence her
visit. She doesn't know whether she will visit Johnson or not. Newt still
in Treasury Department. They are preparing to draft here soon.

Distribution Camp, Va., July 28, 1863.

Expect to leave for regiment at eight o'clock in morning. Rations are
drawn for us and I guess there is no doubt but we will go. On last Sunday
our corps and the nth and 12th were in camp near Warrenton Junction.
I supose we will take the cars to that place and find them somewhere
on the Rappahannock. Will Greene and Jim Brown of our company are both
here and are going with me — so I won't want for company.

I got my examination on Thursday, was examined closely in tactics,
mathematics, geograiAy, history and business correspondence — don't know
what the result is — ^will not be surprised if it is unfavorable, though I think
I acquitted myself with honor.

Warrenton Junction, Va., July 30, 1863.

I left Convalescent Camp yesterday morning, took the cars at Alexandria
and reached the regiment without accident before night. I found the boys

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 461

in camp and all well: they reached this place on Saturday. Several corps
are camped in this vicinity and two or three between us and the Rappahannock.
The railroad is repaired and the cars run now beyond this place. The boys
had some tough marching, the weather has been very hot; last night we had
a fine rain and today it is cool and pleasant All the regiments, except those
from the West, are sending details after conscripts. Don't know why western
regiments get none. Suppose they think we can rtm down another set of
eastern dandies without help. I pity the poor conscripts — ^they will see hard
times. The boys will give them no peace.

Baltimore, Md., September 12, 1863,
The colonel has commenced the organization of another regiment here,
we have two companies full. The major went out to Frederick City last
week and enlisted a brass band — full member — the picnic furnished means to
get them instruments. They play very well and form quite an attraction to
our dress parade. At first our parade and drills were witnessed only by
colored people, but we now have a good number of respectable white visitors.
Since I last wrote several new officers have reported for duty — nearly
all from the West — one a ist Lieutenant from Nebraska. Of five captains
present, four are from the West and one from Buenos Ayres, S. A. Lieuten-
ants are nearly all from New York. I have not learned the result of Amzi
examination — guess it will fail.

Sam wrote me that John Miller, Dr. Donnell's nephew, was also at
Washington, undergoing an examination. Miller is a sharp boy and unless
rejected on the score of health, will undoubtedly go through.

Briney Barracks, Baltimore, Md., September 20, 1863.
We are still in Baltimore— drilling — receiving more recruits in the way
of officers — and getting things in readiness for field service. As yet we
do not know our destination, but of course we go somewhere on the southern
coast — ^perhaps not farther south than Portsmouth. I understand the ist
regiment is at that place, erecting fortifications. Since I last wrote we have
been reviewed by Major-General Schenck and staff. Reviews almost invaria-
bly bring marching orders — but it failed this time. I think the General was
well pleased with our appearances. We were also marched through the prin-
cipal streets of Baltimore by Col. Briney, to show the citizens what we could
make out of the darkies. The ^'Clipper" gave us credit for making a very
soldierly display and adds that " a few such displays will do much towards
disarming prejudice existing against colored troops." Col. Briney is organ-

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462 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

izing a second regiment here: he has already between 300 and 400 men.
It makes the 7th regiment for this department. We have received a number
of new officers during the last week. Field officers are all here. Our Colonel
hails from New Hampshire — 'his name is Duncan — he was formerly Major
of the 14th New Hampshire Volunteers. I think from the little acquaintance
I have with him that he is a fine man. My Captain reported about two hours
since. He come from Illinois, making the third captain from that state;
believe he was in the "three months service.'' I take him to be a very intelli-
gent, nice man, but I fear he is deficient in military knowledge. His name
is **A. G. Crawford" — ^he is a teacher by occupation. The two captains have
not yet reported. We have a chaplain, a colored man. He is a pastor of the
most wealthy and aristocratic church in Baltimore. He preached as fine a
sermon last Sabbath as I ever heard from any chaplain.

Yorktown, Va., November 20, 1863.
I see Meade is beginning to move again and there is a prospect of some-
thing being done — either a battle or another skedaddle. If Meade intends
fight, now is the time to strike. Lee is playing his old game again, keeping
up the appearance of a large force, while the main part of his army has gone
to assist Bragg and use up Burnside. I hope Meade will make him pay dearly
for his temerity, but dqn't suppose he will, as by so doing, he would assist
Grant — which is not the policy of our generals. Butler has assumed com-
mand of this department and corps (i8th). I am well pleased with the
change, and he is very popular with all. He is expected to review the troops
here in a few days. Last Sunday we were reviewed by General Wistar; our
regiment and the 6th did exceedingly well, for the ppportunities we have had
(so outsiders say). Our two companies at Williamsburg were in a brush a
few days since, in which it is said they did splendidly. A foraging party was
sent out by Col. West, consisting of 60 men from our companies and 60 from
the 139th New York, with 10 wagons. The men were all put in the wagons
when out about three miles from Williamsburg, eight shots were fired at them
from a thicket, the 139th doys crouched down like whipped puppies and didn't
fire a shot, while our fellows jumped out of the wagon, put a volley into the
thicket, and without any orders whatever, charged right in after them; the
Bushwhackers beat a hasty retreat, so that none of them were caught; but
one of them had to leave his overcoat and hat. Our fellows, thinking it
a man, gave it a volley, putting 15 holes through the coat. This tale comes
from the 139th boys, who say the "darkies ran in like they were hunting
rabbits."

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 463

Yorktown, Va., January 3, 1864.

Holidays, like Sundays, are unknown in the army. Ma's box hasn't
made its appearance yet, which has proved a great disappointment to me. I
suppose we can recover the worth of it if it is lost, but I would much rather
have the box than the money.

Yorktown, Va., January 10, 1864.

Everything remains in "statu quo." The nth Connecticut Volunteers
have re-enlisted in the veteran corps and go home in a day or so. It is the
chat at headquarters that we take their place. They are now garrisoning
Fort Gloucester on Gloucester Point.

One of our pickets a few nights since shot a Bushwhacker. The fellow
came out of the bushes and fired at the darkey, who immediately returned the
compliment — next morning they found the Bushwhacker dead with g^n in
hand. This took place at Williamsburg. We don't furnish any pickets here.

The work on the fortifications progresses slowly ; bad weather prevents us
working more than two or three hours a week.

Last week five or six of our officers met and organized a little prayer
meeting, to meet weekly (Thursday nights). Their names are: Chaplain
Hunter, Surgeon Mitchell, Captains Crawford, Maltby and Parrington and
Lieutenant Earner and myself — all church members — the Chaplain and Sur-
geon are Methodists, Captain Maltby a Congregationalist, Captain Crawford
a United Presbyterian, Lieutenant Earner I think is an Episcopalian — a fine
fellow anyway — ^left a $1,400 clerkship in Washington to accept his present
position.

I see in the "Times" (N. Y.) that Indiana's quota is full, so I suppose the
draft did not take place. This speaks well for Hoosier patriotism. And
Senator Howe proposes calling out 1,000,000 men for ninety days — ^to liber-
ate prisoners, &c. All I have to say is that he is making himself appear
supremely ridiculous. It is a most laudable object, but men can't be drilled
so as to be prepared to take the field in three months — ^much less take Rich-
mond— better call out half a million for three years.

Gloucester, Point, Va., January 17, 1864.
In my last I spoke of the probability of our regiment going to Glouces-
ter. The nth Connecticut left for home last week and on Wednesday our
regiment moved over and took their place. Our company was left behind
for a few days to guard some property. Companies are all over now and we
are stationed inside the fort. We are in every way much better situated than

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464 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

we were over the river — excepting the officers — ^we don't find tents quite so
convenient or comfortable as our houses were but still we are getting along
finely. Lieutenant AH)leton and I have a very good wall tent

Duty will be somewhat heavier here, as we have some picketing to do,
and also some fatigue. To give you some idea of an officer's expenses, I will
say that boarding costs us five dollars a week and clothing is proportionately
high. Don't know how long we will remain here.

Yorktown, Va., January 24, 1864.

When I last wrote, our regiment was over at Gloucester Point Last
Tuesday we were relieved by the i6th New York Artillery and ordered back
to our old camp; the next day the sth Colored Troops arrived from Ports-
mouth and a brigade was organized under command of Col. Duncan. The
brigade consists of our regiment and the 5th and 6th. Adjutant Bailey goes
on the Colonel's staff as Acting Adjutant-General and Quartermaster Wilber
as brigade quartermaster. I have been detailed as acting adjutant and Lieut.
Barnes as acting quartermaster. The whole arrangement is temporary and
should a brigadier come we will all gracefully subside to our former posi-
tions. The new kind of business comes a little awkward, but I think I will
like it very well. An officer on staff duty temporarily is entitled to a horse,
so I made out my requisition for one, which came back this evening ap-
proved. Tomorrow, if the post quartermaster has any, I will get one.

Lieut Col. Rogers retiu-ned this evening. He has been home on 20 days
leave of absence. It is rumored that we are to have another raid, and from
the preparation they are making, I think it very probable. Several regiments
have come up from Fortress Monroe and Newport News last week. You
will probably soon hear of us about Bottoms Bridge and the Chickahominy.

Yorktown, Va., January 31, 1864.
I got my horse from the quartermaster, but failed to get my equipment.
Will supply myself the first raid we make. We had quite an exciting little
affair in camp today, in the shape of a fight between our regiment and the
6th — ill feeling has existed between the men of the regiments for some time,
so today the 6th pitched in to our boys, half a dozen of them, and took some
wood from them which they were carrying to camp. Our regiment, seeing
the game, broke over the guard line and went to the rescue ; the 6th followed
suit, and the consequence was a free fight, in which a good portion of both
regiments was engaged; sticks, rocks and bricks flew around in the most
lively manner. Our boys soon drove them back over their guard line and we

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 465

then managed to stop it. Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt, though a
good many were badly bruised.

Camp Fourth U. S. Colored Troops, Yorkton, Va., February 21, 1864.

I forget whether I wrote about the 22d Colored Troops joining our
brigade. They came in about ten days since from Philadelphia. Their colonel
was formerly colonel of the 137th Penn. nine months. Vols. I saw him at the
battle of Chancellorsville. We have four regiments now in the brigade. The
6th has temporarily been detached and sent to Williamsburg. Colonel Dun-
can and Colonel Ames (of the 6th) are now on board of examination for in-
competent officers; the board is sitting in Yorktown. Colonel Draper of the
2d North Carolina Colored Volunteers, has had the name of his regiment
changed to the U. S. C. T. and has had his officers ordered before this board
for examination. The result is two-thirds of them will be recommended for
discharge for incompetency. Colonel Rogers has. made application to have
three or four of our officers cited to appear for examination by them. Two
more of our captains have gotten themselves into hot water. Captain Maltby
has been recommended by Colonel Rogers. Colonel Duncan and General
Wistar, to General Butler for dismissal, for giving the countersign to his
sister while here on a visit. He asked to be allowed to resign and his resigna-
tion was approved by all the commanders at this post. It is now in Butler's
hands ; don't know what disposal he will make of him.

Charges have been preferred against Captain Dillenback for making a
false return of clothing. These charges are also in Butler's hands, and it re-
mains to be seen what action he will take. No recommendations have been
made yet to fill the vacancy in "B" Co. ; think under the circumstances I will
take the captaincy, providing always I can get it.

I have nothing new or very interesting to write. We follow the same
monotonous routine day after day — Company drill in forenoon, battalion
drill in afternoon, with fatigue every third day — since I have been Acting
Adjutant I escape all but battalion drill.

Today we had our Sunday inspection in forenoon and this afternoon
Lieut. Barnes and I went out riding — went half way to Williamsburg and then
back again, and got into camp just in time for dress parade.

Last week we finished our church and tonight the men are holding a
prayer meeting in it. They are very excitable and demonstrative in their
worship; they are now singing, and I think with a favorable wind, they would

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466 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

be heard five miles. Officers have been busy with their pay rolls for several
days; tomorrow we are to be mustered for pay, for January and February.
Captain Maltby's resignation has been accepted, and he has been honorably
discharged from the service. This makes two vacant captaincies in the regi-
ment. As yet no measures have been taken to fill them. Col. Rogers prom-
ises to forward recommendations in a few days. Wolfe, after being cashiered,
went to Washington and has been trying to get reinstated. He writes home
to Monmouth, where Crawford comes from, that he has succeeded, but I don't
believe it. I see Grant has all his columns in motion again except Schofield.
I fear Sherman will meet with disaster before he reaches supplies; his move-
ment is the boldest of the war so far — not excepting Wistar's late Richmond
raid. It would be a grand thing if Grant should demolish Polk's and
Johnston's armies, and then cap the climax by taking Richmond and Lee in
rear, while the army of the Potomac lies snug in winter quarters.

Getty Station, Va., March 7, 1864.

Since I last wrote you we have been constantly on the move. Last Tues-
day we marched with four days' rations up the peninsula to meet Kilpatrick.
We left camp at four o'clock and marched all night, through a cold, drench-
ing rain most of the time and over heavy roads. We reached New Kent
Court House next day at three o'clock — marching forty-three miles in twenty-
three hours. We met Kilpatrick's forces near Baltimore Crossroad, and we
returned to Yorktown Saturday.

Our brigade was the first colored troops they had seen and of course
they regarded us with much curiosity, bqt they manifested a very friendly
spirit, cheered lustily as they passed, and assured us if we had been with them
they would have gone into Richmond "like a D — ^n.'*

Shortly after getting into camp on Saturday we were ordered to march
again; this time we went in a new direction. Saturday night we took trans-
ports and next morning found ourselves at Portsmouth. We disembarked
and came out here yesterday on the cars — we are now three miles from Ports-
mouth. Kilpatrick's cavalry came down with us. It seems Old Ben got
scared — thought the rebs were coming down on Norfolk and Portsmouth, so
we were ordered down. Kilpatrick has been out to Suffolk and reports no
rebs to be found, so we are expecting and hoping for orders to return. Gen.
Berry and the 7th are here. They leave this a. m. for Hollow Head.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. ' 467

Yorktown, Va., March 2^, 1864.

You remember I wrote you about the Col. applying to have three officers
re-examined; the application was refused, but Lieuts. Worrall & Brown, on
learning of the Col's action, immediately resigned. Gen. Butler, instead of
accepting their resignations, dismissed them from the service — subject to the
approval of the President. We have had an accession of two 2nd Lieutenants
during last week. One of them, a bigoted Regular Army Hospital Steward,
was examined when I was. I remember him well. The other was appointed
by Gen. Butler. My recommendation for a captaincy went in about ten days
since Col. Rogers gave me choice of the Adjutancy or Captaincy and I chose
the latter; fear I will miss my horse muchly if I get it. Wistar seems to
expect active operations shortly. He forbids officers or soldiers bringing
their families into the district.

Yorktown, Va., February 10, 1863.

We are just in from another "on to Richmond'* — came in late last even-
ing. I hoped when we started to be able in my next to tell you how gloriously
we charged rebel fortifications, laid the rebel capitol in ashes, captured Jeff
Davis, released our 15,000 prisoners, &c., &c. You may smile at the absurdity
of such an undertaking, but nevertheless this was the real purpose of our expe-
dition. And we confidently expected to accomplish it, but alas, we are
doomed to many bitter disappointments. As it is, I can only say we "marched
up the hill and then — marched down again" and instead of chronicling desper-
ate charges, I can only boast of bully marching. On Friday morning we
received orders to march at one o'clock p. m. with six days rations. That
night we camped at Williamsburg; next morning our brigade was joined by
Col. West's brigade and Gen. Wistar issued a congratulatory address, rather
bombastic, telling us we were to accomplish the most daring thing of the war,
&c. We left Williamsburg at 10 o'clock, taking the direct Richmond road.
About noon Col. Spears cavalry brigade, 1,500 in number, passed us, and dur-
ing the day I learned the object of the expedition. The cavalry, by forced
marching, were to make a dash on Richmond, take the place by surprise, cap-
ture Jeff Davis, liberate the prisoners, burn the city, and then retire with the
liberated prisoners; while the two brigades of infantry were to me6t them at
Bottom bridge and escort them back in case of pursuit; it was decidedly the
most daring and original thing of the war ; everything depended on the secrecy
and celerity of our movements and I believe it would have succeeded if we
had not been betrayed. The cavalry pushed ahead ; the infantry reached New
Kent Court House at midnight and halted duritig the night; the rebels had

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468 JOHNSON COUNTY. INDIANA.

signal lights and rockets going up on all sides; early Sunday morning we
pushed on for Bottom bridge, distant i6 miles — our colored troops taking
the advance; but when six miles from the bridge, we met the cavalry return-
ing. When they reached the bridge, they found the whole plan had been
exposed by a deserter and two regiments of cavalry and two of infantry with
lo peces of artillery mounted in the fortifications to meet them. In attempt-
ing to cross they lost i6 horses and one man killed and ten wounded; they
then tried to ford the river in several places, but found it so swampy and
obstructed, as to be impassable and so had to beat a retreat. After meeting
us a consultation was held and the result was we were "about faced" and re-
turned to Yorktown, and thus another "on to Richmond" ended in a fizzle.
The result of the expedition may be summed up briefly thus — we marched
lOO miles in less than four and one-half days, created an awful panic in
Jeff's Capital, and then after showing ourselves impudently within 14 miles of
Richnwnd, returned to c^mp with the loss of but one man.

Camp 4th U. S. C. T., Yorktown, Va., April 4, 1864.

Gen. Grant was at Fortress Monroe a few days since. I suppose he was
giving Butler instructions as to the part we play in the capture of Richmond.
It is the general impression that Gen. Bumside's expedition, now at Annapolis,
will land somewhere on the peninsula and cooperate with Meade this spring.
I received a letter from Sam a day or so since ; says they don't fancy the way
their Corps was demolished to fill up the others ; they now form the 4th Div.
of the 5th Corps.

We are putting in our time when the weather permits in drilling. Last
Saturday we had Brigade drill. Yesterday we had preaching for the ist
time for several weeks — our time being taken up in raiding inspections and
reviews, &c.

Camp 4th, U. S. C. T., Yorktown, Va., April 9, 1864.

We are ordered to Point Lookout, Md. — for what purpose remains to
be seen, but I guess to guard rebel prisoners. Our regiment is the only one
of the brigade under orders, but the others may receive them before morning.
The 2nd New Hamp. Vols, landed here yesterday from Point Lookout and I
suppose we will fill their place there. They were sent here, it is said, to pre-
vent the regt. from deserting ; about 1 50 deserted within the last four or five
weeks.

Point Lookout, Md., April 17, 1864.

In my last letter I told you we were ordered for Point Lookout and such

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 469

proved to be the case. We left Yorktown Sabbath morning and reached
this place same night. It was raining when we arrived, so we remained on
the boat all night — next morning we landed and the 12th N. H. Vols, immedi-
ately took same boat for Yorktown ; we took possession, of the camp vacated
by the 12th; they had been here about 8 months and had their quarters fixed
up in good style ; most of our officers bought the houses of the New Hamp.
officers; mine is 10 ft. by 20, and with bucket, basin, stove, desk, table, fpur
nice chairs and feather tick, cost me $7.00; it cost the Adjutant of the 12th
over $60. I am much more comfortably situated now than any other time
since I left home. I hope Gen. Butler will let us remain here, this summer
anyhow, and I can't help but think he will, for they will need some troops
here and why not keep us?

Point Lookout is a low, sandy point, formed by the Potomac rivet and
Chesapeake Bay ; it is nearly an island and I suppose that is the reason it was
selected as a depot for prisoners. I understand there are about 7,000 of the
**Johnnies" here to take care of them. We have three regiments — the 5th
N. H. Vols, and 4th & 36th Col. Troops; the 36th was formerly the 2nd
North Carolina and isn't of much force. Our turn for a guard comes every
third day ; it requires 300 men and two officers. The rebs are confined in two
large camps, surrounded by a strong board fence 20 feet high; they have
good barracks and plenty to eat and don't seem to care whether they get back
to the army or not. I haven't been inside of their camp yet, but I am gomg
to see them this week. The officers of the 5th seem disposed to be quite
friendly.

Among the conveniences we have is a dancing hall. Our officers had a
big dance Friday night and the 8th officers turned out enmasse with their
wives. Guess they had a big time — kept it up till two o'clock next morning.
Dancing not being my forte, T wasn't present.

Camp 4th U. S. C. T., Point Lookout, Md., April 24, 1864.
We are again under marching orders — we are ordered to report at
Camp Hamilton — near Fortress Monroe ; a division of colored troops is be-
ing formed there — and I suppose we go to join it. We were flattering our-
selves that we would have an easy time this summer, but unfortunately for
us, Col. Duncan is a great favorite with Butler and he is now in command
of a brigade there, and wants us with him — it can't be helped, I suppose,
so it's no use to fret. We expected to embark this afternoon, but it is now
9 p. m., so I guess we won't go before tomorrow — it is now raining most

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470 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

lustily and is as black as Egypt and quite a number of the officers have their
wives here — ^they would be in a nice predicament if we were ordered out
tonight.

I suppose you remember Rev. D. D. McKee, one of the Directors of
Hanover College. I accidentally made his acquaintance a few days since —
he remembers you well — says he corresponded with you — ^he was appointed
Chaplain a short time since and ordered here — said I might tell you "he"
would keep an eye on "me."

The "Galvanized Regiment" — ^as it is called here, left for Fort Monroe
yesterday — the regiment is composed entirely of rebel prisoners, who have
taken the oath and enlisted. It is called the "ist U. S. Vols." — ^the officers
come from our side ; they haven't been armed yet and I think had better not
be; they will probably be used for fatigue purposes — unloading vessels, &c. —
at Norfolk and Ft. Monroe. Guarding the prisoners pleases the darkies
greatly — ^they get oflf some amusing expressions — "Well, Sam, you guarding
Massa over dah, eh? Got him penned up like a drove o' pigs — dat's a h — 1
of a note ain't it?" &c, and they make the Johnnies toe the mark, too. Sev-
eral of them have been shot lately for being too saucy — they think the darkies
are some. Gen. Hinks was relieved a few days since and ordered to Ft.
Monroe — I understand quite a heavy force is gathering there — and at York-
town — I suppose it is to co-operate with the army of the Potomac. Troops
are arriving from Gilmore's Department. Seven barges, loaded with ar-
tillery, passed down from Washington a day or so since. Grant is making
a step in the right direction. We have 100,000 men scattered along the
coast who are just so many deadheads — let them be brought here where
they will be of some service.

Camp Hamilton, Near Fortress Monroe, Va., April 30, 1864.
We left Point Lookout last Monday and reached this place next day;
found a division of colored troops here under Hinks. Gen. Hinks was in
command at Point Lookout and was ordered here two or three days before
we were ; he comes from Mass. and I guess is a good officer — at least I hear
of no dissatisfaction. On landing here we were immediately put into our
old brigade with the 5th & 6th. Col. Duncan commands our brigade; there
are three brigades of infantry, two regiments of cavalry and two batteries
of artillery in the division. Gen. Wild commands the ist I think, and Col.
Hohnan of the ist U. S. C. T. the 2nd. I met Lieuts. Beaman and Thomp-
son in the ist; they helped organize the 4th at Baltimore and are fine fellows.
We have had orders to turn over all surplus camp equipage and reduce our

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 47 1

personal baggage to the minimum allowance. We are imdoubtedly going
into active service and I suppose will form part of Baldy Smith's peninsular
force. One of our cavalry regiments left for Williamsburg last night It
is said Smith has a force of 50,000 at Yorktown, but it is probably nearer
half that number.

Camp 4th U. S. C. T., City Point, Va., May 7, 1864.
We landed last Thursday, taking a Lieut. & 40 men prisoners. We
commenced fortifying immediately, and have quite formidable works now.
Our brigade (three regiments) is here alone. Yesterday my regt. made a
reconnoisance within 6 miles of Petersburg — saw some scattering rebel cav-
alry, nothing more. Beauregard is at Petersburg, with 10,000 men. Smith
and Butler are farther up the river — heard cannonading yesterday; think
we will remain here for the present if things work right.

Camp Hamilton, Va., May 3rd, 1864.
I write you just on the eve of our departure — we are ordered to be in
line by 9 o'clock in the morning. Where we are going is a mystery to all,
except the few "knowing ones." The general supposition is that our Fort
Darling is our destination. We are going on transports somewhere and I
think it must be up the James river ; perhaps we will land at City Point and
make for Petersburg to cut the railroads south of Richmond. Of course
this can't be done nor can Fort Darling be captured without hard fighting;
blood must be shed, and perhaps my life may be required; my earnest hope
* is that I may be prepared and may be enabled to say cheerfully, "Thy will be
done." I feel that I have the earnest prayers of my parents and friends,,
which is a very consoling thought.

Camp 4th U. S. C. Troops, City Point, Va., May 8, 1864.

We are still at City Point ; heard quite heavy firing up the river today,
towards Ft. Darling; also between the Appomatox and James. Smith is
operating in there between the two rivers and it is said has cut the railroad
between Richmond and Petersburg. Had quite a fight over there yesterday.
I understand we held our position — nothing more.

Marching orders agin. An aid-de-camp just here brings us orders to
move at three o'clock in the morning. He says Smith and Gilmore are to
have a big fight tomorrow and it is the supposition that we make a diversion
toward Petersburg; I think it highly probable we will have a fight. Must
get ready to move immediately. I almost forgot to state that I rec'd "Spe-

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472 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

cial Order No. 123" from Dept. H'dq'r's, appointing me Captain. I am
still Actg. Adjutant.

Spring Hill, Near Petersburg, Va., May 13, 1864.
I last wrote you from City Point and just on the eve of a reconnoisancc;
we marched up the Appomatox, accompanied by three or four gunboats, to
this place. Near Fort Clifton, a rebel work on the other side of the river
opened on the gunboats and prevented us going any farther; from a bluff
on this side I had a magnificent view of the fight. The "J^'^^^^^" blew
one boat up and disabled another, by putting a hole through her boiler; the
boats hauled off and we returned to City Point; the "J^^^^^^s" tossed a
couple of shells at us, but they fell wide of the mark. Yesterday our regi-
ment and the 6th with four pieces of artillery, occupied this place again, and
we are now fortifying — worked all last night like beavers and are getting
up quite formidable works. We are on the bank of the river, four miles from
Petersburg, and can see the city very plainly; gunboats are laying in the
river to assist us in case of an attack, and Baldy Smith is just across the
river; a wharf is being built and I tmderstand a depot for supplies is to be
established here. Smith's forces are still between the Appomatox and James
rivers; he has succeeded in cutting the railroad between Petersburg and
Richmond, and it is reported he has cut the Danville road also; our cavalry
under Kautz cut the road between Welden and Petersburg, leaving most of
Beauregard's army south. I do not know what Butler and Smith are doing
or intend doing. Don't think any serious fighting has taken place for sev-
eral days. This evening I hear one very heavy gun up the James occasional-
ly; perhaps our monitors are waking them up. I saw a paper today of the
nth. Grant has had terrible fighting, and although Lee seems to be falling
back, I can't think the news favorable. Grant, I fear, is crippled so badly
that .he can't pursue. Gen. Wadsworth, I see, was killed. I fear our boys
have suffered severely; please write me the first intelligence received from
them. As yet we have had no fighting, but our time will probably soort
come. I hope to go through honorably and unscathed, but Providence rules
and directs and my life may be required as others have; if so, I hope to meet
you all in Heaven above. Nothing but a last desperate resort will, I think,
induce the officers of this regiment to surrender — we will not, if possible to
prevent it, give the rebels an opportunity to repeat Fort Pillow.

Spring Hill, Near City Point, Va., May 22, 1864.
We are still at Spring Hill and engaged in making ourselves more se-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 473

cure. Our position is naturally strong and our fatigue parties working from
four o'clock in morning till eight in the evening are daily making it more
secure. Our force comprises two regiments of infantry, four pieces of ar-
tillery and one company of cavalry; besides four gunboats are laying in the
river near by, to assist us if necessary. On last Wednesday, just in the
midst of a big rain storm, our pickets were attacked and driven in ; the long
roll was sounded and the men in line in remarkably short time ready to give
the Johnnies the best we had, but the attack did not prove serious; it was a
force of cavalry and artillery sent out, I suppose, to ascertain who we were
and what we were doing. After driving our pickets back, they ran up two
pieces of artillery and gave us a few shells; our artillery and a gunboat up
the river opened on them an enfilading fire, which soon caused them to ske-
daddle ; since then we have not been disturbed. We had one man wounded,
our pickets emptied three rebel saddles, and our artillery must have done
some damage; citizens just outside the lines say the rebels had eight killed
and wounded. Our position is an important one and I can't understand
why we have not been attacked — unless they have all they can attend to in
front of Butler; we are intrenched on a high bluff in a bend of the river,
just the left flank of Smith's Corps — ^ rebel battery planted on this bluff
would compel Smith to vacate his present lines and form new ones. Don't
know much about how things progress over the river, only that there is more
or less fighting daily and nightly. Gilmore has fallen back from Fort Dar-
ling and our forces are now entrenched from the James to the Appomatox
rivers; I am satisfied we will wait for the result of Grant's operations be-
fore attempting to advance unless the rebel force in front is withdrawn or
much diminished — ^Kautz and his cavalry are in again — ^you will see the re-
sults of his raid ere you get this — he is a daring officer.

Camp 4th U. S. C. T., Point of Rocks, Va., May 30, 1864.
I suppose you have seen an account of the fight at Wilson's whari;
the ist & loth colored troops whipped Fitzhugh Lee handsomely — ^the rebels
made three charges on the works — after making the second charge, Lee
sent in a flag of truce, saying if they would surrender they should be treated
as prisoners of war — ^Wild refused and the rebels charged the third time;
this time the repulse was more bloody than previously and .they decamped,
leaving twenty-five dead bodies on the field and some wounded and six pris-
oners in our hands. Major Breckenridge — ^a Captain and Lieut, were left
by them on the field. Last Thursday my regiment marched back to City
Point; we remained there until yesterday, when we moved across the Ap-

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474 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

pomatox to take the place of troops sent from here to reinforce Gen. Grant
— I think about 20,000 have gone to join the army of the Potomac — em-
barked yesterday and will probably land at West Point or White House.
I suppose Grant thought Butler had played out and his troops could be used
to advantage in the A. P. against Lee — the first part of my supposition I
know is correct — Butler's campaign is the biggest failure of the war — ^he is
a good executive, can write famous orders, &c., but he is not a Grant. I
have not heard an officer or man speak of him lately but in derision — General
Gilmore remains here in command of our lines. Ferry's Division of the
loth Corps holds the right and Kautz' cavalry (dismounted) the left. Our
brigade forms Kautz' reserve — ^the invalid officers and soldiers of the i8th
Corps are also under Kautz. I judge we will remain on the defensive and
the rebels I suppose have sent most of their force to join Lee — so we prob-
ably won't have much fighting at present.

Camp 4th U. S. C. T., Near Bermuda Hundred, Va., June 4, 1864.

Our forces occupy the same lines and everything remains as quiet now
as when I last wrote ; we have been attacked in small force several times, but
bear the Johnnies back easily; in one of these attacks my regiment took
quite a prominent part. On last Tuesday the Johnnies attacked Spring Hill.
The 4th and sth were sent over to reinforce the 6th, which was garrisoning
the place; the 4th was sent out to "feel their force"; we marched out of the
fort, deployed two companies as skirmishers and made at them; we soon
ran against a heavy skirmishing line of cavalry, supported by a section of
artillery, and a lively little fight took place. Our skirmishers advanced
steadily and rapidly and we drove them nearly half a mile, and were pre-
paring to charge their artillery, when we received orders to retire ; we forced
the rebels back so rapidly that they lost a carbine and half a dozen sabers,
which we brought oflF with us. The Major had his horse shot and was him-
self struck by a spent piece of shell, and three men were severely wounded
— ^none killed; it was a small affair and I write so much about it because it
was our first fair trial. Officers from old regiments (white) who were
watching us say they never saw a skirmish line do better than ours. We
are still the reserve for Kautz' line ; heavy details, both white and black, are
daily strengthening our lines; we have the most formidable line of works I
ever saw. If we defend them with proper spirit we can beat back ten times
our force. I don't think there is any danger of a serious attack here as long
as Grant pushes them on the other side. We have heard Grant's guns for

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 475

the last three days — ^gradually growing nearer; last evening about dusk
there was terrific cannonading somewhere near Richmond.

Headquarters 2nd Brigade, Hinks Div., June lo, 1864.

Nothing new transpiring here; we occupy the same camp as when I
last wrote; they occasionally get up a brisk artillery duel along the line and
sometimes picket skirmishing is quite spirited. Our pickets and the rebel
pickets in some places are not more than 50 yards apart. Colored troops of
course are not put on picket m such traces. We have not been on picket
since we came to this side the Appomatox. A brigade of Ferry's Div. and
the 6th Colored Troops, on the right of the 4th, went over the Appomatox in
the direction of Petersburg. I understand the object was to destroy the
railroad south of Petersburg — don't know what success they are having.
Grant has been very quiet for the last week — hear his guns occasionally.
Our monitors on the James have been firing some this p. m. — suppose old
Lee thought he saw something. Lee's reputation is about on a par with
Butler's.

It is now 10 p. m., so please excuse my brevity and scrawling writing —
I am now on Col. Duncan's Staff — ^have been detailed as Acting Assistant
Adjutant General. I have not yet been mustered in as Captain. I have the
appointment, but not the commission— owing to the Active Service — I went
to see Maj. Davis (Butler's A. A. G.) and he promised to send it in a very
few days.

Headquarters 2nd Brigade, Hinks Div., June 17, 1864.

The Colored Div. has had a brisk fight and a kind and merciful Provi-
dence has preserved me and permits me to write you once more.

On the 15th Brooks and Hinks Div. advanced on Petersburg. Of course
we met the "Johnnies." My brigade (four regiments) made two charges;
in the first we took a line of rifle pits and one piece of artillery ; in the second
we captured a strong Chain of Redans commanding each other and six pieces
of artillery. My brigade took seven pieces altogether. The darkies behaved
well. Baldy Smith witnessed the last charge and said to Col. Duncan, "This
will make the old Army of the Potomac open their eyes — no nobler effort
has been made and no greater success achieved than that gained by the Col-
ored Troops today." The killed and wounded in my brigade will number
about 600. We are still two and a half miles from Petersburg; the whole
army of the Potomac with Grant is here and I doubt not we are confronted
by most of Lee's army. I rode over to the 5th Corps this p. m. and saw

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476 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

what was left of our boys; saw Capt. Jcffery, Sam, Jno. H., John Hender-
son, Uncle Orion and John Miller. They look a little rough but tough.

Headquarters 2nd Brigade, Hinks Div., June 20, 1864, 9:00 p. m.

I wrote you a day or so ago, giving you a slight account of our opera-
tions around Petersburg. The next day we were again near the front as a
support to our first line. In this position we lost about 40 men, killed and
wounded ; our whole loss in the brigade is about 600. Our success has made
quite a stir in the army here ; it was providential I think ; the works we car-'
ried were exceedingly strong and had the rebels held them with their usual
obstinacy we might not have succeeded so well. I merely mention this that
your expectations may not be raised too high. Yesterday we came front;
we are now between the Appomatox and James near the former; we came
here that we might assemble and reorganize the Division. The rebels held
Peter^urg at noon yesterday, but the town is completely commanded by our
guns and can be destroyed at any time we choose to open on it; there has
been but little firing since; I think it likely we have possession; I haven't
had an opportunity of seeing our boys but once; don't know whether they
have been engaged here or not, but judge they have. The entire Army of
the Potomac is here with Grant. The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad is
being repaired; this looks as though Grant expected Lee to blockade the
James. I received my commission as Captain today from Butlen
Headquarters 2nd Brigade, Hinks Div., Near Petersburg, Va., Jime 23, 1864.

We are again on the south side of the Appomatox and near Petersburg,
Our troops seem to occupy about the same lines as when I last wrote you;
the Johnnies still hold the town, but it is completely commanded by our gum
and can be destroyed any time we choose to open on it. Grant is trying his
favorite flanking process and the rebels must evacuate soon or run the risk
of being gobbled. I understand Bumside's Corps and the others are crossing
the Appomatox three miles above the city. If true, and I think it is, we
will have something decisive in a day or so. We have not been on the front
lines since returning to this side of the river — have been in reserve — conse-
quently have not lost any.

Lincoln was on a visit to the army day before yesterday.

Headquarters 2nd Brigade, 3rd Div., i8th A. C, July 3, 1864.
Affairs have been very quiet for some days. On Thursday night an
assault was ordered to be made by a Div. of the loth Corps, which is at-
tached to our Corps temporarily; the rebels soon discovered what was up

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 477

and the attack was postponed. They are now busy mining and I judge expect
to dig the Johnnies out. Picket firing and artillery duels continue. From
our headquarters we have a splendid view of the rebel batteries on the
heights over the river; our gtms usually get the best of these duels; in one
yesterday a rebel caisson was blown up. A large number of heavy guns
and mortars are being brought up and mounted. It is the general impres-
sion that we will celebrate tomorrow (the 4th) with one of the biggest ar-
tillery fights on record; the country is very open and gives us a splendid
chance for its use. Our artillery men have discovered the rebel magazine
and are trying to blow it up. The R. R. bridge has been injured by our
gtms, so as to prevent trains crossing.

Headquarters 2nd Brigade, 3rd Div., i8th Army Corps, July 8, 1864.
Along most of the lines the troops have ceased skirmishing and our
men and the rebs quietly watch each other ; in other places skirmishing is
lively, and particularly so in front of the position we now otcupy. My bri-
gade now forms part of the 2nd line of Turner's Div. of the loth Corps.
This Div. (temporarily attached to i8th Corps) lies in front of Reservoir's
Hill, which is said to be the key to Petersburg. The rebs realize this fact
as well as we do; consequently there is an incessant popping to prevent
either party from strengthening their works. We are so well protected by
bomb-proofs that we have bqt few casualties; this is our third day here. I
presume we will be relieved in a day or so. Our Division it is thought will
be Iwoken up. Gen. Hinks had to relinquish the command on account of his
old wounds and now commands at Point Lookout, Md. Col. Hohnan of
the 1st is temporarily in command of the Div.; 4 regiments of the ist Bri-
gade have been sent over the Appomatox to a camp of instruction. Don't
know what disposition will be made of our Brigade, which is the only one
fit for active service, but I think it probable that we will be transferred to
Ferry's Div. (colored) of the 9th Corps — ^all surmise as yet however. 5 p. m.
— since writing the above we have had a big alarm all along the line. It
originated on our front and in this wise: About 75 Johnnies crept up un-
perceived near our skirmishers, and gave them a volley. The rebs then
broke for cover, and our front line rose up and gave them a full volley.
Everybody supposed the rebts were chargipg, and artillery and musketry
opened along the whole line. Shell and shot whistled merrily for a half hour
— not many hurt — ^all quiet now. Cap't Jeflfery and Lieut. Adams from the
7th were to see me last night, they bringing the sad intelligence of Samuel's
death. He saw the announcement of his death in the Chronicle. I pray it

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478 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

may not be so, but fear it is too true. Sam was one of our bravest soldiers,
and a good Christian, and while we bitterly mourn his loss, let us remember
our loss is his gain.

Headquarters 2nd Brig. 3d Div. i8th Army Corps, July 14, 1864.

"All quiet in the Army of the Potomac" can as truly be said of the army
now, as when it rested on the banks of the Potomac in '61. Pickett*s Div. of
the 6th Corps has gone to Washington to look after the **raiders" — suppose
they reached there as the papers speak of "the fighting 6th deploying." The
id Corps were under orders to go, but the Rebs made a demonstration toward
our left, and the order was countermanded. The taiders, I see, are within 5
miles of Washington, slashing around Baltimore, etc. Last evening we were
relieved in the trenches, and ordered to the rear to "prepare for inspection."
Had been in the trenches eight days. Some interpret the orders to prepare
for inspection, as an indication that we go to Washington — bosh of course.

What think you of the situation now. I have no opinion to express, no
surmises to make. I have made up my mind to take what comes with as goo4
grace as possible.

Headquarters 2nd Brig. 3d Div. i8th Army Corps, July 14, 1864.
It has been very quiet along the lines for a few days — scarcely aily firing
at all. The line of rebel works captured by us (a portion of it) has beeri
leveled within the last two or three days. Some interpret it as a sign of
evacuation. Others say it means another change of base — that Grant is ^oin^
to come the flanking process on them again by moving around soilth, etc., buf
no one seems to know anything. The 6th Corps is the only Corps, I ahi awar^
of, that has been sent to Washington. Why Grant is lying here idle, when
nearly all of 'Lee's army is in Maryland, is more than I can say. I confess
I don't understand his tactics. Our Brig, went to the front again last night— ^
they occupy their old position, form part of Turner's second line. Col. Dun-
can was unwell and did not go out. I remained in camp with him. Expect
to go out in the morning. I haven't seen any of the 7th boys lately. They
are three miles to the left of us.

Headquarters 2nd Brig. 3d Div. i8th Army Corps, July 26, 1864.
You ask why we haven't taken Petersburg — simply because we couldn't'
It is too well fortified and too stoutly defended to be taken froni this side.
The 19th and 6th Corps are arriving at Bermuda Hundred and are assigned

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 479

to Butler's command. This force, I suspect, will be thrown between Rich-
mond and this city and thus compel the evacuation of this place, but this is all
conjecture, but if the movement over the river is to be entrusted to Butler, I
have no faith whatever in it succeeding. He is the grandest humbug (I
would say it were I a civilian) the war has thus far produced. Burnside is
mining — we may attempt another assault. The mine is but a short distance
to the left of our brigade; it runs out a distance of 450 feet, then branches to
the right and left under their works like the letter "T." They intend to use
i6,ocjo pounds of powder in blowing it up.

How are the elections going this fall. I fear Grant's want of success,
Greeley's intrigues at Niagara, and the coming draft will make a deal of
thunder for Copperhead orators. How do the people receive the proclama-
tion for 500,000 more men? I suppose the "hundred day" men will be home
in time for a chance with the rest — it would be too bad to slight them. My
health continues good, in fact provokingly good, but I am thankful that such
is the case. I have known some officers, by a little expert management, to
get a leave of 20 days, during this campaign, whose health was probably as
jiood as mine.

Headquarters 3d Brig. 3d Div. i8th Army Corps,
Near Point of Rocks, Va., August 4, 1864.

Am well, but really haven't time to write. Division has been reorganized
under Paine. We are in 3d Brigade, so direct accordingly.

Headquarters 3d Brig. 3d Div. 18th Army Corps,
Near Point of Rocks, Va., August 5, 1864.
Grant's promised "startling combinations" have proved another startling
failure. Our brigade occupied the front line on 30th during Bumside's fight.
We were just to the right of the mine, but did not form part of the assaulting
column. Had a good view of the day's operations. I was asleep when the
mine went up, but saw it before it went down. The affair was a most
humiliating failure; everything worked splendidly at first and with proper
managem.ent we would not only have taken Petersburg but the most of the
rebel force this side of the river. The blame I presume will be shuffled on to
the colored troops, because their color happens to attract notoriety, but I
know thai they behaved as well, if not better, than the white troops. Their
panic was caused by Bell's Brigade of Turner^s Division 20th Corps giving
away in utter confusion. This brigade was advancing to support the colored
troops and broke 10 minutes before the colored troops did. T understand on

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480 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

good authority that Gen. Turner admits this. I am confident that the more
the matter is investigated the less the blame will be attached to the C. T. It
is reported that the 2d and 3d Divs. 9th Corps refused to advance. I fear that
there is some foundation for the report. The colored troops advanced into an
exceedingly hot and scary place, and as they had never been under fire pre-
viously, it was unwise to say the least to put them in such a place.

About dusk this evening, there was heavy firing over the river (we are
now on Butler's front) it lasted about half an hour; don't know the cause of
it — all quiet now. Our Division is now commanded by Gen. Paine. Gen.
Carr had command about a week ; the Division has been reorganized, and we
are now in the 3rd Brigade; the 4th, 6th & loth regiments from the Brigade
under Col. Duncan. I am still A. A. A. G.

Col. Thomas of the 19th U. S. Col. Troops on the 31st during flag of
truce, got rather near the rebel lines, and was taken in. He was taken to
Bushrod Johnson ; when asked who he was by Johnson, he replied : 'T am
a Captain in nth U. S. Infantry, Colonel of 19th United States Colored
Troops, Commanding 2nd Brigade, 4th Div. 9th Army Corps, Army of Poto-
mac.'* **Eh, we hang such fellows down here.'* Thomas demanded his re-
lease, said that they had violated flag of truce, etc. Johnson said he must
keep him, and sent him to jail. Thomas demanded paper, and wrote a remon-
strance of 14 pages to Gen. Beauregard. While awaiting Beauregard's reply,
he made friends with the provost marshal, and traveled all over Petersburg.
Beauregard ordered his release, which he owes to his audacity and impudence.

Headquarters 3d Brig., 3d Div. i8th Army Corps,
Near Point of Rocks, Va., August 21, 1864.

The 2d and loth Corps recrossed the River James yesterday and today
and passed to the left. They could not accomplish anything — in fact I judge
it was only a feint to cover more important movements on our left. The 5th
Corps moved out and seized the Weldon Road; this morning there was a
furious cannonading in that direction. I suspect they have had a big fight,
bow it resulted, I can't say.

Our Head Qfs, are still near Point of Rocks, but only one regiment of
the brigade is with us. This one regiment has been holding a half mile of
Butler's line for the last four days. This P. M. we were re-enforced by two
regiments so that we now feel tolerably secure again. During the opera-
tions of the 2d and loth Corps over the river, Butler's line was almost entirely
stripped of troops; it was an exceedingly fortunate thing for us that the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 481

Johnies didn't know our defenceless oondition. Two regunei^ of our
brigade are at Dutch Gap, covering Butler's digging operations. These two
regiments and the i6th N. Y. H. Art. had a little fight near that place with the
rebs a day or so since. The i6th (white) broke and scattered like sheep.
The darkies stood up to the work manfully. Our two regiments are the only
troops now at that point. The Howlett Battery is on one side of them, a bat-
tery in front, and one opposite the Howlett Battery. The consequence is they
make Dutch Gap an exceedingly hot place. At the iM-esent rate of progress
it will require two months to complete the canal — the distance from bank to
bank is about 130 yards, and the bank is about 40 feet in height — the distance
around is from 5 to 7 uiiles. Just now I hear the cars whistling on the
Petersburg & Richmond R. R. Judge the rebels are running reinforcements
down from Richmond to look after Warren. This is the first train I have
heard on this road for some time.

Headquarters 3d Brigade 3d Division i8th Army Corps,
Camp at Deep Bottom, Va., August 26, 1864.

We are having stirring times here now. Grant seems to be at work in
earnest again. Yesterday and day before, heavy firing took place on the
Weldon Road and report says it resulted very favorably to us. The 2d,
5 til and 9th Corps are in that vicinity; the loth and 18th Corps now hold the
line from Deep Bottom to beyond the Norfolk R. R. Yesterday morning at
about 3 o'clock, the rebs made an attack on Butler's line. We were awakened
by a yell and volley of musketry. They made a charge on our picket line,
but finding us prepared for them soon fell back to their old position. One
division had been sent over the Appomattox the previous evening, which the
Rebs had observed, and supposed Butler's line was being evacuated, and I
suppose the attack was made to satisfy themselves on this point.

Gen. Wm. Bimey arrived from Florida a few days since, with the 7th,
8th, & 9th U. S. C. T., and the 29th Com. Vo. (Colored). You may remem-
ber that he organized our regiment at Baltimore. He was at our Head Qrs.
a few evenings since — ^took occasion to say that he "believed he used to have
to compliment me on the good trim in which I had my company.*' He has
been assigned to the loth Corps— had command of a division of four brigades,
three white, in the operations of the i8th Corps at this place a few days since.
He is to have command of a Division of Colored Troops, and is very anxious
to have our brigade in his division. But as Gen. Paine is one of Butler's pets,
I have no hope of his succeeding. I should like verv much to have the trans-

(31)

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482 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

fer effected, for there are six regiments in the Div. at present raised in this
Dept. under Butler's regime that reflect no credit on the Division, or colored
troops in general, and I should like to cut loose from them.

Headquarters 3d Brigade, 3d Division i8th Army Corps,
Camp at Deep Bottom, Va., September i, 1864.
We are still at Deep Bottom and without a command. The 4th and
6th regiments are still at Dutch Gap, and the loth regiment at last accounts at
City Point doing guard duty. So Col. Duncan is left with no command
except that Head Qrs. Guard. Consequently we are making matters easy as
possible. We had two little alarms since coming here, but neither of them
amounted to anything. We are on the extreme right of Grant's line, conse-
quently know nothing of what is transpiring on the left. There has been
hard fighting on the left, in which the 2d Corps was somewhat worsted. I
see the 7th Indiana was engaged, but saw no list of casualties.

Headciuarters 3d Brigade, 3d Division i8th Army Corps,
Camp at Deep Bottom, Va., September 15, 1864.

Affairs remain quiet here. The work on "Butler's canal" progresses
slowly ; the rebels keep tossing mortar shells regularly during the day at the
working parties — of late their practice has been much better than usual.
Yesterday three men were killed and two wounded. Butler has lately erected
an enormous "signal tower" about 140 feet high near us, at which the
"Howlett Battery" sends her iron compliments. So far they have missed
their mark and the shells whistle over us a half mile to the rear. I will add
for ma's information that our Head Qrs. are sheltered from this battery, or
at least so concealed that they can't discover us.

Last evening a sad accident occurred by which one of the members of
our staff lost his life. About 7 P. M., Lieutenant Kingsbury went over to the
Head Qrs. of the 6th Reg. While there, a shell which had been thrown dur-
ing the day exploded accidentally, a piece struck Lieut. Kingsbury on the fore-
head. He lingered unconscious until 2 o'clock this moming> then died.
Today we had his body embalmed, and sent home. No news from the left —
guess Grant is waiting for something to turn up. Recruits are said to be
arriving rapidly at City Point.

Look out for something important from this quarter soon.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 483

Headquarters 3d Brigade 3d Division i8th Army Corps,
Gamp at Deep Bottom, Va., September 2y, 1864.

We are still idle here. I am confident a move will be made very soon,
but just how soon I can not t^U. In the 2d Corps, the Quartermasters have
had orders to have clothing etc. issued by the 28th inst., and are now in the
rear ready for orders. Probably Grant will aim to strike a blow here about
the time Sheridan reaches Lynchburg. We have had a splendid success in
the Valley, haven't we. The Shenandoah is no longer the Valley of Humilia-
tion The Richmond Enquirer of yesterday acknowledges a defeat at Fish-
er's Hill — says they lost 12 pieces of artillery, but predicts that we will get
whipped back again, when we reach Lynchburg, as Hunter was. Sheridan is
not Hunter.

Our brigade is still at work on the canal — ^think it is about two thirds
completed. The rebs shell us furiously as ever — they disabled the dredging
machine we had to work, so we must now depend on pick and shovel. If any
other man than Butler had charge of it, I think it would have been abandoned
long since. Presume Butler wishes to leave it as a monument to perpetuate
his name and fame — it will require something of this kind. I think Mc-
Clellan has few friends in the army here. Among the officers of our Brigade,
1 have not heard of a single McGlellan man. Little Mc was very popular with
the soldiers when he was relieved, but his affiliations with Copperheads since
has ruined him. If we meet with no reverses before the elections, I have no
fears but what Old Abe will succeed.

The final chapter in the life story of Captain VanNuys is found in a
letter to his father, John H. VanNuys, from Lieut. Z. F. Wilber, Acting
Assistant Quartermaster of the Third Brigade, written from Dutch Gap, Vir-
ginia, October 2, 1864. It is as follows:

*'Mr. John H. VanNuys, Esq.

"My Dear Sir: It is an extremely painful duty for me to write you.
You have undoubtedly ere this received by dispatch announcing the death
of your son. What can a stranger say to comfort those nearest and dearest
to him. But of one thing I can assure you, that you and your lady have
the heartfelt sympathies of every officer left in our Brigade, for Van as we
called him was universally esteemed as a man. and a soldier. He has no
enemies, but many friends, warm friends. It could not be otherwise with
one of his fixed principles, strict integrity and kindly heart. The death of no

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484 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

officer in the 4th regiment, or of this brigade, has created such a sensation,
and we who were his daily companions will miss him sadly at our mess table
and at our little circle aroimd the camp fire.

''Col. Duncan was wounded at the same time^ and has been sent to the
hospital, he will probably lose his foot, but before he went, he desired me to
write you and what I have written I know to be his own as well as my feelings.

**As to his death, you have learned from the papers that the forward
movement commenced on the 29th ult As Quartermaster I was and still am
at our old camp, with our baggage, teams, etc., but have the facts from officers
of the staff who were eye-witnesses. Col. Duncan's Brigade was ordered to
charge a line of rifle pits about two miles from Deep Bottom. It was about
6 A. M. He had but 600 men of his brigade with him at the time, but at it
they went. They got within ten yards of the rebel works. Van's horse had
been killed under him a few moments before, but he kept up with the column
on foot, not with the column but at the head of it. We were driven back, the
slaughter was terrific.

*'0n the retreat. Van was behind the column, nearest the enemy, and
while in the act of looking back, a ball struck him in the throat, severing the
artery, and on that beautiful morning he yielded up his life, another on the
long list of Martyred Patriots.

"The affair did not take but fifteen minutes, but in that brief space of
time, out of 600 who had started, 390 were dead and wounded. Col. Duncan
took with him three staff officers; of these your son fell, Lt. Pratt lost a leg,
and Col, D. was wounded, and four staff officers lost their horses, 14 officers
out of 20 of the 6th U. S. C. T. and 6 out of 9 of the 14th were killed or
wounded.

"Within twenty minutes our forces rallied and took the ground, but
while the rebels held the ground, they had stripped your son of everything
except shirt and drawers. He had on his person a watch and $175 belonging
to Lieut Kingsbury, who was killed 3 weeks ago, these the hounds got. Your
son was ordered by Col. D. to take charge of Lt. K's effects.

"After the fight, hearing that your son was killed, I took an ambulance
and got his body and took it to the embalmers who have embalmed it and it
win start tomorrow. I have waited a day in hopes that Mr. Ditmars would
arrive.

"Ths coffin is only a plain gov't one as I did not feel that you would war-
rant me in going to the expense of a fine one here as their prices are enormous.
I should not have put you to the expense of the steps I have taken, but he said

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 485

when we talked of sending Lt. K. home that if he fell, he wished to be sent
home.

"In conclusion, sir, let me say that I deeply sympathize with you. I
have passed through severe afflictions, and know what they are. Only a
month ago, I received word that my only child, a bright, beautiful babe of ii
months had passed to a brighter clime, and even as Dear Van sympathized
with me then, do I with you. If he died young, he fell a patriot, and may the
blood of his young heart poured forth so lavishly at his country's altar help
to bind together again our Union stronger than ever." ,

In a little envdope postmarked '^Old Point Comfort, Oct. lo'' came >a
few days later the last message from the son, with a postscript in gnQther's
handwriting. It reads :

"Headquarters 3d Brigade, 3d Division, i8th Army Cprps, Camp at
Dutch Gap, Va., September 2^^ 1864.

"This testament belongs to Captain S. W. VanNuys, Acting Ass't. Adj't.
General 3d Brigade, 3d Div., i8th Army Corps. Should I die upon the fieW:
of battle, for the sake of a loving mother and sister, inform my father, John
H. VanNuys, Franklin, Indiana, of the fact."

The po6tBoript reads: '"Mr. Jc^ H. Vanii^: It is my painful duty
to inform you that your son was killed on the 29th of the last month near
Chaffins farm, Va. I have his testament. I will send if you wish it. From
your enemy, one of the worst rebels you ever seen,

"L. B. F."

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CHAPTER XV.

PHYSICIANS AND MEDICAL PRACTICE.

BY R. W. TERHUNE, M. D.

The first comers to Indiana were mainly drawn either directly from
Pennsylvania, the Carolinas or Virginia, or were of the fascinating band of
hunters and frontiersmen of similar origin who had only a few years earlier
begun the redemption of Tennessee and Kentucky from savagery.

There were descendants of the old English colonists, Scotch and Scotch-
Irish in abundance, Germans from Pennsylvania, sturdy Hollanders, Swiss,
and last, but not least in quality of excellence, French Huguenots, inspired by
traditions of noble blood and of heroic struggles for liberty and conscience's
sake. No finer race ever lived than those that builded the Northwest. "Fifty
years after the defeat of General St. Qair the skeletons of the Kentucky sol-
diers Icilled in that battle were exhumed and out of niore than seventy' taken
from one grave two only were of men that had been less than six feet in
height."

The pioneers that came to stay and to build homes and cities were not
less robust and sturdy than the soldiers that had preceded them. They were
the flower of the communities from which they came, and had both the will
and power to subdue the wilderness. Woods nor wild beasts, nor swamps,
nor storms, nor cold winters had any terrors for them, nor had any toil or
peril that could be grappled with or subdued by brawn or physical bravery or
effort.

In fact, when in health they usually enjoyed, with a sort of rough good
nature, their hard and barren life. Coming to the new region, and building
their homes on the high places near the streams, leading active lives, dwelling
in houses that were of necessity well ventilated, and eating a nutritious food,
they were immune to many of the ills that affected older communities.

Tuberculosis, which now slays its thousands, had not yet followed the
pioneer to the frontier. Diphtheria and cerebro-spinal meningitis were then
unknown and influenza and typhoid fever were scourges of the yet distant
future. But all the country save the southwest part was a great marsh over
which the dark shadow of a forest, dense and gigantic, had hung for ages.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 487

And in the insidious miasmata and noxious exhalations from the swamps
and stagnant pools the brave pioneers had a powerful and invisible foe that
stole upon them unaware and was more to be dreaded than all the tangible
and physical dangers with which they could have been surrounded, for
strength and bravery could not prevail against it. Intermittent fevers in all
their stubborn forms seized upon the people and endured. Whole communi-
ties fell victims to the universal malarial infection. "So alarming did the
mortality become that by an act of the General Assembly passed December
31, 1821, Friday, the second day of the following April, was set apart as a
day of public prayer to *God Almighty, that He may avert the just judgments
impending our land and that in His manifold mercies He will ble§s the coun-
try with fruitful seasons and our citizens with health and peace/ "

"That same year, 1821, an epidemic of intermittent and remittent fevers
set in the latter part of July in the new town of Indianapolis, and continued
until some time in October, during which nearly every person was more or
less indisposed, and seventy-two, or about one-eighth of the population, died."

"The fall succeeding the first settlement in the spring the scourge broke
out on Blue river in Johnson county and prevailed to such an extent that there
were hardly enough well people to attend to the wants of the sick ones."

For more than fifteen years after the first settlement of the country there
was no abatement in the severity of the prevailing fevers. It is impossible
to describe the sickness of those times in colors sufficiently dark to give a
correct idea of the universal distress. From the first of August till the first
of October all work- and business were given over to the care of the sick.
Chills and fever were universal. Many persons recovered promptly, and
some there were that remained in bed only while the paroxysm lasted. Par-
ents sometimes had malarial **chills" or paroxysms every second or third day
for weeks, with no appreciable increase in the severity of the seizures. But
at times the mildest cases seemed suddenly to become malignant and danger-
ous. Two or three very light paroxysms were sometimes followed by the
sudden and alarming development of a congestive and pernicious type that
ended in a "sinking chill" and death. Whenever such a grave condition mani-
fested itself the patient was at once sustained by the most heroic treatment
known at that time. External applications of mustard were freely used, and
capsicum and brandy given without stint. Sometimes a quart of brandy was
required to brace the failing heart and restore mobility to the stagnant blood.

It was some years after the first settlement of the country before physi-
cians came, and when they did at last arrive there was so much illness, such

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488 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

widespread prevalence of disease, that many patients in distant and inaccess-
iWe parts of the country were unable to procure their services. So the sick
were largely treated by domestic remedies, a belief in the efficacy of which
was not based on scientific knowledge or research, but was the result of the
crudest fancies.

The secret recesses of the forest, where ferns and maiden-hair grew on
the mossy banks of streamlets, where the dog-woods and wild roses bloomed
in beauty, and the breath of modest violets and crabapple blossoms filled the
air with fragrance, those recesses of the forest so exquisitely adorned for
man's pleasure with the beauties of form, of color and of fragrance, were
also the repositories of a botanical wealth of rare therapeutic virtue and
power. However deficient the veneraWe and aged men and women of that
day might be in all the learning of the schods, they were all deeply versed
in the occult materia medica of the woods, for in the leaves and roots and
flowering plants that had been scattered by the hand of Providence in such
generous profusion over all the earth, they found a balm for every human ill.
, Boneset and burvine and quaking aspen and wahoo were used in chills
and fever with the greatest faith and efficacy. In the languid springtime,
prickly ash, burdock, sarsaparilla, poplar, dogwood and wild cherry barks,
made up in whiskey and taken in the form of "bitters,'' lent invaluable aid to
the lancet in cleansing and quickening the foul and sluggish current of the
blood. In order to be effective, these barks had to be gathered from the north
sides of the trees. Tansy bitters were a favorite morning dram and were
held in high repute for their power in warding off the malarial miasmata of
the times and strengthening one for a day's labor in the swampy woods.

Bleeding was universally practiced by the people in the beginning of
febrile attacks, followed by a severe emetic and cathartic. As an emetic,
lobelia, a plant that grew in the woods and fields, was considered quite the
most effective agent to be had. There, was a shrub called prickly sumach that,
in the opinion of the pioneers, was effective either as an emetic or a cathartic,
according to the manner of its preparation. If an emetic effect was desired
the roots were uncovered as they grew and the bark thus gathered was pre-
pared and given to the patient, and the results were said to be most prompt
and thorough.

Despite the widespread skill in the preparation of these botanic remedies,
the malignancy of the malarial fevers showed no abatement. During the sickly
season people died by scores, and the land was filled with mourning. "The
sick therefore readily fell in with any promised relief. Sappington's pills and

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 489

Others with big names, heralded by a long host of curative virtues, found a
ready sale. Against the walls of every cabin, suspended from nails, hung
two or three dozen small bottles already emptied of their contents, but with
little if any realization to the sick of the promised relief."* Charms and
amulets and remedies the most absurd were sometimes resorted to as means
of arresting the progress of the terrible disease. But the mystic power of
charms and amulets, the empiric mixtures of experimenting pioneers, the
loudly vaunted nostrums of designing quacks, and the time-tried remedies of
honest medical practitioners were alike of no avail. Changeless and hopeless,
the pestilence held sway through all the long and weary days of summer.
Only when the storms of autumn had swept away, with breezes of delicious
freshness, the pestilent air of summer; only when the beneficent genius of the
frost had touched the woods with flame, and sealed the pools with ice, cbuld
the afflicted people hope for health and life. At last, when the kindly frost
had come, bringing the benediction of health ; when the sad, despairing season
of sickness, like a gloomy nightmare, hid passed away, the stricken ones came
forth again, bearing the aspect of sorrow for the dead, or with pale faces and
forms wasted in their long struggle with disease.

The sick in those days lacked many of the comforts that assuage the
suffering of their descendants in affliction. There was then no quiet, restful
spare room where the weary sufferer could stretch his aching limbs in peace.
Often there was but one room to the house, and the sick were kept where the
rest of the family lived and slept, in the room where the meals were cooked
before the fire and where the babies played in noisy glee. There were no soft
air cushions for the tired back, no ice^caps for the aching head, no cooling
drinks nor ice to quench the burning thirst, and no chloral hydrate to woo the
sweet forgetfulness of sleep. Chicken broth "was a favorite invalid food.
Water, when tolerated at all, was carried from some nearby spring and was
drunk from a gourd. Some of the remedies used to combat malaria have
been given. The remedies used in other diseases were fully as various and
interesting. Mullein was one of the favorite remedies of our forefathers.
An infusion made of the seeds and leaves was used as an expectorant in
eoughs and bronchial affections and as a demulcent and astringent in the sum--
mer diarrhoeas of children, and in the epidemics of dysentery that were so
fatal in those times.

A fttlve was made of poplar blossoms for the healing of wounds. The
blossoms as they fell were gathered and put into an earthen jar. Over them
hot lard was poured and the resulting salve was used to dress cuts and

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490 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

wounds that were sometimes inflicted by the woodman's ax. Hemorrhage
from such wounds was a serious matter and the pioneers attempted its con-
trol in various ways. Sometimes spider's web, gathered from grimy rafters
and ceilings, and filled with the accumulated dust of months, was bound over
the gaping wound, or it was filled with soot gathered from the black throat of
the big chimneys of the time, or sugar or strong soft soap was used for a like
purpose. If a '^harmless necessary cat" of sable hue chanced to wander near
some sufferer from freshly inflicted wounds he was promptly sacrified to
Aesculapius, for the pioneers believed that a libation of black cat's blood
poured upon a recent wound was an offering of greatest efficacy, insuring it
thenceforth the watchful care of all the powers that heal, and guarding it
from all danger of erysipelas or any kindred ill. The ax or edged tool with
which the wound had been inflicted was at once annointed with hog's lard and
carefully guarded in the chimney corner, for if a bit of rust perchance through
carelessness should gather on the blade, dire consequences to the patient's life,
were almost sure to follow.

Puff balls, a kind of fungus growth found in the woods, were used to
staunch bleeding wounds and their contents were sometimes snuffed up the
nostrils in cases of obstinate nose-bleed. A metallic door key suspended down
the back from a string around the neck was reputed to have stopped cases
of nose-bleed when all else had failed.

Buckeyes were carried in the pockets as a safe-guard against rheumatism^
If a case of rheumatism assumed a chronic form, an Irish potato was also
carried in the pocket in addition to the buckeye. If faithfully carried until it
shriveled and turned black in the pocket, it was said that no case of rheuma-
tism was ever known to have such idiotic obstinacy as to resist the double
charm.

In the good old times babies were in every household in the land.
Though sired by lusty manhood and though nourished at maternal bosoms
that were blessed with perfect health, yet these tender buds, despite their rich
heritage of health, suffered then, even as babies suffer now, with all the trying
ills of teething. Young mothers that felt for the first time the divine joy of
motherhood, who felt not only its raptures, but its tremulous anxieties and
ceaseless cares as well, were at a loss how best to guide the tender feet along
the perilous pathway of the first few months of life. But experienced
matrons, with their broods of eight or ten, were all aware that if a mole's
foot were dried and suspended f roiti a string about the cherub's neck, the teeth-
ing age was at once bereft of all its terrors, arid in the homes where such*

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 49I

potent charms were used the dariings' Hves were henceforth happy with the
smiles and sleep of perfect health and peace.

Frogs have always suffered at the hands of vivisectors and experimenters
for the good of man. Nor did they escape in grandfather's time, for he be-
lieved there was no remedy so efficacious to relieve a painful case of quinsy as
a bull-frog bound upon the sufferer's throat until the frog was dead. People
believed these things with implicit, childish faith. They could not much be
blamed in days when there were no books nor schools, and when papers never
found their way into the woods.

Letters rarely written traveled slowly by stage or pony, across bridgeless
rivers and over roads of bottomless mud. Sometimes a month elapsed before
people in the wilds of Indiana heard of the death of relatives only a hxmdred
miles away.

There were but two feeble medical colleges then in existence west of the
Alleghany mountains, one at Lexington, Kentucky, and one at Cincinnati,
Ohio. They were but sparks of light, whose feeble rays did not far penetrate
the boundless gloom. Thus deprived of skilled medical help, the people were
compelled to depend upon their own meager skill for relief in sickness, fivery
neighborhood had its own herb doctor, and its lancet. Bleeding was a uni-
versal practice. The people believed that their blood grew foul and sluggish
in the dull and sedentary days of winter and that it must needs be shed like a
garment when winter was gone, that in its place new blood might course with
the life and joy of springtime in its current. People were bled for every ill.
If a man had a chill he was bled; if a fever occurred or headache, a spell of
biliousness or indigestion, an attack of dizziness, a fainting fit, or even a
tooth-ache, the every-ready lancet was applied. Not only people of full and
plethoric habit, with plenty of blood and a tendency to congestive troubles
were bled, but those that were pale and emaciated with long continued and
wasting diseases were subjected to the same ordeal. Finally, if there was
nothing whatever the mater, it was still a sacred duty to be bled, that the many
ailments of those days might thus be warded off.

In the year 1824, Arthur Bass came from the Carolinas and found a
horne in Johnson county. With memories fresh in mind of boyhood rambles
among the mountains and pine woods of his native state, he shunned the
swampy regions and sought a home among the bold hills bearded wMth trees,
that rose southward of the rapid current of Indian creek. There he lived,
far from even the slender thoroughfares of travel of that day, and far from
the towns where doctors later came, in a region that was often inaccessible

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49^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

from swollen streams that were treacherous with quicksand and filled in
winter with floating ice. He early realized the needs of his community and
provided himself with a lancet for bleeding and a turnkey for extracting
teeth. Every spring, when pilgrims, pale with the ravages of malaria, wended
their way over the hills to his home that they might become rid of the thick
and stagnant blood that had festered in their veins since the feverish days of
autumn. The well also came for their yearly bleeding and the blood that
flowed at the touch of his lancet was enough to dye the Indian Creek hills as
red as the slippery heights of Cemetery ridge.

Dentists were then unknown, so those that suffered the agonies of tooth-
ache sought relief of Arthur Bass and his turnkey. Hervey Vories vividly
remembers a visit for relief from toothache over sixty years ago. He says,
**Arthur set me in a chair by the side of the house, pushed my head down
against the wall and fastened on his turnkey. Then he began to wrench. I
saw stars and forked lightning and heard thunder, but he never relaxed until
with a great snap the roots gave way and Bass reeled -back with the turnkey in
his hand. He examined the results carefully and said, 'By gosh, I bnmg two
that time.' "

In the first years of the new country, the practice of obstetrics was in-
variably entrusted to the hands of midwives. Physicians at first could not be
had and midwives were of necessity employed in such cases. When physi-
cians did come they found the pioneer women possessing such unreasoning
timidity and prejudice, and objecting so strenuously to their presence at such
times, that more than twenty-five years elapsed before they succeeded in win-
ning much of the obstetrical practice from the hands of midwives. In those
days the woman sanctified to motherhood was an object of solicitude to all
the neighborhood. When *'the days were accomplished that she should be
ddivered" there was a gathering of the women, from far and near, regard-
less of time of day or night, inclemency of weather, condition of roads, age
or number of children, sickness at home, or any other thing whatever. All
were asked to come and all most freely came. No social slight of the pres-
ent day is half so keenly felt by women as was then failure to receive an invi-
tation to the cases of this kind.

It was not an idle nor a morbid curiosity that prompted all this hurrying
in haste from far and near to the bedside of a suffering woman. The pioneer .
women were never nervous nor morbidly curious, so their presence, at such
times was due to the genuine, effusive heartiness and robustness of 4heir
sympathetic natures that prompted them to come and freely give the rich

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 493

sympathy of their cheerful, healthful presence. Accidents rarely occurred.
The women of those times, sturdiest daughters of the Kentucky and Vir-
ginia hills, were the very flower of physical perfection. Like the black-eyed
daughters of Israel, they were lively in labor and scarce needed even the
ministrations of the midwife.

Of many midwives that flourished in the country, two were especially
eminent in the Indian Creek neighborhood, Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Titsworth.
Mrs. Roberts came to the county in the earliest days. She was a' woman of
great energy and force of character and of most commanding presence. Like
a great Amazon, she towered six feet high, and she had a face and form of
masculine strength and singularity. Neither storm nor darkness, nor wild
animals had any power to daunt her courage. She was always ready for
service and went gladly, in rain or snow, night or day, through the bottomless
mud of forest roads or over the frozen hills of winter. When she sallied
forth on her errands of mercy, mounted astride like a Rough Rider, she
dashed so furiously through the woods on starless nights that all the witches
of Allowaykirk could not have kept pace with her.

When physicians finally began to receive calls of necessity in such cases
as baffled the meagre skill of the midwife, they encountered an air of distrust
that unnerved all but the boldest spirits. They had not yet gained the respect
and confidence of the people, had not yet learned the open sesame to all homes
and were not accorded the cheerful welcome and co-operation that now awaits
them everywhere. Instead of that, their every word and act were closely
watched, and if their practices in unimportant matters failed to meet the ap-
proval of the venerated midwives and old women of the communities into
which they happened to be called, their reputations sujffered a permanent and
hopeless eclipse. Consequently they were called only in the most desperate
cases.

Eh". William H. Wishard graphically describes a case that occurred in
his practice as follows : "I was summoned (in the year 1843) to the bedside
of a woman who had been in labor eighteen hours. The midwife had kept
the grave nature of the case concealed from the friends, hoping that something
would come about that she might be able to deliver the woman witkout the
help of a physician. At last she was compelled to report the alarming symp-
toms of the case, and it soon became known that professional aid was sent
for, although the night was cold and a terrific snow storm was prevailing.
When I arrived, I found the family living in a log cabin, fourteen by sixteen
feet, and there were present to render help and sympathy twelve women, and

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494 JOHNSON COUNTY, IN-DIANA.

four or five children, with the sick woman and her husband. We had stand-
ing rpprn only. It was custom and was considered a conscientious duty to an
afflicted neighbor. To have but a half dozen present on such occasions was
considered a small and select company." Dr. Wishard further says : **Should
the case be one that baffled the skill of the midwife and a physician had to be
sent for, the news spread with the rapidity of a prairie fire, and when he
arrived the congregation was large enough for a funeral or a quarterly meet-
ing. The gathering was not made up of one sex only; the men were around
on the border doing picket duty and ready for emergencies."

In the same year of 1843, ^^s. Titsworth attended the young wife of a
farmer in the Indian Creek neighborhood. Mrs. Titsworth was a German
woman, very fat and short of stature, with a broad, flat face. She had come
to the new country in 1830, and had successfully practiced her calling until
the incident we novy^ relate. She had been called to the farmer's home early
in the day, but her presence had not been attended with results. The case
lingered through the day with no prospect of relief. When night came on,
with lowering clouds and portents of a gathering storm, the watchers lost
their courage and faith in the fat, old midwife's skill and they requested that
a doctor should be summoned without more delay. Hervey Vories, a nearby
neighbor, then in the strength and vigor of his first youth and a bold horse-
man, was called up and sent through the wild night at break-neck speed for
Dr. Ward, a young physician who some three years previously had located in
the little town of Williamsburg. The town was reached, the doctor found and
soon they both were on their way, riding a wild race through the wild night.
They could not see each other as they galloped through the gloom. The road,
the woods, the hills, the whole world and sky were swallowed up and lost in
blackest night. Momentarily the trees and hills leaped from out the gloom
in the dazzling brilliancy of the lightning, only to be lost again the next instant
in the utter blackness of the awful night. Soon the storm came on in all its
fury. The rain descended in drenching torrents, the thunder rolled, the winds
howled in their wrath, and the lightning blazed in a dazzling electrical splen-
dor. It seemed that angry Jove was once again abroad with thunderbolts,
seeking to destroy this modem son of medicine, as in the olden times on just
such night as this he struck down old Aesculapius because of his skill in bring-
ing the dead to life again. But at last the house was reached in safety, when
ft was learned that midwife Titsworth and old midwife Nature had prevailed,
and the child lay wrapped in swaddling clothes sleeping in its cradle.

Though success attended her efforts in this case, the midwife had seen

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 495

her day. The magnificent women of the first generation had grown old. In
their stead were their daughters of gentler blood and slenderer frame who
lingered in the travail of birth. Fear of physicians and confidence in mid-
wives alike had passed away. Women of timorous natures, when undergoing
the greatest ordeal of their lives, and friends of lively sympathies grew to
prefer the presence of the sturdy masculine obstetrician.

During the reign of the midwife no attention was paid to antiseptics or
eyen to ordinary cleanliness. The clothing was changed the third day and
the young mother was adjured to remain in bed nine days, but sometimes in
three or four days she was up milking the cows.

One of the most extraordinary therapeutic agents of that day was to be
found in the poultice that was sometimes applied to inflamed breasts after
childbirth. In case of threatened abscess of the breast Mrs. Titsworth ordered
a poultice applied, made of earth dug up at the kitchen door where the kitchen
slops and dish water were thrown. This was made into a paste with warm
water and applied to the breast in the same way that antiphlogistine is now
applied. The bare mention of such a poultice made of foul smelling earth,
swarming with bacteria, is enough to make Holmes and Semmelweiss and
Pasteur turn in their graves.

The time at last had come when the "herb doctors" and midwives should
no longer live in peace, for physicians had begun to come. The very first of
all was Dr. Robert McCaulay, a native of Edinburg, Scotland. He came
from Scotland in the year 1811, found his way westward to Kentucky, where
he married. In October, 1826, he came to Johnson county, Indiana, and lo-
cated in the great woods five miles west of the little village of Franklin. Being
a man of ability, his efforts to get practice were soon attended with success.

In July. 1827, Dr. Pierson Murphy, of Ohio, after one course of lec-
tures at the Ohio Medical College. Cincinnati, Ohio, rode horseback through
the woods to Johnson county, and located in Franklin, which was then a little
village of six or eight log houses. Later in the same year Dr. James Ritchey
came from Greensburg, Indiana, to Johnson county, and found an abiding
place in the modest county seat. In the year 1828 Dr. William Woods located
ten miles north of Franklin, on the Madison road, where Greenwood after-
wards w^as built. In the year 1830, Dr. Davis located in Franklin, and Dr.
Smith located in the little town of Edinburg, on the sickly banks of Blue
river. In the year 1832 Dr. Aylesberry located in the wilds of Clark town-
ship near the present site of Rocklane, and in the year 1834 the professional
ranks in the county were ably strengthened by the arrival of Dr. Christian

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496 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Kegley, an accomplished German scholar and successful young physician who
came from Wytheville, Virginia, and located in the swampy bottoms of White
River township. In the year 1835 Dr. Benjamin Noble, a brother of Gov-
ernor Noah Noble, located in Greenwood, and successfully practiced his art
for several years. In the year 1838 the ranks of the medical profession in
Franklin were increased by the arrival of Dr. A. D. Sweet and Dr. Mack
Smiley.

The year 1840 is important in the medical annals of Johnson county.
On the 22nd day of April in that year, Dr. William H. Wishard, then a young
man of twenty-four years, began his ]ong and honorable career in the min-
istry of the healing art at the little town of Greenwood. He remained there
until in the autumn of the same year, when he moved to the now extinct town
of Port Royal, or Far West, in White River township, where he remained
for two years. In the year 1840, also, Dr. Daniel Webb sought a home in
Franklin for the practice of his profession, and Dr. Ward located in the Will-
iamsburg neighborhood for the same purpose.

During the next ten years a large number joined the ranks of the pro-
fession, prominent among who were Dr. J. H. Donnell, who came from
Greensburg to Franklin January 27, 1841. Dr. J. H. Woodbum, Dr. Sam-
uel Thompson, Dr. Winslow, Dr. John McCorkle. Dr. Gill, Dr. Schofield,
Dr. Johnson and others of lesser note. It is difficult to conceive of an under-
taking more full of terrible obstacles than the practice of the healing art in
the early days of Johnson county. The country has been described until we
know its dreary and forbidding aspect.

The opporttmities for education and equipment for the successful prac-
tice of medicine were of the most meagre kind. As we have said, the Tran-
sylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky, and the Ohio Medical College,
Cincinnati, Ohio, were the only feeble glimmering stars in all the vast night
of the Mississippi valley. Far off and inaccessible as they were in those
days without roads or bridges, it is to be expected that many of the physi-
cians of this time would practice medicine without ever having seen a medi-
cal college. The paths of knowledge were all rough and dimly lighted in
those early days.

Nor was the lack of preparation the only obstacle in our elder brother's
pathway. Every neighborhood had its midwife, who monopolized the ob-
stetrical work of those early times, who looked with supercilious contempt
upon the interloping medical man and tried with all the force of her influence
and prestige to cover him with ridicule and bring him into disrqnite. Even

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 497

in the purely medical realms of his calling he was given scant regard and
courtesy, for the pioneers were bold and self-reliant in all things and even
tried, unaided, to combat the mysterious forces of disease. When a pioneer,
either young or old, succumbed to some prevailing or even unknown illness,
the lancet was the first resort. Then some strong emetic, like lobelia, was
given, to rid the stomach of its contents, followed by some drastic cathartic.
Some nauseating infusion was next administered for several days, and only
in the event of most serious symptoms was a physician finally called. Thus it
haiq>ened that a physician's patients were all in desperate straits when first
he saw them. If they recovered under his kindly care the friends thanked
God, the bestower of life and all its blessings. If they succumbed and death
relieved them of their pain, the physician was blamed for the result and
judged of meagre skill.

In the face of such obstacles only the sturdiest spirits could succeed.
The pioneers were practical, thorough-going men and women. Relying
upon their own therapeutic resources until the sick were in the last extreme,
they called a doctpr in with little faith and yet demanded miracles of him.
Consequently, to be successful among them, the physician had to be of force-
ful and an imposing personality.

No people in the world's history were ever half so kind and neighborly
and sympathetic as were those pioneers. It seemed that the world was peo-
pled with great and loving souls. It was well that such people lived in times
when sorrow and suflfering and the brooding gloom of sickness were in every
cabin in the land. In those good old times the people were unselfish and had
never felt man's greed for gold and power of place, and all the ills that dwarf
the heart and blight the soul had not darkened in the land. Every man was
neighbor to his fellowman and neighbor vied w ith neighbor in deeds of kind-
ness to the stricken and the weak. The sick were nursed by all alike and no
sacrifice was great enough to make for those that were affiliated and cast
down. The abodes of suffering were filled with tender nurses, watching
through the darkest hours of night, not for hope of gain, but responsive to
the generous impulses of loving hearts. They lacked the accurate scientific
knowledge of our day, with its manifold helpfulness and ix)wer to heal, but
they had the great, warm human heart that never errs nor tires and is worth
more than all the schools and laboratories and learning of the world. Lack-
ing our knowledge of precision, they sought to make amends and satisfy the
ceaseless longing of their hearts to serve, by hovering over beds of pain with

(32)

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498 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Ceaseless ministry and loving words and soothing touch of the beloved hand
and patient vigils that outwatched the stars.

Thus lavishing so profusely upon their sick the riches of their own
sympathy, they exacted much of their physicians and bestowed their respect
and confidence only upon those that they deemed to have the most striking
and admirable qualities as practitioners of the healing art. So all physicians
were subjected to a searching test, and in the ordeal of gaining popular favor
men that lacked moral. and intellectual force lost that ease of temperament
that is the finest attribute of medical men. They became rough, uncouth and
irritable, cultivated various eccentricities, assumed an unwonted harshness of
demeanor, indulged in alcoholic intoxication and emphasized their conversa-
tion with broad profanity. Both Uity and profession half believed that dis-
ease was a physical entity, possessing the patient like an evil spirit or a devil,
which must needs be scourged out with maledictions and lancets and actual
cauteries. So the man that could be the most rough and terrible, the most
strenuous and bizarre, the most arrogant and self assertive, soonest gained the
p<!)pvflar f^ith'in his magic power to exorcise the demon of disease. But not
-all doctors of that day were made of such fantastic stuff. "There were
giants in the earth in those days" that loomed above their fellow men and
still shine amid that dreary waste of half-forgotten times like mountain peaks
that hold the light of fading day when all beneath is buried in the shadows.
Of such glorious company were Drs. McCaulay, Murphy, Kegley, Donnell
and William H. Wishard. The story of their trials and sacrifices and their
life of devotion to suffering humanity forms one of the most inspiring themes
in the whole history of our profession.

The books to which they were compelled to refer were not the repositories
of medical knowledge that the modern text-books are. The medical works
that were published before the appearance of Eberle's Practice in 1845 were
so crude that one may well believe their authors had not yet outgrown the
dark traditions of the middle ages. All the medicines in use at the time were
administered in a crude and bulky form. There was not only a lack of cap-
sules, of pills and tablets, with their coatings of sugar and chocolate, of
palatable liquids, medicinal elixirs, alkaloids, dosimetric granules and all such
convenient forms for the administration of medicines then in use, but an
entire absence from the materia medica of many of the most potent agents
now knowjn to medicine. There were then no antipyrine. acetanilid, phe-
nacetihe, nor any of those preparations known as coal-tar derivatives, no
chloral hydrate, veratrum viride, cocaine, chloroform, ether, chloretone, ad-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 499

renalin, strychnia, antitoxic serums, nor a thousand other remedies since ob-
tained from vegetable and animal sources, or synthetically elaborated from
the deep hidden elements of the inorganic world. There vvere no hyper-
dermic syringes nor clinical thermometers, and an almost entire absence of
the myriad forms of surgical instruments of almost perfect coijstruction that
now are such a boon to the practicing surgeon. Anaesthesia and antisepsis,
;tWP pric,d^s§ ^i.fjs to ^uff^jing.humanjtj, by which the surgeon yjearly saves
thousands of precious lives, were then but unrealized hopes of visionary

drea.mers. . .,.

Meagre was (he pioneer's knowledge of disease and meagre his thera-
peutic weapons of attack, but such weapons as he had were potent and he
used them, with the. skill and courage of a master. Calomel was given in
enormous quantities, sometimes as rnuch ^s sixty grains at a dose. A favor-
ite prescription for use in remittent fevers was **ten and ten," i. e., ten. grains
of calomel and ten grains of jalap, repeated every six hours till free purga-
tion resulted. Then the dose was lessened, but its administration was con-
tinued until mild salivation was induced. If there was a high gfrade of in-
flammation, nauseating doses of tartar emetic were given to reduce the fever.
If it produced watery stools, the bowels were restrained with laudanum or
opium. Sometimes sweet spirits of nitre or nitrate of potash were given
to reduce fever. The use of cold water was absolutely forbidden at all times.
When the fever was finally broken, but never before, such tonics as Peruvian
bark, Huxham's tincture of bark, or an infusion of quassia were adminis-
tered. When quinine was first used, it was considered an unsafe and yn-
certain remedy. Dr. William H. Wishard says: **I remember well the first
time that it was used in my father's family. We were suffering with malarial
fever and had used about half a pound of Peruvian bark and bitters of everj^
kind and quality known, yet the chills would return every seventh or four-
teenth day. My father sent me to Indianapolis (o a physician to get mediciue
to prevent the relapse of the chills. The prescription consisted of thirty
grains of quinine, ten drops of sulphuric acid, and six otmces of water ; dose,
one teaspoon ful three or four times a day, to be taken with great care.'' But
if there was caution in the use of quinine, such cannpt t^ said of many other
things, for the old physician, meagrely equipped as he was, often displayed a
boldness and courage of which we can scarcely conceive. He used calomel in
inconceivable massive doses; he abstracted Wood until the patient, was at
the point of fainting from weakness, and he amputated thighs and performed
- oAer- formfdable , surgical operations ^without th^e use of -chloro form - or anaes-
thetics.

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500 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

In the year 1830 Dr. Murphy had a patient suffering with abdominal
dropsy. He called Dr. Smith of Edinburg in consultation. They had neither
local nor general anaesthetics, no antiseptics and no trocar. But they took a
small joint of an elder, cleared out the pith, scraped off the bark and thus
fashioned it into' a hollow tube. Then with a thumb lancet they made an
incision through the abdominal wall, inserted the elder tube into the peritoneal
cavity, and drew off the dropsical fluid, greatly to the patient's satisfaction
and relief.

It is related of Dr. Fitch that he once visited a lonely cabin far in the
inaccessible wilds of the forest of that day. The people were very poor, the
room was ill-furnished and but dimly lighted by the fitful firelight and a
glimmering candle's feeble ray. He found three small children delirious with
fever and with heads drawn back and rigid limbs. They were iii the rigid
stage of cerebro-spinal meningitis, a disease that was then very rarely seen.
He lost no time, but, with rare self-confidence, quickly applied heroic meas-
ures of relief. He administered as best he could an enormous dose of calo-
mel to each. Then, with his ever-ready lancet, he abstracted blood from each
until they were all relaxed and on the verge of fainting. An iron poker by
the spacious fire place he first plunged into the glowing coals and then drew
its dull red tip along their naked backs from neck to hips. Unfortunately the
result of this procedure is not known, but the incident is given here to show
the lofty self-reliance of physicians of that time.

Grave conditions and emergencies arose, and sudden and frightful peril
to life and limb occurred ofttimes at night in the fierce cold of winter, far in
the dim woods beyond the swamps. There were no telephones in those days
outrunning the winds with the sick man's message of distress ; no broad, firm
highways, bearing to any place within an hour the kindly welcome help of
professional brother, so grateful in the time of peril. It mattered not how
grave the danger nor how great the need of haste, there were only the blazed
trails through the forest and the lone messenger on horseback, slow laboring
through swamps and mire.

Thus the doctor, when he reached his suffering patient, was alone in
the forest, far from other help, and he must needs be bold and heroic, relying
wholly upon his own resources to alleviate his patient's ills. So he tried at all
times to be prepared as best he could and in his practice he dispensed the
most potent remedial agents at his command with high and conscious cour-
age. When with saddle bags bf jalap, rhubarb and opium, and pockets full of
castor oil, epsom salts and senna leaves, he saMied forth on horseback like

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 5OI

a knight of old, armed with lancet sharp, to help his friend and battle with
his dreaded foe, the dragon of disease, like a mighty giant, wielding a two-
edged sword, he sometimes killed both friend and foe.

The remuneration of physicians for their services in those days was most
meagre and precarious. There was the greatest scarcity of money and the
pepple all were poor. The meagre charges that were made for services are
full of interest to us now. On one page of Dr. Kegley's ledger, dated Janu-
ary I, 1837, are found the following items:

John Surface, Jr., dr. to i vial oil spike $o.i2j^

John Moore, dr. to i vial Batem drops .i2>4

Stephen Kink, dr. to i vial opodeldoc .18^

Joseph Keesling, dr. to Quinine drops .62j/i

William Woodford, dr. to Epsom Salts and Olive Oil ASH

Daniel Etter, dr. to Physic and Ointment .75

Nathaniel Tracey, dr. to Puke for child .06^

Nathaniel Doty, dr. to Salve and Br. oil -37^4

Jas. Stewart, Jr., dr: to Puke for wife .i2j^

Physicians rode five or ten miles and attended cases of labor for three
dollars and waited for the money. Pay was taken in work, in wood, com,
live stock, poultry, linsey woolsey and other products of the loom, pumpkins,
ginseng, raccoon skins, and every conceivable object that could be palmed
oflf on the patient medical man in lieu of money. People were so utterly
poverty stricken in those times that much of the doctor's work- was done for
charity and the love of suffering humanity.

To illustrate the barren poverty of that time, I shall describe the home
of a family that felt the grinding indigence not uncommon in a new and
undeveloped land. Nearly sixty-five years ago a man by the name of Hyatt,
with his wife and children, lived in the remote southwestern part of the
county in an isolated region among the hills of Indian creek. He lived in a
little round log house, fourteen by sixteen feet in size, with a stick-and-clay
chimney and a dirt floor. When he finished his house he took forked sticks
and drove into the ground in the corner of the house; two poles were cut,
one end of which was laid in the forks of the upright sticks and the other
end was stuck into a crack between the round logs of the house. Oak boards
were split and laid upon these poles. When this was finished it served the
man and wife for bed. Large wooden troughs were hollowed out and filled
with leaves. In each of these a child was cradled. At night these rude

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502 . JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

troughs were propped up at one end, so that the fire on the hearth could shed
its light and warmth upon the sleeping children.

How sad and gloomy and how inexpressibly hopeless the struggle for
existence must have seemed to this man, with but the strength of his brawny
arm between his wife, with her sweet little ones, and all the outer darkness
of that savage world. Malevolent wolves in the lonely solitudes of night
howled about his cabin or sniffed at his frail doorway. Sickness and hunger,
with threatening visage, like gaunt specters, were ever standing near robbing
of its happiness his simple life. But when sickness came this man was not
forgotten. Then the neighbors, the ministering angels of the land, came in
and all that human hands could do was done.

Once upon a time Dr. McCauley was called ten miles from home to see
a woman sick with child-bed fever. She Jiad been attended by a midwife
and was much exhausted. Dr. McCauley examined the poor woman care-
fully and calling the husband said: **Your wife is very sick; she needs a
stimulant. You must get a quart of whiskey.'' In those days whiskey was
only twelve and one-half cents a quart, but the man sorrowfully informed the
doctor that he had not so much as a penny. The doctor pondered over the
situation for awhile and then said, *'As I was coming down here through the
woods my dog followed me. About two miles up the road yonder he found a
*coon* (raccoon) and killed it. You will find it up there by the side of the
path. Go find it, skin it, and take the pelt to town and with it you can get
your whiskey.'' The man started joyfully on his errand and in due time re-
turned with the much-needed stimulant. Such cases of suffering wiani virere
found every day, but the charity of ministers of the healing art '*suflfereth
long and is kind.*'

Sad and full of pathos is the story of those early days, when the land
was buried in the swamps and woods primeval. Nature frowned with dark
and threatening face upon the white man in his efforts to disturb the silience
of her long repose. She stopped his footsteps with a dreary waste of wild
and savage forests, where tangled foliage and fallen limbs and prostrate
trunks of mighty girth cumbered the swampy earth; with broad streams of
muddy water spreading far over the level woods, dragging their foul and
sluggish currents lazily over beds of slimy ooze. She deluged the soft,
spongy earth with floods of rain and rent the summer foliage with storms of
ja^ttling hail; she clothed the wintry woods in coats of icy mail and heaped
high the. drifted snow in every sheltered nook. And when, with long toil,
the pioneer had drained those swamps and carved a narrow clearing in the

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 503

woods, black clouds of cawing crows descended, and troops of chattering
squirrels from the tree tops came, devouring the slender products of his
husbandry; ravenous wolves ranged the woods, ravaging his meagre flocks,
while vapors and noxious exhalations came up like evil spirits from the forest
dells where gray fogs hung in the lazy air, poisoning his life-blood with
burning fevers.

But in the southwestern part of the county the face of nature wore a
smile. There the crystal waters of Indian creek sparkled over golden gravel,
as it danced between grassy banks, all fringed with ivy and rushes, babbling
merrily beneath the sycamores. On all sides rose great hills, crowned with
leafy trees. On their slopes and crests the hand of providence had lingered
with a caressing touch, shaping them into forms of picturesque beauty. While
yet the winter woods were sad and dim, and scarce the sap had stirred within
the trees, delicate wild flowers bloomed on all the hill-sides, and, responsive
to the spring's first promise, slender dog-woods, sweetly decked and gar-
landed in white, stood forth in modest beauty, like brides, .awaiting the first
caresses of that ardent lover, the sun. In summer great oaks and lordly
poplars cast afar their cooling shade; in autumn the sumach and the maple
clothed the hillsides with the glows and splendors of the rainbow's hues. Un-
dimmed by any stifling smoke of cities, the bright skies smiled in pristine
clearness over all the hills. Summer breezes played beneath the trees, and
from those hills and forest dells all the bird-songs of spring went up to heaven
in the sweet sunshine of every golden dawn. It was a beautiful region this,,
among the Hensley township hills where Indian creek flowed on its jocund
way, babbling merrily beneath the sycamores.

Soon after the advent of the white men, a fine type of pioneers, nearly
all of whom were primarily of Scotch-Irish stock, came into the county and
claimed this lovely region as their own. Little clearings were carved in the
primal woods and log houses sprang up on the hill tops or on the slopes hard
by some bubbling spring. Neighborly paths were beaten through the woods
and pleasant home lights twinkled at night between the trees across the snowy
hills of winter.

The neighbors visited each other to while away the lonely hours of
winter evenings, helped each other in their work, nursed each other in their
trials of sickness, and stood by each other in their misfortunes ; in every form
of mutual helpfulness and neighborly kindness the great Celtic heart sent
forth its sunshine.

Soon a younger generation grew up; the youths, strong limbed, broad

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504 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

shouldered and full of lusty life; the maidens, perfect types of lovely woman-
hood, in their eyes the sunshine, on their lips the red wine that said, '*Come,
drink me/'

The pioneers had ever been stimulated to the greatest efforts by the
heartfelt wish that their children should have a better bringing up than theirs^
had been ; so that even in the earliest years of the new^ community, when as
yet the land but inhospitably yielded the bare necessities of food and raiment
and the struggle for existence was acute, the intellectual and spiritual welfare
of those that were to be its future citizens was given thoughtful care. Log
school houses, with greased paper windows, were built in the barren woods.
Here the children came yearly for a few brief weeks, learning to read from
the pages of the Testament and copying proverbs with goose-quill pens,
dipped in blood-red pokeberry juice. Little log churches, too, were built
within the fore3t shades like Druidic sanctuaries of old among the oaks.
Here, on sunny Sabbath morns the rosy maidens came, walking barefoot
down the shady forest paths, dressed in their gayest home-spun frocks.

The irrespressible social instincts of the young found expression in the
singing schools, the husking bees, the spelling bees, the quiltings and the
many country dances held of winter evenings in every neighborhood. Miles
and miles the lads and lasses went on horseback over the hills, across the
creeks, through woods and -mire, to dance all night with sparkling eyes and
rosy cheeks in jolly measure to the music of the Hoosier fiddle, on whose
strings wild airs were played that had been piped a hundred years before by
kilted pipers on the mountain heights of Scotland.

But such happy thoughts, recalling an idyllic life of Arcadian simplicity
and rustic joy, can no longer be indulged. These threads of gold were woven
in the story of those times, that in its gloomy shadows there might be one ray
of light.

We must now resume the burden of our theme, must quit the sunshine
and those mirthful scenes where lovers, arm in arm, danced through the mid-
night hours till the stars were dim and rosy dawn appeared. Henceforth we
must keep in the sad light of the sick room where anxious friends and kindly
neighbors and grizzled doctors, worn with toil, watch through the nights in
grim conte'Sts with the insidious forces of disease.

The physicians of that day dressed ordinarily in the homespun gar-
ments of the time, that were sometimes "cold-dyed." Physicians of some
means often dressed in "Kentucky jeans,*' and when thus arrayed were con-
sidered quite well dressed. The invariable mode of travel was on horseback

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. * 505

and on account of the swamps and mud physicians always wore leggings but-
toned up the side of the legs and tied above the knee. They wore long great-
coats, reaching almost to their feet. Their saddles, in which they spent most
of their time, were often cushioned with sheep skins. Sometimes the saddle
was covered with a buffalo robe, which was taken as a certain indication that
the owner enjoyed financial ease and more than usual professional ability.

Physicians had no end of trouble with the ignorance and superstition
of their patients, the sad depths of which is almost past believing now. One
ineradicable fallacy in regard to bleeding was to the effect that a person
should always be bled in the ami of whichever side his pain or ailment
chanced to be in. If Wed in the right arm, when his pain was in the left
side, or vice versa, it was believed that the pain would cross the body through
the heart and death would almost surely follow. The physician that risked
his patient's life by such a rash and unnecessary procedure, immediately for-
feited all right to consideration as a wise and prudent man.

An amusing instance of the ignorance of the time in the use of domestic
remedies was experienced by Dr. W. H. Wishard when a young man. One
day he chanced to be in a distant part of the country calling upon a patient
when a neighbor woman came in with a small child that was comely and in-
teresting with the exception that its head was a mass of festering ulcers, cov-
ered with the horrible incrustations of scald-head. Its hair was matted and
disheveled and was still further befouled by a liberal application of some oily
substance that had been applied for curative purposes, but that was evidently
utterly powerless to effect a cure. Dr. Wishard became interested in the poor
afflicted creature and asked the mother what was the matter with her child.
She informed him and he asked her what remedy she was using. She told
him that she was using goose grease. She said that she had used it for quite
a while, as it was the best remedy to be had for such diesases, but that it
seemed to be of no avail in this case. Tlie doctor looked very grave and said
that perhaps the goose had not been killed in the right time of the moon. The
woman said, with some little hesitation, that she thought it had been killed
at the proper time. The doctor then said, "Are you sure it was a goose, per-
haps you killed a gander by mistake." The woman, with a worried look upon
her face, said she didn't know that made any difference. The doctor sug-
gested that it might, at any rate that something had been lacking in the art
of preparation of this oil, so that it was entirely inert, that this case was very
severe and other remedies would be required. To this the woman readily
assented, and from that time the poor child had the best of treatment. A

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506 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

doctor, who while yet young, had the rare ease of temperament that can thus
hiunor the whim of an ignorant woman and yet treat the case with scientific
exactness is blessed by the gods indeed, and is predestined to high success.

In these days of comfortable and rapid transit, we can scarcely form even
a ieeble idea of the vast effort necessary in those days to get from one part
of the country to another. The roads were mere blazed trails, or were rudely
built of corduroy cut from the neighboring woods, or were wholly lost in
bottomless mud and stagnant ponds. All travel was most laborious and
slow. A man. that once obtained a practice in those days, of necessity bade
adieu to the genial glow of his own fireside, to the nuptial smiles of wife and
the sweet companionship of children. Often in the sickly season he found it
necessary to station horses in diflferent neighborhoods and sometimes thirty-
six and even forty-eight hours were required to make the rounds and reach
again his own home. Once in the town of Franklin, of five physicians, all
but two were disabled. Doctors . Donnell and Ritchey stood the strain of
constant work and cared for all they could, riding in a gallop from place to
place and traveling every day a distance of more than fifty miles.

In those long solitary journeys along bridal paths in the trackless wilder-
ness^ the howling wolves often kept the doctor company, but his. nerves were
steady and his courage high and he did not mind their threats half so much
as being dragged from his horse at night by the over-hanging branches of
some tree. His life was one of constant self-denial for the good of man.
There was never any peace nor quietude for him. In his long journeys
through the night, his drowsy senses sometimes failed and, dozing in* his
saddle, he had dreams of home and rest. But such bright dreams vanished
like a mirage in the boundless gloom, and rousing up, he found again the
chilling winds, the trackless woods, and suffering ones yet calling for his
help.

In springtime, when the dogwoods blossomed and the maples were a
blur of green; in summer, when the roses bloomed and bare- foot maidens
tripped to church; in autumn, when the fiery sun blazed into the putrid
swamps, and pestilence, with scorching breath, stalked boldly through the
land; in winter, when the frozen world lay dead in shrouds of snow and
watching stars turned pale with cold and shivered in the icy air, he was
abroad on deeds of mercy bent, thinking not of self nor gain nor praise of
men, nor faltered blessings of the poor; but only of the duty and his work
and praying, Ajax-like, for light and strength to bear his portion of the
weight of care,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 507

*-Tliat crushes into dumb despair

One-half the human race/*

The pathos and the tragedy of Hfe beat into his soul. Humanity all around
him was crying piteously for help, for light, for life. In heroic strength he
stood upon the shore lines of a troubled sea of sickness and despair, and, like
a great light-house, he sent afar a beam of courage to those that beat against
the winds.

PERSO^JAL MENTION.

The pioneers had no historians and the swift flight of time has swept
into oblivion the life work of many physicians who came to the county in an
early day. Their names and locations and the approximate dates of their
coming, dimly revealed by oral tradition, are all that is left of their life
stories of stress and toil. ^ , > »

The following list includes the names of physicians who located in
Franklin prior to 1855: Dr. Handy Davis, i830-i§32; Dr. Samuel Ritchey,
1835-1836; Dr. Mack Smiley, 1838-1839; Dr. A. D. Sweet, 1838-1842; Dr.
Daniel Webb, 1840-.1848; Dr. Moses W. Thomas, 1840-1853; Dr. J. H.
Donnell, 1841-1891 ; Dr. J. H. Woodbum, 1845-1847; Dr. Samuel Thomp-
son, 1847-1854; Dr. Raymond, 1847-1848; Dr. Winslow, 1848-1850;. Dr.
John McCorkle, 1849-1856; Dr. John Ritchie, 1832-1857; Dr. J. P. Gill,
1849-1866; Dr. Lewis McLaughlin, 1850-1851; Dr. George Cook, 1851-
1852,; Dr. J. T. Jones, 1851-1898; Dr. James McMurray, 1852-1853; Dr.
Benj. Leavett, 1852-1860; Dr. John W. Scott, 1854-1860; Dr. H. D. Fisk,
1855-1861.

Dr. Samuel Ritchey was a brother of Dr. James Ritchey, but was a
man of less ability. He died in Jasper county, Indiana, in 1892.

Dr. Mack Smiley was a pupil of Dr. Pierson Murphy. After practicing
medicine in Franklin one year, he went to Edinburg in 1839, where he prac-
ticed until 1853. He then abandoned the practice of medicine and engaged
in farming. He died in 1876.

Dr. A. D. Sweet was the fir$t eclectic physician to practice medicine in
Franklin.

Dr. Raymond came to Franklin with great picturesqueness of appear-
ance, in June, 1847. He was dressed in a United States army surgeon's uni-

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508 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

form and a Mexican sombrero. He brought with him a Mexican mustang
and Mexican saddle, a parrot, a gun and a galvanic battery. With this bizarre
equipment he impressed the credulous pioneers and reaped a rich harvest for
a season. But his success was so short-lived that in nine months he found
it expedient to take his departure in the night. Nothing was ever heard of
him, save that he was not a physician at all, nor even a medical student, but
that his vocation before coming to Franklin had been that of bartender on
an Ohio river steamboat.

In pleasing contrast to this bubble reputation was that of Dr. J. H. Don-
nell.

Dr. J. T. Jones was one of the physicians of that period, who continued
to practice till a recent date. He was bom in Johnson county, Indiana, Jan-
uary 23, 1825. He was educated in the county schools of the day and in
Franklin College. He read medicine in the office of Drs. Webb and Thomas
at Franklin and began practicing at Westfield, Indiana, in 1846. He re-
turned to Franklin for the practice of medicine in 1851. He went to Provi-
dence in 1858 and to Bargersville in 1861. In 1862 he returned to Franklin
and remained until 1870, when he went to Urneyville. In 1874 he came to
Franklin for the third time and remained in practice until his death on Sep-
tember 30, 1898.

In outlying parts of the county physicians early located in little neigh-
borhoods that gave promise of work sufficient for a livelihood. Dr. William
Woods located in the Smock neighborhood, on the present site of Green-
wood, in the year 1828. To the same neighborhood came Dr. Benj. S.
Noble, in the year 1835. He was a brother of ex-Governor Noah Noble and
was a man of more than ordinary natural ability. Though having never
heard a medical lecture, yet by studious habits and great self-confidence, he
established a large and successful practice. He served one term in the Indiana
State Legislature. He left Greenwood in 1853, locating in Iowa, wnere ne
died in 1869.

Dr. Isaac N. Elberry, the first man to practice medicine in Clark town-
ship, located near the present site of Clarksburg in 1832. He was appointed
postmaster of Yellow Springs, as the place was then called, July 24, 1837.
In addition to being the village doctor and postmaster, he was also a minister
of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was evidently a useful man to the
pioneers, though not brilliant in any sense, for he failed to impress himself
upon the memories of the people living in that neighborhood. His suc-
cessor in the postoffice of Yellow Springs was appointed June 2, 1838. Dr.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 509

Elberry left Yellow Springs at that time and tradition remembers not whence
he came nor whither he went.

The postoffice of Yellow Springs was discontinued September 19, 1854.
It was re-established under the name of Rock Lane in the year 1867.

In the year 1832 the people in the opposite corner of Johnson county
were also needing medical help and Dr. Trower located in Hensley township,
about one mile west of the present site of Samaria. He was the first physician
to locate in Hensley township.

Six years before Dr. Trower's advent, Arthur Bass, from North Caro-
lina, had located among the "bold hills, bearded with trees" just south of In-
dian creek, and not far from the present site of Bethlehem church. He had
brought with him to the wilderness a turnkey and a thumb lancet, with which
he had rid the pioneers of their aching molars and their sluggish malaria-
poisoned blood. Dr. Trower, before many years, moved to Morgantown,
which then consisted of only a few log cabins, so hopelessly bemired in the
primitive mud of Morgan county that it was known only by the very appro-
priate appellation of "Mudtown."

Thus the people of Hensley township, being without a resident physi-
cian, either called Dr. Trower or Dr. McCauley until 1840, in which year Dr.
Ward came from Bloomington and located in the little village of Williams-
burg. Dr. Ward was not a graduate, but people then were not exacting in
that respect and his services were soon in §reat demand. In order to in-
crease his medical knowledge, he induced Dr. John McCorkle, an older
physician, to come to the village as his partner and preceptor. Thus, while
doing a busy practice, he pursued his medical studies under the tutelage of
his older and more experienced partner.

In 1842 Dr. Nathan Schofield came to Williamsburg. He took a deep
interest in his professional work and assisted in the organization of the first
Johnson County Medical Society. Unfortunately, the records of this society
are lost and it is impossible to give any data in regard to it.

DR. ROBERT m'CAULEY.

One of the earliest in the county was Robert McCauley, who was born
near Edinburgh, Scotland, August 22, 1793. His mother died when he was
six years old. After this he attended boarding school in Edinburgh for
several years. He worked to pay his board and learned the cooper's trade.
He even attended boxing school and became quite proficient in that science.

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5IO JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

At tlie age of eighteen he came, to America. He liked to travel and was
seldom long in one place. When out of money he stopped and replenished
his purse by teaching school. The boundless expanse of the great new world
lured him on and on until in 1822 we find him in Henry county, Kentucky.
Here he met Margaret Banta, a young lady some five years his junior,. and in
1824 the two were married. McCauley worked in his father-in4ftiv's dis-

itillery for a couple of years.. . In October, 1826, he and his family nc^me to
Johnson county, Indiana, and moved into a little cabin in a hQllQw,'juBt:north
of where Joaeph Vandiver. lived. The woods were dense and boundless and

-Franklin, ovcr/^vejniles away, was .a little village of only five or six houses

.and contained. i>a doctors. In fact as yet I have not been able to locate any
doctor in the county. So McCauley began at once the practice of medicine.
His, services were in demand so soon that he had not time to build a door to

.his cabin, but stretched. a blanket over the opening and then rode forth night
and day to see his patients- . The wolves came and sniffed and howled around
the house, while his wife and babies on the other side of the blanket sat and
shivered with terror till morning came. Soon he rode miles in every direction.
He passed through Franklin, crossed Sugar creek and practiced in Shelby
county ; through Ediriburg into Bartholomew county, along Indian creek, and
into the rough hills and wild woods which, skirted Brown county and west-

iward far towards. Whitt river. ^ He sometimes ; made trips which consumed
two or three days. He. charged very little in those days and collected less.
His neighbors for a mile or. two aroUnd always paid their bills in work. He

idied August 14,: 1842. At the time of his death he owned nearly five hun-
dred icres of land, but very little o£ his wealth had been made by the prac-
tice of medicine. He was a typical pioneer physician, living and practicing

(in the woods, exposed to wild animals .and inclement weather, and encounter-

:in^ aHithe imaginable bardships?:nicidej3t to, hlstprofessibn hx ^thajl:ifcari[y:day^

, DR. PI3ER30N. MyjRPHY. ■;* ; , ] . ; ,,,; .

Pierson Murphy was •J)oxn»,in Fairfield , county, Ohio, in 1800. His
childhood and 'youth were spent on his father's farm. Finally he concluded
I to study medicine, and began reading with the village doctor. In November,
r; 1825; .Ticjehteredjthc -Ohio Mi^icahi^ollege; C^ncitinati,: Vhere;;he; attended two
-ternnis; and, graduated rin.t^ic? spring x)f 1827. He retunied home, .bought a
.'hQrse,:.and immediately set out foir <Eranjfelin,: Indiana, which place hf Ireached
inthe summer of i827^?wh;h no.earthly |«>ssessions but, his Jior^ie,, bridle arid
saddle, gun and fifty cents in money.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 5II

Franklin then consisted of some half dozen families, living in log
houses. The surrounding country was very sparsely settled and no physician
had as yet seen fit to favor the village v^ath his presence. In fact, the only
doctor in all the country round was Dr. McCauley, then living and practicing
in the great woods some five miles west. The young doctor secured lodging
in the family of Mr. Taylor, the only family in the village able to extend such
accommodations. He then entered bravely into the practice of his profession;
but though he worked early and late, he could not obtain money nor any sort
of income. He boarded at the Taylor house a year and a half and in that
time had not made one-tenth enough to pay his board. But despite his lack
of pecuniary success, he had done something of infinitely greater moment Jn
his life history, for in the midst of his struggles he had won the affecdons
of Mary Catharine Taylor, the sweet and amiable daughter of his host, and
in the spring of 1829 the two were Tnarried. He won a faithful wife, and,
incidentally, as he afterwards jocularly said, cancelled his board bill.

But his troubles were not yet over. His horse died and he was compelled
to visit his patients on foot, and at last the sting of poverty became so sharp
that, in addition to his practice, he was constrained to teach the village, school,
that he and his wife might not suffer for the bare necessities of life. But he
was ambitious, well informed and a successful practitioner, and after a few
years of undaunted eflfort, the clouds cleared away and his pathway hence-
forth was bright and prosperous.

In 1828 Dr. Murphy, assisted by Dr. Smith of Edinburg, Indiana, per-
formed paracentecis abdominalis by making an incision into the abdominal
cavity with a thumb lancet; then, having first removed the bark and pith
from a small elder limb, they introduced this into the incision and drew off
the fluid. ' ; • '

Dr. Murphy's practice became very extensive and he rode over a^territory
almost as large as that of Dr. McCauley, and, although hfs charges w^re
merely nominal, he was finally able to buy a farm of three-hundred and sixty
acres one-half mile south of Whiteland. To this farm he retired in 1842,
with his wife and son Guilford, then eleven^j^eats of age. But this mbve did
not stop his practice or even seriously interrupt' it.' For awhile he lived i A a
small cabin, but in the year 1845 he built a larg^' briclc residience, which is
still standing and, though unpretentious now, at that time it v^s the talk atid
wonder of all the neighborhood. '^ * ' ' '

In this house, in April, 1852, Mary, the liioflier of his child and the Wffe
'6f his vouth, wias taken fi-oili him. ^ feuf he '^ill lived in- the oT^-horhexVifh

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512 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

his son, who married May 20, 1852. His practice for the next two and a
half years was considerably interrupted.

In October, 1854, while in Ohio, he was married to Mrs. Chloe Knox
Smith. He came back to the farm and lived for about a year. In October,
1855, he returned to Franklin, and again entered into the practice of his pro-
fession, where he had begun under such inauspicious circumstances over
twenty-eight years before. Many changes had occurred during his absence.
His young protege of thirteen years ago, Dr. Donnell, then so discouraged and
gloomy, was now full-fledged and ripe in years and experience.

Others of his craft had also come in; the country had developed, the
town had grown into a prosperous county-seat. Moreover his old-time vigor
was beginning to yield to the inroads of age, so, while highly respected for
his experience, he did not enter so energetically into actual practice as had
been his wont in former years. He died in 1864 in the sixty- fourth year of
his age.

DR. HIRAM SMITH.

By Dr. George T. MacCoy, Columbus, Indiana, all traditions concur in
giving to Hiram Smith the post of honor of having been the first doctor to
locate in Columbus, his arrival occurring in April, 1821 ; at least he was there
as early as May i, 1821, for on the return made by the assessor for that year
(May 14, 182 1 ) Dr. Smith is charged with a "poll tax and no other prop-
erty."

Dr. Smitli came from Mercer county, Kentucky. What his medical
education was, or where and how it was obtained, I am unable to learn; but
this much I have learned, by the perusal of some old records — that he was
well read in his profession, better than the average of those times, and that
his fine address made him a favorite at once in the primitive settlement. That
Dr. Smith was a man above the average may be readily believed from the
records of St. John's Lodge No. 20, Free and Accepted Masons, of Colum-
bus. At a meeting to organize a society, it was found that Dr. Hiram Smith
was. the unanimous choice for master, and when the grand lodge met in ses-
sion at Corydon, October, 1822, a charter was granted to St. John's Lodge,
and Dr. Hiram Smith, although he was not present at the session, was named
as the first worshipful master. This office he held for several years.

As to Dr. Smith's methods in practice, I can say very little. He was a
firm believer in the lancet and heroic doses of calomel and Peruvian bark.
Tablespoonful doses of the powdered bark, in molasses, given every two

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 5I3

hours, during a remission or intermission of fever, were one of his stand-bys
in the treatment of malarial fevers.

Eh*. Smith continued in active practice here for many years, until the
death of his wife, which occurred during confinement. To suppress a uterine
hemorrhage, the Doctor used large quantities of cold water. She died. His
enemies claimed that the cold water killed her. This so worried and embit-
tered him that he left Columbus and located in Mooresville, but shortly after
moved to Edinburg, Johnson county, Indiana, where his death occurred
October i, 1869, from gastric ulcer.

The date of his birth can not be determined, but it is known that he was
seventy-nine years old when he died.

This is the Dr. Smith who, working conjointly with Dr. Murphy of
Franklin, performed paracentecis abdominalis with a thumb lancet and a
canula made of elder, and which has already been mentioned in the sketch of
Dr. Murphy.

DR. JOHN RITCHIE.

Dr. John Ritchie was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, January 5,
1782. He had a common school education, which he added to by study after
his marriage. He studied medicine with Eh*. Warwick, near Brycelands Cross
Roads,' twenty miles west of Pittsburgh. He practiced a few years in Ohio
and then located in Columbus, Indiana, in 1827, where he remained five
years. In 1832 he located in Franklin, Indiana. He was sociable and affable,
a fair public speaker, and a safe practitioner of medicine.

His wife was an educated woman and was the first of her sex to teach
the higher branches in Columbus. Not only in Columbus, but in Franklin
as well. Dr. Ritchie enjoyed a lucrative practice, and was held in high esteem
for many years. He was once a candidate for the office of probate judge, but
was defeated by a few votes. He died in Franklin October 10, 1857.

DR. JAMES RITCHIE.

Dr.^ James Ritchie, a son of Dr. John Ritchie, was born in Erie county,
Pennsylvania, June 6, 1804. He studied medicine with his father and at-
tended one course of lectures in the Medical College of Ohio in 1828-Q. After
leaving school he came to Columbus and practiced medicine with his father
for awhile and then moved to Edinburg. He soon left there and spent one
(33)

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514 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

year in Greenwood, as the partner of Dr. William Woods. He then returned
to Columbus and from there came to Franklin in 1832.

He, like his father, was a man of pleasing address and of ability in other
lines than medicine. He was twice sent to the Indiana State Legislature and
in 1850 was chosen a member of the constitutional convention, which gave to
Indiana her present Constitution.

It is a matter of tradition that he took a special interest in the care and
treatment of the insane. He left Franklin in 1865 for Rensselaer, where he
died in 1888.

DR. SAMUEL RITCHIE.

Pr. Samuel Ritchie, a brother of Eh*. James Ritchie, began the practice
of medicine in Franklin in 1835. He left Franklin in 1836 for Fountain
county, where he practiced until 1850, when he moved to a farm near Indi-
anapolis, where he lived and practiced until 1865. He then moved to Jasper
county, where he died in 1892.

DR. CHRISTIAN KEGLEY.

Among the pioneers in the healing art, the name of Christian Kegley
deserves mention. He was born on a farm near Wytheville, Wythe county,
Virginia, March 29, 1803. He was of German descent, his father being an
accomplished German scholar and the boy was taught to speak his mother
tongue even before he learned English. When old enough he attended the
village school at Wytheville and obtained a good education, extending into the
higher mathematics to such a degree that he attained a practical knowledge
of surveying.

The Ribble family, to whom his mother belonged, had for three genera-
tions displayed a talent and predilection for the healing art. The boy's
grandfather was a physicfan, two of his uncles were physicians and his
mind seemed cast in the same mold. As a result of this early inclination he
went to live and study medicine with his uncle, Dr. John Ribble, of Blacks-
burg, Montgomery county, Virginia. Here he studied and practiced under
the guidance of his uncle for a few years and finally, when ready for a loca-
tion, he determined to seek it in the West — in the wilds of the great Missis-
sippi valley. In pursuance of this determination, he located in White River
township, Johnson county, Indiana, about one and three-fourth miles south-
west of the present site of Stone's Crossing, in the spring of the year 1834.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 515

But there was then no town at Stone's Crossing nor Smith's Valley, nor
Whiteland, nor Bargersville. The nearest town was the now extinct town
of Far West, situated on the bluffs of White river some four miles west.

Dr. Kegley began practicing almost as soon as he was located. He mar-
ried Miss Jane Doty October 26, 1837. Year by year his practice grew until
he had patients upon whom he called as far east as Sugar creek, around
Clarksburg, in the Glade neighborhood, and in the territories now occupied
by the Whiteland and Bargersville physicians.

On the west his territory was practically bounded by White river, but
he was often called beyond that natural boundary. The malaria-stricken
pioneers were everywhere crying for help, and Dr. Kegley's whole time was
taken up in riding far and near over this great territory, along the bridle
paths and through the mire of the primeval forests. This work was too
great for Dr. Kegley's strength. He had the Jofty spirit of the pioneer, but
lacked his sturdy sinews. Though he wore leggings to the knees, and
wrapped himself in a great coat, reaching to his feet, yet he often came in
drenched to the skin or covered with sleet or mire, the result of labored
riding through the swamps of White river bottoms. Such exposures brought
on recurrent attacks of inflammatory rheumatism, which grew more severe
with time. Finally in 1850 he became entirely helpless and during the re-
mainder of his life he required the care and nursing of a child. He died
January 19, 186 1.

DR. JOHN HOPKINS DONNELL.

J. H. Donnell was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, July 8, 1818.
He came to Indiana with his parents in 1823. He attended medical college
at the University of Louisville about 1839 and 1840. He came to Franklin
January 2^, 1841, and was married to Elizabeth Herriot September i, 1842.
At one time early in his career he was much discouraged and thought of
leaving Franklin, but was fortunate in securing a partnership with Dr. Pier-
son Murphy, after which his success was assured.

In i860 he left Franklin and located at Hopewell on the "Donnell
Hill." In April, 1865, he located in Greensburg, Indiana, his former home,
but in November, 1865, he returned to Franklin, which place was thenceforth
his home. In the year 1875, after a busy practice of about thirty-five years,
he retired. His death occurred June 6, 1891.

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5l6 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

D*. J. A. MARSHALL.

Dr. J. A. Marshall was bom in Carroll county, Ohio, October 24, 1826.
He begain to study medicine at the age of fourteen, was a student at Han-
over College and of Western Reserve Medical College. He began the prac-
tice of medicine at Mapletpn, Ohio, where he remained two years, whence
he came to Londenville. Meeting financial reverses there, he came to In-
di^uia and located at Nineveh in this county on the loth day of January, 1851.
He practiced medicine without interrupti<m until his last illness.

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CHAPTER XVI.

HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION.

One of the first problems confronting the pioneer settlers was the estab-
lishment of ferries across the rivers and streams. While there were no large
streams in Johnson county, Sugar creek and Blue river were serious hin-
drances to travel during most of the year. As early as 1831 James Thompson
was granted a "license to keep a ferry on his land below his mill on the south
side of Blue river/* and he was required "to keep one good, substantial ferry
boat and one good skiff," and he was authorized to charge "for setting over a
footman, six and one-fourth cents; for a man and horse, twelve and one-half
cents; for a two-horse wagon, twenty-five cents, and for a wagon with four
horses and upwards, thirty-seven and one-half cents." A year later John
Campbell was allowed to keep a ferry on Sugar creek west of Edinburg, and
it is also remembered that a ferry was established at the crossing of the
Madison and Indianapolis state road and Sugar creek.

Just how early bridges began to be built across the streams of the county
is not known, most of them having been erected by the various neighborhoods
without county aid. The first record of the expenditure of county funds for
the building of bridges is found at the August term, 185 1. when one hundred
dollars was appropriated for a bridge across Indian creek on the state road
north of Franklin, and two hundred dollars was appropriated for another
bridge over "Shugar Creek near Garrison's Mill." The first iron bridges
erected in the county were erected at the public charge in 1869-70. In the
first named year a bridge was ordered at Thompson's mill and in the next year
bridges were built at Needham's ford and at Bradley's ford on Sugar creek
and on South Main street in the town of Franklin. In 1873 bridges were
built across Sugar creek at Smiley's mill and on the Nineveh road and one at
Hamner's ford across Young s creek.

The only stage coach route ever maintained in the county was established
along the line of the Madison and Indianapolis state road about the time
that railroads began to be built in the state. Taverns were built along the
line of this road about five miles apart for the accommodation of travelers
and to enable the drivers to change horses when necessary. In addition to the

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5l8 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

taverns in the towns of Edinburg and Franklin, there were country taverns,
one located about a mile north of Sugar creek near the present residence of
Robert Shelton, and another was located about one mile north of the Worths-
ville road in Pleasant township ; the frame work of the latter is still standing
on a part of what is now known as the "old Law farm." Another of these
taverns was kept in the town of Greenwood and still another just north of
the county line near where the interurban railroad now crosses the state road.
This stage coach route was abandoned about the time that the Madison &
Indianapolis railroad was completed to the city of Indianapolis.

The first serious effort to improve the highways of Johnson county was
by the construction of "plank roads." Levering, in her "Historic Indiana,"
says: "About the time that railroads were first penetrating the west, there
arose a great craze for the building of 'plank roads.' This was in response
to the urgent demand for better wagon roads whereon to reach the markets.
Timber was plentiful and cheap and this material seemed to offer a solution
of the good roads question. By the year 1850 four hundred miles of 'planked
roads,' at a cost of twelve hundred to fifteen hundred dollars per mile, had
been completed in ihe state, but by that time the first roads so constructed had
begun to show the weak points of the method of paving. When new, these
roads carried the passenger along swimmingly : but when the planks began to
wear thin and the sills to rot out, and the grading or foundation to sink
away, they became justly called 'corduroy roads,' and were certainly a weari-
ness to the flesh. In some low places the construction sank entirely out of
sight: many miles of roads became so execrable that the farmers drove
alongside in the mud rathei* than justle their bones over the logs and ruts of
the artificial roads."

The first of these new planked roads to be built in Johnson county was
one connecting Edinburg and Williatnsburg in the year 1850. Another was
built along the line of the Hopewell road, leading from Franklin to Bargers-
ville. These were built without the use of gravel or other material for the
foundation. Longitudinal trenches were dug'and in these were laid the green
logs, hewed square, and on these "stringers" were laid spiked oak boards two
and one-half to three inches in thickness. These boards were not to exceed
eight feet in length, so that the road when constructed was too narrow to admit
of the passage of vehicles on the imjwoved ix)rtion: the loaded wagon was
given the right of way, the other vehicle taking to the mud. These two
efforts at improved highways- met with little favor and the experiment was
not repeated elsewhere. The mistake was soon realized and they began to

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 519

improve the highways with gravel, an abundance of which was found along
all the streams of the county.

Toll roads were authorized by section 13 of the act of May 12, 1852,
and again under the act of February 3, 1865. It was not until after the pas-
sage of the latter act that gravel road companies were organized in Johnson
county to construct and improve the highways under the law authorizing the
charging of tolls. In the year 1866 the Mocksferry Gravel Road Compan>
was organized "to nm from William Ditmars, near Franklin, to Drake's
School-house," about three miles west from Edinburg. In the same year the
Franklin and Sugar Creek Gravel Road Company was organized to construct
a toll road from the northeast corner of the city of Franklin, on the line of
the Franklin and Greenfield state road, to the Needham farm, and thence by
Qark's mill to the Shelby county line.

In the next year similar organizations were formed to construct toll
roads along the Hne of the Bluff road to Hopewell; along the line of the
Graham road for a distance of five and one-half miles; along the line of the
State road to Whiteland; along the line of the Hopewell and Union Village
road, and along the line of the Shelby ville road to the county line. These
organizations were soon followed by similar organizations, so that by 1870
practically all of the main highways of the county were under control of cor-
porations authorized by law to charge tolls. This system of improvement
worked well for many years, resulting in the construction of many miles of
good highways, but in the year 1885, when the people had begun to tire of
this system of road maintenance, and had come to believe that the highways
ought to be maintained by the county, and when the stockholders of the various
corporations began to suffer loss from the lack of sufficient revenues to keep
the roads in good repair, the toll roads were on petition made a part of the
free gravel road system of the county, and in the year 1887 the last of the
toll roads had been abandoned.

About the time that toll roads were abandoned much interest was taken
by the farmers of the county in the matter of improving the highways.
Many miles of highway in the next score of years were improved upon peti-
tion of the land owners interested, generally under the statute authorizing an
assessment of all lands lying within two miles of the proposed improvement.
Since the passage of the "Three Mile" road law, several of the townships,
notaWy Union, Hensley, Blue River. Pleasant and Needham, have constructed
many miles of gravel roads, bonds of the township having been issued to
meet the cost of such construction. The county now has two hundred and

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$20 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

seventy-six miles of improved gravel roads under the free gravel road system
of maintenance.

According to Levering's Historic Indiana, page 234, the "railroad from
Madison to Indianapolis was the first one to be built in Indiana. It was con-
structed part of the way by the state at a very gradual pace, and the remainder
of the distance by private persons enjoying a subsidy of land from the state.
In 1839 this road had been completed twenty miles to Vernon and so delib-
erate was the work of extension that it did not reach Indianapolis until 1847.
With the exception of the Madison road, all of the first railways in Indiana,'
as in other states, were all laid with strap iron or wooden rails." According
to Judge Banta, the Madison & Indianapolis railroad was constructed to Edin-
burg in 1845, ^^^ ^^ ^«^s two years thereafter before the line was completed
to Franklin. Others, however, insist that the road had been completed only
to Columbus in the year 1845. John H. Woolley is authority for the state-
ment that construction work on the line between Edinburg and Franklin was
in progfress during the years 1846 and 1847. Hs thus describes the manner
of its construction: "Trenches were dug along the lines of the track and
filM with gravel to a depth of twelve or fifteen inches. Upon the gravel,
wood sills, four by twelve, were placed and upon these the ties were laid trans-
versely, spaced about four feet apart. To these ties 'stringers,' six by six,
were bolted, and upon the inner edge of these 'stringers' were placed iron
plates about five-eighths by three, upon which the wheels ran.'' It is fairly
certain, therefore, that while the road from Madison to Vernon was laid with
rails imported from abroad, the extension thereof, at least through the county
of Johnson, was laid with rails of strap iron. Wood-burning engines were
used for many years on this railroad, and the furnishing of four-foot cord-
wood to the railroad was a source of large income to many of the farmers
and workingmen along the line of the road. Shortly after the Madison road
was completed, a road was constructed from JefFersonville toward the capital
city, and between Edinburg and Columbus the Jeffersonville line was built
paralleling the Madison tracks. On April 30, 1866, the Jeffersonville Railway
Company and the Indiana|K)lis & Madison Railroad Company consolidated,
the new corporation taking the name of the Jeffersonville, Madison & In-
dianapolis Railroad Company. Upon this consolidation, that part of the
Madison line between Edinburg and Columbus was abandoned and the con-
struction work removed. On the 26th day of September, 187 1, the Jefferson-
ville, Madison & Indianapolis Railroad Company leased its system for a term
of nine hundred and ninety-nine years to the Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 5^1

Railway Company and the Pennsylvania Railway Company and since that
time the road has been under the control of the Pennsylvania system.

"In the spring of 1846/' says Judge Banta, "the project of building a
lateral branch railroad from Franklin to Martinsville was actively discussed,
but two or three years were consumed before anything definite was accom-
plished, and the Martinsville and Franklin railroad was not completed until
some time in 1853. In the fall of 1857 ^^^ ^'d flat-bar iron and the wooden
rails gave out and trains ceased to run. In the spring of 1866, however, the
franchise of the old company passed to a new owner and the line was built
through to Fairland in Shelby county, thus making a connection with the
Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Lafayette Company.'' In 1876 this road passed
imder the control of a new corporation known as the Fairland, Franklin &
Martinsville Railway Company, and since that time the road has been under
' the control of the Big Four system.

In 1848 the Shelbyville Lateral Branch Railroad, connecting Edinburg
and Shelbyville, was built, but the venture proved unprofitable and it was soon
abandoned, and about i860 all the iron was removed from the track.

The Indianapolis Southern Railroad Company was granted its first fran-
chise in the county February 6, 1905, and work of construction was com-
pleted through the county in the following year. On May 22, 191 1, the road
passed under the control of the Illinois Central Railroad Company.

The interurban railroad, according to Mr. Fred B. Hiatt, in the Indiana
Quarterly Magazine of History. Volume V, page 122, "had its beginning in a
line between Alexandria and Anderson, over which the first car was run Jan-
uary I, 1898.'' But it is not at all certain that Charles L. Henry, the promoter
of that line, was the first to realize the importance of this new means of trans-
portation. James T. Polk, Grafton Johnson and other prominent citizens of
Greenwood, as early as 1891, formed a corporation for the construction of an
electric railway to connect Greenwood and Indianapolis, and on April 14th of
that year were granted a right of way along the state road for the use of that
company. On November 13, 1894, these rights were transferred to the In-
dianapolis, Greenwood & Franklin Railway Company, and the original incor-
porators being unable or unwilling to finance the road, asked for an election
to vote a donation of a subsidy from Pleasant township. A subsidy of two
per cent, on the taxable property of that township was voted at a special elec-
tion held on December 21, 1894. At that election four hundred and thirty-
four voted for the subsidy and three hundred and eighty-one against, and
upon this favorable vote a tax of seventeen thousand dollars was ordered
levied on the duplicate for 1895 and an equal amount for the following year.

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522 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

- . . The law requiring the company to expend an amount of money equal to
the subsidy levied, and the company not having met this requirement, the
board of commissioners of the county ordered the collection of the tax sus-
pended in March, 1896. After extended litigation, the auditor of the county
was, in 1902, and again in 1904, directed to proceed with the collection of the
subsidy. Another legal action, however, prevented the collection of the sub-
sidy and only a small fraction of the tax was ever paid. In the meantime the
line was constructed to Greenwood and cars began to run between that town
and Indianapolis in January, 1900. On the loth day of May, 1900, the fran-
chise was extended from Greenwood to Franklin and work begun between
these points. The first car left Franklin for Indianapolis on June 6, 1901.
On July 7, 1902, the franchise was extended from Franklin to Edinbui^.
Joseph I. Irwin and William G. Irwin, of Columbus, successors to the rights
of the gentlemen first named, built all that part of the road situated in Johnson
county and remained in control of the same until 191 3, when it passed under
the control of the Inter-State Public Service Company. Many other interur-
ban roads have been projected through the county, but none of them were
built. In 1902 a franchise was granted to Frank A. Farnham for a line along
the Bluff road, and to J. T. Polk and E. A. Robinson for a line connecting
Greenwood and Shelbyville. In the same year a line was projected to connect
Franklin and Martinsville, and in 1905 a franchise was granted to the In-
dianapolis & Ohio Valley Traction Company along the line of the Three
Notch road.

The first franchise for a telegraph line granted by the board of com-
missioners of Johnson county was given to the Mutual Union Telegraph Com-
pany on the 17th of February, 1882, for the construction of the telegraph line
along the Madison and Indianapolis state road. On June 22d of the same
year, the Central Telephone Company was granted the use of the highways
connecting Franklin and other parts of the county. This franchise was re-
newed on September 14, 1896. A franchise was given to Ferd R. Strickler
on the 15th day of December, 1897, to extend his telephone system then in
use in the city of Franklin to other parts of the county. The New Long Dis-
tance Telephone Company received its first franchise in the county on Novem-
ber 26, 1898. The first use of the telephone in the public offices of the cotmty
was on November 24, 1897, when a telephone was contracted for to be jrfaced
in the auditor's office of the county. The remarkable growth of this method
of communication is evidenced by the fact that there are now in use in John-
son county more than twenty-nine hundred telephones.

The several common carriers of the county now are assessed for the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 523

following mileage: Pennsylvania, main track, 21.71 miles, side track, 7.79
miles; Big Four, main track, 19.97 miles, side track, 2.44 miles; Illinois Cen-
tral, main track, 20.37 miles, side track, 1.77 miles; Indianapolis, Columbus
& Southern Traction Company, main track, 22.12 miles, side track, .99 miles;
Postal Telegraph Company, 164.99 miles; Western Union Telegraph Com-
pany, 385 miles; American Telegraph and Telephone Company, 164.96 miles;
Central Union Telephone Company, 984.50 miles; New Long Distance Tele-
phone Company, 305 miles; Citizens' Telephone Company of Edinburg, 100
miles; Franklin Telephone Company, 239.50 miles; Morgantown Telephone
Company, 36 miles; Providence Telephone Company, 146 miles; Stott's Creek
Telephone Company, 13 miles; Whiteland Telephone Company, 346.50 miles.

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CHAPTER XVII.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

By the organic act creating the county of Johnson a commission was
named to select a county seat and the commissioners wefe required to meet at
the house of John Smiley on the first Monday in May, 1823, to fix the per-
manent seat of justice for said county. Of the five commissioners named,
three met at the time and place set apart: Col. James Gregory, of Shelby
county, Major McEwan, of Bartholomew county, and a third whose name is
not known. The commission considered two locations, one on the lands of
Amos Durbin and near the mouth of Sugar creek, and the other on the lands
of George King at the mouth of Hurricane creek. These places were inspected
by the commissioners and King also agreed to show them over the southeast
quarter of section 18, in Franklin township, which cornered with the center of
the county and which tract had been purchased by King as a possible location
for the new county seat, but a storm coming on, without inspecting the other
site, the commissioners decided to locate the town on the southwest quarter
of the southeast quarter of section 13, in township 12 north, of range 4 east,
which forty-acre tract King donated to the county, together with eleven acres
lying between it and Young's creek.

It was not, however, until January 2, 1827, that George King delivered
his deed for the lands donated to the county as a seat of government. In the
early history of the town of Franklin, Greorge King was a leading actor.
When he came to the county in 1820 he was then about forty years of age
and, while not a man trained in the schools, was a leader in all business
affairs. He was born in Wythe county, Virginia, and had moved with his
widowed mother to Kentucky while quite a lad. He had been apprenticed to a
wheelwright, of whom he learned his trade. The story of King's first visit
to Franklin for permanent settlement is thus told by Judge Banta : "It was in
the latter part of February or first of March, 1823, that, accompanied by his
two unmarried daughters and his married daughter and her husband, Daniel
McCaslin, and Simon Covert, whose wife stayed behind until the ensuing
fall, and Isaac Voorhies, a young and unmarried man. King left his Kentucky
home and came to Johnson county. The movers found a road cut out to

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 525

Elisha Adams' place and thence on, assisted by Robert Gilchrist, they niade
their own road up the east bank of Young's creek to the mouth of Camp
creek (Hurricane).

**It was late in the day when the axmen, followed by the teams and
cattle, reached the creek, where they foimd a dark and turbulent stream run-
ning between them and their destination. Not knowing the fords, the teams
were driven back to a high, dry knoll where a camp fire was started and a
camp made. Little did the campers on that knoll, as they watched by the
light and warmth of their canip fire that night, dream that they would live to
see the day when that knoll would become the site of a college devoted to
Christianity and culture.

"Hardly were teams unhitched that evening when it was discovered that
meal and sieve had been left at Adams' ; whereup<Mi King, Gilchrist and Mc-
Caslin returnejd, leaving Covert and Voorhies to occupy the camp alone. Other
things, it seems, had been left behind also, for the campers milked into and
drank milk out of the bells which had been brought for use in the range. The
next morning, on the return of King and McCaslin, the pilgrims sought for and
found a place to safely cross the swollen stream. A beautiful tract of high
and dry land on the north bank of Young's creek, which was afterward graded
down and occupied by the residence of Judge Woollen and others, was their
objective point, but such a network .of down logs, overgrown with spice-wood
and other bushes, all woven together with wild-grape vines, not to mention a
forest of beeches, maples, hackberries, sycamores and buckeyes, did they en-
counter, that the whole day was consumed in reaching their destination.

**In the evening, wearied and hungry, the emigrants reached the high
ground King had selected for his cabin site. A tent was erected and a hasty
camp made. The meal bag and the sieve having been brought up from Adams'
a supper of corn-cake and bacon was enjoyed. Tin cups took the place of
cow bells for drinking vessels. At an early hour the men lay down on a
browse bed by. a glowing camp fire, under cover of a tent, to sleep. During
the night, however, a tempest of rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning
and wind, arose and such commotion ensued in the forest arouiKl them that
they felt their lives were imperilled. The next morning work was begun on
King's cabin, a two-roomed structure with an entry between, which served
as a house for .all until the little fields were cleared and the crops all laid by."

In the following fall the town of Franklin was surveyed and the first sale
of lots took place on the 2d' day of September, 1823. It was conducted by
John Campbell, of Sugar creek, the first county agent, and, to encourage bid-
ding, he laid in a plentiful supply of whiskey for the thirsty crowd. One of

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526 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the earliest records of the county is an allowance to John Campbell, agent,
for two dollars and sixty-one and three- fourths cents for whiskey and station-
ery furnished and evidently used on just such occasions as these.

Of the first settlers in the town of Franklin was a man by the name of
Kelly, who built a cabin on the west side of the square and kept a bakery,
where he sold beer and cakes. The log court house was built in the year 1824,
and about the same time the sheriff, John Smiley, built a log house where the
Franklin National Bank now stands and where for many years a tavern was
kept. Just west of the tavern Daniel Taylor built a log store house, the first
store in the new town. On the west side of the square William Shaflfer, the
county recorder, erected a dwelling house near where the jail now stands,
and in 1825 Samuel Herriott and Joseph Young built a store room on the
northeast corner of that block. The new settlement grew slowly, and it was
not until May, 1827, that the brush was cut out of the public square.

It is not known definitely when the new town was incorporated. An
election was ordered held upon the question of its incorporation on the 5th
of May, 1834, but no record of the vote at that election is recorded, and there
is no evidence that a town government was formed at that time. The only
mention of a town government prior to the year 1855 ^^ found in a record in
the commissioners' court, under date of August, 1850, authorizing "the pro-
per authorities of the town of Franklin to maintain a market house at the
northwest comer of the public square." The first record of a meeting of the
board of trustees of the town of Franklin now preserved was dated April 10,
1854. At that time Trustee Benjamin Davis, Ephraim Jeffrey, Barney W.
Qark, Henry Kneaster, M. M. Tresslar and Andrew B. Hunter met at the
office of Overstreet & Hunter and proceeded to organize a town government.
William P. Douthitt served as the first clerk of the town. The first town
election recorded in the clerk's office was held on the 7th of May, 1855.

In 1859 an enumeration of the citizens of Franklin was taken and the
following figures showing the population of the town are recorded : "In the
corporate limits, 1,134; in the suburbs and Hog Chute, 115 ; in West Franklin.
204, and in East Franklin, 280." This enumeration was taken as a step to-
ward incorporation, but after such census disclosed the fact that the popula-
tion was under two thousand, further steps toward incorporation as a city
were abandoned. Among the early officers of the town corporation were
Samuel P. Oyler, assessor; Duane Hicks, J. Hillman Waters and J. O. Mar-
tin, clerks ; and P. Birchard, W. A. Owens, W. H. Henderson, Leon Richey,
Duane Hicks, Byron Finch and Amos Birchard, marshals.

An enumeration of the children and youths of the town was taken in

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 527

October, 1858, showing a total enumeration between the years of five and
twenty-one of two hundred and eighty-five. A year later this number had
increased to three hundred and seventy-six.

The first fire department of the new town was organized on the 12th of
December, 1859, and its equipment consisted of four ladders, two hooks and
a wagon, purchased at an outlay of one hundred dollars and forty cents.
James Wilson and Henry Kneaster were appointed foremen of fire apparatus.

On August 15, 1861, it was resolved by the town board that inasmuch as
the recent census showed a population of over two thousand, and as one-third
of the votes of the town asked for an election upon the question of incorpora-
tion as a city, a vote was ordered taken on August 27th at the following
houses: Henry Surface's shoe store; the district school house; the court
house; the residence of G. M. Payne; at Duane Hicks' furniture store; at J.
Holmes' store, on the corner of Main and Jefferson streets, and at the resi-
dence of Samuel Lambertson. The vote at that election was canvassed on the
day succeeding the election, showing an affirmative of one hundred and sixty-
nine, and a negative of five. The roster of the city officers will be found in
the appendix.

The city authorities took no steps toward public improvement until after
the year 1866, and even then the common council were inclined to move slowly
in the matter of public improvement. For example, to encourage property
owners to lay sidewalks of brick fronting their residences, it was ordered on
January 5, 1867, "that any owner of a lot or part of a lot in the corporate
limits of said town should be entitled to a receipt for all corporation taxes
thereon for the year 1867, by paving or graveling the sidewalk in front thereof
to the acceptance of any of the trustees of said town." During the years 1866
to 1870 all the sidewalks of the town were improved under the order of the
city council.

During the same period the question of lighting the streets of the town
began to attract much public discussion, and on May 11, 1869, the Franklin
Gas Company was organized with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, an
ordinance granting a franchise to D. G. Vawter, N. M. Scofield, L. W.
Fletcher, John Clark, John T. Vawter, P. W. Payne, A. Alexander, W. S.
Ragsdale and R. T. Overstreet having been passed by the common council on
February 2^. 1869.

Very little public improvement was ordered by the city authorities during
the next score of years. On July 30, 1890, a franchise was granted to M. L.
Johnson and W. B. Jennings to organize a corporation under the name of the
Franklin Water, Light and Power Company, for the erection, maintenance

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5^8 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

and operation of a water works system in the city. The water company's
plant was completed in November, 1891, sixty-five water plugs being ordered
by the city and one hundred and twenty-five private consumera availing them-
selves of the privileges of the new utility. An electric light franchise was
granted to the same company on June 9, 1891, the same to run for a period of
eighteen years. The present expenditures of the city for strct ligfhting aver-
aged about six thousand and twenty-five dollars yearly, and for water protec-
tion about four thousand two hundred dollars.

On July 12, 1892, the first ordinance was passed for the improvement
of a street with brick. The ordinance contemfrfated the improvement of
Jefferson street from Jackson street east to the Pennsylvania railroad, and
bids were invited during the months of August and September, but no contract
was let until the spring of 1893, an injunction suit having been instituted in
an effort to stop the improvement. The street was finished and accepted by
the city on June 19, 1893.

EDINBURG.

Edinburg is situated in the extreme southeastern section of tlie county in
the area cut off by Blue river, located on the line of the old Indian trails lead-
ing from the Ohio to the north and west, and the first section of the county
to be settled. Louis Bishop, William Hunt, Isaac Collier, John Campbell and
Alexander Thompson were the owners of the lands included in the original
plat of the town of Edinburg laid off probably as early as 1822, but the plat
was not. recorded until about the year 1825. Among the very first merchants
of the new town were Booth and Newby, who located there in the year I822.
This was the first stock of goods exposed for sale in Johnson county. Before
the fall of the year 1822 the town contained but four families scattered over
quite a considerable area. In the year 1825, Israel Watts kept a store on the
west side of Main street, and in the year following Thomas Carter was granted
a license to keep a **publick house" in the town, the board of commissioners
having been satisfied that he had the necessary house room, bedding and
stabling. Other early merchants of the town prior to the year 1830 were Otto
Lyman, John Givens, George B. Holland, Austin Shipp and Timothy Threl-
keld. Holland's license under date ofljuly, 1828, reads as follows: "George
B. Holland having produced the certificate of twelve freeholders of Blue River
township that he is of good moral character, and that a grocery is wanted in
the town of Edinburgh ; it is therefore ordered that said George B. Holland
have a license to vend foreign and domestic groceries in the town of Edin-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 529

burgh for one year from this date by paying the county treasurer five dollars
and entering into bond and security required by law."

These mercantile establishments were quite successful, being at that time
the only market between White river and Madison. The town grew veiry
slowly, however, during the first twenty years of its history, its population in
1845 numbering not to exceed two hxmdrcd and fifty, but the construction of
the Madison & Indianapolis railroad to that town about that time gave new life
to the place and within a very short time the population was more than
douUed It early became the leading grain and pork market of the central
part of the state, the merchants coming to the railroad from towns as far
distant as Knightstown, Danville, Gosport, Spencer and Bloomington. After
the railroad was continued to Indianapolis in 1847, the growth of the town
was checked somewhat, but it has always remained the principal manufactur-
ing center of the county. Among the prominent industries of the town which
contributed to its early prominence were the flouring mill which James
Thompson built at the "State Falls" as early as 1826; a distillery built by Otto
Lyman as early as 1835; and a second distillery built about the year 1850; a
tannery established by Pulaski Runkle about 1837; a hominy mill erected in
1857 by Theodore Hudnut; a second hominy mill erected in 1871 by J. L.
Toner; a woolen mill built in 1863 by a stock company; a furniture factory
also built bty a stock company about 1868. All these, however, have long
since been abandoned and a new line of industries have taken their place.
Of the present factories, by far the most important is the Union Starch and
Refining Company, owned by the heirs of Joseph Irwin, deceased, late of
Columbus. This factory is the successor of the Blue River Starch Works,
organized by a stock company in 1868. When the National Starch Company
formed a trust and obtained control of this plant, it was closed down for
many years, but when the Irwins started the street car line and obtained con-
trol of the plant, ostensibly as a power station they converted the old starch
works into a modem plant for the manufacture of syrup, glucose, starch and
sugar, and the factory is now the largest manufacturing plant in the
coimty, employing two hundred and fifty men. Among the other thriving
industries of the town arc the Edinburg Cabinet Company, manufacturing
sewing machines and employing about one hundred men ; the W. T. Thomp-
son Veneer Company, employing twenty men in the manufacture of oak
veneer; the Muloda Veneer Company, employing fifteen men; the Maley saw
mill, now owned and operated by Henry Wertz and Ora Amos, employing
thirty-five men; the Naomi Canning Company, employing from one hundred

(34)

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S3<^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

and fifty to three hundred men in season; the Wood Mosaic Company, manu-
facturing hardwood flooring and employing twenty-five men. In addition to
these manufacturing plants, the town is favored with a very enterprising and
successful group of merchants.

The town of Edinburg was not incorporated until the year 1853, but as
early as March 3, 1834, an election was ordered held upon the question of
its incorporation. The first record of the election of trustees relates to the
election held in May, 1855. The town was incorporated under the name of
"Edinburgh," but the final **h" has long since been dropped from the name.

Edinburg is the only town in the county owning its own water works
and electric light plant. This was constructed under authority of the board
of trustees by an ordinance passed April 19, 1897. This ordinance was fol-
lowed by an ordinance bearing date of July 4, 1898, fixing the rates for
domestic use of electric current at ten cents per light per month, and for com-
mercial use at twenty-five cents per light per month. These rates were in-
creased by an ordinance in 1901 to fifteen cents and thirty cents respectively,
and again in 1902 by an ordinance increasing the rates to twenty-five cents
and forty cents respectively. The flat rate not proving remunerative to the
town, the light service was placed on a meter basis by an ordinance bearing
date of April 4, 1910, fixing the rate at ten cents per kilowatt for the use of
one to ten kilowatts per month, with a sliding scale down to six cents per kilo-
watt when more than seventy-six kilowatts were used. This experience in
municipal ownership has not been entirely satisfactory, largely for the reason,
perhaps, that the management of the plant has been entrusted to one of the
trustees and no accurate account has ever been kept as to the income and ex-
pense of its operation. The town clerk, however, is authority for the state-
ment that in the year 191 2, when the town was using thirty-six water plugs
and fifty arc and incandescent lights, the total cost of the water and light
system to the town was about seventeen hundred dollars.

The town enjoys an excellent telephone service furnished by the Citizens
Telephone Company, owned and controlled by a local stock company under a
franchise granted in the year 1898. The town is bonded for a ten-thousand-
dollar school debt entered into in 1912, and for a thirty-five-hundred-dollar
cemetery debt entered into in 191 1.

Among the recent members of the board of trustees of the town are the
following: Samuel Haslam, Jr.. William T. Butler, Charles Vandom, W. D;
Branigin, E. A. Sterzik Robert G. Porter, C. F. Otto, Henry Wertz, George
R. Mutz, John S. Cox and John Sholler. During the same time the follow^
ing have served as clerks of the town: M. Duckworth, 1902: J. H. Beal,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 53 1

1903-1906; H. M. Scholler, 1906-1907; W. N. Drybread, 1907-1910; John
Payne, 1910-1912; Clarence Porter, 1912-1914. The town clerk receives a
salary of fifty dollars per month, the town marshal a salary of sixty dollars per.
month.

The town of Edinburg has an excellent school system and has had at
the head of its schools many of the ablest educators of the state. Among
them are remembered John H. Martin, John C. Engle, W. B. Owen, Charles
F. Patterson, E. A. Humpke, and E. M. Crouch, the present superintendent.
The present corps of teachers is as follows : Smith Brewer, principal of the
high school ; E. R. Phillips, Lenora M. Bumham, Fanny H. Cochran, Myrtle
L. Zigner, instructors in the high school, with the following teachers in the
grades : A. G. Murrey, Elsa Bowman, Hazel Pruitt, Maude Price, Gertrude
Graham, Ada M. Wright and Minnie Mullen. >

GREENWOOD. . -

Much of the early history of the town of Greenwood is recorded in an-
other connection (see chapter on Churches). The town was incorporated
pursuant to an order of the county board of commissioners made on June 25,
1864, and the town government was organized on September 26th of the same
year. Its first officers were E. C. Smith, T. S. Wilson, T. B. Hungate, S.
Maxfield and A. W. Gilchrist, trustees : F. M. Tague, clerk ; A. Holloway,
treasurer ; James McGuire, marshal ; W. H. Thornton, assessor. The follow-
ing have served as clerks since that time: J. E. McGuire, i86i6; William H.
Bishop, 1867; A. M. Watson, 1871; L. P. Creasy, 1873; L. H. Hopkins,
1874; W. H. Bishop, 1876; J. B. Conrad, 1880; W. H. Bishop, 1881-1888; M.
L. Justus, 1888; C C. Henderson, 1888; J. T. Grubbs, 1890; W. H. Bishop,
1891-1896; George W. Carpenter, 1896-1907; E. M. Strauss, November 19,
1907-1910; Robert Fendley, 1910-1912; E. E. Henderson, 1912-1914.

The town had a population of but three hundred and fifty- four in the
year 1869, but since the construction of the electric. line the town has thriven
until it is now one of the most important towns in the county. Its era of
modern improvements dates from the year 1894, when a telephone franchise
was granted to a local stock company. A water and light franchise was
granted to Lewis K. Davis, of Indianapolis, on March 4, 1901, but Mr. Davis
not fulfilling the terms of his contract, the ordinance was repealed and a fran-
chise was granted on October ist of the same year to Samuel V. Perrott and
Henry Ulen under the name of the Greenwood Water Company. The plant
was coriipleted in the summer of 1902, and after a vote was had upon the ques-

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53^ JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

tion, the water plant was leased to the town for a term of thirty years at a
rental of nine hundred and fifty dollars yearly, and the light plant included
' in the same lease for the term of ten years at a rental of three hundred forty-
six dollars and fifty cents yearly. This form of municipal ownership proved
unsatisfactory, and on September 4, 1905, an electric light and water franchise
was granted to James A. Craig and John W. Henderson, who, somewhat later,
organized the Citizens Water and Light Company and obtained a new fran-
chise under that name. Dr. Craig, president of the company, soon obtained
control of a majority of the stock and continued to operate the same until the
year 1913, when it passed under the control of the present owners of the
interurban railroad. The town is now using thirty- four arc lights, at a cost
of seventy-five dollars per light, and forty-nine water hydrants, at a cost of
forty-two dollars and fifty cents annual rental.

The school affairs of the town are under the control of David E. DeMott,
Ed Day and Dr. L. E. Cox, and the following corps of teachers: J. B.
Lemasters, superintendent ; Hazel Wishard, principal of the high school ; Oma
Fix and Robert Fendley,, high school instructors, with the following grade
teachers : Kate Smiley, Flora Speas, Alta Fix, Lena Drake, Mary Hanahan.
Charlotte Wishard, Walter Grass, Alice Bass, Rose Meredith, Elizabeth Mc-
Clain and Ella Bass.

After the former school superintendents the following are remembered :
William M. Chaille, W. T. Gooden, J. Ed. Wiley, John R. Owens, Professor
Tripp, Charles F. Patterson, Professor Carnine, James Robinson and M. J.
Fleming.

OTHER TOWNS.

The town of Whiteland was incorporated under an election held Decem-
ber 7, 1885, and has ever since maintained its corporate existence.

The town of Trafalgar was incorporated under an election held January
7, 1870, but after a few years the town organization ceased to exist, and the
charter has never been renewed.

By order of the board of commissioners at the June term, 1866, the
name "Hensley Town" was changed to Trafalgar, and shortly thereafter
"Liberty'* was also included within the limits of the town. On March 5,
1869, the county board also changed the name of Newburg to Samaria. All
other towns whose names vary from the ones set forth in the town plats found
in the appendix owe their change of names to the United States postoflfice
department. For example, Williamsburg is now known by the name of
Nineveh: Union Village by the name of Providence; Clarksburg by the name

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 533

of Rocklane; Brownstown by the name of Bluff Creek; and the inhabitants
of all these villages, except Nineveh, being served only by rural free delivery
from adjacent postoffices, it would seem fitting to return to the use of their
legal names.

The towns of Far West, Flemingsburg, Plattsburgh, Lancaster, Mauks-
port and Worthsville, sometimes mentioned in the early records, never pros-
pered, most of them never existing except upon paper and all having been
abandoned more than a half century ago.

The list of additions platted to all towns in the county, and the business
directory of the county will be found in the appendix.

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APPENDIX.

OFFICERS OF CITY OF FRANKLIN.

Mayors — Benjamin Davis, 1861 ; Duane Hicks, 1862 to January 13,
1863; James Ritchey, January 27, 1863, to 1864; Jacob Seibert, 1864; Will-
iam H. Henderson, 1864-1866; Isaac Rogers, 1866 — died December 28, 1869;
William G. Allison, January 14, 1870-1870; William H. Jennings, 1870—
died January 30, 1873; Charles W. Poston, February 25, 1873-1876; G. M.
Overstreet, 1876-1878; Silas W. Blizzard, 1878-1882; William C. Thompson,
1882-1884; H. H. Luyster, 1884-1888; G. M. Overstreet, Jr., 1888-1890;
Samuel Harris, 1890- 1892; Samuel P. Oyler, 1892- 1895; James D. Mc-
Donald, 1895-1902; John W. Dixon, 1902-1906; William A. Bridges, 1906-
1910; William G. Oliver, 1910-1914; George W. Wyrick, mayor-elect.

Clerks— John O. Martin, 1 861 -1868; Richard T. Taylor, 1868- 1872;
James F. Jelleff, 1872-1874; William M. Conner, 1874-1876; George C.
Whitlock, 1876-1878; Charles Byfield, 1878-1880; W. C Thompson, 1880-
.1882; Edward Bany, 1882-1886; E. G. Bamhizer, 1886-1888; A. W. House,
1888-1890; W. D. Green, 1890-1895; John R. Owens, 1895-1899; C. L.
McNaughton, 1899-1902; Arthur R. Owens, 1902-1906; Thomas House,
1906-1910; Thomas R. Moore, 19 10- 191 4; Thpmas R. Moore, clerk-elect.

Treasurer — William H. Henderson, 1861 ; William M. Davis, resigned
February 10, 1863; W. C. Bramwell, 1863-1865; Sanluel C Dunn, Sr., 1865-
1866; William S. Young, 1866-1869; S. C. Brown, 1869-1874; Duke Hamil-
ton, 1874-1878; Samuel H. Clem, 1878-1882; Elijah Sexson, 1882-1886; A.
W. McLaughlin, 1886-1890; Frank McCollough, 1890-1895: W. F. Seibert,
1895-1902; E. V. Bergen, 1902-1910. Office of city treasurer in cities of
the fifth class which are county seats abolished by act approved March 2,
1909.

Marshal — William H. Myers, resigned January 26, 1862; Solomon
Gerow, 1862; William Gillespie, resigned August 16, 1862, succeeded by B.
J. Dickerson, who was shot and killed, and Solomon Gerow appointed his
successor January 27, 1863; Gerow resigned February 10, 1863, succeeded
by Duke Hamilton, who resigned April 21, 1863, succeeded by T. F. McEy,
who resigned January 26, 1864, succeeded by Hiram Drake; William Car-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 535

son, elected May, 1864, resigned October 14, 1864, succeeded by Samuel
Brown, who resigned February 14, 1865, succeeded by Thomas F. McEy,
who resigned April 11, 1865, succeeded by C. C. Hamilton, who was suc-
ceeded by John W. Peters, November 18, 1865; James C. Dunlap, 1866,
resigned May 28, 1867, succeeded by appointment of G. S. Cockran, who re-
signed August 13, 1867, succeeded by John W. Peters, who served until May
election, 1870; James S. Roberts, 1870, resigned December 2y, 1870, suc-
ceeded by William Snyder; Snyder resigned November i, 1871, succeeded
by S. C. Dunn, Jr., who resigned June 10, 1873, succeeded by Frank M. Hay,
who resigned December 9, 1874, succeeded by John F. Bullock until May
election, 1876; S. C. Dunn, Jr., 1876-1878; Thomas H. Nopris, 1878, re-
signed August 12, 1879, succeeded by Leon Ritchey; Peter Ransdell, 1880-
J882; J. O. Rairdon, 1882-1884; H. G. Hopper, 1884-1886; W. B. Leiper,
1886-1888; H. E. Vandegriff, 1888-1890; John Adams, 1890-1892; H. H.
Luyster, 1892-1899; James W. Baldwin, 1899-1902; Thomas Flinn, 1902-
1906; Ora Forsyth, 1906; Joseph Simpson, 1906-1910; Smith Kelley, 1910,
resigned April i, 1913; Thomas Bottome, 1913.

City Attorney— D. W. Howe, 1861 ; C. B. Byfield, 1862-1864; A. B.
Hunter, 1864; D. W. Howe, resigned November 28, 1865, succeeded by C. B.
Byfield to May election, 1872; Robert M. Miller, 1872-^resigned December
28, 1875, succeeded by G. M. Overstreet, Jr.; William C. Sandefur, 1876-
1878; G. M. Overstreet, 1878-1880: S. L. Overstreet, 1880-1882: G. M.
Overstreet, Jr., 1882-1887; Jesse Overstreet 1887-1888; W. C. Thomp-
son, 1888-1890; W. J. Buckingham, 1890; W. T. Pritchard, ■ 1891-
1897; John V/ Oliver, 1897— died April 27, 1900; William Feathemgill,
1900-1904; Ivory J. Drybread, 1904, resigned June i, 1906; Elba L. Brani-
gin, 1906-1910; Fred R. Owens, 1910-1914.

City Assessors — Chambers C. Hamilton, 1861 ; J. S. Able, 1862-1864;
William H. Henderson, 1864, resigned and succeeded by C. C. Hamilton;
Jacob Seibert, 1865-1869; Samuel C. Dunn, Sr., 1869-1872; R. L. Bone, Sr.,
1872-1874; A. D.' Whitesides, 1874-1876; James McGilI, 1876-1S78; John
S. Martin, 1878-1882. (Office abolished 188 1.)

Councilmen, First Ward — William Bissett, 1861, resigned May, 1864.
succeeded by G. W. Branham, who resigned January 25, 1866, to be succeeded
by Thomas W. Woollen; Frank M. Furgason, 1861-1864; J. W. Rand, 1864-
1866; Thomas W. Woollen, 1866-1868: W. J. Mathes, 1866-1869; Nicholas
Brown, 1868 (seat declared vacant March 23, 1869); John Beall, 1869:
Armstrong Alexander, 1869 (seat declared vacant July 19, 1870), succeeded
by Thomas W. Woollen August 24, 1870, to May election, 1873: W. J.

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536 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Mathes, 1870- 1874; R. T. Taylor, 1873- 1877; R- S. Sturgeon, 1874- 1876;
William L Peters, 1876-1880; I. H. McLaughlin, 1877-1879; Charles Riker,
1879-1881; B. M. Stansifer, 1880-1882; W. T. Pritchard, 1881-1883; R. C.
Wood, 1882-1886; F. H. Hieronymus, 1883-1887; James B. Payne, 1886-
1888; J. D. George, 1887; Frank McCollough and George Griffith, 1888-
1890; Bennett Jacobs, 1890-1892; H. E. Vandegriff, 1890; D. M. Crowell,
1 891 -1 894; William T. Stott, 1892- 1896; A. B. Lagrange, 1894; O. L
Jones, 1 895- 1 900; Lloyd Adams, 1896- 1902; Strother Herod, 1900-1902;
J. M. Brown and Riley Riggs, 1902-1906; Dudley Hunter, 1906-1910; H. M.
Fisher, 1910-1914; W. M. Burgett, elect.

Note — The municipal code of 1905 provides for election of one council-
man from each ward, and two councilmen at large.

Councilmen, Second Ward — B. W. Qark, 1861-1865; Samuel C. Dunn,
1861 ; A. J. Tucker, 1862-1864; Leland Payne, 1864-1877; William C Crow-
ell, 1865-1868; T. W. Woollen, 1868 (seat declared vacant March 23, 1869) ;
A. B. Colton, 1869-1872; W. H. McLaughlin, 1872-1876; L L Covert, 1876-
1878; M. Walker, 1877-1881 ; William A. Davis, 1878-1880; James Jacdiw,
1880-1882; W. H. McLaughlin, 1881-1883; L M. Thompson, 188:^-1886;
S. W. Blizzard, 1883-1885; William Jackson, 1885-1889; L M. Crowell,
i88fr-i888; John Scholler, 1888-1892; Otis Bice, 1889; J. A. Schmith, 189O;
D. W. Mulletidore, 1891-1894; William Jackson, 1892-1894, (Jackson's seat
declared vacant July 4, 1893, succeeded by R. A. Kelley to 1896) ; W. H.
McClanahan, 1894-1898; L M. Thompson, 1896-1902; Andrew Ferguson,
1 899- 1 902; Tayk>r Ballard and John Jackson, 1902- 1906; Elijah Sexton,
1906-1910; H. N. Dunlap, 1910-1914; Irwin S. Valentine, elect.

Councilmen, Third Ward — Anderson B. Hunter and George King, 1861 ;

James Wilson, 1862-1870: Charlton. 1862, resigned August 26,

succeeded by N. M. Scholfield January 27, 1863, to 1864; Robert Hamilton,
1864, resigned December 12, 1865, succeeded Iqr William S. McCaslin, Janu-
ary 23, 1866, to 1867; A. B. Hunter, 1867-1869; George F. Hcrriott, 1869-
1874; John R. Peskr, 1870-1874; L. P. Ritchey, 1874; Robert A. Alexander,
1874-1876; William B. Ellis, 1875-1881 ; L. P. Ritchey, 1879; R. M. Miller,
1880-1882; Charles Day, 1881-1885: John Pettiford, 1882-1886; R. M. Lee,
1885-1888; George W. Voris, 1886-18^; A. G. Vance and Richard M. Cun-
ningham, 1888; H. E. Vandegriff, 1889: J. N. I>ooIey, 1889-1891; John
Ryker, 1890-1892; W. C. Thompson, 1891-1894; N. M. Pittmah, 1892-
1896; A. Dunlap, 1894-1898; F. C. Crowell, 189611906; R. M. Lee, 1898-
1896; C. E. Hemphill, 1906-1910; J. W. Judah, 1910-1914; William G. Van-
divier, elect.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 537

Councilmen at Large — ^John C. SchoUer and John H. Woolley, 1906-
1910; A. A. Blizzard and R. S. Williams, 1910-1914.

Civil Engineers — Peterson K. Parr, 1862; John S. Hougham, 1862-
1868; G. M. Overstreet, Sr., 1868 — resigned June 22, 1875; S. C Brown,
1875; R. M. Miller, 1876; David A. Leach, 1878-1884; Thomas Hardin,
1884; Jesse Ovorstreet 1885-1887; R. A. Brown, 1887; William Feathern-
gill, 1888-1890; B. R. Ransdell, 1890; W. B. Johnson, 1891-1894; R. A.
Brown, 1894-1897; W. B. Johnson, 1897; E. F. Middleton, 1898-1904; Otis
B. Sellers, 1904-1906; John E. Jolliffe, 1906-1910; Thomas House, 1910-
i9ii;C C. Newsome, 1911-1913; W. A. Miles, 1913.

POPULATION.

Johnson County — 1870, 18,366; 1880, 19,537; 1890, 19,561; 1900,
20^23; 1910, 20,394.

Population per square mile, 63.3.

Rural population per square mile, 49.4.

Per cent, increase, 1900- 1 910, ur1>an population, 12.4.

Per cent, increase, 1900-1910, rural population, 2.

Negro population, 189a, 342; 1900, 418.

Foreign bom population, 1910, 140.

Illiterates of voting age, 1910, 185.

Illiterates over ten years, 1910, 383.

Not in schod, six to nine years, 413.

Not in school, ten to fourteen years, 138.

Not in school, fifteen to seventeen years, 451.

Attending school, six to fourteen years, 83.7 per cent.

Number of voters in county, 1900, 5,776: 1910, 6,166.

Townships. 191 o 1900 1890

Blue River, with Edinburg 2,815 2,589 2,792

Edinburg 2,040 1,820 2^)31

Qark 1,209 i»3i6 1,295

Franklin and Gty of Franklin 5,490 5,060 4,873

Franklin 4,502 4,005 3,781

Hensley 1,526 1,640 1,655

Needham 1*279 i>36o 1,254

Nineveh 1,288 1,393 1,523

Pleasant and towns 3425 3,410 2,724

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538 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Greenwood i,6o8

Whiteland 343

Union 1,298

White River 2,064

1.503

862

334

212

1,360

1.373

2,095

2,072

JOHxXSON COUNTY BUSINESS DIRECTORY.
FRANKLIN.

Automobiles — Van Vleet Brothers (Gilbert and Lewis), W. F. Preston,
George Forsyth.

Agricultural Implements — David A. Forsyth, Pritchard & Mullendore,
(J. A. and Ix)uis),iW. D. Pritchard.

Banks — Franklin National Bank, Citizens' National Bank.

Barbers — The Cozy (W. R. Winchester), Riehl & Green (John and
Ray), Brown & Allen (Sime and William), John H. Boyd, Terhune & Tucker
(John and Lloyd), James Larmore, Jeff Robinson, John Fossett, Ed. Nash.

Bakeries — ^John Ohlrogge, Balser Brothers (J. W. and A. E.).

Buggies and Autos — Flanagan Brothers (William and Richard).

Building and Loan Associations — Mutual, Franklin.

Candy and Confectionery — The Greek ((jeorge Vpivondas).

Cigars and Pool Room — George F. Freeman, j. M. Haymaker, Charles
Legan, Milford W. Tilson.

Clothing — Nort Whitesides Company (F. N, Whitesides, Fred S. Staff
and Edward C. Bailey), Payne & Son (James B. and Hugh A.)^ Edward
Keilhorn.

Coal — A. B. Colton, Dundap-Vandegriff Coal Company (J. M. and
W. T.).

Cobblers — ^James Gibson, William Simpson, At. Johnson.

Dentists — William H. Schlosser, James H. Dean, W. L..Hamar, Theo-
dore Douglas, John Henderson, James Richardson.

Dry Goods — M. J. Voris & Company, R. V. Ditmars, Frank Wallace.

Dry Cleaning — Prutchard & Mullendore (Floyd and. Edward) ,Franklin
Tailoring Company, Samuel Rosenthal. .. ,

Druggists — W. B. McCollough, Means Drug Company CQra Means,
Clark Prather), R. C. Wood & Son (Robert C. and Joseph), Charles. H. Dr}^-
bread, Max Hamar.

Factories — Franklin Coil Hoop Company (John Graham, president),
Franklin Color Works (R. J. Mossop, president), Franklin Canning Company

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 539

(L. E. Ott, manager), Galvanized Iron Works (O .S. Wagner, president),
Franklin Ice Company (A. F. Curtis, manager).

Feed and Fuel — Franklin Feed & Fuel Company, J. O. Rairdon, George
Smith.

Florists— D. B. Kelley, J. E. Hiez, James V. Deer.

Flouring Mills — William Suckow.

Furniture — Dudley Peek, Moore Furniture Company (Roy Moore, man-
ager).

Grain Elevators — Valentine & Valentine (T. E. and Clarence), William
Suckow, Dunlap-Vandegriflf Company.

Groceries — S. P. Alford, E. R. Bohall, James Core, H. N. Dunlap &
Son, A. B. LaGrange & Son, I. N. LaGrange, Martha Evans, Alonzo Rich-
ardson, H. C Strickler, William Sandefur, Oscar Vandiver, J. D. Tandy, S.
A. Trout, Fon Wetzel, Gilmore Simons, Wright & Rudd.

Hardware — Smith & Tilson (Frank F. and Morrell), C. B. Vawter,
Franklin Hardware Company (T. M. Thom and Charles Bowen).

Harness — Adrian Shafer, A. Senff.

Hotels and Restaurants — The Franklin, O. P. Behymer, proprietor; C.
A. Prather, William Rogers.

Insurance Agencies — Farmers' Mutual, John Clark, secretary; Shuck &
Featherngill (Ora J. and Samuel), John C. Warner, Union Trust Company,
Farmers' Trust Company.

Jewelers — Eugene O. Collins, W. Simmons.

Laundry — Franklin Steam Laundry, George Ott, proprietor; Lee Moy.

Livery — Wolf & Bergen (George and John) ; Jarve Alexander, George
Boles, William Hazelett.

Meat Markets — H. M. Fisher, Grant Brown.

Millinery — Carrie Franks, Lou Wade Drake, Byers Sisters, Hannah
Middleton, Lizzie Hazelett, Pauline Bolen, Julia Steeg.

Monuments — R. L. Todd.

Music — Charles H. Terrill.

Nickelo — C. E. Hemphill.

Notions — ^.John Baumgart, Tucker & Everroad, S. N. Trout.

Photographers — A. G. Hicks, John H. Thompson.

Physicians — Carl F. Payne and Roscoe W. Payne, Clarence Province
and Oran Province, L. L. WTiitesides, P. K. Dobyns, J. H. Lanam, J. N.
Record D. R. Saunders, Barnett Wallace, Accie Matthews. Homer J. Hall,

Planing Mill — Greer-Wilkinson Lumber Company, Franklin Coil-Hoop
Company.

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540 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Plumbers — ^Joseph Joplin, John Solenberg.

Poultry — ^J. R. Dunlap, New York Poultry Company.

School Books and Stationery — S. C. Yager.

Seeds — T. J. Byers, Ed. Throckmorton.

Shoes — Springier & Stainbrook (Irving and Charles), Weyl & Burton
(A. B. and George), W. H. Younce.

Tailors — W. A. Carpenter.

Tinners — F. J. Schafer.

Undertakers — Vandiver & Bamhizer (Ara V. and Zelia), Henderson,
Flinn & Johnson.

Veterinary Surgeons — W. S. Tucker, Harry Smock, D. H. Shutters. -

EDINBURG.

Automobiles — "Dam Garage," Lee Welch, proprietor; Edinburg Auto
& Garage Company.

Agricultural Implements — W. D. Branigfin, W. J. Morris, John Swain.

Banks — ^The Thompson Bank, The Farmers' National Bank.

Barber Shops — Sam Haslam, Sr., Haslam Brothers, A. R. Mulkins,
Otto & Company.

Bakeries^ — C. J. Finke, F. Winterberg, Jake Wurtz.

Building and Loan Association — "Blue River," W. T. Thompson presi-
dent ; G. R. Mutz, secretary.

Clothing — ^John L. Moore.

Coal — H. E. Cordray, G. A. Mutz, Edinburg Coal Company.

Drugs — Mutz & Lynch, Taylor & Roth, Anton Bossemcier.

E>ry Goods — W. H. Thompson Company, Broderick & Park, Chupp
Brothers, W. D. Carson & Company.

Dentists — R. C. Mayhall, L. L. Hinshaw, E. C. Jencks.

Edinburg Commercial Club — W. L. Neible, president.

Florist — Thomas Woodard.

Fruits — James Wray, George Roth, Jr.

Factories — Union Starch & Refining Company, W. G. Irwin, president,
J. E. Irwin, secretary, H. Th. Miller, treasurer, P. R. King, superintendent;
Edinburg Cabinet Company, John W. Graham, owner and manager; Dia-
mond Veneer Company, Martin Cutsinger, president; W. T. Thompson
Veneer Company, W. T. Thompson, president, Bedna Young, vice-president.
Roscoe Cutsinger, secretary; Muloda Veneer Company. D. R. Webb, owner

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 54I

and manager; Wertz & Amos, saw mill; Naomi Canning Company, F. F.
Wiley, president; Wood-Mosaic Company.

Groceries — Mike Tumey, F. Winterberg, Sr., B. A. Brown & Son,
Chupp Brothers, Richard & Miller, W. W. Fordyse, W. A. Cross, Sander's.

Harness — A. W. Pruitt.

Hardware — O. U. Mutz, F. Pruitt, James Carvin.

Hotel — ^John Beall, Smiley.

Insurance — Hageman & Waltz, Robert Porter, James Mayfield, H. H.
Mitchell.

Monuments — ^Joe Johnson, Edinburg Monument Company.

Millinery — Mrs. Walter Winterberg.

Nickelo — Majestic, Joy.

Jewelry — Dickey & Morris, J. W. Campbell.

Livery — ^John W. Turner, Edward Clark.

Laundry — Edinburg Steam Laundry, Harry Winterberg.

Meat Markets — Wells Brothers, Fred Dorsey.

Plumber — Elmer Freese.

Physicians— J. A. Bland, J. T. Middleton, L. C. Bice, W. H. White, J.
P. Myers, W. W. Wright, J. V. Baker, J. S. Carney.

Restaurants — T. A. Goodin, W. H. Porter.

Shoes — A. W. Winterberg.

Tailors — Charles and Fred Otto.

Undertakers and Furniture— J. M. Breeding.

Veterinary Surgeons — Lee Snepp, W. H. Taylor, Emmett Barnett.

GREENWOOD.

Auto Garage — Swanson & .

Agricultural Implements — Branigin & Springer.
Banks — First National Bank, Citizens' National Bank.
Barber Shops— Eli Stanton, F. V. Tingle, John Woodgate, Omer Belk.
Bakery — Craighead.

Building and Loan Association — '^Greenwood,'' J. T. Grubbs, secretary.
Coal — A. L. Carson, A. E. Lemaster, David Demott.
Drugs— A. W. Owen.

Dentists — George W. Thompson, S. V. Kingery.

Factories — Polk Canning Company, J. T. Polk, president: Ralph W.
Polk, manager ; Harry McCartney, secretary.

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54^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

General Stores — Grafton Peek, Barrickman & Buckley, J. M. Scudder,
H. Brewer, Kent Brewer, manager.

Groceries — O. B. Sharp, T. N. Rush, W. H. Todd, Arthur Caple.

Furniture — Myers Brothers, W. M. Carson.

Hardware — C. B. Cook & Sons, Lindley Hester.

Hotels and Restaurants — Edward Smith, W. H. Russell, R. O. Perry.

Harness — Frank McAlpin, J. O. Adams.

Insurance and Real Estate — Turner & Henderson, John F. Crawford,
Daulton Wilson, J. H. Draper.

Livery — W. D. McCartney. ^ .,

Millinery — Ella Jennings, Lizzie Park.

Plumber — ^John Bishop.

Physicians — Walter Sheek, J. A. Craig, L. E. Cox, Robert McAlpin.

Shoes — A. H. Brown.

WHITELAND.

Bank — Whiteland National.
Barber — Roy Tingle.
Confectionery — ^J. N. Scott.
Drugs — W. E. Porter.

Factories — Whiteland Canning Company, M. J. Fleming manager;
Dicks.on Brothers* Tile Factory, Polk Milk Company.
General Stores — B. R. Walters, Briscoe & Sons.
Grocery — C. C. Sloan.
Hotel — Sharp & Bennett.
Meat Shop — H. R. Fisher.

WEST WHITELAND.

General Store — Duggan Brothers.
Livery— B. Kelly.

TRAFALGAR.

Bank — The Farmers Bank.

Barber — Albert Thompson.

Bakery — Grover Cloverdale.

Carpenter and Repair — Otto Pickerel.

Drugs — James Gillaspy, P. M. Pitcher.

Grocery — M. L. Rose, T. H. Alexander, George Woods.

Digitized by

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 543

General Store — Co-Operative Store, Sherman Naile, manager.
Hardware — W. H. Kelch & Son, Edward Alexander.
Harness — ^J. N. Stout.

Hotel and Restaurant — Mrs. J. N. Stout, Dale Hamner.
Millinery — Julia Phillips. ^

Livery — Pruitt & Gillaspy, C. E. Ragsdale.

Physicians— R. D. Willan and C. E. Willan, C. E. Ragsdale, J. W.
Dixon, Chester Demaree.

Veterinary Surgeon — D. O. Turner.
Wheat and Grains — Parkhurst & Stockton.

BARGERSVILLE.

Bank — Farmers' Bank.
Bakery — ^John Berry.
Confectionary — D. F. Garr.
Creamery — Bargersville Creamery Company.
Drugs — W. F. Darnall.

General Stores — Rush Brothers, John and William; Dunn Brothers,
William and John ; Ed. Bamett, Newt Harper.

Furniture and Undertaking — Myers & Dunn.

Grain Elevator — Amo Milling & Grain Company, D. W. Rapp, manager.

Hardware — Robinson Brothers (Ras, and J. M.).

Meat Shop— Prather & Park.

Livery — Carey Allen.

Lumber — Bargersville Lumber Company.

Physicians — Jacob Tresslar, J. E. Comer.

Planing Mill — Frank Cline.

NINEVEH.

General Stores — C. M. Slack, Levi McQuinn, James Brickley.
Hardw^are — Thomas W. Craven.
Livery — Marsh Ralston.

NEEDHAM.

General Store — A. E. Long.
Elevator and Coal — Elmon M. Fisher.
Implements — ^J. V. Salisbury.

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544

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

ROCKLANE (CLARKSBURG).

General Stores — H. B. Shepard, Day Brothers (Elmer and Albert).

AMITY.

General Store — Harrison Brothers (Dee and Will).

smith's VALLEY.

General Stores — Dunn Brothers, Kurtz's.

stone's crossing.
General Stores — ^J. T. Fisher, J. T. Polk Company, milk station.

CITY AND TOWN PLATS.

The following is a list of city and town plats in Johnson county, with
date and record thereof :

CITY OF FRANKLIN.

Incorporated June 6, 1861.

The following additions have been laid off to the town, now the City of
Franklin :

Name of Owner and Date of Plat.

Name of Plat. Record.

"Town donation'* Original Plat.

George King, May 13, 1830 No. i.

George King, November 12, 1835 No. 2.

John Herriott, December 23, 1837 No. 3.

A. F. Tilton & Lewis Morgan, April 11, 1838 No. 4.

Gilderoy Hicks & Jesse Beard, Januar>' 24, 1846 No. 5.

Robert Hamilton, April 10, 1847 No. 6.

William H. Henderson & John S. Tilford, May 2, 1848 No. 7.

Gilderoy Hicks & A. F. Tilton, July 11, 1850 No. 8.

Robert Hamilton & Gilderoy Hicks, October 24, 1850 No. 9.

Robert Hamilton & Gilderoy Hicks, February i, 1853 No. 10.

Lewis Morgan, Ag't., November 16, 1837 E. Plat.

John F. Peggs, September 9, 1849 E. Add. No. i.

John S. Hougham, April 13, 1853 E- "^dd. No. 2.

George King, April 11, 1851 West Plat.

George King, July 15, 1852 ' No. i, W. Franklin.

I
4
5
7
8

- 9
-10
-12

-13
-14

-15
-16

-17
-ig
-20
-20

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Google

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 545

Name of Owner and Date of Plat. Name of Plat. Record.

George King, August lo, 1852 No. 2, W. FranUin. 1-21

George Hirwin, June 7, 1853 No. 3, W. Franklin. 1-22

George King, June 7, 1853 No. 4, W. Franklin. 1-22

Fabius M. Finch, September 23, 185 1 South Plat. 1-23

Gideon Drake, January 3, 1853 -— E. Add. No. 3. 1-24

George King, November 12, 1852 No. 5, W. Franklin. 1-55

Chas. W. Snow, November 22, 1853 :No. 11. 1-56

John S. Hougham, December 3, 1853 E. Add. 1-57

Robert Gilcrees, December 10. 1853 No. 12. 1-58

William Lewis, March 25, 1854 No. 4, E. Franklin. 1-60

Finch & Baldwin, April 19, 1862 Owner. 1-70

Robert Hamilton & S. P. Oyler, May 29, 1866 Owner. 2- i

John S. Hougham, September 21, 1867 Owner. 2- 2

Robert Hamilton & S. P. Oyler, April 2S, 1869 Owner. 2- 6

Robert Hamilton, July 29, 1872 Owner. 2- 7

Wm. S. Ragsdale, September 14, 1869 Owner. 2-11

Margaret J. Henshaw, January 14, 1870 Owner. 2-13

Alfred Freeman, April 11, 1871 Owner. 2-21

John W. Wilson, August 17, 1872 Owner. 2-24

Alfred Freeman, May 18, 1874 Sub. of Lot 121 H. & O. 2-29

Charles Bronson, August 10, 1874 ^ Owner. 2-30

Isaac Covert, August 2, 1876 Sub. Lot 58 H. & O. 2-34

John Clark, July 29, 1879 Owner. 2-37

Robert Hamilton and wife, February i, 1882 Hamilton Central. 2-39^

Charity Martin, June 23, 1884 Owner. 2-46

Arthur B. Chaffee, June 2^, 1884 Owner. 2-43

John Traub, September 3, 1885 Owner. 2-47

G. M. Overstreet, October 20. 1885 Owner. 2-48

Isaac M. Crowell, February 18, 1886 Owner. 2-49

John W. Davis, July 16, 1886 Part 58 H. & O. 2-50

W. C. Thompson & John McNutt, July 27, 1886 Owners. 2-51

Eva B. & L. E. Ott, September 14. 1886 Owners. 2-52

Christna Ellis, April 30, 1887 .' Owner. 2-53

Edward O. Halstead, August 14, 1887 Sub. 2 Claries. 2-54

William F. Leach, October 10, 1888 Owner. 2-56

Joshua H. Crim, March 18. 1890 Owner. 2-63

John Clarke, November 10, 1891 Owner No. 2. 2-73

(35)

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546

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Amanda Earlywine et al., February 22, 1892 Owner. z-Tj

Victor Smith, April 17, 1895 Owner. 1-78

William L. Dunlap, May 2, 1896 Owner. 2-86

E. P. Ervin, May 18, 1898 Owner. 2-87

Mary A. Gilmore, October 18, 1901 Owner. 1-79

John Herriott, November 11, 1901 Owner. 2-90

E. P. Ervin, trustee, November 25, 1902 __Smith*s Factory. 2-96

S. A. Wilson, April 7, 1903 Wilson's Factory. 2-97

G. M. Overstreet, October 20, 1903 Owners No. 2. 2-100

J. M. Robinson, December 11, 1903 Sub. of Part of Herriott's. 2-102

Stephen S. Gooden, April 28, 1904 Owner. 2-103

J. Albert Johnson, May 9, 1905 -Highland Place. 1-81

Henry C. Axt, May 21, 1907 Highland Place. 2-108

F. F. Raynor, May 21, 1907 Harness Factory. 2-1 15

E. O. Halstead, December 17, 1907 Owner's No. 2. 2-120

EDINBURG.

Lewis Bishop Owner, i- 25

William Hunt, Owner, i- 2y

Lewis Bishop, Isaac Collier & John Campbell, Alexander Thompson,

I. H. Legate Owners, i- 28

M. Pfaltzgraff Owner, i- 29

Noah Perry & Isaac Collier, November 14, 1848 Owners, i- 30

Nathan Kyle, August 7, 1849 Owner, i- 31

James Thompson & Isaac I. Keely, October 26, 1850 Owners. 1-32

Thomas Russell, Abraham Lay, Alpheus Lay, William D. Cooper,

William Winans, May 24, 1851 "Union." i- 33

James Thompson, March 13, 1850 Owner, i- 34

Nathan Kyle, October 6, 1831 Owner No. 2. i- 35

Nathan Kyle, March 30, 1853 Owner No. 3, i- 36

Isaac I. Keely, November 4, 1852 "Magnetic." i- 37

Farro Huff, September i, 1853 Owner, i- 53

Isaac Keely, December 30, 1853 Mechanics', i- 59

Charles Dungan, April 20. 1854 Owner, i- 62

Michael J. Fogarty, February 24, 1869 Owner. 2- 4

Pleasant Pruitt, April 3, 1869 Owner. 2- 9

Phillip Robins, June 9, 1869 Owner. 2- 14

Evan Richards. May 31, 1870 Owner. 2- 15

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. * 547

Jane Pruitt, March 28, 1871 . Owner. 2- 16

James M. Carvin & Henry Borry, October 17, 1870 Owner.^ 2- 18

Harvey Lewis, August 12, 1870 -Owner. 2- 19

Jacob L. Toner. May 3, 1871 Owner. 2- 20

Pleasant Pruitt. March i, 1872 2nd Add. 2- 23

Harvey Lewis, April 12, 1872 2d Add. 2- 25

William Threlkeld & Henry W. Borry, July 10, 1877 Owner. 2- 35

Milton C. Tilford, December 11, 1879 Owner. 2- 38

Henry VV. Borry et al, September 29, 1890 "Harnson." 2- 66

Adam Mutz, Preset, October 11, 1890 . B. & L. 2- 67

J. C. Valentine, November 3, 1890 Owner. 2- 68

Herman Oaks, December i, 1890 Owner. 2- 69

W. E. Deupree, Gdn, February 24, 1892 L Mellvilles. 2- 76

Grafton Johnson, June i, 1905 "Blue River Park.*' 2-109

Local Building Co., June 3, 1907 "Drybread's." 2-1 16

Clara J. ^ergeant, August 6, 1907 : Owner. 2-1 18

Martha Mutz et al., January 25, 1908 "Mutz & Lynch's." 2-1 19

Charles Breeding, March 31, 1908 Owner. 2-122

Elza Breeding, June 6, 1910 Owner. 2-124

Edwin H. Rothchild, May 23, 1912 "Maple Wood." 2-126

GREENWOOD.

John B. Dobbins, August 30, 1851 O. P. i- 39

William H. Wishard, December 27, 1849 Owner, i- 40

William H. Wishard, May 26, 1855 Owner No. 2. i- 3

Isaac Smock, July 16, 1851 Isaac Smock's Add. to J. J. Dungans. i- 6

John J. Dungan, March 8, 1848 Owner, i- 41

P. S. Clelland, June 20, 1853 Owner, i- 66

John B. Rubush, November 6, 1858 Owner, i- 68

John B. Rubush, Deceml>er i. i860 Owner to former

Add. to Smock's Add. i- 69

Grafton Johnson, March 18, 1869 Owner. 2- 5

Trustees of Greenwood Lodge No. 182 F. & A. M. ; Trustees of Green-
wood Lodge No. 198, L O. O. F .

Sub. of Lot 6 in Wishard's 2nd. 2- 27

John Smart, April 2, 1874 Owner. 2- 28

Joseph M. Wishard, November 3, 1887 Owner No. i. 2- 55

J. T. Polk, February 28, 1889 ^^-E. Greenwood. 2- 57

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548 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Z. Games, March i8, 1889 Owner. 2- 58

Harvey Brewer, May 28, 1889 Owner. 2- 60

Joseph M. Scudder, August 16, 1889 Owner. 2- 61

Harvey Brewer, April 25, 1893 Owner No. 2. 2- 80

John A. Polk, May 6, 1893 Owner. 2- 81

James D. Wilson, May 6, 1893 Owner. 2- 82

Geo. W. Shryock, July 26, 1893 Owner. 2- 84

Julia N. Johnson, June 5, 1894 Owner 2nd. 2- 85

Albert L. Garson, May 8, 1899 Owner. 2- 88

Louise J. Longden, January 12, 1902 Owner No. i. 2- 91

Robert O. Perry, November 5, 1901 Sub. Garsons. 2- 92

Mattie Brewer, December 22, 1902 Owner. 2- 99

Mattie Brewer et al., January 24, 1907 **Pleasant View." 2-113

Hiram N. Sheek, March 28, 1907 Owner. 2-114

Edward E. Fry, August 6, 1907 Owner. 2-117

WHITELAND.

Joel B. White, Jacob Varner, Thomas Walker, George W. Walker,

March ii, 1863 O. P. i- 71

Amazon Boone, March 13, 1863 Owner, i- 72

Fannie Brewer et al., July 17, 1883 Owner. 2- 41

Fannie Brewer, April 15, 1889 Owner. 2- 59

Gharles H. Myers, September 8, 1889 "W. Whiteland." 2- 62

Matthew J. Tracy, May 22, 1890 Owner. 2- 64

Amazon Boone, January 23, 1892 Gorrection. 2- 72

Fannie Brewer, February 24, 1892 No. 2. 2- 74

Fannie Brewer, January 8, 1894 No. 3. 2- 83

Sarah E. Brewer, March 31, 1902 Brewers First. 2- 93

Mary E. Brewer, February 2, 1906 Owner. 2-110

Bessie D. Perkins, June 15, 1906 Ch\'ner. 2-111

S. E. Vandrsdall, June 7, 1911 Owner. 2-125

TRAFALGAR.

A. M. Buckner & Elijah Moore, September 30, 1850 Liberty. 1-49

George Bridges, February 16, 1853 Hensley town. 1-52

(Names changed to Trafalgar June 5, 1866, March 2, 1869.)

J. J. Moore, March 2, 1867 Owner. 1-51

E. W. Morgan, April 20, 1866 Owner. 2- 3

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 549

James Gillaspy, December 2, 1870 Owner. 2-17

John T. Ragsdale, April 25, 1872 Owner. 2-22

James Gillaspy, December 12, 1873 Owner No. 2. 2-32

J. J. Moore, December 5, 1873 Owner No. 2. 2-42

WILLIAMSBURG.

Daniel Musselman, May 21, 1834 O. P. 1-38

James H. Pudney, October i, 1869 Owner. 2-12

George W. Miller, August 24, 1872 r-.--.- Owner. 2-26

Benjamin J. Keaton. March 22, 1879 Owner 2nd Add. 2-36

BARGERSVILLE.

Jefferson Barger, February 7, 1850 Owner. 1-47

Peter D. Jacobs, June 13, 1851 Owner. 1-48

Christian Kegley, June 11, 1853-^ Owner. 1-54

NEW BARGERSVILLE.

George W. Dawson, February 12, 1906 Owner. 1-82

George W. Dawson, June i, 1910 Owner 2nd Add. 1-83

AMITY.

John Adams, June 15, 1855 Owner. 1-65

William Chambers, September 9, 1856 S. Amity. 1-67

Ella Kennedy, March 29, 1902 Owner. 2-94

NEWBURG ( SAMARIA.)

Smgleton Hunter, December 3, 1852 , Owner. 1-50

Abraham Massey, April 14, 1854 Owner. 1-61

Note. — Name changed to Samaria by county board March 5, 1869.

UNION VILLAGE.

Willis Deer, Corbin Utterback, Josiah Simpson, October 31, 1837

.. O. P. 1-45

Willis Deer, June 5, 1866 Owner. 2-33

CLARKSBURGH.

William H. Dungan, May 7, 1850 Owner. 1-46

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55<^ JOHNSON COUNTY/ INDIANA.

URMEYVILLE.

Henry Fisher, March 29, 1866 Owner. 1-75

NEEDHAM.

Noah Needham, April 19, 1866 Owner. 1-76

LANCASTER.

Alex. Williams & Rutha Williams, December 2, 1836 Owners. 1-42

PLATTSBURGH.

Perry Baley, September 19, 1837 Owner. 1-43

FLEMINGSBURGH.

Geo W Fleming, March 26, 1 83 1 Owner. 1-63

John Elliott, October 28, 1831 Owner. 1-63

Town vacated by order of county board, March, 1833.

FAR WEST.

William H. H. Pinney, November, 1833 Ow^ner. 1-44

EDWARDS.

George W. Dawson, June 11, 1904 Owner. 2-112

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 55 1

OFFICIAL VOTE
Democratic primary #^lection, February 24, 1900.

< 'AN r>l DATES 5 • 2 ^ 2 ? § §

2d '5 "S = > oD 00

REPRESENTATIVE

John M. Dill 115 41 198 74 49 35 31 142 84 100 869

Lr. Ert Slack 159 96 287 140 88 96 69 53 151 185 1319 450

TREASURER

William A. Bridgres 163 50 180 174 60 30 16 14 73 76 836 109

M. D. Wiley 33 34 11 7 11 39 43 144 7 39 368

George W. Wyrick 60 44 218 19 49 49 6 33 97 152 727

W. G. Vandlvler 28 13 80 15 16 17 36 10 65 26 306

SHERIFF

James G. Brown 239 138 432 192 120 122 94 184 220 274 2015

CORONER

R. W. Terhune 207 130 413 179 110 115 91 169 187 238 1839

SURVEYOR

John E. Jolllffe 193 129 406 184 107 119 92 162 188 227 1807

COUNTY ASSESSOR

F. P. Clark 57 13 187 98 54 12 34 79 122 69 725 6

P. B. Reldenbach 138 7 109 64 14 107 11 27 69 111 647

A. D. Sullivan 76 121 166 44 57 12 49 79 29 86 719

COMMISSIONER, 2d Diet.

John S. Webb 81 32 94 5 54 16 9 39 18 92 440

W. A. Vandivier 40 24 52 14 15 8 7 29 13 37 239

Willis Dollins 19 12 35 76 12 10 5 14 103 54 340

H. M. Kephart 46 40 117 72 22 83 69 59 97 54 fi'^^ 173

David Swift 85 28 186 37 32 13 7 46 13 33 486

COMMISSIONER, 3d Dist.

Daniel Britton 212 123 394 175 98 101 96 168 185 225 1777

Total by townships for

treasurer 284 141 489 215 136 135 302 242 293 2237

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55^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

OFFICIAL. VOTE
Democratic Primary Election. November 29, 1901.

»*

•d

CANDIDATES

REPRESENTATIVE

L. E. Slack

—217

128

618

809

12«

186

219

102

227

274

2806

CLERK

baulton Wilson 40 69 118 84 19 21 272 69 61 IM 847

G. B. VanVleet 18ft 47 81R 16& 91 164 18 46 170 202 1334 487

J. A Stehmltli 13« 8t 185 61 87 4X 16 10^ 38 31 693

AUDITOR

Oftcar V. Nay 20» 111 866 221 106 197 189 91 100 au 1796 879

John U Duftcan 9« 34 24i 66 40 2« W 27 199 131 917

TREASURER

Wm. A Brldgres 212 126 614 247 127 189 217 101 219 &69 2220

RECORDER

Silas W. Trout 69 66 349 73 69 61 271 81 M 161 1218

Lewis T. Deer 206 83 248 215 84 161 26 35 2W IW 1465 237

SHERIFF

George B. Yount 16 6 64 39 15 7 146 30 12 30 364

James O. Brtes Ift 4 20 31 2 7 6 3 94 21 198

Mnford MoBfnsro 13 IS 18 1 72 2 10 4 >_. I 134

John E. Shipp 3 62 6 10 3 4 9 6 3 6 111

Jas. W. Baldwin 24 27 232 68 27 26 68 » M 7> Ha 277

Wm. M. Perry 232 14 22 43 3 7 14 8 16 17 876

Andrew J. Beeler S 1 4» 20 » 17 5 4 36 6 143

James H. M««dy $ 1 102i S & 2 2 10 2 ISt

Wm. K. Lyster 1 ___ 17 4 « • ___ 2 U

John J. Beatty 11 17 35 8 4 16 34 30 12 198 3«6

J. K. P. Alexander 1 6 1 2 ___ 1 10

H. F. Musselman 20 1 62 93 6 136 11 7 — ZU

CORONER

I>r. R. W. Terhune 210 131 612 203 126 176 260 106 205 270 2188

SURVEYOR

John E. Jollffe 191 125 60« 208 120 171 216 95 197 262 2093

COMMISSIONER, 1st Dist.

John V. Rasrsdale 183 117 428 161 111 152 211 90 162 235 1840

COMMISSIONER, 2d Dist

David Swift 111 60 300 93 66 103 149 33 70 142 1126

H. M. Kephart 184 71 276 108 79 98 97 76 168 163 1309 183

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 553

OPFICIAI4 VOTE
Democratic Primary Election. February 26, 1904.

•0

«H

©a

CANDIDATES

>
S
9

A
9

>
9

■i-»
C
d

00
00
9

c
0

•**

RBPRBSBNTATIVB

Geo. I. White

117

284

119

171

112

218

132^

52&

John E. JoTliffe

185

219

804

2%7

ft4«

189

209

919

2,8

336

456

David W. Ruffln 17 47 48 78 12 11

TREASUREH

M. D. Wiley 149 27 182 66

Geo. W. Wyrlck 58 16 8ia 23

Geo. W. Heck 48 105 17 14

T. J. Forayth - 29 17 90 138

SHERIFF

J. W. Baldwin 246 140 479 207 117 167 116 287 209 804 2211 2211

CORONER

R. W. Terhune 48 99 265 110 68^ 49 110 164 111 194 1221 156

Geo. Mtddleton 206 58 246 106 62 121 7 56 W 118 1067

SURVEYOR

J. B. Duckworth 184 94 274 181 80 98 60 121 114 186 1888 331

B. R. Ransdell 78 68 263 80 4» 65 62 113 108 141 1007

COUNTY ASSESSOR

A. D. SulllYan 195 126 851 153 105 127 108 IM 154 218 1719 1719

COMMISSIONER, Ist Dist

John CiUyin 94 68 20& 113 71 78 62 120 104 202 1117 142

Henry Hughes 11 84 64 31 10 54 4 28 41 48 326

J. H. Kennedy 168 64 266 85 48. 52 52 71 95 74 975

COMMISSIONER. 3d Diet.

Ja«. A. Fendley 86 26 168 116 57 88 48 73 92 261 1000 80

R, C. Bininersly 126 122 2IT 62 47 6I 66 93 67 00 020

Jas. R. Powell 88 17 149 47 24 31 11 98 78 34 522

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554

JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

OFFICIAL VOTE
Democratic primary election. April 27, 1906.

CANDIDATES

n g

* 5

G
O

JUDGE

William E. Deupree ' 150

Wm. J Buckingham 70

Elba Lfc BraniKin 37

Wm. M. Waltman 29

PROSECUTOR

Geo. W. Long 98

W. A. Wellons 68

Henry E. White 114

REPRESENTATIVE
Geo. L White 200

CLERK
Jos. A. Schmith 164

Frank McConaiighy 76

Ferd E. McClellan 37

AUDITOR

John L. Duncan 122

Wm. B. Jennings 157

TREASURER
Geo. W. Wyrick 204

RECORDER

Geo. W. Clemmer 49

C. C. Hughes 26

A W. Barrow 119

Daulton Wilson 25

Wm. M. Burget 51

SHERIFF

John J. Beatty 30

Benjamin Fisher 8

Hal F. Musselman 127

Ora O. Forsythe 4

Jas. O. Boles 48

Geo. B. Yount 52

O. E. Vandivier 8

Robt. D. Wright 11

CORONER

Daniel W. Sheek 147

Claude E. Ragsdale 102

ASSESSOR
A. D. Sullivan ..214

SURVEYOR
J. B. Duckworth 216

COMMISSIONER, 2d DIS.

Milford Mozlngo 201

Frank P. Rivers 67

COMMISSIONER, 3d DIS.

Robt. C. Billlngsly 10

Harvey Harrell 38

Geo. W. Wild 130

62 346
49 197

18
5

7
26

56
63

43 158
17 62
72 406

160

170

64
50
18
13

38
25
78

62 92

44 109

31 45

52 39

25 62

16 47

139 152

52
23
25
19

17
45

101
57
31
68

33
39

113 1141
86 721

520

34
70

68
53

288
518

605
429

52 181 161 1525 920

107 495 226 121 130 212 90 191 222 1994

60 409
32 168

55 272
78 372

147

117

130
164

76
53
17

74
71

68 84

101 124

14 75

74 160
106 107

26 104
73 121

149 1286.
97 962

17 26 50 388

59 184
58 65

128 1258
167 1345

324

111 503 248 121 153 209 96 214 248 2106

18 186
17 84

75
47

66 238

22
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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 555

OFFICIAL. VOTE
Democratic primary election, February 28, 1908.

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REPRESENTATIVE

Leonard B. Clore 190 96 181 93 117 83 45 52 120 99 222 1298 166

John R. Pugan 117 80 139 108 171 62 132 64 119 145 55 1132

TREASURER

Geo. W. Heck 87 77 49 24 33 22 6 8 16 26 73 416

Marcus D. Wiley 134 15 40 31 34 11 11 68 226 86 62 668

T. J. Forsyth 59 31 199 129 200 95 94 81 25 174 138 1170 502

John E. Walters 50 3 35 14 22 20 72 3 4 7 14 244

SHERIFF
Hal Musselman 217 113 243 180 235 131 150 94 207 207 225 2002

SURVEYOR

J. B. Duckworth 166 92 226 149 83 109 61 74 149 181 207 1437 535

Carl Jolllffe 187 27 86 41 209 88 119 20 78 101 51 902

CORONER
D. W. Sheek 187 113 231 173 190 132 141 90 213 179 205 1854

COMM'R l8t Dis.
John W. Calvin 211 108 214 171 198 121 139 87 191 142 197 1779

COMM'R 2d DIS.
Milford Mozingro 193 108 237 174 191 136 137 89 195 139 189 1788

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556 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

OPPICIALr VOTE
Democratic primary election, November 26, 1909.

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CANDIDATES 5 ^-^i-a^S «•§>»

REPRESENTATIVE

Leonard B. Clore 223 125 217 276 221 149 189 220 109 211 290 2180 2180

€XERK .

James T. Gllmore 76 64 116 104 108 68 88 42 68 226 205 1139 280

Oeorge B. Yount 181 49 SI 168 87 28 27 189 4» 22 69 9M

John C. Weddle 88 29 49 68 90 30 54 62 19 26 67 582

John Clark 8 13 7 28 6 70 2 16 8 2 7 1»«

AUDITOR

Herbert L. Knox 166 67 99 109 84 100 44 186 69 »8 114 H66 9^

William B. Jennings 125 58 89 186 128 57 54 88 34 62 169 1085

Livy A. Young 17 15 45 SO 86 10 6 18 9 86 51 324

John R. Dugan 38 30 27 84 89 16 71 46 31 82 SI 885

TREASURER

Thomas J. Forsyth 282 130 230 270 251 169 143 220 104 221 26S 2t2t 2228

RECORDER

Chauncey J. Powell 134 61 94 78 88 66 75 220 96 91 43 1035 222

George W. Bryan 29 10 27 116 20 44 12 8 3 7 8 2*4

Chamron C. Hughes 124 48 68 49 66 81 48 . 46 26 79 264 813

George W. Clemraer 51 33 82 104 108 48 89 8 6 90 40 608

Osais E. Vandlvler 16 17 105 100 102 44 44 64 40 81^ M 7«t 176

David F. Watson 3 1 17 21 84 6 26 80 6 4 6 162

Charles B. Owens 10 6 24 78 14 24 8 14 2 11 t2 Sdt

William M. Perry 295 16 It 83 28 16 84 24 23 7 40 584

John E, Shlpp 13 101 11 7 13 27 9 88 27 5 48 339

Jarvls A. Alexander 13 12 35 94 38 51 11 65 27 88 46 480

^ames O. Boles 26 7 53 32 67 15 54 10 6 180 106 666

CORONER

John M. Wallace 141 36 108 138 85 65 56 88 12 72 74 819

Daniel W. Sheek 165 113 140 178 149 101 98 228 105 149- »2 1W» 839

•URVBYOR

Carl Jolllffe 181 58 117 155 152 65 99 110 60 118 93 1148

John B. Duckworth 177 89 189 190 111 114 67 183 66 131 218 1435 292

COUNTY ASSESSOR

Augustus D. Sullivan 195 119 168 215 101 122 78 139 88 137 1S4 1496 629

Cyrus C. Davis 89 25 79 96 145 49 84 95 28 111 166 967

COMM'R 1st Dia

Wm. C. H. Coleman 169 76 121 189 134 98 61 126 68 101 188 1211

James H. Kennedy 159 66 121 203 149 88 109 181 57 155 181 1414 203

COMM'R 3d DIS.

George W. Wild 229 181 212 253 211 156 184 221 104 192 264 UU 2096

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 557

OFFICIAL, VOTE
Democratic primary election, April 5, 1912.

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CANDIDATES

JUDGE

George I. White 32 68 74 48 38 58 91 53 21 26 29 49 40 40 647

William E. Deupree 69 87 93 35 86 133 98 74 45 143 116 124 88 150 1341 694

William J. Buckingrham- 14 586 10 746123 11 49 88

William M. Waltman 14 30 34 86 69 62 78 68 20 47 19 25 17 17 516 —

PROSECUTOR

Benton Schrougrham 42 80 49 36 66 110 117 122 66 120 51 66 41 74 1018

John P. Wright 82 91 139 77 121 127 138 69 26 79 113 137 96 124 1409 391

REPRESENTATIVE

Henry E. Lochry 91 120 113 47 76 107 140 100 30 108 111 109 92 126 1365 890

Tillas A. Burgett 36 48 76 59 96 128 106 76 36 79 43 87 46 63 976

TREASURER

George W. Heck 69 17 30 19 18 28 72 12 27 99 52 87 21 41 622

Thomas W. Craven 8 2 16 6 1 18 46 93 21 39 13 26 11 14 818

Edward G. Brewer 17 182 110 18 14 66 31 20 9 16 31 51 38 40 581

Harry Bridges 43 16 40 86 26 77 99 69 21 58 63 84 61 102 784 208

John A. Robards 12 4 39 129 81 19 2 5 2 6 11 16 14 839

SHERIFF

Ozais E. Vandivier 120 180 169 100 165 225 231 168 74 184 152 183 129 185 2265 __

CORONER

Daniel W. Sheek 113 165 166 92 142 199 209 150 54 162 133 167 125 166 2022 >__

SURVEYOR

John E. Jolllife 31 47 84 29 49 96 139 108 49 99 67 51 42 71 951

John B. Duckworth 95 107 116 80 126 146 118 73 28 100 103 154 100 131 1477 626

COMJTR. 2d DIST.

Francis P. Clark 24 24 39 20 21 21 83 20 13 29 16 40 21 85 366

Ben Allen Vandivier 23 42 16 32 68 140 166 63 31 99 29 30 24 26 769

Thomas E. Norton 77 106 128 61 88 87 68 106 26 66 117 135 100 146 1303 634

COMM'R, 3d DIST.

Milo A. Clore 27 19 16 20 126 141 99 49 25 66 53 94 59 76 858

Wm. Harvey Harrell— 64 63 56 72 47 74 99 70 24 93 70 52 52 84 919 61

Samuel G. Henry 9 38 81 6 2 11 10 18 4 12 11 16 9 11 173

Isaac W. Bowden 26 58 103 19 12 22 88 44 21 37 33 89 22 21 495 —

Total vote polled 132 228 184 123 192 264 286 194 91 228 169 222 149 221 2683 — .

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THE NEW YORK
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BIOGRAPHICAL

ROBERT A. ALEXANDER.

Holding eminent prestige among the successful business men of his com-
munity, the subject of this review has had much to do in advancing the
material interests of Franklin, Johnson county, Indiana, arid making it one
of the important commercial centers of this section of the state. The study
of such a life cannot fail of interest and incentive, for he has been not only
distinctively representative in his spheres of endeavor, but has established a
reputation for integrity and honor. Though not now actively identified with
business pursuits, he is still numbered among the substantial and worthy citi-
zens of his community and none more than he deserves representation in a
work of the character of the one in hand.

Robert A. Alexander is a son of George and (Famsworth)

Alexander, and was bom in 1833, on the paternal farmstead in Franklin
township, two miles south of the city of Franklin. George Alexander was a
native of Tennessee and came to Johnson county, Indiana, about 183 1, en-
tering a tract of land near the Tennessee church, south of Franklin. There
he carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1873.
He was an active member of the Shiloh church and stood high in the com-
munity. To him and his wife were bom nine children.

Robert A. Alexander has spent practically his entire life in Franklin
township, where he was successfully engaged in a number of important en-
terprises up to the time of his retirement from active business life, a few years
ago. He received his education in the common schools of his native township
and remained on the home farm until twenty-five years old, when he came
to Franklin and entered the employ of an uncle, who was engaged in the
hardware business, in which Mr. Alexander eventually bought an interest.
He was thus engaged for a period of twenty-five years, and through his sound
business methods, strict integrity and undeviating attention to his affairs,
met with a very gratifying success. Mr. Alexander became identified with
the financial interests of Franklin, having been for a number of years vice-

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560 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

president of the Franklin National Bank, while for three years, 1906 to
1908, he was president of the Citizens National Bank, being succeeded in
the latter position by his son, Arthur A. He also assisted in the organization
and ever since, or a period of twenty years, he has been a director of the
Mutual Building and Loan Association. He is now retired from active
participation in business affairs and is enjoying that rest which former years
of successful activity so richly entitled him to. For half a century Mr.
Alexander has been a meniber of and a liberal contributor to the Presby-
terian church, and for a number of years he was a member of the board of
trustees of Franldin College, in the welfare of which he has always taken a
deep interest. To him and his wife were bom two children, Arthur A., and
Qara, who died in 1892, the wife of Rev. T. N. Todd, a Presbyterian tmnts-
ler.

Arthur A. Alexander was bom on July i, 1870, in Franklin, and his
early education was secured in the public schools, which he supplemented by
attendance at Franklin College, whene he graduated with the class of 1890.
Thereafter for several years he was secr^ary of the Franklin Canning Com-
pany, which he helped to OTganize and with which he was connected in an
official capacity for eight years. In 1903 Mr. Alexander became vice-president
of the Citizens National Bank of Franklin, and in 1909, on the retirement of
his father, he became president of the institution, which is one of the most
substantial and influential financial concerns in this section of the state. Mr.
Alexander is also vice-president of the Franklin Building and Loan Association
and in many ways is an important factor in the business life of the community.
He has met with financial success commensurate with the energy and judg-
ment displayed in his business transactions and occupies a commanding posi-
tion among his fellow citizens. Having faith in the city of his residence, and
believing that the past is but an earnest of still greater growth and more
extensive business development, he has contributed his influence and material
assistance to all laudable enterprises, at the same time endeavoring to realize
within himself his highest ideal of earnest manhood and progressive citizen-
ship.

An unswerving Republican, and deeply and actively interested in his
party's success, Mr. Alexander has rwidered efficient and appreciated service
as a member of the county executive committee. Fraternally, he is a mem-
ber of the Mascttik order, in which he has attained to the rank of Knight
Templar. He is an earnest member of the Presbyterian church, and in every
way possible exhibits an interest in all things which tend to enhance the
welfare of his fellows in any way.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 561

On December i8, 1902, Arthur A. Alexander was imited in marriage to
Rose Willis Tyner, the daughter of Richard Tyner, of Fairfield, Franklin
xounty, this state. Mrs. Alexander is a lady of kindly impulses and gracious
personality, who has long enjoyed a deserved popularity among her large
circle of acquaintances.

HON. WILLIAM E. DEUPREE.

Indiana has always been distinguished for the high rank of her bench
and bar. Perhaps none of the newer states can justly boast of abler jurists
or attorneys. Many of them have been men of national fame, and among
those whose lives have been passed on a quieter plane there is scarcely a town
or city in the state but that can boast of one or more lawyers capable of cross-
ing swords in forensic combat with many of the distinguished legal lights of
the country. While the growth and development of the state in the last half
century has been most marvelous, viewed from any standpoint, yet of no one
class of her citizenship has she greater reason for just pride than her judges
and attorneys. In Judge Deupree are found united many of the rare quali-
ties which go to make the successful lawyer and jurist. He possesses per-
haps few of those brilliant, dazzling meteoric qualities which have sometimes
flashed along the legal horizon, riveting the gaze and blinding the vision for
the moment, then disappearing, leaving little or no trace behind; but rather
has those solid and more substantial qualities which shine with a constant lus-
ter, shedding light in the dark places with steadiness and continuity.

William E. Deupree, judge of the eighth judicial circuit, comprising
Johnson and Brown counties, was bom on March 2, 1864, in Blue River
township, Johnson county, Indiana. According to tradition, apparently re-
liable, the Deupree family is descended from old French Huguenot stock of
northern France, where the family was wealthy and influential. However, at
the time of the religious persecutions in that country, all the members of the
family were massacred excepting two brothers, who escaped and eventually
came to America, one settling in Virginia and the other in New Orleans. A
descendant of the Virginia branch was William Deupree, who became a large
land owner and slave holder and a prominent man in his community. He was
a soldier in the Revolutionary war and lived to an advanced age, his death
occurring in 1850. His son, Thomas J. Deupree, moved to Hardin county,
Kentucky, and in 1820 came to Indiana, purchasing a tract of land in Shelbv

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562- JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

county, near Edinburg, where he lived until his death, which was caused by
drowning in the Muscakitonk river, near Se3miour. He married a Miss
Hatchett and to them were bom the following children : William, Abraham
C, Matthew, Exiwin, Parthena and two other daughters. This generation of
the family were noted for their strong abolition sentiments. Of the above
children, Abraham C. Deupree, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was
bom in Kentuckj% but was reared in Indiana, having been brought by his par-
ents to this state when but nine years old. He was ordained to the ministry
of the Christian church at Edinburg and was a powerful influence for good
wherever he went. In 1850 he came to Johnson county, where he remained
until his death, which occurred in 1876, at the age of sixty-six years. He fol-
lowed agricultural pursuits and became an extensive land owner. He married
Hannah Carter, who was born in New Jersey in 1813, came to Bartholomew
county in an early day with her parents, and her death occurred in 1903. To
Abraham and Hannah Deupree were born six children, four sons and two
daughters. On the matemal side. Judge Deupree is descended from William
and EUyza ( Shipp) Sanders, the father of the former having been a pioneer
settler of Johnson county, where he operated an extensive farm, reared a
large family, and lived to a good old age. William Sanders continued to live
on the same farm' which he purchased at about the time of his marriage, and
there he reared a family of nine children. His wife, Ellyza, died in 1862, and
he later married Miargaret Barker. Among his children was Susan, the sub-
ject's mother, who became the wife of Daniel C. Deupree, son of Abraham
and Hannah Deupree. Daniel C. was bom in Shelby county, Indiana, April
27, 1838, and in 1850, at the age of twelve years, he came to Johnson county,
where he remained until 1873, when he returned to Shelby county. While
living in Johnson county he married Susan Sanders, whose death occurred in.
April, 1866, and to them was bom one child, William E., the subject of this
sketch. Later, Daniel C. Deupree married Anna Walker, and eight children
were born to this union, one of whom died in infancy. The others were
Hannah, who became the wife of Charles Thomas; Ella; Jesse; John; Ara-
minta, the wife of John Stainbrook; Orpha and Elijah.

William E. Deupree was reared on the Shelby county farm of his father*s
and received his education in the public schools of Johnson county. His first
independent employment was as a school teacher, but, having decided upon the
profession of law, he began its study under the direction of John C. Orr, at
Columbus, Indiana, and in Febmary, 1887, he was admitted to the bar of
Bartholomew county. In the following month he opened an office at Edin-

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 563

burg, where he remained for six years, during which period he earned a splen-
did reputation as a lawyer of ability and successful in the practice. On March
i> 1893, he came to Franklin and entered into a professional partnership with
W. C. Thompson, which, however, was dissolved on June ist of the follow-
ing year. He was then alone in the practice until September i, 1897, when he
formed a partnership with L. Ert Slack, an association of unusual strength
and popularity, which lasted until November i, 1906, when Mr. Deupree was
elected to the bench of the eighth judicial circuit. In the active practice Mr.
Deupree stood admittedly in the front rank of his profession in this county,
being one of the most successful lawyers before the local bar. In his present
exalted position his career has been all that his previous record promised. His
qualifications for the office of judge are unquestionable. First of all, he ha^
the integrity of character, and then he possesses the natural ability and es-
sential requirements, the acumen of the judicial temperament. He is able to
divest himself of prejudice or favoritism and consider only the legal aspects
of a question submitted. No labor is too great, however onerous; no applica-
tion too exacting, however severe, if necessary to the complete understanding
and correct determination of a question. These are, indeed, words of high
praise, but the encomium is justified in every particular, for the Judge has
proved him a distinct man in all the term implies, and its implication is wide.
His career on the bench and at the bar oflfers a noble example and an inspira-
tion, while he has never been known to fail in that strict courtesy and regard
for professional ethics which should ever characterize the members of the bar,
his career reflecting credit upon the judiciary and dignifying the profession to
which he belongs.

Judge Deupree has long been active in political affairs, having served six
years as deputy prosecuting attorney, while for six years the firm of Deupree
& Slack served as county attorneys. Active in the ranks of the Democratic
party, he served eight years as chairman of the county central committee and
for two years as a member of the state executive committee of his party,
while in 1900 he was a delegate to the Democratic national convention,
which met at Kansas City. He is a good reader of men and is sagacious and
far-sighted in his f>olitical judgment, so that his counsel and advice has
been held in high regard by his political associates.

Fraternally, Judge Deupree is an enthusiastic member of the Free and
Accepted Masons, holding membership in Franklin Lodge No. 107; Franklin
Chapter No. 65, Royal Arch Masons: Franklin Commandery No. 23, Knights
Templar; Indianapolis Consistory, thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite: and

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564 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Murat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of Hes-
perian Lodge, Knights of Pjrthias, at Franklin, and to Johnson Lodge No.
76, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Encampment No. 40. In the
last-named order the Judge has passed through the principal chairs of both
subordinate lodge and encampment and is now a member of the grand lodge
of the state, and for a number of years has served as district deputy grand
master for Johnson county. Religiously, he and his wife are earnest members
of the Christian church at Franklin, to which they give earnest support.

On January 12, 1889, William E. Deupree was married to Ada M.
Pruitt, the daughter of Alexandria and'Sarah A. (Miller) Pruitt, and to them
have been bom five children, namely: Hazel; Grace, who died at the age
of ten years ; Ada, who died in infancy ; Ralph and William Ert.

Personally, Judge Deupree is genial and easily approached, possessing to
a marked degree those qualities which win friends and make a pleasing com-
panion. He has always stoood ready to identify himself with his fellow citi-
zens in any good work and extend a co-operative hand to advance any measure
that is calculated to better the conditions of things in the community.

LUTHER SHORT.

A review of the life of the honored subject of this review must of
necessity be brief and general in its character. To enter fully into the inter-
e$ting details of the career of Luther Short, touching the struggles of his
early manhood and the successes of his later years would far transcend the
limits of this article. He has filled a large place in the ranks of the public-
spirited citizens, successful lawyers and newspaper men of his day, and that
he has done his part well cannot be gainsaid, for his record has been such as
has gained for him the commendation and approval of his fellows. His career
has been a long, busy and useful one and he has contributed much to the
material, civic and moral advancement of the community, while his admira-
ble qualities of head and heart and the straightforward, upright course of
his daily life has won for him the esteem and confidence of the circles in
which he has moved.

Luther Short is descended from a long line of sterling ancestry in both
paternal and maternal lines and he has added prestige to the name so honora-
bly borne by his forebears. His paternal great-grandfather, John Short, was
bom in the Shenandoah valley, Virginia, in 1756, and in young manhood

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LUTHER SHORT

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THJ NEW YORK
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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 565

moved to Russell county, that state, where he lived until the fall of 1802,
when he moved to the vicinity of Somerset, Pulaski county, Kentucky, and
later came to Indiana, where his death occurred. He was a soldier of the
Revolutionary war. His son, Wesley Short, grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, was bom on December 20, 1780, in Russell county, Virginia,
where, in the spring of 1802, shortly before the removal of the family to Ken-
tucky, he was married to Rebecca Owen. He was a man of high moral
character and marked intellectuality and, as one of the pioneer ministers of
the Disciple, or Christian church, he held a prominent place in that denomina-
tion at the time of his death. His son, and the subject's father, MiltoA Short,
first saw the light of day in Pulaski county, Kentucky, on May 18, 1807. He
lived there until in March, 1818, when he moved to Indiana, in which state
he remained about ten years, returning to his native state in the fall of 1828.
He engaged in teaching school, and later became a farmer, which pursuit he
followed until 1836, when he again moved to Indiana, locating at Springville,
Lawrence county, where he bought a tract of land adjoining the town. Soon
afterwards he entered college and prepared himself for the practice of medi-
cine, to which he devoted himself until 1854, when he engaged in the mercan-
tile business, which commanded his attention for a number of years. In 1868
he left Lawrence county, but, after making several moves, he returned to
Fayetteville, where he lived until his deathr ^whigh'j&egttrryd on April 2y, 1887.

On January 8, 1829, Milton ^hoi¥MrH?|.,%Vv 'tate, the daughter of
Robert and Winnie (Atkinson) T|t^,^"ahi9l6'tW^irfi^w^rej bom eight children,
an equal number of boys and girl^ The mother of thjese children died on
December 13, 1864. She was des^eifdied-^ffptT^J^^ a native of the

state of Virginia, where he spent MJs entire life, and where his son, Robert,
was bom on July 3, 1768. The lattef'^ST married to Winnie Atkinson about
1807, and to them, on December 5, 181 1, was born a daughter, Mary, who
became the wife of Milton Short.

Luther Short lived in Lawrence county, Indiana, until sixteen years old,
spending a portion of his time in work on his father's farm and securing
his education in the public schools of the neighborhood. In 1861, his patriotic
spirit aroused by the sanguinary assaults on his country's flag in the South-
land, he enlisted in Company F, Forty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, with which command he served three years and two months, taking
part in many of the most noted and hotly contested battles of that great
struggle. He proved a faithful soldier and during a part of the period he
served as a non-commissioned officer. Upon receiving his honorable dis-

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566 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

charge, in October, 1864, he returned to his home and engaged in the mer-
cantile business until the fall of 1866. In September of that year he began
his education by one year's attendance at the Northwestern Christian Univer-
sity, now Butler College, at Indianapolis. In the spring of 1868 he entered
Asbury (now DePauw) University, at Greencastle, Indiana, and from there
went to the State University, at Bloomington, where he was graduated in
1869, with a class of thirty-one. In the fall of the same year Mr. Short
entered the law department of the University of Michigan, graduating there
in 1871. During the summers of 1870 and 1871 he was employed as general
manage/ of the agricultural implement house of J. Braden, at Indianapolis.
Upon the completion of his studies, Mr. Short located at Little Rock, Arkan-
sas, where he was actively engaged in the practice of law until April, 1874*
when he returned to Indiana, locating at Franklin, Johnson county, which
has since been his home. In January of the following year he was ajq)ointed
deputy prosecuting attorney under Prosecutor W. S. Ray. In June, 1879,
he formed a partnership with George E. Finney and on the ist of July they
purchased the Herald-Democrat, changing its name to the Democrat, which
they ran until March 29, 1880, when Mr. Short purchased his partner's in-
terest, and thereafter for a number of years he successfully conducted the
newspaper, which became one of the most popular and influential of local
newspapers. On September 23, 1893, Mr. Short was appointed consul-
general to Constantinople, where his services were of such character as to win
for him the commendation of his government. Of recent years Mr. Short
has not taken a very active part in public affairs, but is quietly enjoying the
fruits of his former years of earnest endeavor.

On April 9, 1883, Mr. Short was married to Emma W. Heineken, a
daughter of Samuel P. Heineken, and the same day they started on an ex-
tended trip through Europe, visiting Ireland, Scotland, England, France,
Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Holland. In 1898 Mr.
and Mrs. Short made a tour around -the world, and their summers are usually
spent among the lakes of the northern peninsular of Michigan.

Fraternally, Mr. Short has for many years been an active and appreciated
member of the Masonic order, in which he has met with distinctive prefer-
ment, having served as grand commander of the grand commandery of
Knights Templar of Indiana, while in the Scottish Rite he has been honored
with the thirty-third and last degree, one of the most coveted honors in that
time-honored order. Mr. Short rendered effective service in the Legislature
in 1891, and has served as presidential elector for the fifth congressional

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 567

district. In every walk of life Mr. Short has been recognized by all classes
as a high-minded, talented, courteous gentleman of integrity and moral worth.
He is at present a member and president of the board of trustees of the
Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors* Orphans' Home at Knightstown. He has
acted well his part in life and, while primarily interested in his own affairs,
he has not been unmindful of the interests of others, contributing to the ex-
tent of his ability to the advancement of the public good and the welfare of
his fellow men. Personally, he is a man of pleasing address, sociably in-
clined, and he enjoys a wide acquaintance and a large circle of warm and
loyal friends.

W. O. SPRINGER.

Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Johnson
county within the pages of this book, citizens who have figured in the growth
and development of this favored locality and whose interests are identified
with its every phase of progress, each contributing in his sphere of action to
the well-being of the community in which he resides and to the advancement
of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is he whose name
appears above, peculiar interest attaching to his career from the fact that his
entire useful and busy life has been spent within the borders of this county.

W. O. Springer, who is a native son of Johnson county, was born on
January 25, 1870, and is a son of A. D. and Sarah Bell (Smithey) Springer.
The father, who is now deceased, was also a native of Johnson county,
having been born in the city of Franklin, and was by vocation a stationary
engineer. His death occurred in Franklin in 1910, and he is survived by his
widow. To them were born the following children: Florence, W. O., one
who died in infancy and Nellie. In politics, Mr. Springer was a Republican,
but not an office seeker. Fraternally, he was a member of the Knights of
Pythias at Madison, Indiana, in the early days, and was a member of the old
and well known Whiteland Band, and a singing-school teacher of considerable
prominence. The subject of this sketch received his education in the common
schools of this county and engaged in farming during the early years of his
life. In February, 191 2, he came to Greenwood and engaged in the imple-
ment business, in which he is meeting with splendid success. He carries not
only a full line of farming implements of all kinds, but a large stock of seed,
and harness, buggies, wagons and such other lines as are usually to be found
in a store of this character. Because of his splendid business ability and

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568 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

well known integrity he enjoys a large patronage throughout the community
and is numbered among the leading business men of his city.

In 1894 Mr. Springer married Nora L. Branigin, of Franklin, a sister
of Elba L. Branigin, the editor of the historical portion of this work. Fra-
ternally, Mr. Springer is a member of the Knights of Pythias at Franklin,
taking much interest in this lodge and endeavoring to live up to its worthy
teachings in its daily life, which has always been above reproach, standing as
he does for honesty in business, politics and private life, which has gained for
him the universal respect and esteem of a host of friends and acquaintaces.

ELBA L. BRANIGIN.

It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of a community or state
lies not in the machinery of government, nor even in its institutions, but
rather in the sterling qualities of the individual citizen, in his capacity for
high and unselfish effort and his devotion to the public welfare. In these
particulars he whose name appears at the head of this paragraph has con-
ferred honor and dignity on his county, and as an elemental part of history
it is consonant that there should be recorded here a resume of his career, with
the object in view of noting his connection with the advancement of one of
the most flourishing and progressive sections of the commonwealth, as well
as his career as a member of one of the most exacting professions to which
man can devote his talents and energies.

Elba L. Branigin was bom in Nineveh township, Johnson county, In-
diana, on the I2th day of November, 1870, and is the son of William D.
and Nancy Jane (Lash) Branigin, both of whom also were bom and reared
in that vicinity. William D. Branigin is now an honored resident of Edin-
burg, this county, where he is successfully engaged in the implement busi-
ness. The subject's mother is deceased. To these parents were born seven
children, of whom five are living, namely : • Nora L., the wife of William O.
Springer, of Greenwood, Indiana; Ollie A., wife of Samuel Gibbs, of In-
dianapolis; Daisy A., wife of Watson VanNuys, of Hopewell, Indiana;
Verne, an attorney at Mt. Vernon, Washington, and Elba L., the immediate
subject of this sketch. The latter was reared on the home farm and secured
his elementary education in district school No. 6, of Blue River township.
In 18S7 the family removed to Franklin. In 1886 Elba Branigin had entered
the preparatory department of Franklin College, in which institution he re-
mained six years, graduating with the class of 1892 and receiving the degree

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 569

of Bachelor of Arts. He made a splendid record while in college and in his
freshman year won the declamation contest, being a speaker of unusual grace
and eloquence. In 1891 he was president of the State Oratorical Association
and in 1892 he represented Franklin College in the state oratorical contest.
After his graduation, in 1892-3, Mr. Branigin taught a term of district school,
and then served three terms as principal of the Trafalgar schools, having in
the meantime married and removed to that town. During this period he had
been applying himself closely to the reading and studying of law, and on
April 2Ty 1896, he was admitted to the bar of Johnson county. On March 7,
1896, he had formed a law partnership with Thomas W. Woollen, who had
formerly been attorney-general of the state of Indiana, this association con-
tinuing until the death of Mr. Woollen, on February 12, 1898. About a
year later Mr. Branigin formed a partnership with Thomas Williams, which
relation still continues. This is a strong and popular law firm, which has been
connected, on one side or the other, as counsel in much of the most important
litigation which has been tried in the local court, and Mr. Branigin's reputa-
tion as a lawyer has steadily increased until now he is numbered among the
leaders of the bar in his county. Well informed in his profession, faithful
to his clients and the law, and possessing a rare equinimity of temper and
kindness of heart, Mr. Branigin has not only gained high prestige in his pro-
fession, but he has also gained ta^ nolable;tJegree the confidence and good
will of the people generally; Hy^^ id 4ri n jritst ..aiid fair practitioner, taking
no part in the tricks of the pettifogger, Which sometimes cast odium upon the
profession.

Mr. Branigin is a man of Wgh ifttellefcttjal attainments, gained by much
reading and study and close observation of men and things. He possesses
a splendid library and some of his tnost'enjoyable hours are spent among his
books. In local history Mr. Branigin is especially interested and he has for
a number of years given much attention to the collection of a vast fund of
valuable information and data relative to the early history of Johnson county,
the fruits of his work being presented in the historical portion of this volume.

On September 19, 1894, Mr. Branigin was married to Zula Francis, the
daughter of Milton and Mary (McCaslin) Francis, of Franklin, and they have
four children, namely: Gerald F., Edgar M., Roger D. and Elba L., Jr.

Politically, Mr. Branigin has, since attaining his majority, been actively
interested in the success of the Democratic party, having served several years
as secretary of the county committee and one term as chairman of that body.
In 1896, while teaching at Trafalgar, he was elected county surveyor. From
1906 to 1910 he served as attorney of the city of Franklin and from 1910

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57^ JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

to 191 3 he served as county attorney, discharging his duties in these positions
to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. He has rendered efficient and ap-
preciated service as secretary of the Franklin PuWic Library ever since its
organization, is president of the Franklin Commercial Club, and has been a
trustee of and attorney for Franklin College since 1912. Socially, he is a
member of the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity. His religious member-
ship is with the First Baptist church of Franklin, of which he is a trustee and
in the prosperity of which he is earnestly interested, being also teacher of
the Bible class in the Simday school. "^

Fraternally, Mr. Branigin has for a score of years been deeply interested
in the work of the Mlasonic order, in which he has received distinctive pre-
ferment. In Franklin Lodge No. 107, he was received as an entered appren-
tice on October 6, 1893, passed to the degree of fellowcraft on October 31,
1893, ^^d raised to the degree of a Master Mason on November 8, 1893;
he was made a Royal Arch Mason on October 3, 1901, and received the
orders of Knight Templar on December 12, 1901. He took the degrees of
the Scottish Rite with the fall class of 1906, and on November 29, 1907, he
became a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,
being a member of Indianapolis Consistory of the former order and of Murat
Temple, Indianapolis, of the latter. Mr. Branigin served as worshipful
master of Franklin Lodge No. 107 in 1903, as eminent commander of Frank-
lin Commandery No. 42, Knights Templar, in 1907 and in 191 1 was excellent
prelate of the latter body. He is now junior grand deacon of the grand
lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the state of Indiana.

While laboring for his individual advancement, Mr. Branigin has never
forgotten his obligations to the public and his support of such measures and
movements as make for the general good can always be depended upon. A
man of vigorous mentality and strong moral fibre, he has achieved signal
success in an exacting calling and is eminently deserving of the large prestige
which he enjoys in the community with which his entire life has been identi-
fied.

GRAFTON JOHNSON.

Great achievements always excite admiration. Men of deeds are the men
whom the world delights to honor. Ours is an age representing the most
electrical progress in all lines of material activity, and the man of initiative
is one who forges to the front in the industrial world. Among the dis-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 571

tinctive captains of industry in central Indiana a place of priority must be ac-
corded to Grafton Johnson, of Greenwood, Johnson county, for to him is
due the upbuilding of an industry which is not only one of the most im-
portant in his county, but also one of the most extensive of its kind in the
country, while the comparatively brief time within which these great results
have been obtained further testify to his exceptional administrative power and
executive ability. He is, in the fullest sense of the term, a progressive, virile,
self-made American, thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the advanced
age in which he lives, conducting all his business matters carefully and system-
atically, and in all his acts displaying an aptitude for successful management.
He has not permitted the accumulation of fortune to affect in any way his
actions towards those less fortunate than he, being a most sympathetic and
broad-minded man, and has a host of warm and admiring friends.

Grafton Johnson is descended from a sterling line of ancestors, in whom
were embodied the characteristic qualities of the sections of country from
whence they came. His paternal grandparents, James and Mary (Taylor)
Johnson, were natives, respectively of North Carolina and Virginia. Coming
to Indiana, they located first at Brookville, Franklin county, but eventually
moved to a farm near Peru, Miami county, this state. Among their children
was Grafton Johnson, Sr., who was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, on
December 14, 18 19. The latter received a common-school .education, which
was supplemented by two years attendance at Franklin College. In early man-
hood he engaged in mercantile pursuits at Greenwood, Johnson county, and
for nearly four decades he was known as one of the most successful and
prominent merchants of this locality, being, at the time of his death, on Octo-
ber 2, 1883, one of Johnson county's wealthiest men. On February 21, 1859,
he married Julia A. Noble, the daughter of George and Louisa (Canby)
Noble, who came to Indiana from Boone county, Kentucky, about 1831. To
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were born the following children: Mary L., born
August 22, i860; George T., born August 3, 1861, deceased; Charlotte I.,
born June 6, 1863; Grafton, the subject of this sketch; Julia N., born June
27, 1867; Grace, born August .10, 1869; Martha E., bom October 10, 1870,
deceased; Albert, born November 6, 1871. Mary L. was graduated from De-
Pauw University, and later married H. B. Longden, professor of Latin in that
institution; Charlotte I. became the wife of Thomas B. Felder, an attorney,
of Atlanta, Georgia ; Julia N. attended Wellesley College, and Grace pursued
her studies in both Wellesley College and DePauw University. Politically,
Mr. Johnson was a Republican and his religious membership was with the
Baptist church, his wife being a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

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572" JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Mr. Johnson was a member of the board of directors of Franklin College and
was also a member of the Indianapolis Board of Trade.

Grafton Johnson, Jr., was born at Greenwood on September 14, 1864,
and was there reared to manhood. He received his elementary education in
the public schools, later becoming a student in and graduating from Franklin
College. The canning industry has been Mr. Johnson's great life work, and
that he has made a distinctive success of it is but to reiterate a well known
fact. Some idea of the extent of the industry controlled by him may be
gleaned from the statement that he has a record of having packed thirteen
million two-pound cans of corn in one season. He owns a chain of packing
plants, five in Indiana, at Franklin, Whiteland, Shelbyville, Tipton and Ander-
son, and three in Wisconsin, at Clear Lak€, Cumberland and I^dysmith, one
in Michigan, at Three Oaks, and interested in other plants in Illinois, Iowa
and Nebraska. So thoroughly has Mr. Johnson systematized his work that all
these plants are successfully managed from his office in Greenwood, Indiana,
where he receives daily reports and keeps in touch with the managers over the
long distance telephone, a plan which has the advantage of ridding him of
the annoyances of petty details and enabling him to devote his attention to the
larger features of the business. In all of these plants none but the most
approved and modern machinery is used and everything is under a superb sys-
tem. In the busy season over two thousand persons are employed in these
plants and it has been estimated that if the crops raised for the Johnson fac-
tories in a single year recently had been included in one tract they would
have made a field over twenty miles long and over one mile wide. The fol-
lowing pen picture of a busy season in these plants is reproduced from a re-
cent publication : '*If there is any person who has misgivings as to the size of
the industry he should visit one of Mr. Johnson's plants — say the one at
Shelbyville — when the season is at its height, and watch the farmers' wagons
roll in, laden with green ears, until they block the streets for squares and
line up in long rows waiting their chance to unload and then reload with the
soft, nutritious cobs and husks, which the farmers take home for feed. From
two hundred to two hundred and twenty-five loads are received at the Shelby-
ville canning factory every day. The loads average more than a ton and the
farmer usually receives about eleven dollars a ton, with the privilege of re-
loading his wagon with the cobs and husks free of charge. The farmer
merely pulls the corn ; never husks it. The husking is done at the factory in
what is known as the husking department, where about four hundred and
fifty persons are employed. The operatives in this department are paid by the
quantity of corn they husk, and the poorest husker can make one dollar and

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 573

fifty cents a day. Since neither a college education nor a civil service exam-
ination is required to make a corn husker, and anybody who is gifted with
good hands can do the work, opportunity for remunerative employment is
offered to girls and even to cripples who do not have the use of their lower
limbs. Quite a number of old soldiers, whose failing capacities qualify t-hem
only for light work, make competent corn buskers.

"The husking bees, which are a continuous performance at the Indiana
canning factories when the season is in full swing, are not attended by the
same mirth and hilarity that accompanied the old-fashioned husking bee, which
was the prime social event of the winter in backwoods communities, but at
that the work is pleasant, enjoyable and healthful. Frequently entire families
— husband, wife and children — assist in the husking department. Ordinarily
a family of six can thus make more money in the canning season than the
head of the household could earn in wages at other employment during the
entire year. The corn packed at Mr. Johnson's plants is usually of the variety
known as the 'Country Gentlemen/ which is exceptionally fine, sweet and
palatable. The farmers who raise com for the canning factories are not work-
ing for their health. They are getting abundant returns. A very ordinary
yield is three tons per acre of pulled com, for which the fanner receives, say,
eleven dollars per ton, or thirty-three dollars per acre. He has, besides, the
cobs and husks and the stalks, which made prime ensilage and are rated almost
equal to clover hay in nutritious value. Another advantage is that he does not
have to wait until the dead of winter for his money. He gets his check upon
delivery of his corn, which means quick returns for a few months' labor.
Yields of five and six tons an acre are exceptional, but not unheard of."

One of the strongest sidelights on the character of Mr. Johnson is in his
treatment of his employees, which is marked by generosity and good nature.
He dismisses his office force at four o'clock every afternoon and will not allow
the office to stay open any longer. He insists that the managers of his plants
take plenty of time off and secure an abundance of good, sound sleep, for he
regards sleep as an essential to a clear head, and he wants every employee in
a position of responsibility to get plenty of rest and recreation. He makes a
point of selecting good men for responsible positions and pays them salaries
commensurate with the very best service.

That Mr. Johnson is a man of large capacity in business affairs is
emphasised in the fact that, with all the demands made upon his time and
attention by his canning interests, still he has other lines of activity which re-
quire the same cheerful and ceaseless vigilance. He is interested in suburban
property in fifty or sixty of the most flourishing cities of nine different states,

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574 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

and also has manufacturing interests, other than those already enumerated, in
Illinois and Ohio.

In the management and successful operation of all his business interests
Mr. Johnson has no partner, relying absolutely on his own initiative and
administrative ability, and his faith in himself has been abundantly justified,
for he has uniformly carried to successful conclusion everything to which he
has addressed himself. However, Mr. Johnson generously attributes much
of the growth of his business to the ability and energy of the heads of depart-
ments and managers of individual plants, in the selection of whom he has
shown exceptionally good judgment. He has the most implicit confidence in
these men and is a strong believer that most men are honest. In return, he
has the absolute confidence and loyalty of the men under him, and he is never
bothered by labor trouble, for he treats his employees in such a way that they
have no cause for dissatisfaction or complaint.

Mr. Johnson owns a handsome home on North Meridian street, Indi-
anapolis, but he resides with his mother in Greenwood. Politically, he is an
independent voter, and is an admirer of Beveridge, principally for his fight
in Congress on the tariff " issue. He is treasurer of the Crawford Baptist
Industrial School, located north of Indianapolis, on the Marion and Hamilton
county line. It is in the midst of beautiful surroundings, of over three hun-
dred acres, with modern, w-ell equipped buildings, including two dormitories,
steam heated. He is also president of the board of trustees of Franklin Col-
lege. He is a member of the University Club of Chicago, and the Uni-
versity, Columbia and Country Clubs of Indianapolis. Modest and unas-
suming, Mr. Johnson rather avoids than seeks publicity or notoriety, but he
has, by his native ability, business success and high character, won, not only
material wealth, but, what is of far greater value, the sincere esteem of his
fellow men.

JOHN N. GRAHAM.

There is no positive rule for achieving success, and yet in the life of the
successful man there are always lessons which might well be followed. The
man who gains prosperity is he who can see and utilize the opportunities that
come in his path. The essential conditions of human life are ever the same,
the surroundings of individuals differing but slightly, and when one man
passes another on the highway of life to reach the goal of prosperity before
others who perhaps started out before him, it is because he has the power to
use advantages which probably encompass the whole human race. Today

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 575

among the prominent citizens and successful business men of Franklin stands
John N. Graham. The qualities of keen discrimination, sound judgment and
executive ability enter very largely into his make-up and have been contribut-
ing elements to the material success which has come to him.

John N. Graham, who is president of the Franklin Coil Hoop Company,
was born on April 28, 1862, on his father's farm, about one mile east of
Whiteland, Johnson'county, Indiana. His parents were John C. and Nancy J.
(Clark) Graham, the father a native of Jennings county, Indiana, and the
mother born in Marion county, this state. John C. Graham was a farmer by
vocation and in young manhood he came to Johnson county with his father,
Lewis Graham, who was numbred among the pioneers of this county. His
father was one of the early school teachers of the county and it is believed
that ho taught the first school in Franklin. Lewis Graham spent the re-
mainder of his life in this county, where he enjoyed a splendid reputation as
an intelligent and progressive citizen. He married a Miss Rose. John C.
Graham was an industrious and successful farmer, and resided on his place
near Whiteland until his death, which occurred about 1883; his wife also is
deceased. To him. and his wife w^ere born seven children, of whom five are
living, namely: James B., of Franklin; Charles L., who resides on and oper-
ates the home farm; Mrs. Mlatilda Carson, of Whiteland; Mrs. Elizabeth
Sharp of Greenwood; Mrs. Celia J. Lowe, of Indianapolis. The father had
been previously married to a Miss Fitzpatrick, by whom he had two children.

John N. Graham, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared on the
home farm, to the operation of which he gave his attention until he was thirty-
eight years old. He had secured a good practical education in the public
schools and gave practical and intelligent direction to his business affairs. In
1898 he came to Franklin and during the following two years he engaged in
the buying and shipping of spoke and handle timber, in which he was success-
ful. He then engaged in the manufacture of coil hoops, buying out John
Schinnerer, south of the Pennsylvania stock yards, and afterwards leased the
old Jones & Bergan planing mill on West Jefferson street. In 1900, with
Victo^- Smith, he formed the Franklin Coil Hoop Company, of which, on its
incorporation, he became president and general manager. This concern was
first engaged in the manufacture of hoops, but has enlarged its scope and now
deals extensively in lumber by retail and wholesale, in connection with which
they conduct a well equipped planing mill and manufacture porch furniture.
They also operate a coal yard. The business of the concern has been on a
prosperous basis from the beginning and has continued to grow during the
years until it is now one of the most important industries of Franklin. Much

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576 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

of this success has been directly due to the untiring efforts and good manage-
ment of Mr. Graham, who has been indefatigable in his labors to further the
interests of the concern. He is a shrewd and sagacious business man and is
held in high esteem in the business world.

On the 5th of Octol)er, i8go, Mr. Graham was united in marriage with
Elizabeth A. Oliver, who was born in the Hopewell neighborhood, near Frank-
lin, the daughter of John Oliver. To Mr. and Mrs. Graham have been born
two daughters, namely: Mary J., a graduate of Franklin College with the
class of 1913, and Ruth Elizabeth, who will graduate from the Franklin high
school with the class of 1914.

Politically, Mr. Graham is a stalwart supporter of the Republican party
and served one term as a member of the city council. However, the heavy de-
mands of his business precludes his giving much attention to public affairs.
Fraternally, he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, w^hile his religious
membership is wath the Presbyterian church, to which the other members of
the family also belong. Socially, Mr. Graham is a pleasing companion, who en-
joys the friendship of all who know^ him. Of marked domestic tastes, his great-
est enjoyment is found in his home where, surrounded by his family, he passes
his happiest hours. He takes a commendable interest in the general welfare
of the community and his support can always be counted upon for all measures
which have for their object the educational, moral, social or material ad-
vancement of his fellows.

HON. L. ERT SLACK.

Indiana has been especially honored in the character and career of her
active men of public service and the professions. In every section have been
found men born to leaTdership in the various vocations, men who have domi-
nated because of their superior intelligence, natural endowment and force
of character. It is always profitable to study such lives, weigh their motives
and hold up their achievements as incentives to greater activity and higher
excellence on the part of others. These reflections are suggested by the
career of one who has forged his way to the front ranks and who, by a strong
inherent force and superior ability, controlled by intelligence and judgment
of a high order, stands today as one of the leading men of his state. No
citizen in central Indiana has achieved more honorable mention or occupies
a more conspicuous place in the public eye than L. Ert Slack, of Franklin,
w^ho, though just at the threshold of the prime of life, has already an enviable

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HON. L. ERT SLACK

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POBUC liBMRY

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 577

reputation as a lawyer m a community noted for the high order of its legal
talent, while as the representative of his community in th« Legislature of his
state he achieved a success creditable to himself and an honor to his con-
stituency. Success is methodical and consecutive, and Mr. Slack's success
has been attained by normal methods and means — tlie determined application
of mental and phj'sical resources along a rightly defined line. A self-made
man in the truest sense of the term, Mr. Slack is eminently deserving of
representation in the amials of Johnson county.

L. Ert Slack is descended from sterling old Scotch-Irish ancestry,
though the family, in both the paternal and maternal lines, has been identified
with this country for a number of generations. Reason Slack, the subject's
paternal grandfather, who was born in Ohio in 1803, came to Indiana with
his parents in 1813, and in his youth he took an active part in the arduous
labors incident to the clearing up of the land and the opening of a farm in
Hensley township, Johnson county. In that township he later entered land
for himself and there he spent the rest of his days, dying at the advanced
age of eighty-six years. He attained to considerable prominence in the civic
and public life of Johnson in his day and at one time served as a member of
the board of county commissioners. He was twice married and reared a
family of nine children. ^ ^ ^^

Henry Teeters, ma^erna.JigTaEft<Jf^t|TWf ofi L. Ert Slack, was a native of
Kentucky, and later beckmer ?i;tfly5rte(9?j5|0Hie} Hoosier state, coming here in
young manhood and locating in Green township, Morgan county, spending
the remainder of his lif^ otj th9.,(ajf«i^pn^'^'hidi he originally located, dying
in 1899, at the age of .Sieven^^ght'^^^ecr^'. He too, was married twice,
children being bom to both unions. . ^ ,, Z. ^ .

Elisha O. Slack, son of Reason Slack, was reared on the paternal home-
stead in Hensley township, Johnson county, and during his active years
devoted himself to the pursuits of farming and stock raising, but is now
practically retired from active life. For many years he has been one of the
most highly esteemed men of his section of the state and in all the relations
of life — family, church, state and society — he has displayed that consistent
spirit, that innate refinement and unswerving integrity that have won for him
universal confidence and respect. He has taken a large interest in the public
affairs of his locality and at one time served efficiently as assessor of his
township. He married Nancy A. Teeters, daughter of Henry Teeters, and
they are both earnest members of the Christian church. To them have been
born five children, two sons and three daughters, namely : Mary, the wife

(37)

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578 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

of Prof. Webb Hunt, formerly of Trafalgar, Johnson county, now con-
nected with the public schools of Muncie, Indiana; Maude: Jessie, the wife
of Guy Clore, of Union township, this county; L. Ert, the immediate subject
of this sketch, and Henry T., who died at the age of twelve years.

L. Ert Slack was reared on the old homestead near Trafalgar and he
is indebted to the common schools for his educational advantages. That he
was a diligent and faithful pupil is evidenced in the fact that for a period of
five years he neither missed a day at school nor was once tardy. Intensely
ambitious and energetic, Mr. Slack, even during his school days, spent his
leisure hours in learning the trade of a blacksmith, which vocation, however,
he never followed, for at the age of seventeen years he secured a position
in the Central Hospital for the Insane, at Indianapolis, where he remained
for four and a half years. In the meantime he had decided to make the
practice of law his life work and to this end was employing all his odd hours
in the study of Kent, Blackstone and other standard authorities, in which he
prepared himself so well that, in the fall of 1896, he was enabled to enter
the senior year in the Indiana Law School and was admitted to the bar at
Franklin on September 6, 1897. He immediately formed a partnership with
W. E. Deupree, now judge of the circuit court, under the firm name of Deu-
pree & Slack, and on the same day he was appointed deputy prosecuting
attorney for Johnson county, the duties of which position he discharged with
efficiency and with credit to himself until November 15, 1898, when he re-
signed. From the beginning of his professional career Mr. Slack demon-
strated ability of a high order, and on December 4, 1899, he received the
appointment as county attorney for one year, an honor which was repeated
six times consecutively. Mr. Slack had from his youth taken a deep interest
in public affairs and the current issues of the day, on all of which he held
positive opinions, and he had so impressed himself on the Democratic party
of his county that on February 24, 1900, he received the nomination for rep-
resentative to the General Assembly, by four hundred and fifty votes over a
popular competitor, John M. Dill, and on November 6th following he was
elected over Eugene A. Robinson by five hundred and twenty-eight votes.
In the Lower House he was assigned to the committees on judiciary, educa-
tion, county and township business, cities and towns, and mileage and ac-
counts, where he rendered such efficient and satisfactory service that his con-
stituents wisely decided that he had earned a re-election, his renomination,
on November 29, 1901, being without opposition. He was recognized in the
Legislature as a man of unusual ability and force, a tireless worker, and
devoted to the best interests of the people he represented, and in the session

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 579

of 1903 he was the choice of his party, which was then in the minority in the
House, for speaker of that body. In 1904 Mr. Slack was elected state sen-
ator from the district composed of Johnson and Shelby counties, serving
during the sessions of 1905 and 1907. In thought, speech and act Mr. Slack
became one of the most distinguished members of the General Assembly of
his state, his splendid and efficient work in committees, his eloquent and
sparkling speeches in the legislative halls, and the measures of legislation
which he inaugurated and accomplished comprising a record alike creditable
to himself and an honor to his county.

In the practice of law L. Ert Slack has achieved an enviable reputation,
for years of conscientious work have brought with them not only increase of
patronage, but also that growth in legal knowledge and that wise and accurate
judgment the possession of which constitutes marked excellence in the pro-
fession. He has evinced a familiarity with legal principles and a ready per-
ception of facts, with the ability to apply the one to the other, which has won
for him the reputation of a safe and sound practitioner. In the trial of cases
he is uniformly courteous to court and opposing counsel, caring little for dis-
play, but seeking to impress the jury by weight of facts in his favor and by
clear, logical argument than by appeal to passion or prejudice. In discus-
sions of the principles of law he is noted for clearness of statement and can-
dor. He seeks faithfully for firm ground, and having once found it nothing
can drive him from his position. His zeal for a client never leads him to
urge an argument which in his judgment is not in harmony with the law,
and in all the important litigation with which he has been connected no one
has ever charged him with anything calculated to bring discredit upon him-
self or cast a reflection upon his profession. His life affords a splendid
example of what an American youth, plentifully endowed with good Com-
mon sense, energy and determination, may accomplish when directed and con-
trolled by correct moral principles.

On October 31, 1897, L. Ert Slack was united in marriage to Mary
Shields, of Columbus, Indiana, the daughter of F. G. Shields. To them was
born one child, which died in infancy. Mrs. Slack is a lady of many gracious
qualities of heart, which have endeared her to a large circle of warm friends.

Fraternally, Mr. Slack is a member of the Modem Woodmen of
America, Camp No. 2640 ; Johnson Lodge No. 76, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Franklin, while in the Masonic
order he is affiliated with Franklin Lodge No. 107; Franklin Chapter No. 65,
Royal Arch Masons; Franklin Commandery No. 23, Knights Templar; In-
dianapolis Consistory, thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite, and to Murat

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580 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Religiously, he is a member, with his
wife, of the Christian Science church at Franklin. Through the years of his
residence in this locality, Mr. Slack has been true to every trust reposed in
him, whether of a public, professional or private nature, and he has com-
manded the respect of all who know him. Possessing a kindly and genial
disposition, he readily makes friends and is a very agreeable companion. Mr.
Slack possesses a splendid library and is well read in the world's best litera-
ture and well informed on a wide range of topics, his public speeches exhibit-
ing familiarity with facts outside his profession often found lacking in those
who confine their study and thoughts to their life vocation. Johnson county
has been dignified by his life and achievements and he is eminently deserving
of this feeble tribute to his worth as a man and a lawyer.

PHILANDER W. PAYNE, M. D.

Among those who stand as distinguished types of the world's workers
is Dr. Philander W. Payne, one of the able and honored pioneer physicians
and surgeons of Franklin, Indiana, who is now spending the serene Indian
summer of his years in honorable retirement from the more active duties of
life. He is a man of fine intellectual and professional attainments, of most
gracious personality, of strong and noble character, and who has labored
with zeal, devotion and success in the alleviation of human suffering. As
one of those who have lent dignity and honor to the medical profession in
Indiana and who brought to his chosen vocation the strength and devotion
of a great soul and a broad mind, it is most consonant that in this publication
be entered and perpetuated a tribute to his worth. He is plain and unas-
suming, a fine type of the self-made man. He is charitable and benevolent;
those in need or distress of body or mind seek not his iaid in vain. These
and many other commendable qualities have won for him the good will
and esteem of the people of Johnson county. It is no very rare thing for a
boy in our country to become a prosperous man and occupy a commanding
position in the world's affairs, but many who have fought their way to a place
of influence in the various relations of life, retain some marks and scars of
the conflict. Th^y are apt to become narrow and grasping, even if not sordid
and unscrupulous. Doctor Payne, however, is an instance of a man who
has achieved success without paying the price at which it is so often bought ;
for his success has not removed him away from his fellow men, but has

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 581

brought him into nearer and closer relations with them, and he has through
the years been a potential factor for the upbuilding of the community and
the advancement of the highest and best interests of the people with whom
he has mingled and been associated.

Philander W. Payne is a native son of the old Buckeye state and good
old Yankee blood flows in his veins. He was born on March 9, 1832, in
Bedford, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and is the son of George M. and Susan
(Holcomb) Payne, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Con-
necticut. George M. Payne was during the early part of his life a famjer,
but later engaged in the furniture business apd he was fairly successful in
his enterprises- From his native state he rempved to Peixn^ylvania, and from
that state to Ohio, where he lived until 1855, when he came to Franklin,
Johnson county, Indiana, where for a number of yea,rs he was one of the
prominent njerchants of the town, being a dealer in furnitiu'e. His death
occurred here in his ninety- fpurth year; his wife had died at Queensville,
Jennings county, Indiana, at the age of sixty-six years. Fraternally, George
Pajfne was a member of the Masonic order during practically all of his
mature life and devoted much of his time and attention to the work of the
order. His religious membership was^^it^'^e-Qhtistiap church. To him
and his wife were born seven children,. oLjvboni the subject of this sketch
is the only syrvivor. * -^ • .

Philander Payne accompanied hi^ parents on their removal to Johnson
county in 1855. His early education haa Deed received in. the common schools,
which was, supplemented by study at Wabash College, af Crawfordsville, this
state. Having determined to take up the practice* of medicine, he pursued a
course of technical study in the medical department of th,e^ University of
Michigan and in Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelp^ii^, where he was
graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Later he took a post-
graduate course in the medical department of the University of New York
and at Bellevue Hospital Medical College and the Post-Graduate School of
New York City. Thus well equipped. Doctor Payne came to Franklin and
w^as here actively engaged in the practice of medicine continuously up tp the
time of his retirement, about a year ago. Local conditions at the time he
entered upon the practice were vastly different from conditions toda^y, and
the lot of the pioneer physician was far fropi pleasant. Bridgeless streams,
almost impassable roads and the absence of almost all the modem conveniences
of trapsportation and communication mark a sharp contrast to the present-
day environments of the physician. Doctor Payne in his early practice rode

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582 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

horseback to almost every corner of Johnson county and was probably as well
know^n as any man in the county. He was very successful in the practice and
was often called to distant points for consultation. Recognizing the univer-
sal brotherhood of man, and the truth that he serves Gk>d best who serves
humanity most, he gave to his calling a devotion and concentration which
often called for great self-sacrifice and personal inconvenience. Large-
hearted and sympathetic, he carried with him the spirit of cheerfulness and
optimism, which made him a w^elcome visitor wherever he went, whether
professionally or otherwise.

Doctor Payne was married to Mary Forsythe, of Franklin, and to them
were bom seven children, namely: George, who is a successful farmer in
Needham township, this county; C. F., a well known and successful physi-
cian of Franklin; R. W., also a practicing physician at Franklin; Artemissa,
wife of M. J. Voris, of Franklin; Levonia, the wife of S. C. New^som, of
Tucson, Arizona; Elizabeth, wife of Frank Martin, of Indianapolis, and
Mary, the wife of E. L. Beck, of Mexico City, Mexico. Mrs. Payne, who
is deceased, is remembered as a lady of splendid character, who was to her
devoted husband a helpmate in the truest sense of the term and vyho was
beloved by all who knew her.

Politically, Doctor Payne is a supporter of the Republican party, while,
fraternally, he has been a Mason since attaining his majority. His religious
membership is with the Christian church, of v^hich he has long been a faith-
ful and earnest member. He gives conscientious attention to the spiritual
verities and is a deep student of the Holy Writings, being a stanch believer in
the divinity of Christ and the other fundamental principles which underlie
the Christian religion. Personally, he is a man of excellent parts and en-
joys to a marked degree the confidence and good will of all who know him.

HARRY BRIDGES.

The gentleman w^hose name appears at the head of this biographical re-
view needs no introduction to the people of Johnson county, since his entire
active life has been spent here, a life devoted not only to the fostering of his
own interests, but also to the welfare of the community at large. An honor-
able representative of one of the esteemed families of his section and a gentle-
man of high character and worthy ambitions, he has filled no small place in
the public view, as the important official positions he has held bear witness.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 583

He is a splendid type of the intelligent, up-to-date, self-made American in the
full sense of the term, a man of the people, with their interests at heart. As
a citizen he is progressive and abreast of the times in all that concerns the
common weal. Although a partisan, with strong convictions and well defined
opinions on questions on which men and parties divide, he has the esteem and
confidence of the people of the community and his personal friends are in num-
ber as his acquaintances, regardless of party ties.

Harry Bridges, the present efficient and popular treasurer of Johnson
county, was born on his father's farm near Trafalgar, Hensley township,
Johnson county, Indiana, on December 12, 1872. He is the son of William A.
and Alice M. (Hunter) Bridges, both of whom were born in the same locality,
and both now live in Franklin. The father, who during his active life was an
industrious and successful farmer, is now practically retired from active pur-
suits. For many years he was prominent in the public life of Johnson county,
having served two terms as a member of the board of county commissioners
during the eighties and, beginning with January i, 1900, he served two terms
as county treasurer, discharging his duties in a^ manner highly creditable to
himself and his fellow citizens. The Bridges family is originally from Ken-
tucky, the subject's grandfather, George Bridges, who was born in 1800, hav-
ing come to Johnson county in 1827, settling in Hensley township, where he
became a successful farmer. His death occurred there on August 22 , 1872.
He was married three times, first to a Miss Forsythe, by whom he had seven
children; then to Martha Clarke, the grandmother of the subject of this sketch,
to whom was born oite child, the subject's father, and the third marriage was
to a Miss Prather, by whom six children were born. To the subject's par-
ents were born three children: Otis, who resides on his father's farm in
Hensley township; Dell, the wife of Wiley E. Waggoner, of Franklin, and
Harry, the immediate subject of this sketch.

Harry Bridges spent his youthful years on his father's farm, in the
cultivation of which he gave his assistance as soon as old enough. He at-
tended the district schools and also the school at Franklin, graduating from
the high school, after which he spent three years in Franklin College, thus be-
coming well prepared for life's duties. Under President Cleveland's last
administration he was deputy postmaster of Franklin and then returned to
the home farm, to the cultivation of which he gave his attention until 1900,
since when he has been identified with the public affairs of the county with the
exception of four years when he was an employee of the Big Four railroad
as assistant agent at Franklin. He served four years as deputy treasurer of
Johnson county under his father, and then after quitting the employ of the

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584 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

railroad he served as deputy treasurer under T. J. Forsythe. HLe thus became
well acquainted with the duties of the office and, his general efficiency and trust-
worthiness having been demonstrated to the satisfaction of his fellow citizens,
he was, in 191 2, elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of county treas-
urer, the duties of which he assumed on January i, 1913, receiving the largest
majority ever given a candidate for public office in Johnson county, which cer-
tainly stands in marked testimony to his popularity among his fellow citizens.
On October 20, 1897, Mr. Bridges was married to Kate Vaught, the
daughter of Andrew and Anna Vaught, of Franklin, and to them have been
born three sons : William A., Jr., Charles E. and Harold. Religiously, Mr.
Bridges is a member of the Baptist church and, fraternally, a Mason, belong-
ing to both the York and Scottish Rites. In Franklin Commandery No. 23,
Knights Templar, of Franklin, Mr. Bridges has taken a deep interest and is a
past eminent commander of that body. He is widely known throughout the
county and is deservedly popular among all classes of people by whom he is
known.

J. A. THOMPSON.

In a twief sketch of any living citizen it is difficult to do him exact and
impartial justice, not so much, however, for lack of space or words to set
forth the familiar and passing events of his personal history, as for want of
the perfect and rounded conception of his whole life, which grows, develops
and ripens, Kke fruit, to disclose its truest and best flavor only when it is
mdlowed by time. Daily contact with the man so familiarizes us with his
virtues that we ordinarily overlook them and commonly underestimate their
possessor. It is not often that true honor, public or private, that honor
which is the tribute of cordial respect and esteem, comes to a man without
basis in character and deeds. The world may be deceived by fortune, or by
ornamental or showy qualities, without substantial merit, and may render
to the undeserving a fortuitous and short-lived admiration, but the honor that
wise and good men value and that tives beyond the grave must have its foun-
dation in real worth, for "worth maketh the man." Not a few men live
unheralded and almost unknown beyond the narrow limits of the city or
community wherein their lots are cast, who yet have in them, if fortune had
opened to them a wider sphere of life, the elements of character to make
statesmen or public benefactors of world-wide fame. Compared with the
blazon of fame which some regard as the real seal or stamp of greatness,
there is a lowlier and simpler, and yet true standard whereby to judge of them

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J. A. THOMPSON

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 585

and fix their i^ce in the regard of their fellow men. During his life of near-
ly sixty years, in Edinburgh, its people have had means to know whajt manner
of man J. A. Thompson is. The record of testimony is ample that he is a
good citizen in the full sense of the term, and worthy of honor and public
trust, ever doing worthily and well whatever he puts his hand to do — an
encomium worthy of being coveted by every man.

J. A. Thompson was born, on, October i, 1855, at Edinburg, Johnson
county, Indiana, and comes ol a long line of 3terling Southern ancestry.
He is, th^ soa of Alfred C. and Mariah (Carvin) Thompson, the former
bom in Grainger county, Tennessee, in 181 1, and the latter born in Virginia
in 1812. Alfred C. Thompson was brought to Indiana by his parents in 1816
and> owii3g to their modem circumstances and the lack of local educational
faciUties, his school training was meager. However, he was a man of large
natural endowment and force of character and, by dint of the most persistent
industry, enterprising spirit and able management, forged ahead until he*
became one of the leading and most influential citizens of his community.
In. 187a he established a private bank in Edinburg, under the name of A. C.
Thompson Bank, to the active management of which he devoted hi3 atten-
tion, with splendid success until hiXd«ati3tf-^w]uch.-occiu^ed op January l, 1889.
He had forged his way to the |roni?-¥A?i^M& 5|°lhnsoti county by his strong
inherent force and superior busaiiesi'fliiHit^,^ii^-heileft the impress of his
personality on the community. He was essentially a ihan among men and as
a citizen he easily ranked with t||e lMbs1*i*?fi^fertti'aP'of his compeers. He had
a deep interest in the general weifaffe'oT^&e'comrpuni^ and every movement
looking to the advaxicement of his 'ei^*r^ceTve3"his "Warm support.

Politically, A. C. Thonapson was originally a Whig, but on the formation
of the Republican party he gave it his support, though he never aspired to
public ofl&ce of any nature. He was an ardent and earnest member of the
Christian church, in which he held oflSce and to which he gave a liberal
support.

To A. C. and Mariah Thomf)son were born the following children:
Edward C, who also had been engaged in the banking business, died at the
age of sixty-five years; Hannah E. is the widow of Gideon McEwen, who
during his life was an extensive farmer near Columbus, Indiana, in which
city she is now residing; J. A., the immediate subject of this sketch.

J. A. Thompson received his elementary education in the public schools,
supplementing this by attendance at the Northwestern Christian Colfcge,
naw Butler College, at Indianapolis. Upon the completion of his ^ucation,
in 1875, he entered his father's bank as a bookkeeper, where he quickly mas-

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S86 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

tered the **ins and outs" of financial transactions, and eventually became a
partner with his father in the bank, which has always remained a private
bank. In 1872 his father had erected a splendid and substantial building
especially for the bank and it is still located therein. This bank>has had a
most successful career and has long been nimibered among the most sub-
stantial institutions of Johnson county, largely due to the wise and conserva-
tive management of Mr. Thompson, as well as the liberal policy of the bank
towards those who have deserved its assistance and support. The present
officers of the bank are as follows : President, J. A. Thompson ; cashier, A.
J. Loughery; assistant cashier, Frank D. Thompson. The statement of the
condition of the bank on June 14, 1912, was as follows: Liabilities — Capi-
tal stock, $50,000.00; due to other banks, $381.71; exchange, discounts and
interest, $6,408.83; deposits, $326,283.47; total, $383,074.01. Resources —
Loans and discounts, $242,842.76; taxes, $477.14; overdrafts, $388.75; other
bonds and securities, $7,836.23; due from banks, $109,585.08; cash on hand,
$19,733.66; current expenses, $2,210.39; total, $383,074.01. Mr. Thompson
is widely known in banking circles and at the meeting of the American Bank-
ers' Association, which met at Detroit in 19 12, he was chosen vice-president
of the asspciation for the state of Indiana.

Politically, J. A. Thompson is a staunch Republican and takes an activci
interest in the success of that party. He is deeply interested in educational
aflfairs and served efficiently on the board of education for twenty years.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order at Edinburg, and has also
attained to the Knight Templar degree in the York Rite, belonging to the
commandery at Franklin, while in the Scottish Rite he has been honored with
the thirty-third degree, the highest possible attainment in Masonry. He is
also a member of Murat Temple, Mystic Shrine, at Indianapolis.

In 1879 J- A. Thompson was united in marriage to Clara Denning, the
daughter of D. J. and Heppy (White) Denning, and to this union have been
born two children, namely: Rebie, who became the wife of Clarence Cut-
singer ; Frank D., who is assistant cashier of his father's bank.

PROF. JESSE C. WEBB.

The men most influential in promoting the advancement of society and in
giving character to the times in which they live are two classes, to-wit, the
men of studv and the men of action. Whether we are more indebted for the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 587

improvement of the age to the one class or the other is a question of honest
difference in opinion ;' neither class can be spared and both should be encour-
aged to occupy their several spheres of labor and influence, zealously and with-
out mutual distrust. In the following paragraphs are briefly outlined the lead-
ing facts and characteristics in the career of a gentleman who combines in his
make-up the elements of the scholar and the energy of the public-spirited man
of affairs. Devoted to the noble and humane work of teaching, he has made
his influence felt in the school life of Johnson county and is not unknown in
the wider educational circles of the state, occupying as he does a prominent
place in his profession and standing high in the esteem of educators in other
than his particular field of endeavor.

Jesse C. Webb, the present efficient and popular county superintendent of
schools, is a.native of Johnson county and was born on June 12, 1874. He is
the son of John S. and Nancy E. (Welliver) Webb, the former a native of
Shelby county, Indiana, and the latter of Butler county, Ohio. John S.Webb,
who was a farmer, came from Shelby county to Johnson county in 1856 and
thereafter followed agricultural pursuits in Needham township until 1875,
when he removed to Franklin township, where he spent the remainder of his
life. Religiously, he was an earnest member of the Baptist church, while,
politically, he was a Democrat, having cast his first presidential vote for
Buchanan in 1856. The subject's grandfather, Zachariah Webb, was a son
of John and Nancy (Taylor) Webb and came to Clark county, Indiana, in
1815, and to Shelby county, this state, in 1817. Zachariah Webb's grand-
mother, Nancy (Davis) Webb, was a cousin to Zachariah Taylor, President of
the United States. The subject's great-grandmother, Nancy A. (Huff)
Webb, was born in Xenia, Ohio, and came with her parents, Joseph and Han-
nah (Finley) Huff, to Shelby county, Indiana, where her father followed the
vocation of a millwright. He built and operated the old Red mill in Shelby
county, which was afterwards converted into a woolen mill, and later re-con-
verted into a flouring mill. Mr. Webb's maternal great-grandmother, Han-
nah (Finley) Huff, was a sister of Rev. James B. Finley, a celebrated Meth-
odist minister in Ohio in early days. The subject's great-grandmother,
Nancy Davis, was a daughter of Richard Davis, who was the brother of
Samuel Davis, the father of Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern Con-
federacy. The Webb family line of ascent is traced back to the royal family
of England. John S. Webb died in March, 1907, and his widow in March,
1908. They were the parents of twelve children, eight of whom are living,
namely: Mrs. Nina B. Branigin, of Canton, Mississippi; Mrs. Helena A.
Core, of Franklin : Mrs. Lulu E. Hunt, of Franklin ; Daniel C, also of Frank-

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588 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA^.

lin; Jesse C, the immediate subject of this sketch; Samuel J., of Franklin;
Marquis D., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; Mrs. Mary E. Clore, of Franklin.

Jesse C. Webb attended the common schools, from which he graduated in
1890, and then attended the Franklin high school where he graduated in 1894.
He then entered Franklin College, where he was graduated in 1898, with the
degree of Bachelor of Arts, taking the Master's degree in 1900. He also
attended Chicago University, where he studied under Joseph Pratt Judson,
now president of the university, and Ella Flagg Young, now superintendent
of the Chicago public schools, while at Indiana State University he studied
under William Lowe Bryan, president

Thus well prepared for his chosen life work, Mr. Webb, in 1899, engaged
in teaching and for a number of years was successfully employed in the town-
ship district and high schools. So eminently satisfactory were his services
that he attracted the attention of the township trustees of the county who, in
1903, elected him county superintendent of schools. In that position he
demonstrated abilities of such high order that he was re-elected to the posi-
tion in 1907 and again in 191 1, and is now discharging the duties of that
responsible position to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. Prof. Webb
is tht holder of a teacher's state life certificate, granted in 19P5. He is an
active and prominent member of the National Superintendents' Association
and from T910 to 1913 he was a member of the state board of education.
His work in every department of education has been characteristically practical
and in superintending and in devising or modifying the course of study he
possesses to a remarkable degree the sense of proportion and fitness. Con-
tinuous application has given him a clear and comprehensive insight into the
philosophy of education and the largest wisdom as to methods aijid means.
Although a school man in the broadest and best sense of the term, and, as
such, making every other consideration secondary to his professional and
official duties Superintendent Webb has never become narrow or pedantic, but
is a well-rounded, symmetrically developed man, fully alive to the demands of
the times, thoroughly informed on the leading questions before the public and
takes broad views of men and things. He believes in progress in ev^ry de-
partment of life and manifests an abiding interest in whatever makes for the
material advancement of the community in any way. While in college he was
actively interested in athletics, playing on the football and baseball teams, and
he is still in hearty accord with all laudable and healthful pastimes and sports
that tend to strengthen and develop the physical powers.

On August 6, 1902, Jesse C. Webb was married to Estelle Jones, of
Franklin, the daughter of W. C. and Margaret E. Jones and a great-great-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 589

granddaughter of David Forsythe, the first. She is a member of the Daugh-
ters of the American Revolution and the Tri Delta Delta sorority and is a
popular member of the social circles in which she moves. To Professor and
Mrs. Webb has been born a daughter, Dorothea L. Welliver Webb.

Fraternally, Professor Webb is a member of the Free and Accepted
Masons and the Knights of Pythias, and in the former order has attained to
the orders of Kmight Templar, holditig membership in Franklin Commandery
No. 22i> Religiously, he is a member of the First Baptist church and has
served as superintendent of the Sunday school for the past three years.

COLUMBUS HORATIO HALL, A. M., B. D., D. D.

The life of the scholarly or professional man seldom exhibits any of those
striking incidents that seize upon public feeling and attract attention to him-
self. His character is generally made up of the aggregate qualities and
qualifications he may possess, as these may be elicited by the exercise of the
duties of his vocation or the particular profession to which he may belong.
But when such a man has so impressed his individuality upon his fellow men
as to gain their confidence, and through that confidence be retained in im-
portant positions, he becomes a conspicuous figure in the body politics of the
community. The subject of this review is one of the scholarly men of his
state, who, not content to hide his talents amid life's sequestered w-ays, by the
force of will and a laudable ambition forged to the front in an exacting and
responsible calling and earned an honorable reputation in one of the most
important branches of public service. A well educated, symmetrically de-
veloped man, his work as an educator has for many years been of such a
high standard of excellence that his position in the front rank of his pro-
fession has long been conceded. Keeping abreast the times in advanced edu-
cational methods, and possessing a broad and comprehensive knowledge, he
is, because of his high attainments, well rounded character and large influence,
eminently entitled to representation in the annals of his county.

Columbus H. Hall, who, after nearly four decades of active and effective
labor in the educational field, is now retired from the activities which formerly
commanded his best efforts, is a native son of the Hoosier state, having been
bom at Chili, Miami county, on November 17, 1846. His parents. Nelson C.
and Letitia (Griswold) Hall, were natives, respectively, of New York and
Vermont, both descending from sterling old Eastern families, from whom
they inherited those characteristics which enabled them, in an early day, to

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590 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

forsake the comforts and ties of their old home and take up life in the new
and still comparatively undeveloped West, of which Indiana was then a part.
However, Nelson C. Hall, with a sagacity and courage characteristic of the
pioneers of that day, boldly cast his lot with the new community and there
he identified himself with the life of the people and, as the proprietor of "the
village store,*' he became a man of considerable local importance and influence.
With the exception of seven years which were spent by the family at Akron,
Indiana, the village of Chili remained the home of Columbus Hall during his
boyhood and early manhood. His early education was received in the schools
of his home neighborhood and in 'the high school at Peru. In 1862 he was
converted in a Methodist church at Akron, and about two years later he joined
a Baptist church in the country near his home. He had an intense longing for
a higher education than was afforded him thus far, and in the fall of 1866 he
became a student in the Ladoga (Indiana) Seminary. A year later he fol-
lowed Prof. William Hill from Ladoga to Franklin College, which Professor
Hill was then re-opening, and here he remained until the middle of his senior
year, February, 1872, when the college suspended. He at once entered Chi-
cago University, where he completed his course and was graduated in the
following June. He had "seen the vision of the Christ" and had consecrated
himself to the ministry and, to the end that he might prepare himself for his
life work, he entered the Baptist Theological Seminary at Chicago, where he
graduated in April, 1875, receiving, the same year, the degree of Master of
Arts from Franklin College and the University of Chicago. Pn May, 1874, he
was ordained a minister in the Prairie Vine church, in New^ton county, Indi-
ana, and at once entered enthusiastically upon his long cherished career as a
minister of the gospel. However, early in 1875 he was invited and urged to
become a teacher in Franklin College, and, though it meant the breaking up
of his plans and purposes, he obeyed the call to duty, and, moved by his
intense interest in the educational progress of his native state, began his work
there in September of that year. He taught, in turn, Greek, science and Latin,
but in 1879 was placed permanently at the head of the Greek department
and under his guidance and direction Franklin College became noted in this
department. The study of Greek language and literature is generally con-
ceded to be one of the best disciplines for the mind in the entire college cur-
riculum, besides which, the language itself deserves a close and critical study.
A country's literature inevitably exhibits the characteristics of the people, and,
as in the realm of art Greece stands without a peer, so its language is the most
artistic and expressive the world has ever known. Doctor Hall loved Greek

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 591

for its own sake and he was able to impart to his students a love and apprecia-
tion for the language that they had not had before. Possessing marked
poetic instincts, he was able to catch the beauty of the rhythm and the music
of the cadence and, catching his inspiration and enthusiasm, those under him
were stimulated to greater study and larger results than could otherwise have
been attained.

In 1885 Doctor Hall was elected vice-president of Franklin College, and
in 1894 he spent several months traveling in Europe, Egypt and the Holy
Land, and in 191 1 Dr. Hall and Mrs. Hall spent two months traveling in
Europe, visiting Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, France, England and
Scotland. On June 12, 1912, after thirty-seven years of continuous service
as an educator, all of them with Franklin College, Doctor Hall resigned and
has since been living quietly in his comfortable home at Franklin. In addi-
tion to his college work. Doctor Hall continued to perform some work as a
minister and for thirty-three years he has served as pastor of the Hurricane
Baptist church. As preacher and teacher he always did his very best and the
good he accomplished passes any finite measure. In the cause of Christian
education he devoted the best years of his life, and it is not possible to
measure adequately the height, depth and breadth of such a life, for its in-
fluence will continue to permeate the lives of others through succeeding gen-
erations. Doctor Hall has ever held the unequivocal confidence and esteem
of the people among whom he has labored so long and so earnestly.

On June 15, 1875, Doctor Hall was united in marriage with Theodosia
Parks. She was born at Bedford, Indiana, on July 13, 1856; a daughter of
Rev. R. N. and James (Short) Parks. Rev. R. N. Parks was one of the
pioneer Baptist preachers of Indiana. Mrs. Hall graduated from Franklin
College, class of 1875, being the youngest person ever graduated from the
college. For one year after graduation she was a tutor in the college. To
Dr. and Mrs. Hall have come nine children, as follows: Zoe Parks Hall,
deceased, who was the wife of John Hall, and died on December 21, 1907:
Mary Griswold Hall is the wife of Dr. G. M. Selby, and they reside at
Sheridan, Wyoming: Albert Arnold Bennett Hall, assistant professor of
political science in the University of Wisconsin: Theodore Hall, who died
on June 18, 1884: Letitia Theodora Hall is the head of the Latin department
in the Emerson School, Gary, Indiana : Warren Short Hall is assistant mana-
ger of the Fame Laundry, Toledo, Ohio : Nelson Clarence Hall is a teacher
in the Rock River Military Academy, Dixon, Illinois ; Esther Marguerite Hall
is attending Franklin College; Florence Christine Hall is a student in the
public school.

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592^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

JAMES THOMAS POLK.

The two most strongly marked characteristics of both the East and the
West are combined in the residents of the section of country of which this
volume treats. The enthusiastic enterprise which overleaps all obstacles and
makes possible almost any undertaking m the comparatively new and vigorous
Western states is here tempered by the stable and more careful policy that
we have borrowed from our Eastern neighbors, and the combination is one
of peculiar force and power. It has been the means of placing this section of
the country on a par with the older East, at the same time producing a re-
liability and certainty in business affairs which is frequently lacking in the
West. This happy combination of characteristics is possessed by the subject
of this brief sketch. Additional interest attaches to the subject because dur-
ing the dark, troublesome days of the sixties he proved his love and loyalty
to the government by enlisting in its defense and in the Southland he por-
formed valiant and courageous service for his country. To such as he the
country is under a debt of gratitude which it can not repay and in centuries
yet to be posterity will commemorate the splendid defense of national integ-
rity which characterized the boys in blue during the sixties.

J. T. Polk was bom in Gibson county, Indiana, on February 25, 1846,
and is the son of George W. and Mary (Emory) Polk, the former a native of
Kentucky and the latter of Gibson county, Indiana. The father, who was
bom south of the Ohio river, across from Evansville, was a furniture-maker
and cabinet-maker by vocation, having learned the trade at Evansville at a
time before machinery had been installed in such factories, and all of the work
was done by hand. Later in life he followed the saw-mill business and then
took up farming, cultivating one hundred acres of land. In 1861 he came to
Greenwood, Johnson county, Indiana, and bought his first farm, which was
covered with timber and to the clearing and cultivation of which he gave his
attention. At that time Greenwood was a village of but little prominence or
promise of future prosperity, containing but one store of any importance and
a few cabins. Here Mr. Polk remained until his death. He was the father
of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only one living.

J. T. Polk secured a practical common school education, supplemented by
extensive home reading. He was very ambitious to secure a better education,
but his plans were interrupted by the Southern rebellion and he ardently de-
sired to enlist in the national army, but he was too young and was compelled
to remain inactive until 1863, when, without his father's consent, he enlisted

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THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND

TILDEN FOUNDATION i:

H L

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 593

in Company M, First Indiana Heavy Artillery. The command was assigned
to the Army of the South, and at Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Mobile Bay
they took an active part in the campaigns of that army. This company of
artillery fired the last shot of the war and to Mr. Polk belongs the distinction
of having helped to fire the last cannon ball that closed up this conflict in as-
sisting in the capture of Mobile Bay. After the close of the war Mr. Polk
returned home, and, after attending the common schools for a short time, he
went to Shurtliff College, at Alton, Illinois, where he studied for one year and
a term, when, because of failing health, he was compelled to desist from his
studies and for awhile engaged in work as a bood salesman. He then came
home, but a short time later he was compelled to go to the Danville Sanitarium,
where for nine months he endeavored to regain his health. He was then with
his father in a tile factory for a short time, when, feeling that his health was
again established, he entered Chicago University, but his health would not
stand the strain and he was again compelled to give up his studies. Return-
ing home, he took up farming, in which he began to specialize with the view of
starting and operating a canning factory. Planting a half acre to tomatoes,
he commenced canning the fruit, which he sold to restaurants and hotels at
Indianapolis. He was successful in this enterprise, gradually branched out and
in the course of time he had one of the largest and most complete canning
factories in the country, employing f r<Di|i two Jhunctied t^ three hundred men,
and during the busy season as high :as ort^ thpiisaf^ to two thousand men,
women and children. Eventually jje sold this factory a^d started in the dairy
business, in which his greatest success has been achieved, his business now
being one of the largest in the United States in this lin€. This business, which
has been under Mr. Polk's management now about twenty years, has gradually
grown in scope and importance, the Indianapolis factory being enlarged from
time to time until today there is nothing to compare with it in the Middle
West. Mr. Polk's first activity in the dairy business was in 1888, at which time
he had a herd of Holstein and Jersey cattle, the most of the product of which
he sold to the Tanglewood Dairy Company. Eventually he bought the latter
company and began the delivery of milk to the dairy company which he organ-
ized in Indianapolis. Mr. Polk has own^d the major part of the stock and
has controlled the business policy of the company from the start and to his
sound judgment and progressive methods is its spendid success due, though
credit also should be given to Samuel O. Dungan, Mr. Polk's son-in-law, who
is vice-president and secretary of the company and who has had active charge
of the Indianapolis business. The company first began business at No. 613

(38)

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594 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

East Sixteenth street, Indianapolis, starting with one wagon for city delivery,
and at the end of eight years they had eighteen wagons on the routes. Com-
pelled to secure larger quarters, the company then built a milk depot at the
corner of College avenue and Sixteenth street, the structure costing twenty-
five thousand dollars, and there they remained for nine years. The business
increased rapidly and in 1904 it was incorporated under the name of the Polk
Sanitary Milk Company, with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars,
all of the stock being owned in the family. The plant is now located at No.
1 100 East Fifteenth street, covering about three-quarters of a city block, and
a private railroad switch running into the plant. The plant, which is, without
question, one of the best of its kind in the world, handles about ten thousand
gallons of milk daily, supplying twenty thousand families, for which service
sixty-five wagons are required. One thousand gallons of milk can be bottled
in a single hour by the improved and sanitary methods in use here, and two
thousand pounds of butter are made here daily. The plant gives employment
to one hundred and fifty men, whose first and greatest care is cleanliness, and
then speed and promptness in the delivery of the product. In addition to milk
and cream, "Pok-o-lac," the trade name under which the buttermilk product
of this factory is sold, is widely known because of its absolute purity and
richness and the demand for the same always exceeds the supply. Mr. Polk
has given his personal attention to every detail of the business, which is one
of the secrets of its success and today he is considered one of the most remark-
able men in commercial circles and has been prospered financially. His chief
characteristics seem to be keenness of perception, tireless energy, honesty of
purpose and motive, and everyday common sense. Successful in business, re-
spected in social life, and as a citizen discharging his duties in a manner be-
coming a liberal-minded, intelligent man, his splendid qualities have been duly
recognized and prized at their true value.

In 1872 J. T. Polk married Laura Burdick, whose father was a minister
of the Baptist church. Mrs. Polk was a woman of splendid personal quali-
ties and was largely self educated, after which she engaged in school work,
beginning at the early age of sixteen years and was successfully engaged in
this vocation for several years. To Mr. and Mrs. Polk were born two chil-
dren, Ralph, who is the manager of the canning factory, and Pearl, who mar-
ried Samuel Dungan, manager of Mr. Polk's dairy interests at Indianapolis.
These two gentlemen have largely taken the burden of the business from Mr.
Polk's shoulders and are ably and successfully carrying on the work so auspi-
ciously inaugurated by him. Mrs. Laura Polk died on January 20, 1909, and in
1 910 Mr. Polk was married to Edna Coughlin.

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 595

Politically, Mr. Polk gives his earnest support to the Republican party,
although he has never been a seeker for public office. His religious sympathies
are with the Baptist church. Mr. Polk takes a keen interest in life in its every
aspect and, with his wife and a lady friend, made a very pleasant and inter-
esting trip around the world in 1912, leaving the harbor of San Francisco and
arriving at New York City four months later. They touched at many of the
most important cities of the world and acquired not only a vast fund of in-
formation through their experiences, but brought home many mementoes of
their visit in strange lands. The Polk home, located about one mile from
Greenwood, is a very beautiful and attractive place, characterized by all mod-
em conveniences and surrounded by a beautiful lawn. Here the true spirit
of hospitality is always in evidence and among those with whom he asso-
ciates Mr. Polk is held in the highest esteem.

JOHN H. VAN DYKE.

The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate
of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the record the
verdict establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of
his neighbors and friends. The life of the honorable subject of this review
has been such as to elicit just praise from those who know him best, owing
to the fact that he has always been loyal to trusts imposed upon him and has
been upright in his dealings with his fellow men, at the same time lending his
support to the advancement of any cause looking to the welfare of the com-
munity at large.

John H. Van Dyke was born in Johnson county, Indiana, on December
12, 1852, and is a son of Dominicus and Nancy (Myers) Van Dyke, the
father born in Franklin county, Indiana, in 181 8, and the mother in the state
of Kentucky in 1812; both of them are deceased, the father dying in 1900
and the mother in 1891. The father, who was a farmer, came to Johnson
county in an early day and here spent the balance of his life in Pleasant
township. He was the father of two children, George P., who died at the
age of three years, and the subject of this sketch. He was a Republican in
politics, staunch in his views on political and other public questions.

J. H. Van Dyke received his education in the common schools of the
comity and followed the vocation for which he was reared, that of farming,
for forty-four years in Pleasant township on the old home farm. He was
successful as an agriculturist, but, desiring a change in occupation, he moved

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596 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

to Greenwood in 1900 and entered the grocery business, in which he re-
mained for seven years, meeting w-ith splendid success. On June 10, 19 10,
Mr. Van Dyke was appointed postmaster of Greenwood and is still serving
in that position to the entire satisfaction of the department and the patrons
of the office. It is noteworthy that the receipts of the office have increased
appreciably since Mr. Van Dyke took charge of it, the box rent especially
having become an important part of the receipts.

In 1873 Mr. Van Dyke married Minerva I. Harmon, a daughter of Capt.
Joseph and Sarah (Wilson) Harmon, the father a farmer of this county,
who died in Pleasant township. The mother was a native of North Carolina.
To Mr. and Mrs. Van Dyke have been bom two children, Dominicus J., who
died at the age of fifteen years, and Burl, who is cashier and bookkeeper in
the wholesale grocery house of Brinkmeyer & Company, of Indianapolis.

Politically, Mr. Van Dyke is a staunch supporter of the Republican
party, while his fraternal relations are with the Knights of Pythias, belonging
to the local lodge of that order at Greenwood. He is a faithful and earnest
member of the Christian church at Greenwood, to w^hich he gives a liberal
support. He has a pleasant and attractive residence at the comer of Madison
and Pearl streets, where the spirit of old-time hospitality is ever in evidence.
Mr. and Mrs. Van Dyke are popular in the community and because of their
genuine worth and unassuming natures, they enjoy the confidence and esteem
of all who know them.

WILLIAM T. STOTT, D. D.

Not too often can be repeated the life story of one who has lived so
honorable and useful a life and attained to such notable distinc;tion as has he
whose name appears at the head of this sketch, one of the most successful
and distinguished educators that the state of Indiana has produced. His
character has been one of signal exaltation and purity of purpose. Well dis-
ciplined in mind, maintaining a vantagepoint from which life has presented
itself in correct proportions, guided and guarded by the most inviolable prin-
ciples of integrity and honor, simple and unostentatious in his self-respecting,
tolerant individuality, such a man could not prove other than a force for good
in whatever relation of life he may have been placed. His character is the
positive expression of a strong nature and his strength is as the number of
his days. In studying his career interpretation follows fact in a straight line
of derivation and there is no need for indirection or puzzling. As the day,
with its morning of hope and promise, its noontide of activity and accom-

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WILLIAM T. STOTT, D. D.

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THE NEW YORK
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ASTOB» L£NOX AND
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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 613

widow died in 1877, being killed by a runaway horse; at the time of her
death she was fifty-five years old. Both parents were members of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church. Albert John Crecraft was a cousin of Dr. J. P. D.
John, the noted divine and at one time president of DePauw University, his
mother, Asenath John Crecraft, having been a sister of Enoch D. John and
Robert John, early pioneers of Brookville, Indiana, the latter being the father
of J. P. D. John. Enoch D. John married Lavina Noble, a sister of James
and Noah Noble, mentioned elsewhere in this sketch. The John family came
originally from Wales to this country, settling in Pennsylvania. Ten chil-
dren were born to Albert John and Evelina Crecraft, six sons and four daugh-
ters, of whom seven are living, namely : Laura, of Hamilton, Ohio ; Asenath,
the wife of Clarence B. Morris, of Oxford, Ohio; John H., of Hamilton,
Ohio; Albert N., the imm^iate subject of this sketch; LuelU, the wife of
Iremus Nelson, of Hamilton; William H., of Liberty, Indiana, and Arthur
L., of Fairfield, Iowa.

Albert N. Crecraft remained at his home in Butler county, Ohio, until
nineteen years of age, receiving his education in the district schools and in
the National Normal University, at Lebanon, Ohio, where he took the scien-
tific course, graduating in 1878. However, before entering the latter institu-
tion, he had, at the age of sixtee^i^years, taught one. term of school, and after
his graduation he taught another ydar. • He-^then entered Princeton Uni-
versity, where he remained a year;. Anid t&en. t&ife^ teaching, first at Mt.
Carmel, Indiana, then at Fairfield, this state. He was then for four years
principal of the schools at Brpokville, Franklin cqunty, and subsequently
served six years as superintendent of schools of Franklin county. During
three years of that period he was a member of the State Teachers' Reading
Circle board and the Young People's Reading Circle board.

While county superintendent, Mr. Crecraft purchased the Brookville
Democrat, which he owned for two years, and on January i, 1892, he became
the owner and editor of the Franklin Democrat, Since attaining his majority
he has ardently espoused the Democratic party and the editorial columns of
his paper are conducted in harmony with these political views. Believing that
the fundamental mission of a newspaper is to give the news of the day to its
readers, he has to the best of his ability striven to meet that idea, and the
Democrat is today rated among the best country newspapers of central
Indiana.

On May 31, 1883, Mr. Crecraft was married to Mary Luella Tyner, the
daughter of Richard Henry and Anna (Miller) Tyner. To them have been
bom three children, Earle Willis, Albert Tyner and Richard Tyner, of whom

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6l4 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Albert T. died in infancy. Earle Willis is a graduate of Franklin College
and received the Master of Arts degree from Columbia University, where he
taught in 1912, and he will later receive another degree in history and political
science. Mr. and Mrs. Crecraft are active members of the Presbyterian
church, move in the best social circles of their community and enjoy marked
popularity.

The parents of Mrs. Crecraft were natives of Franklin county, Indiana
and had two daughters, Mary Luella and Rose Willis, the latter being the
wife of Arthur A. Alexander, who is president of the Citizens' National Bank
of Franklin, and who is referred to elsewhere in this work. Richard Henry
Tyner was the son of Richard and Martha Sedgwick Willis Swift (Noble)
Tyner and was born in Brookville, Indiana, September 2, 183 1, being one of
twelve children. His father was a son of William E. Tyner, a pioneer Bap-
tist preacher of Indiana, who had emigrated to this state from South Caro-
lina and who built one of the first Baptist churches in the state, south of
Brookville, in 181 2. His wife, Elizabeth Hackleman, was an aunt of Pleasant
A. Hackleman. Richard Tyner was one of the early settlers of Brookville,
where he was an important factor in the business life of the community, con-
ducting an extensive mercantile establishment. Afterwards he moved to
Davenport, Iowa. His wife was a member of the Noble family that emi-
grated from Virginia to Kentucky, thence to Indiana. She was a daughter
of Dr. Thomas Noble, a surgeon in the Revolutionary war, who was related
to Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, whence comes the name Richard Henry
Tyner. She was a sister of James and Noah Noble. The latter was one of
the first governors of Indiana, while James Noble was one of the first United
States senators from this state, serving from 181 6 to 1831, his death occur-
ring, the latter year in Washington. The ivory-headed cane carried by him
while senator is now in the possession of Mr. and Mrs. Crecraft.

Richard Henry Tyner, father of Mrs. Crecraft, never held public office,
but always bore an active part in the business and political life of the com-
munity. He was a delegate to the first Republican state convention in Indiana
and took an active part in the organization of the party. In his early life he
was associated with the Cincinnati Banking Association and traveled over
Indiana during the period of *Svild-cat" currency as an inspector or examiner.
His brother, James Noble Tyner, was a congressman from this state and was
assistant postmaster-general under President Grant, and during the latter part
of that administration he became postmaster-general. He was afterwards,
during Republican administrations, connected with the postoffice department,
either as assistant postmaster-general or attorney-general, until shortly before

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 615

his death. Another brother. Gen. Noah Noble Tyner, was a brave soldier
during the Civil war, and still another brother, George N. Tyner, of Holyoke,
Massachusetts, was connected with the Holyoke Paper Mills and in 1 900-1
was a member of the Massachusetts State Senate.

The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Crecraft was Albert Miller, a native of
Maryland, who, when a child, was brought by his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
George Miller, to Franklin county, Indiana, where his death occurred when
he was eighty-three years old. He was an extensive stock dealer and general
merchant, and took an active interest in all political affairs. He was elected
on the Democratic ticket to the Legislature as representative, ser\qng in the
sessions of 1881 and 1883. He was twice married and reared a large family
of children.

WILLIAM ADCOCK.

It is generally considered by those in the habit of superficial thinking
that the history of so-called great men only is worthy of preservation and that
Httle merit exists among the masses to call forth the praises of the historian
or the cheers and the appreciation of mankind. A greater mistake was never
made. No man is great in all things and very few are great in many things.
Many by a lucky stroke achieve lasting fame, who before that had no reputa-
tion beyond the limits of their neighborhoods. It is not a history of the lucky
stroke which benefits humanity most, but the long study and effort which
made the lucky stroke possible. It is the preliminary work, the method, that
serves as a guide for the success of others. Among those in this county who
have achieved success along steady lines of action is the subject of this sketch,
who is now. rendering efficient service as cashier of the Citizens National
Bank of Greenwood.

William Adcock was born in Carroll county, Kentucky, February 11^
1 874, and is the son of S. B. and Alice (Jenkins) Adcock. The father, who
is a native of Kentucky, is a successful farmer and has followed that vocation
all his life, his present residence being at Campbell sburg, Kentucky. To the
subject and his wife were born five children, all of w^hom are living. The
subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools of Jiis
community and in a college at Campbellsburg. Completing his education, he
became employed in the First National Bank at Carrollton, Kentucky, where
he remained for sixteen years, his faithful service and efficiency being re-
warded by promotion from time to .time until he became assistant cashier of

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6l6 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

that institution. In 1906 Mr. Adcock came to Greenwood and assisted in the
organization of the Citizens National Bank here, which was organized with a
capital of twenty-five thousand dollars and which opened for business in
1907, with the following officiary: President, Harvey Brewer; vice-presi-
dent, D. E. Demott ; cashier, William Adcock. The bank now has a surplus of
fifteen thousand dollars and deposits of one hundred and fifty thousand dol-
lars and is considered one of the strong financial institutions of Johnson
county, much of the success which has attended the organization being due to
the splendid business ability, energetic efforts and the popularity of the sub-
ject of this sketch. He is known to all who have formed his acquaintance to
be a man of genuine worth and integrity, scrupulously honest in all his deal-
ings with his fellow men and he has won the respect and good will of a host of
friends throughout the county.

Politically Mr. Adcock gives his support to the Democratic party, while,
fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to the blue lodge
at Greenwood, the commandery of Knights Templar at Franklin, and to
Murat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Indianapolis. Genial and un-
assuming in his relations with others and a splendid conversationalist, he is
welcome in any company which he chooses to enter, and among those with
whom he is associated in a business way he is held in the highest regard and
esteem.

WILLIAM J. MATHES.

Though many years have passed since the subject of this sketch was
transferred from the life militant to the life triumphant, he is still favorably
remembered by many of the older residents of Johnson county, where for
many years he was regarded as one of the leading business men of the
county. Because of his many excellent personal qualities and the splendid
and definite influence which his life shed over the entire locality in which he
lived so long and which he labored so earnestly to upbuild in any way within
his power, it is particularly consonant that specific mention should be made
of him in a work containing mention of the representative citizens of the
community in a past generation. A man of high moral character, unimpeach-
able integrity, persistent industry and excellent business judgment, he stood
"four square to every wind that blew/* and throughout the locality where he
lived he occupied an enviable position among his fellowmen, among whom
he was universally esteemed.

William J. Mathes was born in Culpeper county, Virginia, on August i,

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WILLIAM J. MATHES

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 617

18 1 8, and was the son of Joseph and Sarah (At wood) Mathes, both of whom
also were natives of Virginia. In 1825 Joseph Mathes came to Johnson
county, Indiana, and located on a farm near Edinburg, to the improvement
and cultivation of which he devoted his efforts during the remainder of his
active life. He reared a family of nine children, and after his death his
widow and her son, William J., the immediate subject of this sketch, removed
to a farm in Nineveh township, this county, where her death occurred in
1856. She was a Baptist in her religious faith and was a woman of exalted
character, rearing her children to honorable and respected manhood and
womanhood. On the Nineveh township farm the subject of this sketch was
reared to manhood. Eventually he engaged in the mercantile business at
Williamsburg, where he remained several years. He attained to considerable
prominence in the community and efficiently filled the offices of postmaster
of Williamsburg and trustee of the township. In September, 1863, Mr.
Mathes removed to Franklin, where he resided until his death, which occurred
on October 9, 1886. Here he engaged in the mercantile business and also
ran a livery and sales stable. In these enterprises he was successfully engaged
for a number of years, his activities in his own affairs and his eflforfs towards
the upbuilding of the community commending him to the favorable opinion
of all who knew him. He \|as X:^it)ctt*4^flt|>cnjt in his political faith and
was three times elected to tjieVfe^p?m|j}>l8?^^il*|oi of county commissioner,
being a member of that boatd at the time of hisjdeath. He was a Baptist
in his religious belief, though hev\ya3-^^^iden^fie(l with that society. In the
business and c6mmercial lifd of theJe€>tiWmmity4^ was an important factor
and, without reserve, gave his^si}t)pad;.and«fiKit<ijirtagement to every effort to
upbuild the city and advance its interests in any way. He was deeply in-
terested in educational matters and was particularly friendly to Franklin Col-
lege, being largely instrumental in placing that institution on a substantial
footing. Very successful in his own business affairs, he was generous in giv-
ing his assistance to every 'other enterprise that promised to enhance the pub-
lic welfare and every worthy benevolent or charitable object found in him a
friend, especially the churches, to all of w^iom he gave liberally. The family
home, on Jefferson street, this city, is one of the old and substantial residences
of the city, and about the place there has always clung the spirit of hospitality
which made it a frequent gathering place for a large circle of the best people
of the community.

On March 22, 1845, William J. Mathes was married to Rachel Mullikin,
who was born in Henry county, Kentucky, on February 13, 1823. Mrs.
Mathes was descended from a line of patriotic ancestors, her paternal grand-

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6l8 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

father, John Mullikin, having fought in the war of the Revolution, while her
father, James Mullikin, was a veteran of the war of 1812. The family was
of Irish descent and in them were found those qualities which have ever char-
acterized those of Celtic descent, qualities which have formed an important
element in the development of this great western republic.

To William J. and Rachel Mathes were born five children, of whom two
died in infancy: Joseph Q. died in July, 1908: Clara B., who became the
wife of Smith B. Fesler, died in August, 1904; Ellen S. is the only survivor,
and li\'es in the old family homestead, and is numbered among the best known
and most popular ladies of this city. She is a member and active worker in the
Baptist church, and is also a member of the Woman's Relief Corps. Miss
Mathes is especially interested in the work of the Daughters of the American
Revolution, of which she has been an active worker for a number of years.
She has been four times honored by election as representative to the national
conventions of that exclusive order, and has served twice in that capacity,
both times at Washington, D. C. She is a lady of splendid personal qualifica-
tions and in the circles in which she moves she is well liked by all.

JOHN NEWTON RECORDS, M. D.

A list of the representative citizens of Johnson county would be incom-
plete were there failure to make specific mention of John N. Records, a lead-
ing physician and the present postmaster of Franklin. Mr. Records was bom
February 17, 1862, in Franklin township, Johnson county, Indiana, son of
Franklin S. and Susan M. (Utterback) Records, both of old pioneer stock,
distinguished for moral and intellectual strength and high ideals of patriotism
and deep religious principles. <

The family is of English extraction. John and Anna (Galloway) Records
were the Doctor's great-great-great grandparents. Their son, Josiah Records,
bom in Delaware, married into the Tucker family, of Welsh descent.
Spencer Records, son of Josiah, was also a native of Delaware. He took
part in the Revolutionary war, and was noted as an Indian fighter after his
removal from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, where he was a pioneer. His
trade was that of millwright, which he followed in connection with farming.
He died at the age of eighty-seven years, eight months, being the same age
at his death as his son, William P. Records. William P. Records, paternal
grandfather of Doctor Records, was born in Ohio in 1801. He emigrated
to Indiana and bought land in Bartholomew county, later removing to Shelby •

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 619

county, where he carried on farming. He died, esteemed by all, at the age of
eighty-seven years and eight months. He married Elsie Harvey, who became
the mother of a large family and died at the age of ninety-three years. She
was the daughter of Longstreet Harvey (whose mother was a Longstreet),
who married Chantry Bennett; she died at the age of ninety-three, while
Mr. Harvey died at the age of eighty-eight. These ancestors were all noted
for lives of industry and integrity, the men useful as citizens and the women
of high character and Christian attributes. Franklin S. Records learned
many things from his father, who was a man of vigorous mentality as well
as physical strength. Mr. Records recalled many tales told of the early days
when his grandfather fought Indians in Kentucky. Both father and grand-
father were Whigs, men of prominence in their community, and died es-
teemed by all. Franklin S. Records always followed an agricultural life. He
was born in Bartholomew county, Indiana, and was six years old when his
family removed to Shelby county, and twenty-two when he married and came
to Johnson county. It was in 1854 that he moved to his late home, three
and one-half miles southwest of Franklin, buying a farm of one hundred
twenty acres of land at that time. This original purchase was increased to
two hundred and forty acres of fertile, well cultivated and excellently im-
proved land. He was successful in his life work and a useful member of his
community, for a period serving as justice of the peace, and whenever called
upon he proved himself a valuable and worthy citizen. He was regarded as
a man of more than ordinary intelligence and influence for good. He first
belonged to the Whig party, but later was in active accord with the Republi-
can principles. He and his wife belonged to the Christian church, in which
he was an elder for many years, continuing up to his death, which occurred
on February 24, 1907, when he was eighty years, five days old. He married
Susan M. Utterback, a native of Kentucky and they had a family of eight
children, two sons and six daughters, the three surviving being Mary V., wife
of William Craig, of Franklin township; Dr. John N., and Harriet, wife of
Frank Cox, of Franklin township. Ferry Utterback, the father of Mrs.
Susan N. (Utterback) Records, was a native of Kentucky, of German an-
cestry. As a farmer in search of desirable land he became an early settler in
Indiana, and camped on Young's creek in 1835, when there were but six
houses on the present site of the city of Franklin. He bought land in what
is now Union township and cleared up a fine fcirm. Later, with pioneer
spirit, he removed to Iowa, locating near Ottumwa. The maternal grand-
father of Mrs. Susan M. Records was John DeWitt, a native of Kentucky,
who lived there until an advanced age and reared a family.

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620 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

In recalling the early life of three- fourths of the successful men of our
times the biographer finds that this proportion passed the formative portion
of their lives on a farm. Such was the case of Dr. John N. Records. His
early school days were spent in his home district and he pursued the higher
branches of his study at the Danville Normal School, following which he took
up the study of medicine, graduating from the medical department of the
University of Louisville in 1894, and from the Southwestern Homeopathic
Medical College in 1895. Doctor Records practiced for two years in Dan-
ville, locating in Franklin in 1897. Since that time he has been unusually
well supported by the best patronage of the city and by his skill and ability
he has won the commendation of his brother practitioners as well as the favor
of the public. His personal standing is as high as his professional record.

On August 19, 1885, Doctor Records was married to Agnes A. Saunders,
daughter of John and Sarah (Robbins) Saunders. Her father was a native
of Stratton, Cornwall, England, and came to this country when a young
married man and settled first in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was a
merchant, and later he located in Columbiana county, Ohio, where he was a
dry goods merchant. From that place he enlisted for the Union service in
the Civil war in an Ohio volunteer regiment, fighting for his adopted country
until the close of the war. He died in 1875, aged sixty-nine. He was thrice
married. Sarah Robbins being his second wife, and his third wife was a
Miss Pitcher.

To Doctor and Mrs. Records has been born one son, Frank S., bom
April I, 1889, his grandfather's namesake. He is a graduate of Franklin,
high school and Franklin College, and he is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
fraterpity. He has been at teacher for two years in schools of Traverse City,
Michigan, and expects to take up the profession of law.

The pleasant and attractive home of Doctor Records is at No. 349 West
Jefferson street. The Doctor and his wife belong to the Christian church,
and during his residence in Union and Danville the Doctor was a deacon in
that body. In politics, he is a sturdy Republican, and was chairman of the
county coinmittee for ten consecutive years. He was appointed postmaster
of Franklin in 19 10, but continued in medical practice, and is a member of
the Johnson Coimty Medical Society, the Indiana Medical Society, the State
Homeopathic Medical Society and the National Homeopathic Association,
and is up-to-date in all matters connected with the profession and also of
county and civic interest. Doctor Records is a Royal Arch Mason, with
membership at Franklin.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 621

J. F. CRAWFORD.

The subject of this sketch is a well known and popular citizen who has
been commissioned pension attorney at Greenwood, where his labors among
his fellow men have made him a much liked public character, being known as
a man of keen perceptive faculties, unusual soundness of judgment and up-
right in all his dealings with his fellow countrymen, until today his name
stands high on the scroll of honored residents of Johnson county.

J. F. Crawford is a native of Johnson county, bom on February 23,
1856, and is a son of Robert and Margaret E. (Carter) Crawford. The
father was a native of Wythe county, Virginia, born on September 13, 1825,
while his mother was born in Johnson county, Indiana, on November 12,
1829. Robert Crawford came to Johnson county in 1846, locating three and
one-half miles east of Whiteland. where he followed the dual occupations of
carpenter and school teacher. In 1854 he married and thereafter followed
farming in connection with his pedagogical work until after the war. His last
term as school teacher was in 1869. He died on July 12, 1912, at the age of
eighty-five years, having survived his wife, who died on November 12, 1901.
They were the parents of nine children, four of whom are deceased. The
subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools, having
been a pupil of his father during the last year that he engaged in teaching.
After leaving the common school he attended two years at the Danville
Normal School, and on August i, 1881. he became an employe of the Grafton
Johnson store at Greenwood as clerk. He later bought a half interest in the
Bass store, a business which he conducted until 1890, when he engaged in the
real estate and insurance business, which has occupied his attention since.
He has been successful in all his transactions and has acquired eighty acres
of land in the township in which he lives and two hundred and forty acres in
Hensley township, which he rents and from which he derives a nice income.
Of marked business ability and energetic and enterprising business methods,
Mr. Crawford has achieved a splendid success and is now numbered among
the most prominent and enterprising citizens of Greenwood. He has a deep
interest in the welfare of the community and gives an earnest support to every
movement which promises to advance the welfare of his fellow citizens edu-
cationallyv morally and socially. He has become well and favorably known in
his community for his loyalty to the truth, his uprightness in business, his
public spirit and his friendly disposition.

On November 4, 18S6, Mr. Crawford was married to Maggie Smith,

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622 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the daughter of J. W. and Adeline (BalHnger) Smith, farmers of this county,
and to this union have been born four children: Jerre R., Ralph E., of
Greenwood; Eleanor and Frank A. Politically, Mr. Crawford gives his
support to the Republican party, in the success of which he is deeply inter-
ested. Mr. Crawford is very deeply interested in the welfare of the old war
veterans and has for years given his services gratuitously to such of the old
veterans as desired his assistance in preparing their xpension papers. He is
now a regular pension attorney at Greenwood and in this capacity has ren-
dered valuable sei^ices to the old soldiers of the community, who have ap-
preciated his efforts in their behalf.

O. B. SHARP.

It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs that makes the real his-
tory of a community and his influence as a potential factor of the body
politic is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient
purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of
each to accomplish, and there is always a full measure of satisfaction in
adverting even in a casual way to their achievements in advancing the inter-
ests of their fellow men and in giving strength and solidity to the institu-
tions which make so much for the prosperity of a community. Such a man is
the worthy subject of this sketch, and as such it is proper that a review of his
career be accorded a place among the representative citizens of the city and
county in which he resides.

O. B. Sharp, who conducts a well stocked and up-to-date grocery store
at Greenwood, and who is numbered among the enterprising and progressive
citizens of this part of the county, was born at Whiteland, Johnson county,
Indiana, on December 6, 1869. He is the son of William and Lucretia
(Bass) Sharp. William Sharp, who came to Johnson county in an early
day, followed farming during his active years and his death occu^rred about
forty years ago. He was the father of nine children, of whom six are still
alive. The subject of this sketch received his education in the common
schools and the high school at Whiteland. His first active employment was
as clerk in a grocery store belonging to his brother and after his marriage,
in 1895, he went to Greenwood and bought a half interest in the grocery-
store owned by J. W. Vanarsdall. Eventually he bought his partner's in-
terest and has since conducted the business alone. He has been prosperous
in his financial affairs and has erected a fine business block, the lower floor

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 623

of which is occupied by the store, while the upper floor is devoted to a lodge
room for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He carries a splendid line
of groceries, comprising about a three-thousand-dollar stock, and because of
his evident desire to please his patrons and the high quality of the goods he
carries on his shelves, he enjoys his full share of local patronage in this line.

In 1895 Mr. Sharp married Margaret E. Rice, the daughter of William
and Anna (Lewis) Rice, and to them have been born three children, Walter,
Joseph and Leland.

Politically, Mr. Sharp has been a life-long Democrat and has taken an
active interest in the success of his party in his locality. He served one term
as treasurer of the town and gave a satisfactory administration. Frater-
nally, he is a Mason and Odd Fellow, w hile his religious membership is with
the Presbyterian church. He is a man of good business ability, strict integ-
rity and fine personal address, and because of his genuine worth and high
character he has long enjoyed a splendid reputation in. the community where
he lives. He gives his support to all movements for the advancement of his
fellow citizens and is today numbered among the representative men of
Greenwood.

HENRY E. WHITE.

Henry E. White, the junior member of the .firm of Miller & White at
Franklin, was born in Hensley township, Johnson county, Indiana, on August
16, 1872, and is the son of James N. and Nancy (Lane) White, the father a
native of Johnson county and the mother of Monroe county, this state.
James N. White, who was a farmer by vocation, lived on his Johnson county
homestead until about 1910, when he removed to Bloomington, Indiana,
where he and his wife are now living. He was a man of splendid parts and
stood high in the estimation of his fellow citizens in his community. To him
and his wife have been bom eight children, namely: Charles K, professor
of mathematics at Wesley University, Buchanan, Virginia; Mrs. Emma
Weissenbarger, of Peni, Indiana; Henry E., the immediate subject of this
sketch ; Fanny Ethel, deceased ; Mrs. Laura Alice Bowers, of Monroe county,
this state; Mrs. Estella Mitchell, of this county; William E., of this coimty,
and Walter E., the twin of William E., who now lives in Monroe county.

The subject of this sketch, who was born and reared on a farm, received
his educational training first in the country schools of his community and later
at Valparaiso University and Franklin College. His first independent vocation

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624 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

was as a teacher in Johnson county, in which he was engaged for a number
of years, meeting with splendid success. . He was principal of the high school
at Providence, this county, for two years and for three years was principal
of the high school at Nineveh. In 1904 he began the study of law under
the direction of Fremont Miller, of Franklin, and subsequently, upon his ad-
mission to the bar, he formed a partnership with Mr. Miller under the firm
name of Miller & White. He is a strong and aWe practitioner in his pro-
fession and in recognition of his ability his fellow citizens elected him as
prosecuting attorney of the eighth judicial district of Indiana, re-electing him
to the position in 1908 and 1910. He is thus serving his third term in this
office, certainly a marked testimonial to his ability and efficiency.

On November 3, 1896, Mr. White married Alta May Green, a daughter
of Charles Green, of Johnson county, and to them have been bom three
children, Wanda C, Blanche Olive and Paul Arnold.

Politically, Mr. White is a staimch supporter of the Democratic party,
while, religiously, he is a member of the Baptist church, and his fraternal
relations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modem Wood-
men of America. In all the elements of good citizenship, Mr. White is all
that a man should be, and because of his genuine worth and high personal
character he enjoys a well deserved popularity throughout the country.

DAULTON WILSON.

Clearly defined purpose and consecutive effort in the affairs of life will
inevitably result in the attaining of a due measure of success, but in following
out the career of one who has attained success by his own efforts there comes
into view the intrinsic individuality which made such accomplishment possible,
and thus there is granted an objective incentive and inspiration, while at the
same time there is enkindled a feeling of respect and admiration. The quali-
ties which have made Mr. Wilson one of the prominent and successful men
of Greenwood have also brought him the esteem of his fellow townsmen, for
his career has been one of well-directed energy, strong determination and
honorable methods.

Daulton Wilson is a native son of Johnson county, having been born in
Pleasant township on the 2d day of May, 1844, and is the son of William
and Jane (Todd) Wilson. Her father was born in Guilford county, North
Carolina, on August 15, 1812, while his mother was born on July 25, 1815, at
Cynthiana, Kentucky. The father was a farmer by vocation and came to

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DAULTON WILSON

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3^1 KS^ '0KK
HJBIiC LIBRARY

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 625

Johnson county, Indiana, in 1828, locating on land in Pleasant township,
where he lived until ihis death, which occurred on May 10, 1864. His widow
survived him many years, dying on May 30, 1888. They had a family of
ten children, of whom five are still living, namely : Edward F., of Fairgrove,
Missouri; John W., who died in 1873; Elizabeth, deceased; Sarah Ann, de-
ceased; Daulton, the immediate subject of this sketch; Townsend, who is
living in Chicago; Mrs. Mary Jane Carlyle, a widow, who is living in Indian-
apolis; Samuel A., of Franklin, Indiana; James B., late of Indianapolis, now
deceased, and Frances B., the wife of W. H. Sylvester, of Indianapolis.

The subject of this sketch, after completing the course in the common
schools, entered Franklin College, where he studied for two years. He then
engaged in teaching for one term, after which he entered the employ of the
Pennsylvania railroad, with which he remained for twenty years, first as
telegraph operator and then as operator and agent at Greenwood. Severing
his relations with the railroad company, he engaged in the drug business for
ten years, and then served seven and one-half years as postmaster, being ap-
pointed under Grover Cleveland. After retiring from the office of postmaster
he engaged in the real estate and insurance business, in which he was success-
ful and in which he continued until his election to the office of coimty clerk,
in which he served four years-and-.two^iTjonth^giving a very satisfactory
administration of the duties of the • etfi^e? ^ Sift'f e his retirement from that
office he has re-engaged in the j-eafestate aiuE.ii^^ttce business, in which he
has achieved a wide success. lie is a man of splencfid business qualities and
has a very accurate knowledge of Teal-fT&tat^ valu^ in Johnson county, having
handled inany large and important transactions it! "tiiis line. Mr. Wilson has
traveled quite extensively, having spent several winters in Texas and Georgia,
and is a man of wide and accurate information, gained by much reading and
study and habits of close observation. He served as trustee of Pleasant town-
ship from 1880 until 1884, giving a very satisfactory service to his fellow
citizens, and in all his public affairs he has earned the commendation of all
who have been familiar with his work.

Mr. Wilson's political affiliations have always been with the Democratic
party, while, religiously, he is a meinber of the Methodist Episcopal church,
in which he takes an active interest and to which he gives generously of his
means. He has always maintained an intelligent interest in current affairs,
which even characterized him in his younger days. He has tenaciously en-
deavored to keep up to date in every phase of his life's actions, and when
twenty-one years old he attended a course of study in the Bryant & Stratton

(40)

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626 JOHNSON. COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Business College, taking a course in penmanship and telegraphy in order to
qualify himself for his life's career. In 1882 Mr. Wilson built a splendid and
attractive residence, in which he is now living and where he finds much peace
and enjoyment, being a man of marked domestic tastes.

On October 25, 1870, Mr. Wilson was married to Lizzie Frances PoUc,
the daughter of William H. and Sarah (Shoptaugh) Polk. Her father was
early in life a gunsmith and blacksmith, but later took up farming, to which
he devoted his active years. Mrs. Wilson died on May 25, 1908. To them
were bom five children, namely : Susan, who married Frank Guthrie, a civil
engineer at Huntington, Indiana; Burr L., who died at Kentwood, Louisiana,
in 1912; Clifton H., who died on November i, 1904; Bessie Dean, who died
on November 14, 1898; William H., who is living at Louisville, Kentucky,
married Lenora Harmon, and they are the parents of three children. Mr.
Wilson is widely known as one of the most sagacious business men of his
community, and as a citizen of much public spirit, always interested in the
common good. He has many friends and is a pleasant, sociable gentleman.
He has always stood for progressive ideas, wholesome living and patriotism
and, although his life has been without incident of an unusual nature, it has
shown that steady, consecutive endeavor, coupled with honesty of purpose,
will accomplish large results in the end.

ORAN ARNOLD PROVINCE, M. D.

The physician who would succeed in his profession must possess many
qualities of head and heart not included in the curriculum of the schools
and colleges he may have attended. In analyzing the career of the successful
practitioner of the healing art it will invariably be found to be true that a
broad-minded sympathy with the sick and suffering and an honest, earnest
desire to aid his afflicted fellow men have gone hand in hand with skill and
able judgment. The gentleman to whom this brief tribute is given fortunate-
ly embodies these necessary qualifications in a marked degree and by energy
and application to his professional duties is building up an enviable reputation
and drawing to himself a larger and renumerative patronage.

Oran A. Province was born on May 27, 1877, at Providence, Johnson
county, Indiana, and is a son of William M. and Julia (Abraham) Province,
the father being a native of Henry county, Kentucky, and the mother of
Morgan county, Indiana. William M. Province was a physician by profes-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 627

sion and soon after the close of the Civil war, in 1865, he came to Johnson
county. He had served three years in the war of the Rebellion as a member
of the Sixth Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, Union army, and had
a splendid military record. He was a graduate of the Miami Medical Col-
lege, at Cincinnati, Ohio, and after his location at Providence he was actively
engaged in the practice of his profession, in which he was successfully en-
gaged up to the time of his retirement from active practice. He is still
living and is enjoying the highest measure of popular confidence and regard.
To him and his wife were born three children, namely: Clarence, who is
mentioned elsewhere in this work; Florence, the wife of William Garsh-
wiler, a prominent physician at Indianapolis, and Oran, the immediate sub-
ject of this sketch.

Oran A. Province attended the public schools at Providence, including
one year in the high school, and was then a student for three years in Frank-
lin College. He then attended the State University, at Bloomington, one year,
graduating in 1898, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, after which he en-
gaged in teaching school one year, serving efficiently as principal of the
Providence high school. In 1898 he matriculated in the College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons, comprising the medical department of Columbia Uni-
versity, New York City, where he was graduated in 1902, with the degree
of Doctor of Medicine. He then took the competitive examination for
work in the New York City hospital, in which he was successful and he
spent two years in that institution, from which he was granted a diploma.
While there he aided Dr. Theodore Janeway in the compiling of "The Clini-
cal Study of Blood Pressure,'' a recognized authority on that subject and a
popular text-book. In his preface to the work, Doctor Janeway gave Doctor
Province credit for the valuable assistance rendered by him. Doctor Prov-
ince then became assistant clinician in the out-patient department in the
Roosevelt Hospital, in general medicine and diseases of the nose and throat,
in which he gained much valuable experience. The Doctor concluded his
technical studies by a trip to Europe, where he visited a number of the lead-
ing clinics and hospitals. In 1905 he returned to his home county and
entered upon the active practice of his profession at Franklin, in partnership
with his brother, Dr. Clarence Province. They have in many ways proved
an exceptionally strong team, and have been uniformly successful in the
practice of medicine and surgery. Doctor Province keeps closely in touch
with the most advanced thought and discoveries in the healing art and is
closely associated with his professional colleagues through his membership

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628 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

in the Johnson G)unty Medical Society, the State Medical Society and the
American Medical Association, and was formerly a member of the New York
State Medical Society. Socially, he is a member of the Phi Delta Theta
college fraternity. Doctor Province has taken a live interest in the affairs
of the community and is a stockholder in the Franklin Coil Hoop Company,
owning a one-fourth interest.

On November 24, 1909; Dr. Oran Province was married to Lillias
Ditmars, a daughter of R. V. Ditmars, a well-known pioneer and prominent
citizen of Franklin. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and is a lady of
many graces of head and heart which have commended her to the friend-
ship and good will of all who know her. To Doctor and Mrs. Province has
been born one son, William Ditmars Province.

Fraternally, Doctor Province is an appreciative member of the Free
and Accepted Masons, while his religious connections are with the Christian
church, of which he is a deacon and to which he gives a liberal support.
Because of his sterling worth, uncompromising integrity, courteous mapners
and pleasant disposition, he has won and retains the warm regard of all with
whom he associates.

W. H. WHITE, M. D.

It is not always easy to discover and define the hidden forces that move
a life of ceaseless activity and large professional success; little more can be
done than to note their manifestation in the career of the individual under
consideration. In view of this fact, the life of the distinguished physician
and publicHspirited man of affairs whose name appears above affords a strik-
ing example of well defined purpose, with the ability to make that purpose
subserve not only his own ends but the good of his fellow men as well. He
has long held distinctive prestige in a calling which requires for its basis
sound mentality and intellectual discipline of a high order, supplemented by
the rigid professional training and thorough mastery of technical knowledge,
with the skill to apply the same, without which one cannot hope to rise above
mediocrity in ministering to human ills. In his chosen field of endeavor
Doctor White has achieved success such as few attain and his present eminent
standing among the leading medical men of central Indiana is duly recognized
and appreciated. In addition to his long and creditable career in one of the
mose useful and exacting of professions, he has also proven an honorable
member of the body politic ; rising in the confidence and esteem of the public.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 6^9

he ha.s filled worthily high and important trusts and in every relation of life
has never fallen below the dignity of true manhood nor in any way resorted
to methods that invite criticism or censure. He is essentially a man among
men, moving as one who commands respect by innate force as well as by
ability. As a citizen he easily ranks with the most influential of his county
in the arena of politics where he has long been a power. His course has ever
been above suspicion and those favored with an intimate acquaintance with
him are profuse in their praise of his manly virtues and upright character.
W. H. White was born in Madison county, Kentucky, on September 8,
1850, and is a son of Henry Francis and Elizabeth (Winkley) White, the
former of whom, a Wacksmith and wagon-maker by trade, left Kentucky
in 1864 and came to Indiana where he lived three years, going then to the
state of Missouri, where he now lives near the city of Tipton at the advanced
age of eighty-six years. His wife died in 1889. To them were bom nine
children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the oldest, the others being
Milton, Miller, Olitha, Nelson, John C, Albert, Nellie and one who died in
infancy. Politically, the subject's father is a Republican in politics, as are
all the other members of the family. W. H. White early in life imbibed those
principles of honesty, integrity and'S^pe^iwjG^iof ptarposc which make for
character and success and in tbe 4i«ij;:iptr5ch3go|^]j!if |iis respective homes in
Kentucky and Indiana, he enjo^red tlie best cducatfon and advantages af-
forded. -He followed the vocation of a,^riculta4r^.iof a few years after at-
taining manhood and then, having d^id,exitGKm^^*ffie.profession of medicine
his life work, he studied the science ander the ^ii&tioii of Doctor Huron, of
Danville, Indiana, for three years.' From 1888 to 1889 he pursued his techni-
cal studies in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Indianapolis, com-
pleting his studies at the old Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, where
he graduated in 1891. He at once came to Edinburg, and has since been en-
gaged in the active practice, being now the oldest physician in point of years
of service in the locality. Doctor White has spared no pains in fitting him-
self for his professional practice, having taken several post-graduate courses
in the best medical schools, where under the direction of some of the best
noted specialists of the day he acquired great efficiency and skill, and having
always been a close student and availing himself of every opportunity to
widen his professional knowledge, it is not at all surprising that his advance-
ment was rapid and satisfactory and that he now holds a high and honora-
ble place among the leading physicians in a field long noted for the high
order of its medical talent. Doctor White has not only kept in close touch

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630 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

with the trend of current medical thought, but is also a close student of all
social, political and scientific subjects, being broad-minded in spirit and a lead-
er in tiiose matters relating to the advancement of the community and the
welfare of his fellow men.

On March 17, 187*2, Doctor White was married to Janetta Records,
a daughter of Franklin S. and Susan (Otterbach) Records, the former hav-
ing been a successful farmer near Franklin, this county. To Mr. and Mrs.
White have been bom six children, namely: Three who died in infancy;
Walter T., who is engaged in the real estate business at Indianapolis with
the Pivot City Real Estate Company; Susan, the wife of N. E. Qoud, of
Minneapolis, Minnesota; Orris, of Chicago, was for three years principal of
the high school of Aurora, and is now connected with Marshall Field & Com-
pany. In May, 1894, Doctor White married Letitia Pitts, a daughter of Har-
vey and Orlina (Pointer) Pitts.

Politically, Doctor White was a lifelong Republican up to the launching
of the Bull Moose movement, since which time he has been allied with it.
Professionally, he is a member of the American Medical Association, while
his religious affiliations are with the Christian church, of which he is an elder
and a prominent and earnest worker.

GEORGE W. RANSDELL.

Perseverance and sterling worth are almost always sure to win conspicu-
ous recognition in all localities. George W. Ransdell, who for more than a
quarter of a century has been recognized as one of the leading authorities
on architecture and kindred matters in Johnson county, Indiana, affords a
fine example of a successful, self-made man, who is not only eminently deserv-
ing of the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens, but also possesses
the necessary energy and talent that fits him to discharge worthily the duties
of any responsibility with which he may be entrusted. A man of vigorous
mentality and strong moral fibre, he has achieved signal success in a calling
in which but few rise above mediocrity.

Mr. Ransdell is a native son of Johnson county, having been bom in
Clark township on the 7th of September, 1854. His parents, Andrew J.
and Mary A. (Wheat) Ransdell, were both natives of Kentucky, who came
to Johnson county prior to their marriage. The father was a farmer, which
vocation he followed for many years in Clark township, where his death

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 63 1

occurred at the age of seventy-five years, his wife dying at the age of eighty-
two years. They were the parents of eight children, of whom six are living,
namely: Martha H., widow of George DeMott, of Whiteland, Indiana;
Mrs. Minerva J. Ransdell, of. Franklin; Joseph, of Franklin; James W.;
B. R., also of Franklin, and George W., the subject of this sketch.

George W. Ransdell was reared 6n the paternal farmstead and received
his education principally in the Whiteland schools. However, his school
study has been liberally supplemented by much home reading and study,
through which means he gained a wide and practical knowledge which has
made him a man of unusually accurate information. While yet in young man-
hood he began an independent career on his own account by engaging in con-
tracting, in which he was successful, but which he eventually gave up in order
that he might g^ve his entire attention to architecture, for which he had
decided natural talent and predilection. He has given himself to the practice
of this calling for more than twenty-five years and has achieved a splendid
success in such. He has been the architect of the most prominent buildings
in this section of the county, including, among others, the White River town-
ship high school, Nineveh high school. Union township high school, Clark
township school No. 9, three school buildings in Hensley township, the high
school building at Trafalgar and one school house in each Morgan and Knox
counties, besides much other work both in residences and business properties
in Johnson county, as well as several buildings in Indianapolis. Careful
and painstaking in all he does and with an eye for the aesthetic and artistic as
well as the utilitarian, he has universally given satisfaction in all the work
which he has performed, and during the years he has commanded his full
share of the patronage in his line. He is a self-made man in the fullest
sense of the word and with a natural talent for the vocation to which he has
applied himself he has honestly earned the high standing he now enjoys in his
line.

In June, 1876, Mr. Ransdell married Florence Bronson, of Franklin,
Indiana, though a, native of Tennessee. She is the daughter of the late
Charles Bronson, who for many years stood among the leading and influential
citizens of Johnson county. To Mr. and Mrs. Ransdell have been bom two
children, both of whom are now deceased, ftamely: Leta, who died at the
age of twenty years, and Hazel, who died at the age of eight years. Re-
ligiously, Mr. and Mrs. Ransdell are earnest and faithful members of the
Christian church, while, politically, Mr. Ransdell gives his support to the
Democratic party, though he is not in any sense an aspirant for public office.

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.632 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

He is a pleasant man to meet, affable, genial, courteous and hospitable and he
holds high rank among the representative citizens of Johnson county, where
he is well and favorably known and where he has led a very consistent and
industrious life.

JOHN W. CALVIN.

The name of John W. Calvin is one familiar to the residents of Nineveh
township, Johnson county, Indiana, as that of a hard-working, energetic,
neighborly and accommodating farmer, whose time and toil spent in the culti-
vation of his fertile farm have brought to him prosperity and a competency.
He was born in Brown county, Indiana, on March 16, 1852, and is the son
of John and Sarah (Connor) Calvin. The father, also a native of Brown
county, came to Ohio and later to Lick Spring, Johnson county, and the sub-
ject's paternal grandfather, Luther Calvin, was a settler at the latter place,
where he followed farming and stock raising. John Calvin was a soldier in
the Mexican war and also a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted in
March, 1861, in Company I, Eighty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in
which he rose to the rank of first lieutenant. After his return from the war
he again resumed farming, which he followed until his death. He was the
father of nine children.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools
of Brown county, completing his studies in the high school in Nineveh town-
ship. He was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation to which he has de-
voted his active attention during his life. His present farm of one hundred
and forty-four acres in Nineveh township is called Edgewood, and is widely
known as one of the best cultivated and most up-to-date farms in Johnson
county. Mr. Calvin has given intelligent direction to all his efforts, and his
labors have been rewarded with very gratifying returns. He raises all the
crops common to this locality, and among his fellow agriculturists he enjoys
a good reputation because of his sound judgment and wise discrimination in
his affairs.

On February 22, 1881, the subject of this sketch was united in marriage
to Alice M. Mullendore, whose death occurred on March 9, 1883. They be-
came the parents of two children, Omar and Ida Blanche, who is deceased.
In 1886 Mr. Calvin married Mary J. Hungate, the daughter of Turner B. and
Harriet (Whiteneck) Hungate, both of old families of Johnson county. To
the subject's second union was born a son, George, who died of typhoid fever
at Ira Pueto, Old Mexico.

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JOHN W. CALVIN

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 633

Politically a Democrat, Mr. Calvin has long taken an active interest in
the public affairs of Johnson county and served efficiently as a member of
the board of county commissioners and also as a member of the county coun-
cil. In a purely local capacity he served as trustee of Nineveh township for
four years, and in all the official positions he has filled he gave eminent sat-
isfaction to his fellow citizens. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic
and Pythian orders and has endeavored in his daily life to exemplify the
sublime principles of these organizations. Religiously, he is a member of
the Christian church and gives earnest attention to the spiritual verities of life,
contributing liberally of his means to the support of all religious and benev-
olent movements. In fact, his support can be counted on in behalf of every-
thing that tends to the upbuilding of his fellow citizens, educationally, morally
or socially, and because of his unassuming disposition, genial manners and
genuine worth he receives the unreserved confidence and good will of all who
know him.

REV. WILLIAM MULLENDORE.

•r~

There is no earthly station ^igH^ttiJte^S iWitister of the gospel ; no life
can be more uplifting or grandef [^k^i^%^wl^(M<iB 4^voted to the ameliora-
tion of the human race; a life qf sacrifice for the betterment of the brother-
hood of men, one that is willing td''(?a^lCSi(!e lll'-^arlhly crowns in order to
follow in the footsteps of the lo^ty K^zaYenfe^^ possible to measure

adequately the height, depth and' fcreadth of such^aHiife, for its influences con-
tinue to permeate the lives of others through succeeding generations; so the
power it has exerted cannot be known until the last great day. One of the
self-sacrificing, ardent and true spirits who has been a blessing to the race,
and who has left in his wake an influence that ever makes the world brighter
and better, is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch,
whose life forcibly illustrates what energy, integrity and fixed purpose can
accomplish when animated by noble aims and correct ideals. He has ever
held the unequivocal confidence and esteem of the people among whom he
has labored, and his career can be very profitably studied by the ambitious
youth standing at the parting of the ways.

William MuUendore was born February 28, 1858, and is a son of Lewis
and Harriett E. (Records) MuUendore. The father was a native of Ohio,
his parents coming to the United States from Germany in an early day, locat-

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634 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

ing first in Virginia, afterwards going to Ohio, and then came to Indiana,
where the subject of this sketch was bom.

Lewis MuUendore located in Bartholomew county first, later coming to
Johnson county. He was by trade a tanner and cooper, but subsequently,
took up farming, to which he devoted the latter part of his life. He is now
deceased, but his widow is still living on the old home place. They became
the parents of ten children, namely: Huldah, Elizabeth, Josej^, the subject,
William, Alice, Elsie, LaVinna, Jennie, Frank and OUie. The subject's
father was an ardent member of the Christian, or Disciples, church, but was not
active in politics or in lodges. He was a man of high moral character and
in every avenue of life's activities he earned and retained the warm regard
of all who knew him.

The subject of this sketch was educated first in the common schools
of Johnson county, and in 1884 became a student in Butler College, where
he pursued his theological studies and graduated with the class of 1888. At
the conclusion of his college course, he entered the ministry of the Christian
church, his first settled pastorate being at Noblesville, Indiana. He achieved
eminent success there, and was then called to be financial secretary at Butler
College, doing much eflfective work for that institution. After-
ward he was called to the church at Somerset, Pennsylvania, where he re-
mained for almost seven years, and then became pastor of the Christian
church at Terre Haute, but two years later retired from the ministry and
came to Franklin, where he has since resided. He is connected with the
Christian church at Franklin and, although not in the settled ministry, he
still does much preaching and is valued highly among his brethren of the
ministry because of his active and eflfective services in the cause of the
Master. Of marked mental ability, well educated, and a forceful and effec-
tive pulpit speaker, his services are in much demand, not only in stated reli-
gious services, but also in the interests of all causes which lead to the advance-
ment of the human race along legitimate lines. Mr. MuUendore is the owner
of two hundred and forty acres of splendid land in Nineveh township, John-
son coimty, to the cultivation of which he gives his attention and which he has
found a profitable source of income. The farm is elegantly located, and is
numbered among the best of the township.

On September 29, 1880, William MuUendore was married to Mary
Harbert, the daughter of Harrison and Sarah Jane (Townsend) Harbert,
the father a native of Virginia, and the mother a member of the old Town-
send family of Scott county, where occurred the noted Pigeon Roost massa-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 635

ere by the Indians in the early days. Mrs. Mullendore's grandmother was led
out of the massacre by her mother, who carried one child and led two others,
walking all the way to the settlement by night in her bare feet, and enduring
terrible hardships on the journey. To Mr. and Mrs. Mullendore have been
bom five children, namely: Edith, Mabel, Hugh, Ruth and William. He
is a Republican in politics, and is numbered among the strong and influential
citizens of Johnson county, and enjoys universal respect and esteem.

WELLBOURNE S. TUCKER.

Professional success results from merit. Frequently in commercial life
one may come into possession of a lucrative business through inheritance or
gift, but in what are known as the learned professions advancement is gained
only through painstaking and long continued eflfort. Prestige in the healing
art is the outcome of strong mentality, close application, thorough mastery
of its great underlying principles and the ability to apply theory to practice
in the treatment of diseases. Good intellectual training, thorough profes-
sional knowledge and the possession and utilization of the qualities and attri-
butes essential to success, have made the subject of this review eminent in his
chosen calling and he is recognized today as one of the leading veterinary
surgeons in central Indiana.

Wellbourne S. Tucker, who is well established in the practice of veteri-
nary surgery at Franklin, Indiana, was born on March 25, 1872, about two
miles southeast of Trafalgar, in Nineveh township, Johnson county, Indiana,
and is the son of John S. and Sarah C. (Eganbright) Tucker. The father
was bom in Nineveh township, this county, and the mother in Hendricks
county, Indiana, the former being now a resident of Shelby county, where
he follows agricultural pursuits. The subject's paternal grandfather, Clark
Tucker, who was a native of Kentucky, came to Johnsqn county in an early
day and here followed farming pursuits. To the subject's parents were born
four children, those besides the subject being Myrtle, the wife of William
Prosser, of Indianapolis; Mrs. Hazel Tucker, of Terre Haute, Indiana, and
Forrest, who is with his father.

The subject of this sketch was reared on his father's farm, receiving
his education in Nineveh and Hensley townships. He assisted his father in the
operation of the home farm until he began his practical training for his life
profession. In pursuance of his plans he entered, in 1898, the Ontario

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636 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Veterinary College at Toronto, Canada, where he graduated in 1899, ^"^ ^^
1902 he graduated from the Indiana Veterinary College of Indianapolis.
Immediately afterwards, Doctor Tucker came to Franklin and entered upon
the active practice of his profession, in which he has met with splendid suc-
cess, and he has remained here continuously with the exception of about six
months when he was engaged in the practice at North Vernon, Indiana.
Because of his professional ability and the success that he had gained, he has
earned and enjoys the marked esteem of all who know him.

Doctor Tucker has been married twice, first in 1892 to Maud Kennedy,
of near Amity, Johnson county, Indiana, to which union was born one child,
Maud. Mrs. Tucker died on August 17, 1896, and in 1903 Doctor Tucker
married Lucy R. Sandefer, the daughter of James Sandefer, of Franklin.
To this union was born one child, Sybil, now aged eight years.

Doctor Tucker is a man of high intelligence and public spirit and has taken
a deep interest in the welfare of his community and is now serving as fruit
and meat inspector for Franklin. He also writes considerable live stock in-
surance, and in the accumulation of material wealth he has been reasonably
successful, owning one hundred and sixty acres of land in Louisiana and
forty acres in this county about three miles south of Franklin.

Politically, Doctor Tucker gives an ardent support to the Republican
party, but takes no active part in campaigns other than the casting of his
ballot. His religious membership is with the Christian church, to which he
gives a liberal support. In every thing to which he has given his attention he
has given his best effort and his success has been but the just reward of honest
effort.

CLARENCE PROVINCE, M. D.

The man who devotes his talents and energies to the noble work of
ministering to the ills and alleviating the suffering of humanity is pursuing
a calling which in dignity, importance and beneficial results is second to no
other. If true to his profession and earnest in his efforts to enlarge his sphere
of usefulness, he is indeed a benefactor of his kind, for to him more than to
any other man are entrusted the safety, the comfort and, in many instances,
the lives of those who place themselves under his care and profit by his
services. It is gratifying to note in the series of personal sketches appearing
in this work that there remain identified with the professional, public and
civic affairs of Johnson county many who are native sons of the county and

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 637

who are ably maintaining the prestige of honored names. Of this number,
Dr. Clarence Province, who is prominent among the physicians and surgeons
and who is practicing his profession at Franklin, is one of the representative
men of the county. He stands in the front rank of Johnson county's profes-
sional men, having been engaged in his calling here for many years, during
which time he has not only gained wide professional notoriety, but also
established a sound reputation for uprightness of character in all the rela-
tions of life.

Clarence Province was bom on December 5, 1870, at Providence, John-
son county, Indiana, and is the son of WiUiam M. and Julia (Abraham)
Province, who were natives, respectively, of Henry county, Kentucky, and
Morgan county, Indiana. There were two other children in the family,
Florence, the wife of Dr. William Garshwiler, of Southport, but who is prac-
ticing medicine in Indianapolis, and Oran A., who is practicing medicine in
partnership with the subject, and who is mentioned specifically elsewhere in
this work. William M. Province is a veteran of the Civil war, having en-
listed as a member of the Sixth Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry,
Union army, with which he spent three years in active service, taking part in
many of the most hotly contested battles of the g^eat struggle and gaining a
good record for courage and faithfulness. After the war, in 1865, William
M. Province came to Johnson county, and located at Providence, where he
entered upon the active practice of medicine. He was a graduate of Miami
Medical College, Cincinnati, and met with pronounced success in the prac-
tice. He still resides at Providence, secure in the confidence and esteem of
the entire community, for he is a man whose depth of character, sterling
integrity and genuine worth have commended him to all who have known him
through the years.

Clarence Province received a thorough education, having completed the
common school course and the academic course at Franklin College, after he
became a student at the State University, where he graduated in 1892, with
the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then determined to adopt the medical
profession for his life work and to this end he matriculated in the Jefferson
Medical College, Philadelphia, where he graduated and received his degree
of Doctor of Medicine in 1895. He immediately returned to Franklin and
has since been actively and successfully engaged^ in the practice here, being
now associated with his brother, Oran A. In connection with their general
practice, the Doctors Province conduct a private hospital at Franklin, which
has been a great convenience to those in need of hospital service. Doctor

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638 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Clarence Province is a member of the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity.
He stands admittedly in the front rank of Johnson county's professional
men, possessing a thoroughly disciplined mind and keeping in close touch
with the trend of modern thought relating to the noble calling to which his
life and energies are devoted. He has ever maintained his high standing,
never descending beneath the dignity of his profession nor compromising
his usefulness by countenancing any but noble and legitimate practice.

Fraternally, the Doctor is identified with the Masonic order, while, re-
ligiously, he is a member of the Christian church, to which he gives a liberal
support.

FRED R. OWENS.

Among the prominent citizens and Jtble and successful attorneys of John-
son county, none holds a higher position in the esteem of the people than Fred
R. Owens, of the legal firm of White & Owens, at Franklin. He is a native
son of the Hoosier state, having been born at Monticello, Indiana, on Novem-
ber 13, 1874, and is the son of John R. and Anna (Fullen) Owens, the father
a native of BarthcJomew county, Indiana, and the mother of Johnson county.
John R. Owens has spent the greater part of his active life as an educator,
in which he attained high standing, but in 1889 he came to Franklin and is
now bookkeeper for the hardware firm of Smith & Tilson. Mrs. Anna Owens
died in 1903. They became the parents of two children, the subject of this
sketch, and Arthur, who is connected with the Citizens National Bank, of
Franklin.

The subject of this sketch attended the Franklin public schools, graduat-
mg from the high school and then attending Franklin College, from which
he graduated. Having decided to make the practice of law his life work,
he entered the Indiana Law School, where he graduated in 1898. In Septem-
ber of the same year he entered upon the practice of his profession at Frank-
lin with Miller & Barnett, and in 1901 he opened an office of his own. On
December i, 1902, he formed a partnership with George I. White, under the
firm style of White & Owens, a relationship which still exists. This strong
firm has firmly established itself in the esteem of the people and has com-
manded its full share of the legal business of the county, having been
prominently connected with some of the most important cases tried in the
Johnson county court. At the present Mr. Owens is rendering efficient serv-
ice as attorney for the city of Franklin. He gives his undivided attention to

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 639

his profession, with which he is en rapport, and among his colleagues he enjoys
an enviable standing, both because of his marked ability and his high personal
character.

On June 19, 1901, Mr. Owens was married to Minnie Bamett, daughter
of H. C. Bamett, a well knoWn attorney and prominent citizen of Franklin,
and to them have been born two sons, John Henry and Roger Barnett.

. Politically, Mr. Owens is a warm supporter of the Republican party,
.while his religious sympathies are with the Methodist Episcopal church,
of which he is a member. Mr. Owens takes a deep interest in the welfare
of his community, giving his support to every enterprise which promises to
advance the best interests of the people. He is bound to Johnson county by
strong family ties, for on the maternal side he is descended from two of her
old pioneer families, his mother having been a daughter of Shelby and
Elizabeth (Sutton) Fullen, names well known in the history of the county.
The grandfather was bom in 1819 and his wife in 1824 and members of their
respective families bore their full part in the early development and progress
of the community. Personally, Mr. Owens is a genial and companionable
gentleman, widely read. and thoroughly informed on the leading questions of
the day, and he is deserving of the marked popularity which he enjoys.

EVERETT R. BOHALL.

The gentleman whose life history the biographer here takes under re-
view is one of those strong, sturdy characters who have contributed largely
to the welfare of the community where he lives, being a business man of more
than ordinary sagacity and foresight, and as a citizen public-spirited and
progressive in all that the term implies. He is a native son of the old Hoosier
state, having been bom in Jackson county, Indiana, on September 17, 1880.
He is the son of Norban and Emma (Amfield) Bohall, the former of whom
was a native of Jackson county, Indiana, and the latter born in New Albany,
this state. The father, who was a farmer by vocation, came to Johnson
county in 1881, living here until his death, which occurred in the city of
Franklin, where he had moved a short time before, on January 19. 1896.
He is survived by his widow, who now lives in Franklin. They were the
parents of eight children, of whom five are living, namely : George, a farmer
of Johnson county; Edgel, ^ grocer in Indianapolis; Everett R., the im-
mediate subject of this sketch ; Minnie, the wife of Ward Branes, of Frank-
lin, and Bertha, the wife of Winfred Ransdell,' of Franklin.

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640 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

E. R. Bohall was reared under the paternal roof in Jackson county and
was but one year old when brought to Johnson county by his parents. He
received his education in the Friendship school in Uilion township and fol-
low^ed the vocation of farming all his active life up until about ten years ago.
Thereafter he was employed in a grocery store and about four years ago
engaged in business on his own account at No. 296 Jefferson street, Frank-
lin, where he has since enjoyed a liberal and continually growing patronage.
He carries a large and well selected stock of staple and fancy groceries, with
all accessory lines usually found in an up-to-date grocery store, and because
of his strong business methods, uniform courtesy to his patrons and his evi-
dent desire to please, he has long enjoyed his full share of the business in his
line. He understands thoroughly every detail of the grocery business and
seeks to carry such a stock as will meet the demands of the most fastidious
customer.

Politically, Mr. Bohall is a staunch supporter of the Republican party
and takes a commendable interest in public affairs, while his fraternal rela-
tions are with the Free and Accepted Masons. Religiously, he is an earnest
member of the Christian church, to which he gives a liberal support.

On April 23, 1902, Mr. Bohall was united in the holy bonds of matri-
mony with Lulu May Jenkins, a daughter of William A. Jenkins, of Frank-
lin, and to them were born two children, both of whom are deceased. They
have also taken a child to rear and are giving to it the same care and loving
attention that they would have given to their own children had they lived.
In all the essential elements of good citizenship, Mr. Bohall is a man among
men and by his earnest life, sturdy integrity and strict regard for the highest
business ethics, he has earned and retained the warm regard of al! who know
him. He and his wife move in the best social circles of Franklin and are
popular among those who know them.

EDWARD E. COBB.

The history of the Hoosier state is not an ancient one. It is the record
of the steady growth of a community planted in the wilderness in the last
century and reaching its magnitude of today without other aids than those of
continued industry. Each county has its share in the story, and every county
can lay claim to some incident or transaction which goes to make up the
history of the commonwealth. After all, the history of a state is but a record
of the doings of its people; among whom the pioneers and the sturdy de-

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EDWARD E. COBB

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 64I

scendants occupy places of no secondary importance. The story of the plain,
common people who constitute the moral bone and sinew of the state should
ever attract the attentiqn and prove of interest to all true lovers of their kind.
In the life story of the subject of this sketch there are no striking chapters
or startling incidents, but it is merely the record of a life true to its highest
ideals and fraught with much that should stimulate the youth just starting in
the world as an independent factor.

Edward E. Cobb, who cultivates a fine farm of two hundred and seventy-
five acres in Nineveh township, Johnson county, Indiana, was bom January
14, 1873, o^ the Walsh farm in this township, and is the son of G. B. and
Leaih (Gillaspy) Cobb, both of whom are natives of Johnson county and are
still living. The subject's paternal grandfather, Wesley Cobb, and his wife
came from Kentucky and were pioneers of Johnson county, in the early life
of which they bore a prominent part. The subject's parents for a time lived
in Bartholomew county, to which they moved soon after the subject's birth,,
but when he was nine years old they returned again to their old home in
Johnson county, where they are still living. To G. B. Cobb and wife were
bom two children, Dillard, of Nineveh township, and Edward, the immediate
subject of this sketch. The latter fjE^^Vijri'ftirg^flekicanon in the public schools
of Nineveh and has devoted pr^fctlt&MSS^jJl^gSlJl'iS/t^ ^^^ vocation of agri-
culture, in which he has achieved an eminent succesfei^. His farm is well im-
proved in every respect and in ihejajjliog-gf iJjAs^pifiand the planting of the
crops Mr. Cobb pays due attertti^gjmto».Tri(Qdc!ro ideas j and theories relative to
this science. His comfortable aud Jitr^ctiyeresidence, large and commodious
bams and other necessary outbuildings indicate him to be a man of good
taste, while the general appearance of the place is creditable to the owner.

Politically, Mr. Cobb gives his support to the Democratic party, in which
he has been active for many years. His abilities were recognized by his fel-
low citizens, who elected him to the office of justice of the peace, in which he
served for eight years> and in 1908 he was elected trustee of his township for
a six-year term, in which responsible position he discharged his duties to the
entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens. Fraternally, he is a member of
Lodge No. 344, Knights of Pythias, at Nineveh, and to Nineveh Lodge No.
317, Free and Accepted Masons, and the chapter of Royal Arch Masons at
Edinburg. His religious membership is with the Methodist Episcopal church
at Nineveh, in which he takes a deep interest and to which he contributes lib-
erally of his time and means.

In 1892 Mr. Cobb was united in marriage with Laura B. Hardin, the

(41)

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642' JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

daughter of Abner Hardin, and to this union have been born eight children,
five sons and three daughters., namely : Frank, Elizabeth, Ruth, Walter, Paul,
Arthur, Catharine and Morris. By a life consistent in. motive and action and
because of his many fine personal qualities, Mr. Cobb has earned the sincere
regard of all who know him, and in his home, which is the center of a large
social circle, there is always in evidence a spirit of generous hospitality, old
and young alike being at all times welcome. Mr. Cobb has the welfare of
the community at heart, and at all times can be counted upon to give his
ardent support to every movement having for its object the welfare of those
about him. A man of sterling qualities, his honesty and strictly square deal-
ings, his upright principles and genial disposition have won for him numerous
friends throughout the community in wliich he lives.

WILLIAM A. BRIDGES, SR.

It is with pleasure that the biographer has an opportunity to place before
the readers of this w^ork the life record of the honorable gentleman whose
name initiates this paragraph, for he is deemed eminently worthy of repre-
sentation along with the best and most industrious citizens of Johnson county,
owing to the fact that he belongs to the energetic and enterprising class that
has made this favored section one of the most noted and richest in the great
Hoosier state. Enjoying distinctive prestige as a farmer, he has achieved
marked success, while his practical intelligence, mature judgment and sound
business principles have had much to do in moulding public sentiment in the
community where he has long maintained his home.

William A. Bridges, Sr., who, after a life of unremitting activity, is now
living retired from active labor at his pleasant and attractive home in Frank-
lin, was bom on October ii, 1850, in Hensley township, Johnson county,
Indiana, on the farm owned by his parents, George and Martha (Clark)
Bridges, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. George Bridges came
from Shelby county, Kentucky, to Johnson county, Indiana, in 1827, locating
in Hensley township. He was born in May, 1800, and his entire life was
spent in connection with agricultural pursuits, in which vocation he achieved
an eminent success, owning eight hundred and twenty acres of land in Hens-
ley township at the time of his death, which occurred on August 22, 1872.
In addition to the cultivation of the soil, he gave considerable attention to the
raising of live stock, giving particular attention to Shorthorn cattle and to

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 643

mules. Martha Clark also came from her native state to Indiana in an early
day and her marriage to Mr. Bridges occurred after her arrival in this state.
Mn Bridges, however^ had previously been married to a Miss Forsythe, by
whom he had seven children, only one of whom is now living, and he mar-
ried for his third wife a Miss Prather, to whom six children were born.

The subject of this sketch, who was born and reared, on a farm, pro-
cured his education in the common schools of his native township and fol-
lowed agricultural pursuits continuously until 1892, when he relinquished ac-
tive labor for a while and moved to Franklin. In 1895 he returned to the
farm and gave it his attention until November, 1900, when again he decided
to relinquish the labor to which he had been accustomed and came to Frank-
lin, where he has since lived. As an agriculturist Mr. Bridges was numbered
among the best in the county, his thorough methods and up-to-date ideas
marking him as a man of mature judgment and wise discrimination. A man
of good business principles, he so conducted his affairs as to reap a gratify-
ing return for his labor and now, in the evening of his life, he is enabled
to quietly enjoy the fruits of his former labors.

Mr. Bridges has for many years taken an active and intelligent in-
terest in public affairs, and in 1886 was elected county commissioner from the
first district, in which position he served a full term and a half term, amount-
ing to four and one-half years, his additional service being because of the fact
that one member of the board died and he was appointed to fill the vacancy.
In 1900 Mr. Bridges was elected county treasurer, and was elected to succeed
himself in 1902, thus serving two terms to the entire satisfaction of his fellow
citizens. In 1906 he was elected mayor of Franklin, serving continuously
until 19 10. He has been a staunch supporter of the Democratic party ever
since attaining his majority, and has contributed materially to the success
of his party in local elections. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic
and Odd Fellows orders and has taken a deep interest in these societies.
Religiously, he and his wife are members of the Baptist church, as are all of
their children and most of their grandchildren.

On October 11, 1870, Mr. Bridges was united in marriage to Alice M.
Hunter, daughter of Singleton Hunter, of Hensley township, this county,
and they have become the parents of three children: Otis Bridges, who
lives on the home farm in Hensley township; Harry Bridges, county treas-
urer, and Dell, the wife of Wiley Waggoner, of Franklin, who clerks in the
store of M. G. Voris.

Mr. Bridges is the owner of one hundred and thirty acres of fine land, in

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644 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Hensley township, the tract also extending over into Nineveh and Union
townships. The place is well improved in every respect, its general appear-
ance reflecting great credit on the owner. Mr. Bridges is a man of genial
nature, unassuming in his relation with others, and because of his genuine
worth and high qualities of character he has deserved the high regard
in which he is held by all who know I^im.

JAMES GILBERT COVERT.

It is a pleasure to investigate the career of a successful, self-made man.
Peculiar honor attaches to that individual who, beginning the great struggle
of life alone and unaided, gradually overcomes unfavorable environment,
removes one by one the obstacles from the pathway of success and by the
master strokes of his own force and vitality succeeds in forging his way to
the front and winning for himself a competency and a position of esteem and
influence among his fellowmen. Such is the record of the popular citizen of
Franklin township to a brief synopsis of whose life and character the follow-
ing pages are devoted.

James Gilbert Covert, who operates a splendid farm, of one hundred
and eighty-two acres in Franklin township, Johnson county, was bom on
February 24, 1870, in the Hopewell neighborhood, this county, arid is a son of
A. N. and Susan (Magill) Covert. The father, who was born in this state
in 1 84 1, and who now resides near the Hopewell church, was a son of John
Covert, a native of Mercer county, Kentucky, and one of the first pioneer
settlers in the Hopewell neighborhood, having been one of the first three
families there. His wife, who was also born in this state in 1842, was the
daughter of Samuel Magill, who first settled as a pioneer in Sullivan county,
Indiana, and later came to Johnson county. To A. N. and Susan Covert were
born six children, namely : Rev, William Chalmer, who is now pastor of the
Forty-first Presbyterian church of Chicago, with a congregation of fifteen
hundred persons, is married and has three children, Catherine, Hudson and
William Seward ; Etta Covert married a Mr. Lockwood, lives near Southport,
this state, and they have three children, Helen, Marion and Lenore; James
Gilbert, the immediate subject of this sketch; Leila, the wife of Mr. Mc-
Caslin, lives on the Hopewell road ; Emma, Mrs. Henderson, who lives in the
Hopewell neighborhood; Omar, who is a singer of note, with a clear lyric
tenor voice, is engaged in concert work, his home being in Valparaiso, In-
diana. He is married, but has no children.

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JAMES G. COVERT

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 645

The subject of this sketch received his education in the Hopewell high
school, where he graduated at the age of twenty-one years with three scholar-
ships. He was reared to the life of a farmer and has never forsaken that
vocation. Upon taking up the active affairs of life on his own accoimt he
first lived on the old home place, two miles west of the Hopewell church, but
in 1896 he came to his present splendid farm in Franklin township, to the
cultivation and improvement of which he has since devoted his attention.
The farm is splendidly improved and is devoted to the raising of a general
line of products, practically all the grain raised on the farm being fed to live
stock. Mr. Covert raises on an average of about sixty hogs annually, and
also runs a dairy herd of twenty Jersey cows, the product of which he sells
to the Whiteland creamery.

Politically, Mr. Covert is a stanch advocate of the policies of the Repub-
lican party, to which he has given his lifelong support. Religiously, he was
first a member of the Hopewell Presbyterian church, but is now a member
of the First Presbyterian church at Franklin, to which he gives his earnest
support and has been elder of the same for a period of nine years. His fra-
ternal membership is with the Free and Accepted Masons.

On February 12, 1895, Mr Coye^ ij^^rrip^i Anna Moore Ellis, the
daughter of Capt. W. B. Ellisia '^mW^Sf^m^m war, and a member of
Company I, Seventy-ninth R^imiontJvS&liaHi^Cl^^teers. They have one
child, Josephine, born Decembjjr 10, 1896. Becaus| of the active part Mr.
Covert has taken in the upbuiidingi.amkpcogcessv-oft the community, he has
merited the high esteem in whidMTre'i^-htfla among his fellow citizens. He
has given his support to all movemente^Avhich have had a tendency to advance
the moral, educational or social interests of the people, and among those who
know him best he is considered one of the best men in this section of the
county.

A. W. OWEN.

The biographies of enterprising men, especially of good men, are- in-
structive as guides and incentives to others. The examples they furnish of
patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the
power of each to accomplish. Some men belong to no exclusive class in life,
apparently insurmountable obstacles have in many instances awakened their
dormant faculties and served as a stimulus to carry them to ultimate success,
if not renown. The instances of success in the face of adverse fate would

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646 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

seem almost to justify the conclusion thdt self-reliance, with a half chance,
can accomplish any object. The life of A. W. Owen, well known and suc-
cessful druggist of Greenwood, Johnson county, is an example in point, for,
by his individual efforts and close adherence to his every duty, he has over-
come the obstacles encountered on the highway of life and is now very com-
fortably fixed regarding this world's affairs and has at the same time won a
reputation for right living among his fellow men.

A. W. Owen is a Yankee by nativity, having been bom in the state of
Maine, and is a son of Wesley and Marcia (Ladd) Owen, both of whom
were New Englanders by birth and rearing. The father, who was a black-
smith, located first in Jennings county, subsequently coming to Johnson
county, where he spent the remainder of his life, retiring from active labor
some time before his death and moving to Greenwood, where he died in
1903. His widow is still living and makes her home with the subject of
this sketch, being now eighty-three years old.

A. W. Owen received his education in the common schools and his early-
years of manhood were employed in various vocations, being employed a
part of the time at factory work and as a drug clerk. The latter vocation
had for him a fascination and he determined to make it his life work. He
never studied medicine seriously, but during his experience as a drug clerk
he picked up a great deal of accurate information along this line which has
been of material assistance to him in his later life. He has I^een a resident of
this county about fiifteen years, having spent eight years in Indianapolis as a
drug clerk. He is now established in a business of his own at Greenwood, and
is numbered among the substantial, up-to-date and enterprising merchants of
the town. His drug store is well furnished, including a beautiful and attrac-
tive soda fountain with all modern accessories, and he carries a large and
complete line of all staple drugs and druggists' sundries to be found in the best
stores of the kind. His good business ability, sterling integrity and courtesy
to the trade have had their influence in bringing him a large and profitable
patronage and he is numbered among the prosperous men of Greenwood.

Politically, Mr. Owen is a staunch Republican, though he has no aspira-
tions for public office. Fraternally, he belongs to the Free and Accepted
Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Greenwood and takes
an active interest in the workings of these orders. Genial and unassuming
personally, he has won and retains a host of friends throughout the com-
munity and he gives his unqualified support to every movement for the ad-
vancement of the localitv in which he lives.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 647

OREN C. DUNN.

The life history of him whose name heads this sketch is closely identi-
fied with the history of Franklin and Johnson county, Indiana. His life has
been one of untiring activity and has been crowned with a degree of suc-
cess attained by those only who devote themselves indefatigably to the work
before them. He is of a high type of business man and none more than he
deserves a fitting recognition among the men whose genius and abilities have
achieved results that are most enviable and commendable.

Oren C. Dunn, vice-president of the Citizens National Bank of Frank-
lin, Indiana, and one of the leading citizens of Johnson county, was bom
at Hanover, Jefferson county, Indiana, on the 15th of June, 185 1. His
parents were Samuel C. and Martha A. (Crothers) Dunn, the father a native
of Danville, Kentucky, and the mother of Hanover. Samuel Dunn, who was
bom in 1809, died in 1881, his widow dying the following year. They were
the parents of eight children, all of whom are deceased but the subject of this
sketch. Samuel C. Dunn came to Johnson county in 1852, as agent for the
old Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis railroad, having been the second
agent at Franklin. He was not only a capable and efficient representative of
the railroad at this place, but he took a large interest in the affairs of the
community, becoming prominently identified with many of the important
enterprises of that early day. He was connected with the old Franklin Insur-
ance Bank, and later with the old Farmers' Bank, both of which he assisted
to organize and in both of which he served as cashier for a number of years.
He was thus one of the earliest bankers of Franklin and the history of his
family here may be said to be almost identified with the history of banking
in this community. Religiously, he was a member of the First Presbyterian
church, in which he was an elder for many years and one of the most faithful
and earnest members. Politically, he was affiliated with the Whig party until
its dissolution, since which time he gave his support to the Republican party.
A man of high moral character, unimpeachable integrity, persistent industry
and excellent judgment, he stood "four square to every wind that blew,'* and
throughout the community he occupied an enviable position in the estimation
of his fellow men.

Oren C. Dunn received his elementary education in the Franklin public
schools and private schools, concluding with one year's study in Franklin
College. He then engaged in the mercantile business here, with which he was
successfully identified for several years. On the organization of the Citizens

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648 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

National Bank at Franklin Mr. Dunn became connected with it in the capacity
of bookkeeper, from which position one year later he was promoted to that
of assistant cashier. Five years afterwards he became cashier, in which
position he served for sixteen years to the eminent satisfaction of the direc-
tors, and at the end of that period he was elected vice-president of the insti-
tution, which position he has filled during the past four years, thus roimding
out a quarter of a century of continuous service with the Citizen's Bank,
during which he has seen the institution grow from a modest beginning to
that of one of the leading financial concerns of this part of the state. In
this splendid growth he has been an important factor and today in banking
circles no man is held in higher repute than Mr. Dunn. A man of vigorous
mentality and strong moral fibre, he has achieved signal success in a most im-
portant field of effort and he is eminently deserving of the large measure of
confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens.

On July 16, 1873, Oren C. Dunn was married to Alice Wheat, daughter
of the late William C. Wheat, of Johnson county, whose death occurred in
1884.

Politically, Mr. Dunn is a staunch supporter of the Republican party,
being aligned with the conservative, or old-school, wing of the party. Fra-
ternally, he is a Free and Accepted Mason, in which he has attained to the
Knight Templar degree in the York Rite and the thirty-second degree of the
Scottish Rite. His religious membership is with the Presbyterian church, of
which he is a liberal supporter and in which he holds the office of elder. He
takes an intelligent interest in the affairs of the community as affecting the
educational, moral and material welfare of the people and gives his support
to every worthy benevolent or charitable object. He has lived and labored
to worthy ends and is one of the sterling citizens and representative men of
his community.

HENRY R. PRITCHARD.

It is always pleasant and profitable to contemplate the career of a man
who has won a definite goal in life, whose career has been such as to command
the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Such, in brief, is the record of
the well-known agriculturist whose name heads this sketch, than whom a
more whole-souled or popular man it would be difficult to find within the
limits of Johnson county, where he has long maintained his home and where
he has labored not only for his own individual advancement and that of his

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 649

immediate family, but also for the improvement of the entire commimity,
whose interests he has ever had at heart.

Henry R. Pritchard was born in Johnson county on August 6, 1856, and
is a son of Loven G. and Nancy (Keeton) Pritchard, both of whom are na-
tives of this county also. The subject's paternal grandfather, Daniel Pritch-
ard, settled in Johnson county in 1823. He was a native of Maryland, born in
1 78 1, and came to Kentucky when but two years old, where he remaiiied
until he came to the state of Indiana. His first settlement here was in Blue
River township, where he lived a year, then moved to Nineveh township,
where he made his future home. He had entered land in many places over
Johnson county, including a part of the land where the city of Franklin now
stands. The Keeton family came from Kentucky in 1826, and also settled
in Nineveh township, where they became prominent and well known among
the early settlers. To Loven and Nancy Pritchard were born nine children,
namely: William, deceased; Melissa; Sarah; Henry R. ; Susan, deceased;
Elizabeth, deceased; Ollie, and Charles and Nellie, the last two being de-
ceased. Loven Pritchard was a man of strong mentality and progressive
make-up, and took an active interest in the affairs of the community. Though
he was a farmer throughout his active^^ears^Jie^so ser\'ed two terms as
justice of the peace with eminent sati^fiEpttiCSfJi tU&in Qthtr ways took an active
part in the administration of tlij?'toip^iSR^r>;;;afi.gft lownship. The subject's
maternal grandfather, WilliaEp Keeton, who wa^ bom in Spotsylvania
county, Virginia, in 1794, came..J^ Jf fHrtUcisy. ':-wheii but thirteen years of
age. He there married a Miss JOJhti»Ofi,^^ IfHttveof Kentucky, in which state
they continued to reside until i826,Lwiien they came to Johnson county, In-
diana, settling in Nineveh township. They were the parents of eleven chil-
dren, namely: Benjamin, bom in 1820, died in 191 3: James, bom in 182 1 ;
one unnamed,, born in 1823; William, bom in 1826; John, born in 1829; sub-
ject's mother, Nancy, bom on December 25, 1830; Mildred, bora in 1833;
Lucy, born in 1836, died in 1913; Susan, born in 1838; Elizabeth, bom in
1840, and George, born in 1842. Of these children, those living are William,
Mildred and Elizabeth. William Keeton was a prominent man in his com-
munity during the early days, having served as probate judge of Johnson
county for a number of years. Politically, he was a Democrat until 1854,
when he changed his support to the Republican party, with which he was aft-
erward allied.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools,
after which he was in Williamsburg for three years. He then took up farm-
ing and has remained actively engaged in this vocation throughout the sub-

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650 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

sequent years, though he now makes his home in Franklin. He is the owner
of one hundred and sixty acres of splendid land, in Blue River township,
where he carries on general farming, raising all the crops common to this
section of the county and carrying on stock raising with marked success.
His farm is splendidly improved, some features of which are a pleasant and
attractive residence, large and substantial barns and other necessary farm out-
buildings, while the general appearance of the entire place gives credit to the
owner as a man of good taste and wise discrimination.

Politically, Mr. Pritchard is a stanch advocate of the policies of the Pro-
gressive party as enunciated by Theodore Roosevelt, and since the organiza-
tion of that party he has been active in its support. PYaternally, he is a mem-
ber of the Knig^hts of Pythias lodge at Franklin, while his church membership
is with the Christian church at Franklin, to which society he gives a liberal
support.

Mr. Pritchard has been twice married. The first time in 1883 to Ada
May Garrison, the daughter of William Garrison. She died in 1886, and in
1887 Mr. Pritchard married Ida Belle Hamner, the daughter of George and
Eliza (Thomas) Hamner, natives of Johnson county and early settlers of this
immediate locality. Mrs. Pritchard died in 1909, aged forty-one years. To
Mr. and Mrs. Pritchard were born five children, namely: Charles, bom
in 1888; William, born in 1890; Ruth and Ralph, twins, bom in 1892, and
Doris, born in 1903.

Mr. Pritchard's life work has been one of unceasing industry and per-
severance, and the systematic and honorable methods which he has ever fol-
lowed have resulted not only in gaining the confidence of those with whom he
has had dealings, but also in the building up of a large landed estate. He is
a public-spirited man and is well and favorably known throughout the town-
ship where he resides for his honesty and uprightness in all his business deal-
ings. He is a man of pleasing address and is noted for his hospitality and
kindness to the poor.

FREMONT MILLER.

A lawyer by profession and for a number of years the efficient prosecut-
ing attorney of the eighth judicial district, Fremont Miller has made his
presence felt in the legal circles of his locality, and as a public-spirited citizen,
interested in whatever tends to promote the material progress of the com-
munity and the social and moral advancement of his fellow men, his influence
has been salutary and his example worthy of imitation.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 65 1

Fremont Miller is a native son of the old Hoosier state, having been
born in Hamilton county on September 11, 1868. He is a son of Richard J.
and Nancy M. (McAnally) Miller, the father a native of Pennsylvania and
the mother of North Carolina. To the subject's mother belongs the dis-
tinction of having been a direct descendant of John and Charles Wesley,
two of the greatest religious reformers the world has known. Richard
Miller came with his father, John L. Miller, from Pennsylvania to Clinton
county, Indiana, in an early day and there they lived and there Richard
Miller married Miss McAnally. The father followed mechanical pursuits
and in 1872 they moved to Brown county, where he lived for a number of
years, eventually locating in Bloomington, Indiana, in order to give his chil-
dren the advantages of the State University at that place. He died in Decem-
ber, 1907, at Bloomington, where his widow is now living at the advanced
age of eighty-two years. They wer^ the parents of ten children, seven of
whom are living, but none of whom live in Johnson county excepting the
subject of this sketch.

Fremont Miller attended the public schools of Bloomington, and on
completing the public school course, he entered the State University, where
he graduated in 1897 ^^'^th the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He also took the
law course there, in which he graduated in 1898. Prior to this time he had
taken several courses of study at the Indiana State Normal School at Terre
Haute, and was engaged in teaching school for four terms in Brown county,
Indiana, in which vocation he achieved a splendid reputation as a successful
educator. Immediately after his graduation in law he entered upon the
active practice of his profession at Nashville, Brown county, Indiana, and
soon afterwards was nominated for the office of prosecuting attorney of the
eighth judicial circuit, which then embraced Brown and Bartholomew coun-
ties, and he was elected in 1898. However, before he entered upon the duties
of his office the circuit was changed by legislative enactment to comprise the
counties of Brown and Johnson. Mr. Miller discharged his official duties so
efficiently and satisfactorily that in 1900 and again in 1902 he was elected
to succeed himself. In the fall of the latter year he removed to Franklin and
has since been engaged in the practice of his profession here. He formed a
law partnership with Henry F. White, under the firm name of Miller &
White, and together they form one of the strongest legal firms in Johnson
county. Mr. Miller is now serving as county attorney, having been appointed
by the board of county commissioners in January, 1913. Mr. Miller's pro-
fessional career has been above reproach and in every respect honorable. He is
recognized as a safe counsellor, judicious practitioner, and his ability to cope

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652 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

with the strongest of his professional brethren in a field long noted for its
high order of legal talent bears evidence of the close and careful consideration
that he gives to any matter entrusted to him and the ample preparation he
makes to meet his adversary in the trial of cases. His practice, already large,
is steadily growing in volume and importance and he now commands an ex-
tensive clientele, not altogether in his own county, as is evidenced by his fre-
quent calls to other courts.

Mr. Miller has been active in political affairs ever since attaining his
majority. From 1908 until 1912 he served as chairman of the Democratic
county committee and did valiant service for his party. Fraternally, he is a
member of the Knights of Pythias, Modem Woodmen of America and the
Free and Accepted Masons. In the latter order he has attained to the Knight
Templar degree in the York Rite and the thirty-second degree in the Scottish
Rite. His religious membership is with the Presbyterian church, in which he
takes an active interest and of which he is a member of the board of trustees.

In January, 1902, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Dorval Turner,
of Nashville, Indiana, the daughter of George N. and Rebecca J. Turner, and
to them have been born three children, Mary Belle, Richard and Georgia.
Though very busy in the practice of his profession, Mr. Miller does not
evade his ordinary duties as a citizen and in all the affairs of the community,
affecting the educational, moral, social or material welfare of his fellow citi-
zens, he takes an intelligent interest, giving his support to all movements for
the upbuilding of the best interests of the community. He is a man of genial
temperament and makes friends readily, his relations with his acquaintances
being of the most congenial order. He is well known in Johnson county and
enjoys a well deserved popularity among his fellow citizens.

J. H. KELLY.

This honored veteran of the Civil war is to be designated as one of the
progressive and influential citizens of Johnson county, where for more than
three-quarters of a century he has maintained his home, figuring as one of
the builders of the community and especially worthy of consideration in this
work. He has, by his industry and sound judgment, not only improved a fine
farm and gained a fairly large competency for his old age, but he has mate-
rially assisted in the general welfare of the community, in many ways lend-
ing his valuable time and influence in the promulgation of various uplift-
ing movements.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 653

James H. Kelly is a native son of Johnson county, having been born in
Franklin township on September 12, 1838, and is a son of Madison and
Eliza (Patterson) Kelly, the father a native of Fleming county, Kentucky,
and the mother bom in Fayette county, that state. Madison Kelly came to
Indiana with his grandfather in early days and followed farming during all
his active life, his death occurring near Franklin in March, 1857. His wife
died in 1850. James H. Kelly received a good, practical common school
education, and at the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the defense
of his country as a private in Company I, Seventieth Regiment Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Capt. William H. Fisher. The
command was assigned to the armies of the Cumberland and Tennessee, and
practically all of his enlisted time was spent in the Southland, where he took
part in some of the most hotly contested battles of that great struggle, among
which were the engagement at Russellville, Kentucky, and the several skir-
mishes incident thereto ; the battle of Resaca and the following engagements
up to the battle of New Hope Church; then followed the sanguinary conflicts
at Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Averasboro, South Caro-
lina, and BentonviUe, besides many minor skirmishes and hard campaigns.
After his discharge from military service and participation in the Grand
Review at Washington, Mr. Kelly returned to his home in Johnson county
and during the following seven years was engaged in farming on the pater-
nal farmstead. He then bought a farm located about one and one-half miles
south of Greenwood, to which he gave his attention until April, 1905, when
he retired from active labor and is now living in comfort in his home in
Greenwood His farm comprises one hundred and fifty acres, which he rents.
During his active life no farmer in his community enjoyed a higher reputa-
tion because of the up-to-date methods he employed and the success he gained
through his efforts. He has been during all the years a prominent figure
in his community and has been numbered among the influential men who have
always labored for the upbuilding and advancement of his fellow citizens'
best interests. In return for this zeal and interest he has received to a definite
degree the esteem and confidence of all who know him and today he is re-
spected by the community where he makes his home.

Mr. Kelly has been twice married, first, in 1865, to Mary A. Henderson,
the daughter of John P. Henderson, one of the old settlers and successful
farmers of Johnson county. In 1887, Mr. Kelly married Nancy Beatty, the
daughter of John and Sallie (Patterson) Beatty. John Beatty. who was a
farmer by vocation, in connection with which he also followed blacksmith-

6S4 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

itig, was born, lived and died in Kentucky. To Mr. Kelly's first union were
born seven children: Alice, Luella, Walter S., Sarah G., Laura M., one
who died in infancy and one not named.

Politically, Mr. Kelly has given a life-long support to the Republican
party and, though not a seefcer after public office, he served for six years
efficiently and satisfactorily as justice of the peace of Pleasant township.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Grand .Army of the Republic, in tl)e work-
ings of which he has long taken a deep interest. His pleasant and attractive
home, on Elast Pearl street in Greenwood, is a favorite stopping place for Mr.
Kelly's old friends, who always find there the spirit of old-time hospitality
that makes them feel at home. Personally, Mr. Kelly is a most pleasant,
affable gentleman Df honest convictions and sincere purposes. His upright
career and wholesome moral influence makes him popular throughout the
community in which he is widely known and in which his entire life has been
spent.

IVORY J. DRYBREAD.

In no profession is there a career more open to talent than is that of the
law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful prepara-
tion, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life or of the
underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges.
Unflagging application and intuitive wisdom and determination fully to utilize
the means at hand, are the concomitants which insure personal success and
prestige in this great profession, which stands as the stern conservator of
justice, and it is one into which none should enter without a recognition of
the obstacles to be encountered and overcome and the battles to be won, for
success does not perch on the banner of every person who enters the competi-
tive fray, but comes only as the result of capability. Possessing all the req-
uisites of the able lawyer. Ivory J. Drybread, of Franklin, stands today
among the eminent practitioners of Johnson county, Indiana.

Ivory J. Drybread, who for a number of years has been numbered
among the active and successful lawyers and progressive and public-spirited
citizens of Johnson county, was born in Nineveh township, this county, on
December i8, 1875, and is the son of James C. and Martha A. (Wheatley)
Drybread. His father, who was a native of Bartholomew county, Indiana,
was the son of William Drybre;ad, who was born in Dearborn county, this
state, in 1799, and at the time of his death, which occurred in 1886, was one

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 655

of the oldest native-born residents of the state of Indiana. The subject's
ancestors on the paternal side were from Ohio, where the family had been
established in an early day, while the VVheatley family came frorrt Maryliand;
James C. Drybread, who was a farmer by vocation, came to Johnson county
to make his perrrianent home at about the time of his marriage, and here he
spent the remainder of his days, his death occurring in May, 1900. He was
survived several years by his widow, who died in 1907. Mr. Drybread was
an active and energetic man and, by persistent industry and good manage-
ment, accumulated a splendid estate, comprising seven hundred acres of good
land at the time of his death. To him and his wife were bom nine children,
of whom five are still living, namely : Mrs. Clara A. Dixon, of Trafalgar,
Johnson county, Indiana; Charles H., of Franklin; Mrs. Nannie Chambers,
who lives on the old home farm in Nineveh township, this county ; Ivory J.,
the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Martha J. Lacey, of Vincennes, this state.

Ivory J. Drybread was reared on the paternal homestead, where he re-
mained until past sixteen years of age. After completing the course in the
common schools of his home neighborhood, he entered the preparatory de-
partment of Franklin College, where he graduated in 1897. I" the following
year he began the reading of law in the office of Judge Johnson, at Franklin,
and the following year was spent in the office of Col. Simeon Stansifer, at
Columbus, Indiana, who was at that time district attorney for the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company. In 1900 Mr. Drybread entered the law department
of the University of Wisconsin, at Madison, and in the fall of that year he
was admitted to the bar of Johnson county and entered at once on the active
practice of his profession. He was at first in partnership with Edward L.
Middleton, a relation which existed until the fall of 1905, when Mr. Middle-
ton retired from the active practice, since which time Mr. Drybread has been
alone in the practice. Natural aptitude, thorough discipline and thoroughness
in the handling of all matters entrusted to him have combined to gain for Mr.
E>rybread a distinctive success in his profession and he is numbered among
the leaders of the local bar, having been connected with some of the most
important litigation tried in the Johnson county courts. During a period of
seven months in 1906 he was deputy clerk of the supreme court of the state,
where he gained much valuable experience. During 1904-5 he served effi-
ciently as city attorney of Franklin. He has been successful in his financial
affairs and is the owner of some valuable farming land in Nineveh township,
this county, to the operation of which he gives the proper amount of atten-
tion.

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656 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Politically, Mr. Drybread is an ardent supporter of the Republican party
and even since attaining his majority he has taken a deep interest in public
affairs, having been secretary of the Republican counfy central committee for
the past ten years and doing efficient work in the interest of the party during
campaigns. He has not, however, been a candidate for official preferment for
himself. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, in the York Rite
of which he has received the degrees up to the order of the Temple, being a
member of Franklin Commandery No. 23, while in the Scottish Rite he
has received the thirty-second degree of the consistory. Socially, he is a
member of the Phi Delta college fraternity and is president of the Alumni
Chapter House Association. Religiously, he is an earnest member of the
Baptist church, to the support of which he contributes liberally.

On June 24, 1908, Mr. Drybread was united in marriage to Cora K.
Ragsdale, the daughter of William S. Ragsdale, of Franklin. Mr. and Mrs.
Drybread move in the best social circles of Franklin and because of their fine
social qualities and their genuine worth they are popular in the locality where
they live. Mr. Drybread has, through merit, close application and com-
mendable conduct, risen steadily to a high rank in his profession, and his
is the story of a life which is measured by its usefulness — a life that has
made for good in all its relations with the world.

FRANK R. MULLENDORE.

The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest opinion
of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the record the
verdict establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of
his neighbors and fellow citizens. In touching upon the life history of the
subject of this sketch the writer aims to avoid fulsome encomium and extrava-
gant praise; yet he desires to hold up for consideration those facts which
have shown the distinction of a true, useful and honorable life — a life char-
acterized by perseverance, energy, broad charity and well-defined purpose.
To do this will be but to reiterate the dictum pronounced upon the man by the
people who have known him long and well.

Frank R. Mullendore, who is one of the most successful farmers and
cattle breeders in Johnson county, and who owns a splendid farm of three
hundred and forty acres in Nineveh township, was born in a log cabin upon
the farm where he now lives, his birthday having been November 27, 1866.

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FRANK R. MULLENDORE

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THS Bi:w yofiK

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 657

He is the son of Lewis and Harriet (Records) Mullendore, the father a native
of Pennsylvania, of which state his parents also were natives. Lewis Mullen-
dore came to Indiana in an early day, settling in Jackson township, Shelby
county, where he became one of the most prominent citizens of the county;
His rise in material affairs bordered somewhat on the spectacular, for when
he was married his sole cash capital was but forty cents. Coming to Johnson
county in 1844, after having spent eleven years in Shelby county as a tanner,
he here engaged in farming and manufacturing tile, and to him belongs the
distinction of having manufactured the first tile ever made and laid in Johnson
county or the state of Indiana. He successfully operated his tile factory for
many years, and by strict attention to business and wise economy he was
enabled to accumulate over nine hundred acres of splendid land. He made
what is generally called the horse-shoe tile, and he and a brother-in-law were
partners in the business. As a sample of the enterprise exercised in his busi-
ness affairs it is related that at one time they heard of a bottom tile that was
made in the state of New York, and he at once sent his brother to learn the
secret of its manufacture, but they found it was not a very intricate matter
and easily learned. In all his business affairs he was a man of the strictest
honor and integrity and among thosje^AVJth: AtfiSair he Alealt he sustained the
very highest standing and enjoyefl ^m^-SB^'S&A^^ in the community. As
stated before, he prospered in his financial affairs any gave to each of his
children practically six thousand dolia?:^, sa^ ^tilfHSr^eaih each inherited from
his estate five thousand dollars. - Ifl^the-lffe'^o^^'tW' community he took an
interested part, and was one of tbe.buildccs-.oJ^xHe Union Christian church.
To him and his wife were born thirteen children, ten of whom were reared to
maturity, and nine are still living, namely: Joseph H., Rev. William, Frank
R., the subject of this sketch ; Mrs. Hulda Mulliken, Mrs. Elizabeth McQtiinn,
Mrs. Elsie Saunders, Mrs. Minnie Robinson, Mrs. Jennie White and Mrs.
Olive Flynn.

The subject of this sketch secured his education in the schools of his
neighborhood, and from his earliest active years he has followed the vocation
of agriculture, in which he has achieved a splendid success. He was given one
hundred and sixty acres by his father, and by his own efforts has accumulated
one hundred and eighty acres more, making a total of three hundred and forty
acres now in his possession: He has a splendid set of farm buildings, all of
which have been built with an idea of permanency and convenience, and he
is here carrying on agricultural pursuits according to the most practical ideas.
Mr. Mullendore has achieved a reputation throughout the comnumity as a

(42)

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658 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

breeder of Hereford cattle, in which he has made a splendid success. His
herd now numbers twenty, all of which are thoroughbreds, and thirty years*
experience in this line has made Mr. Mullendore a splendid judge of these
animals. He has bred some of the best Hereford cattle in the state of Indiana,
for many of which he has received fancy prices and wherever they have been
exhibited they have been prize winners. He shipped the first Hereford bull
ever shipped to South America. Mr. Mullendore's home is pleasant and at-
tractive and a good automobile contributes to the enjoyment of life. Optim-
istic in temperament, Mr. Mullendore sees the cheerful side of life and his
home is a center of the social circles of the community where is always found
the spirit of hospitality and good cheer.

Politically, Mr. Mullendore is a staunch supporter of the policies advocat-
ed in the platform of the Progressive party and enunciated by Theodore Roose-
velt. He takes a deep interest in the current issues of the day and holds decided
opinions on the great questions which are agitating the American people. His
religious membership i^ with the Union Christian church of his community,
while his fraternal membership is with the Knights of Pythias.

On November 9, 1891, Mr. Mullendore married Lavina Featheringill,
the daughter of Allen Featheringill, and to them have been bom four children,
three of whom are living, namely: Hubert, a farmer, who is a graduate of
the Franklin high school ; Naomi and Lucile. Because of his success in the
material affairs of life, his influence in local affairs and the unblemished
character which, he bears, there is accorded to him the fullest measure of
popular confidence and esteem throughout the community.

WILLIAM H. McCLANAHAN.

The history of the loyal sons and representative citizens of Johnson
county would not be complete should the name that heads this review be
omitted. When the fierce fire of rebellion was raging throughout the South-
land, threatening to destroy the Union, he responded with patriotic fervor to
the call for volunteers and in some of the bloodiest battles for which that
great war was noted proved his loyalty to the government he loved so well.
During a useful life in the region where he lives he has labored diligently to
promote the interests of the people, working earnestly and with little regard
for his personal advancement or ease. He has been devoted to the public

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 659

welfare and in all of his relations his highest ambitions have been to benefit
the community and advance its standard of citizenship.

William H. McClanahan was born in Scott county, Indiana, on October
4, 1840, and is a son of Francis and Armilda W. (Moore) McClanahan, both
of whom are now^ deceased. The subject came from a long line of sterling
ancestors, who were characterized by loyalty to the national government in
time of war, his paternal grandfather, Robert McClanahan, having served in
the war of 1812, and four uncles were Union soldiers during the Civil war.
The subject was reared on the paternal farmstead in Scott county and received
his education in the public schools of the neighborhood. On the outbreak
of the Southern rebellion he enlisted, on July 11, 1861, as a private in Com-
pany C, Thirty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he went to the
front, his enlistment havii^g taken place at Lexington. Indiana. Soon after
his enlistment he was taken ill with measles and this, with resultant diseases,
for several months necessitated his confinement' in hospitals at Woodsonville,
Columbia, Nashville and Madison. Indiana. He was granted a thirty-day
sick furlough from the Woodsonville hospital in December, 1861, which was
later extended to sixty days, at the expiration of which period he reported for
duty at Franklin. Tennessee. He received an honorable discharge and on
his return to civil pursuits he took up the vocation of farming, which he fol-
lowed with splendid success until a few years ago when he retired and is now
living in Franklin. He has a pleasant home on East King street and is
engaged in dairying, in which he is meeting with splendid success, having
a comfortable and attractive place of ten acres, on which he is spending his
latter days in comfortable retirement.

On January i, 1863, in Scott county, Indiana, Mr. McQanahan was
married to Rebecca E. Flemming, who was born in Scott county, Indiana, on
September 27, 1840, the daughter of Archibald and Mary (Hogeland) Flem-
ming, both of whom are deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. McClanahan were bom
two children, Frank and Perry. Perry McClanahan inherited to a marked
degree his father's patriotic disposition and military instinct, and at the out-
break of the Spanish war he enlisted as a private in Company E, One Hun-
dred and Fifty-eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he
did faithful and courageous service during that brief struggle. He is still a
member of the regular army, stationed at Washington, D. C. in the marine
service. The family's splendid military record is further enhanced by the fact
that Mrs. McClanahan had two brothers in the service. William and Reid
Flemming, both of whom served in Indiana regiments, and William died dur-
ing the service from disabilities contracted therein. Their father, Archibald

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66o JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Flemming, served in the Indian wars and achieved a splendid record as a
soldier.

Fraternally, Mr. McClanahan keeps alive his old army associations by
his membership in Wadsworth Post No. 127, Grand Army of the Republic, in
which he has held a number of official positions. Religiously he is a mem-
ber and, with his wife, a prominent worker in the Presbyterian church. By
his advocacy of wholesome living, pure politics and honesty in business, Mr.
McClanahan has long enjoyed the undivided respect and esteem of all who
know him, being regarded as one of Johnson county's most substantial and
worthy citizens.

THOMAS W. CRAVEN.

A man's reputation is the property of the world, for the laws of nature
have forbidden isolation. Every human being either submits to the con-
trolling influence of others or wields an influence which touches, controls,
guides or misdirects others. If he be honest and successful in his chosen field
of endeavor, investigation will brighten his fame and point the way along
which others may follow with like success. The reputation of Thomts W.
Craven, one of the leading citizens of Nineveh township, Johnson county,
having been unassailable all along the highways of life, according to those
who have known him best, it is believed that a critical study of his career
will be of benefit to the reader, for it has been not only one of honor but of
usefulness also.

Thomas W. Craven is a native son of the old Buckeye state, where he
was born on August 21, 1869, and is a son of William and Mary (Burnett)
Craven. The father, who was a native of Yorkshire, England, came to Ohio
where he settled and followed the vocation of blacksmith until his removal
to Brown county, Indiana, when the subject of this sketch was but a young
man, where the father followed the combined occupations of fanning and
blacksmith ing. He had eleven children, nine of whom arc still living. He
was a man of some importance in his locality, and for a number of years
efficiently discharged the duties of justice of the peace. He was also elected
superintendent of roads, but the office was abolished before he entered ufKDn
the discharge of his official duties. He was a Methodist in his religious be-
lief, and in politics voted with the Democratic party.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools
of Brown county and then follqwed his father's footsteps and took up the

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JOHNSON COUI^TY, INDIANA. 66l

trade of blacksmith, in which he worked actively for twenty-eight years. He
is now engaged in the merchandise and implement business at Williamsburg,
this county, in which h€ has met with splendid success, owing to his sound
business methods, his courteous treatment of his patrons and his own personal
worth. He remained in Brown county, until twenty-five years of age, since
which time he has continuously been identified with Johnson county and is
now numbered among the leading and influential citizens of his locality. He
owns thirteen acres of land in and adjoining the village of Williamsburg.

In 1882, Mr. Craven was married to Laura A. Gillaspy, daughter of
William E. and Elizabeth Gillaspy, the father having been a native of Ken-
tucky, who came to Indiana early in life, and the mother a native of this
state. To the subject and wife have been bom four children : Pearl, who is
a graduate of Indiana University, is now engaged as a teacher of language
in the Bloomington high school ; Reba, at home ; Ina May is a common school
teacher and Ralph W. is at home. The subject has taken an intelligent interest
in public affairs and was elected trustee of Nineveh township, in which capaci-
ty he rendered his fellow citizens important public service. He is a member of
the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic order, belonging to the local lodges
at Nineveh, while his religious membership is with the Christian church, in
the prosperity of which he is deeply interested and to the support of which he
contributes of his means. Politically, he is a Democrat and is interested in
all public questions of importance. He is properly numbered among the sub-
stantial citizens of his locality, having contributed in many ways to the ad-
vancement of his fellow citizens. He has in the course of an honorable career
been successful in his business affairs, and is in every way deserving of men-
tion in the biographical history of his county.

CHAUNCEY J. POWELL.

Chauncey J. Powell belongs to that class of men who win in life's battles
by sheer force of personality and determination rather than by the influence
of friends or freak of fortune, and in whatever he has undertaken he has
shown himself to be a man of ability and honor, true to whatever" trusts have
been reposed in him, and as the county recorder of Johnson county he has
pteyed an important part in the public affairs of the community. Mr. Powell
was born near Franklin, Johnson county, on July 13, 1877, and is a son of
James R. and Sarah E. (Van Arsdale) Powell. The father, who was a

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662 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

native of the state of Kentucky, has followed farming all his active years,
and in connection with this he was also an extensive dealer in live stock at
Whiteland, this county. He came to Johnson count/ in 1865 or 1866, soon
after the close of the war of the Rebellion, with his parents, Jackson Powell
and wife, who also were natives of the Blue Grass state. Jackson Powell
settled on a farm south of Franklin, where he lived until his death, which
occurred on February 6, 191 3, at the age of eighty-one years. Jackson
Powell married Lydia Thompson, a native also of Kentucky, and they reared
a family of four children, two sons and two daughters^. The subject's par-
ents reared two children, Chauncey and Cornelius, the latter being a resident
of Whiteland. The subject's mother died in October, 1883, and his father
subsequently married Lula T. Bohon, of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, by whom
he had three children, J. D., of Huron, Indiana; Henry, of Whiteland. Indi-
ana, and Mary, who remains at home with her father.

The subject of this sketch was born and reared on a farm, received his
elementary education in the public schools, graduating from the Hope-
well high school. He then became a student in Franklin College, where he
was graduated in 1901. Immediately after he entered the employ of Swift
& Company, of Chicago, as traveling salesman, with whom he remained for
three years. He then located in Greenwood, where he engaged in the real
estate business for two years, after which l)ecame interested in life insurance,
in which he is still engaged to some extent, being manager for the American
Central Life Insurance Company of Indianapolis for Johnson and adjoining
counties. On November 5, 1910, Mr. Powell was nominated on the Demo-
cratic ticket for the office of county recorder and took office on January i,
191 1, for a full four-years term. He is discharging his official duties in a
manner highly creditable to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his fellow-
citizens.

Fraternally, Mr. Powell is an enthusiastic meml>er of the Masonic order,
while his religious membership is with the Methodist Fpiscopal church, of
which he is an earnest supporter and to which he gives a liberal support. In
addition to his regular occupation, he is the owner of a twenty-acre fruit
ranch in Montana, where he exi)ects some day to locate.

Mr. Powell has been married twice, first at Omaha, Nebraska, on March
14, 1903, to Myrtle B. Lee, a native of Norway, and who died on October 21,
1903. On February 14, 1906, Mr. Powell married Lola B. Brenton, of
Greenwood, Johnson county, Indiana, and to them was born one child, Sarah
Louise, who died on July 4, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Powell move in the best
social circles of the community and because of their genial dispositions and

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 663

genuine worth they have endeared themselves to all who know them. Mrs.
Powell has proven an efficient aid to her husband in his official duties, taking
her place as his deputy in the recorder's office. Mr. Powell takes a deep and
abiding interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community and
county and gives his support to all worthy movements for the advancement
of his fellow citizens. Prompt in the discharge of his official duties, affable
and courteous to all who have business in his office, and a man of inflexible
integrity, he is justly deserving of representation in the annals of his county.

FRANCIS WINTERBERG.

No people that go to make up our cosmopolitan civilization have better
habits of life than those who came originally from the great German empire.
The descendants of those people are distinguished for their thrift and honesty,
and these two qualities in the inhabitants of any country will in the end alone
make that country great. When with these two qualities is coupled the Qther
quality of sound sense, which all the German descendants possess, there are
afforded such elements as will enrich any land and place it at the top of the
countries of the world in the scale of elevated humanity. Of this excellent
people came the subject of this brief sketch, who is numbered among the
enterprising merchants and public-spirited citizens of Johnson county, Indiana.

Francis Winterberg was born on March 13, 1843. ^^ Germany and came
to the United States in i860, locating at Edinburgh Indiana, where he engaged
in the grocery business first as clerk. He also engaged in the bakery business
and some time later moved to Hope, Indiana, where he remained for a time,
but eventually returned to Edinburg, where he has since been actively engaged
in the grocery business. He carries a large and well selected stock of fancy
and staple groceries and because of his evident desire to please his customers
and his sound business methods he has achieved a pronounced success in his
line. He takes a deep and commendable interest in the welfare of the com-
munity and gives his support to all movements which have for their object the
advancement of the interests of his fellow citizens. Because of these worthy
qualifications for citizenship he is enjoying the warm regard of all who know
him.

In 1865 Mr. Winterberg was married to Charlotte Sander, and to them
have been bom seven children, namely: Emma, Eda, Anna, Frank, Lucy,
Florence and May. Politically, Mr. Winterberg is a stanch supporter of the

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664 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Democratic party and has been elected to public positions by his fellow citizens,
having rendered efficient service as a member of the town board and as
school director. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and of the Free and Accepted Masons, in which latter order he
has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. Mr. Winter-
berg has a splendid home, in which he takes a justifiable pride, and in his
community he stands high in public estimation. He is a worthy representa-
tive of that foreign-born element which has played such an important part
in the development of our state, and he is well entitled to representation in
this work. He has always been actively interested in everything which
tended to promote the development of the community and has been con-
fidently counted on at all times to endorse any progressive measure and to
uphold everything which stands for the best interests of the people. During
his long and industrious career he has riot only gained the confidence of his
fellow business men, but as a man of force of character, upright and honest
in his dealings with his fellow citizens, he has gained the esteem of all who
know him.

WILLIAM DUANE COVERT.

Holding distinctive prestige among the enterprising citizens of Johnson
county is William Duane Covert, whose record here briefly outlined is that
of a self-made man who, by the exercise of the talents with which nature en-
dowed him, successfully surmounted an unfavorable environment and rose
to the position he now occupies as one of the influential and well-to-do men of
the locality honored by his residence. He is a creditable representative of one
of the old and highly esteemed pioneer families of Indiana, and possesses
many of the admirable qualities and characteristics of his sturdy Pennsyl-
vania ancestors, who migrated to Indiana in a very early day and figured in
the history of diflferent sections of the state.

William Duane Covert, whose splendid farm of one hundred and twenty
acres in Union township, Johnson county, Indiana, is considered one of the
best agricultural tracts in that section of the county, was bom in the town-
ship where he now lives on July 19, 1843, ^^d is the son of William V. Covert.
His paternal grandfather was John Covert, to whom were bom eight chil-
dren, five boys and three girls, namely: William V., John, Simon, Cornelius,
Daniel, Mrs. Freeman, Mrs. Lagrange and one other, all of whom came to
Johnson county in 1828. John Covert filed on land for himself, while other

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WILLIAM D. COVERT

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MRS. ANNA COVERT

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 665

members of the family settled in the Hopewell neighborhood. John entered
the farm which is now resided on by W. M. Van Nuys. Thomas Henderson
entered the land where the Presbyterian church now stands. John and his
wife, whose family name was Verbryck, were members of the Hopewell
church, of which John was for many years an elder. William V. Covert
married Margaret, the daughter of Peter Bergen, who had entered the farm
where the subject of this sketch now lives. William V. Covert was a promi-
nent man in his locality, and during his life time was a leading and influential
member of Hopewell church. His death occurred in 1859 of typhoid fever.
To him and his wife were bom four children, John, Mrs. Sarah Ann De
Motte and Peter G., all now deceased, and the subject of this sketch. The
widowed mother kept her family together for awhile after the father's death,
and eventually the three brothers bought their sisters' share of the estate.
Eventually Peter G. and William Duane bought the farm and still later the
subject of this sketch bought the entire tract, which he now owns and to the
cultivation of which he has successfully devoted his time and attention dur-
ing his active years. The substantial and attractive old home was erected
in 1842, being one of the oldest residences in this section, but it is still in a
well preserved state and here the fri€ndii'jyf':;t'lir-*fafiMkrHia]ivays find the spirit
of old-time hospitality in evidenc^ ^»Xpe,-sm?iecf o^ tnis sketch received
his elementary education in the distrjfct scnools'of TTtiTOn^pwnship and supple-
mented this by attendance at Hope\>^ll^Academy. He h^s all his life been a
wide reader and a close observer of;ga^n^ai)i^^^^^ considered a well

informed man. In addition to the pursuit of agriculture,' Mr. Covert for the
long period of forty-six years conducteS an u[v^6-date undertaking business,
with headquarters and office on the farm, his brother, P. G., being his as-
sociate in the business until the latter's death, after which time the subject's
wife assisted him.

In 1903 Mr. Covert was married to Anna Bergen, whose death occurred
on January 18, 1910. Politically, Mr. Covert was for many years an active
supporter of the Republican party, but of recent years he has affiliated with
the Prohibition party, believing the liquor traffic to be the most vital issue
now before the American people. His church membership for over a half
century has been with the Hopewell Presbyterian church, in the prosperity of
which he has been deeply interested. He is now classed with the financially
strong and reliable men of his locality, having given strict attention to busi-
ness, his career being characterized by honorable dealing and a straightfor-
ward course from which no motive has ever caused him to deviate. He has

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666 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

accummulated a comfortable competency and his personal relations with his
fellow men have ever been mutxially agreeable, so that the high esteem in
which he is held indicates his universal hold on the confidence and respect
of the people.

RICHARD V. DITMARS.

The history of him whose name heads this biographical sketch is closely
identified with the history of Johnson county, Indiana, which has long been
his home. He began his career in this locality in the pioneer epoch and
throughout the subsequent years he has been closely allied with its interests
and upbuilding. His life has been one of untiring activity and has been
crowned with a degree of success commensurate with his efforts. He is of
the highest type of progressive citizen and none more than he deserves a fitting
recognition among those whose enterprise and ability have achieved results
that have awakened the admiration of those who knew them. The cause
of humanity never had a truer friend than Mr. Ditmars, and in all the relations
of life — family, church, state and society — he has displayed that consistent
Christian spirit, that natural worth, that has endeared him to all classes.
His integrity and fidelity have been manifested in every relation of life, an
example which has been an inspiration to others and his influence has been
felt in the community honored by his citizenship.

Richard V. Ditmars is descended from sterling old Holland DutcTi an-
cestry, the line being traced back many generations. His maternal grand-
father Verbryck was a soldier in the war of the Revolution and at the battle
of Trenton, New Jersey, was in command of a regiment of continental
troops, while at the time his wife was in hearing of the guns. The subject's
parents were Garret and Sarah (Verbryck) Ditmars, both of whom were
bom in New Jersey, Millstone being the father's native place. Garret was a
farmer by vocation and, desiring larger opportunities for advancement,
turned his face westward and removed, first, to Warren county, Ohio, where
he remained six years. In 1835 he came to Johnson county, Indiana, locating
on a tract of land six or seven miles west of Franklin, where he remained
until his death, which occurred in 185 1. His widow died in 1854. They
were the parents of twelve children, of whom the survivors are Cornelius
L., John T., and Richard V., of Johnson county, and Mrs. Rebecca Donnell,
of Minneapolis, Minnesota-
Richard V. Ditmars was bom on December 8, 1834, while his parents

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 667

were living in Warren county, Ohio, and was about one year old when the
family came to Johnson county, Indiana. He attended the common schools
of his home neighborhood until about 1854, when he entered Hopewell
Academy, three miles west of Franklin, where he studied two years. He
then went to Kansas, where he remained about three and a half years, re-
turning to Johnson county during the holidays of i860. In the spring of
the following year, his patriotism being fired by the disloyal actions of the
Southern states, he enlisted as a private in Company F, Seventh Regiment
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and rendered faithful and valuable service in
defense of his country until, about nine months after his enlistment, he was
seriously wounded, his left leg being badly broken. He lay for four months
in a hospital at Washington, D. C, at the end of which period he was honora-
bly discharged from the service in October, 1862, on account of physical
disability, and returned to his home. In 1863 Mr. Ditmars obtained employ-
ment as a clerk in the dry goods store of John L. Jones at Franklin, with
whom he remained three years. During the two following years he was a
partner in the firm of Jones, Ditmars & Company, then, selling out to Jones
& Dunlap, he went to Indianapolis aix(jj:9ft^^«ffl>,tirr n^onths' course in a busi-
ness college. He then returned fe'FrstnlKStMi^iihd engaged in the dry goods
business on his own account .aiid^^'Ws been -so engaged continuously since,
with the exception of a short tperiod about twenty ^ears ago, being now the
oldest merchant in Franklin. Though-^c^ in hft'^vjfenty-eighth year, Mr. Dit-
mars retains to a remarkable dfjgrejb his physical vitality, while, mentally, he is
as keen and alert as at any period in ins^ K-fe. His record as a business man
has been one of which he is justifiably proud, for in all this period no one
has been able to cast a slur on or besmirch his reputation as an honest, upright
and fearless business man, while as a private citizen he has at all times stood
for the best interests of the community along every line. He has been an eye
witness and participant in the splendid growth which has characterized this
section of the country and has himself been an important factor in its progress
and development.

Mr. Ditmars has been twice married, first in 1872 to Alice Bamett, the
only daughter of Dr. Robert E. Bamett, of Greenfield, Indiana, to which
union were bom three children, only one of whom is now living, namely,
Lillian, the wife of Dr. Oran A. Province, of Franklin. Mrs. Alice Ditmars
died about twenty-five years ago and five years later he married Mary
Mather, of Indianapolis.

Religiously, Mr. Ditmars has for many years been an earnest and faith-

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668 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

fill member of the Presbyterian church, of which he was a ruling elder for
thirty-four years. He is a member of Wadsworth Post, Grand Army of the
Republic, of which he is past commander, and he is rendering efficient service
as patriotic instructor in the schools all over Johnson county. Mr. Ditmars
has been a consistent man in all he has ever undertaken and his career in all
the relations of life has been utterly without pretense. He is held in the
highest esteem by all who know him, and the city of Franklin and county of
Johnson can boast of no better man or more enterprising citizen.

WILLIAM D. McCartney.

. It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs that makes the real his-
tory of a community and his influence as a potential factor in the body politic
is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient purpose
and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to ac-
complish, and there is always a full measure of satisfaction in adverting,
even in a casual w^ay, to their achievements in advancing their own interests
and those of their fellow^ men and giving strength and solidity to the institu-
tions which make so much for the prosperity of the community. Such a man
is William D. McCartney, the present popular livery man and farmer at
Greenwood, Johnson county, and it is eminently proper that a review of his
interesting and varied career be accorded a place among the representative
citizens of Johnson county.

William D. McCartney was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, on March
II, 1853, and is a son of James and Emmeline (Sharp) McCartney. The
father, who also was from Jefferson county, Indiana, became a resident of
that county when four years old, having been brought there by his parents.
James McCartney and wife. James McCartney was a native of Ireland and
his wife was a native of Virginia. The subject's father was a farmer by
vocation and came to Johnson county. Indiana, in 1863, settling in Clark
township, where he made his future home, follow^ing his vocation as a farmer
during his active life. His death occurred in March, 1878, and his w^fe died
in 1876. They were the parents of seven children, and the subject of this
sketch is the only surviving member of his family.

William B. McCartney received his education in the common schools of
the neighborhood and was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation to which
he has devoted his attention the greater portion of his life, the only exception

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 669

being about four months when he was employed at railroad work. He was
fairly successful in his agricultural work, acquiring the ownership of seventy-
eight acres of splendid land, in addition to which he rents about three hundred
acres. On this land he carries on a diversified system of farming, raising
all the crops common to this locality and also gives considerable attention to
the raising of live stock, feeding Polled Angus and Hereford cattle and
Duroc hogs, for which he finds a ready market, owing to the good quality of
the stock which he raises. His land is fertile, maintained in good condition,
while the permanent improvements are of such character as add attractiveness
and value to the property. In 191 2 Mr. McCartney moVed to Greenwood,
where he bought a livery stable which he has since conducted, but still oversees
his farming interests. He has twelve head of horses and a splendid line of
carriages and buggies, with which- he is accommodating the local trade in such
a manner as is entirely satisfactory to his customers. He is also giving Viis
attention to the breeding and raising of Percheron horses, in which he is
achieving a good reputation, keeping nothing but high grade stock. He
possesses good business ability and this, combined with his genial disposition
and evident desire to please, has won him a warm place in the hearts of the
people with whom he associates.

In 1878 Mr. McCartney was marripd to Alice Terman, daughter of
James W. and Martha (Cutsinger) Terman. who were old settlers in Jack-
son township, Shelby county, Indiana, and prominent among the leading peo-
ple of their community. To Mr. and Mrs. McCartney have been born four
children, namely : Harry, of Greenwood, who is secretary of the J. T. Polk
canning factory: Margaret, who married O. H. Thurston, a farmer of
Pleasant township, this county: J. W., who was a farmer until the present
year, since when he has been a contractor of stone road work in partnership
with a Mr. Murphy, and Florence, who married B. E. McMullen, and is living
in Indianapolis.

Politically, Mr. McCartney is a staunch Republican and has served five
years as assessor of Pleasant township and a similar period as trustee of the
township. He at one time ran for the offices of clerk and county auditor, but,
as he was a member of the minority party, he was defeated with the other
candidates on his ticket. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order,
belonging to the blue lodge at Greenwood and the commandery of Knights
Templar at Franklin, and is also a charter member of the Knights of Pythias
at Greenwood. Religiously, the family are all members of the Christian
church. Mr. McCartney has achieved success because he has given attention
along proper channels and has been an advocate of honest living and dealing

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670 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

with his fellow men. Though never animated with great ambition for public
honors, he has ever lent his aid in furthering the general interests of his
locality and is well fortified in his convictions, being at all times public spirited
in his attitude toward all movements for the benefit of the locality in which
he lives.

MRS. ELIZA POLK CARNES.

Wholly devoted to home and domestic duties, doing through all the best
years of her life the lowly but sacred work that comes within her sphere,
there is not much to record concerning the life of the average woman. And
yet what station so dignified, what relation so loving and endearing, what
offices so holy, tender and ennobling as those of home-making wifehood and
motherhood. As man's equal in every qualification save the physical, and his
superior in the gentle, tender and loving amenities of life, she fully merits a
much larger notice than she ordinarily receives, and the writer of these lines
is optimistic enough to indulge the prediction that in no distant future she
will receive due credit for the important part she acts in life's great drama
and be accorded her proper place in history and biography. The foregoing
lines are prompted by a review of the career of one of Greenwood's grand
old ladies, Mrs. Eliza Polk Carnes, wdio is numbered among the most re-
spected and esteemed residents of this favored community.

Mrs. Carnes is a native of the state of Kentucky and the daughter of
William and Sarah (Shoptaugh) Polk, both of whom were also natives of
the old Blue Grass state. The father, who was a farmer, came to Indiana in
1856, settling in Johnson county, where he followed agricultural pursuits
during his entire active life. He built the present attractive brick house in
which Mrs. Carnes lives in 1867 ^"^ ^^ which he resided until his death,
which occurred in 1877. To him and his wife were born nine children,
namely: John A., now deceased, who was a member of the Indiana Legis-
lature for two terms: Matilda: Burr H., who was mayor of Vicksburg,
Mississippi, and a prominent citizen of that community ; Maurice ; James M. ;
Eliza J., the immediate subject of this sketch: William L., of Vicksburg,
Mississippi: Lizzie and Charles. Mr. Polk was a Democrat in his political
affiliations, though not active in public aflfairs, and he and the members of his
family were all affiliated with the Baptist church.

Eliza J. Polk received her education in the common schools, and in 1863
she was united in marriage to Henry C. Wood, who was bom in Taylorsville.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 67I

Kentucky, on December 24, 1832. After attaining mature years he became a
druggist, in which he had a successful career, and was preparing to enter the
profession of medicine when his death occurred, on December 10, 1867. He
was a man of splendid personal qualities of character, and because of his
genuine worth and personal manners he had endeared himself to all who
knew him. To Henry C. and Eliza Wood was born a son, Clarence H., who
is now living at home with his mother and was station agent and operator
at Greenwood for ten years. On October 25, 1870, Eliza Polk Wood was
united in marriage to Zachariah Games, who was born in Grayson county,
Kentucky, on January 10, 1839. After receiving a good, practical and com-
mon school education, he decided to take up the practice of medicine and
matriculated in the Medical School of Kentucky at Louisville, where, in
due time, he graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1873 he
entered upon the practice of his profession at Hardin Springs, Kentucky, where
he remained about four years and then came to Greenwood, where he was
numbered among the successful and prominent physicians of this locality until
his death, which occurred in January, 1910. He was not only eminent in
his profession, but as a citizen he stood for all those things which elevate and
advance the best interests of a community. He had the greatest sympathy
for his fellow men and was ever willing to aid and assist those who were
struggling to aid themselves against adverse fate, yet in this as in everything
else he was entirely unostentatious. To him life was a sacred trust', friend-
ship was inviolable and nothing could turn him from the path of rectitude
and honor. Although his life was a busy one, his every-day affairs making
heavy demands upon his time, he never shrank from his duties as a citizen
and his obligations to the church, his neighbors and friends. To the practice
of his profession he brought rare skill and research, such qualities stamping
him as a man of extraordinary talent and a benefactor of his kind. In poli-
tics he was a Republican, though not a seeker after public office, and he was a
member of the Johnson County Medical Society, of which he served as
president two or three terms.

To Zachariah and Eliza Carnes was born a daughter, Floy M., who be-
came the wife of Theophilus J. Moll, an attorney in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mrs. Games is the owner of one hundred acres of good land which she
leases, and is looking after her business affairs with an ability which bespeakes
her strong character and mentality. Despite her advanced age she retains
her mental and physical faculties to a marked degree, and is numbered among
the popular members of the social circles in which she moves.

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672 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

GEORGE W. WILD.

Success is only achieved by the exercise of certain distinguishing quali-
ties and it cannot be retained without effort. Those by whom great epoch
changes have been made in the political and industrial world began early in
life to prepare themselves for their peculiar duties and responsibilities and
it was only by the most persevering and continuous endeavor that they suc-
ceeded in rising superior to the obstacles in their w^ay and reaching the goal
of their ambition. Such lives are an inspiration to others who are less cour-
ageous and more prone to give up the fight before their ideal is reached or
definite success in any chosen field has been attained. In the life history of
the honorable gentleman whose name forms the caption of this article we
find evidence of a peculiar characteristic that always makes for achievement —
persistency, coupled with fortitude and lofty traits, and as a result of such a
life Mr. Wild stands today one of the representative citizens of Johnson
county and one of the best known and most highly respected men of Clark
township.

George W. Wild was born April 18, i860, in Jollity, near Edinburgh
Johnson county, Indiana, and is a son of Charles Wild, a native of Germany,
bom in 1836 and died in 191 2, and his wife, whose maiden name was
Christina Trech, and who was also a native of the fatherland. Charles Wild
came to America at the age of eighteen years with his mother and stopped
first in Cincinnati, where he plied his trade, that of blacksmith. Later
he went to New Orleans, traveling as a journeyman blacksmith, seeing much
of the country and gaining a great deal of valuable experience during this
period. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army, serving four
years and gaining for himself a splendid reputation as a gallant and faithful
soldier. Eventually he came to Johnson county, settling at Jollity, and after-
wards located at Urmeyville, where for a time he had a blacksmith shop, but
later returned to Jollity, where his death occurred. To him and his wife
were born seven children, namely: Charles, of Needham township, this
county; George W., the subject of this sketch; Joseph, who resides in the edge
of Shelby county; Mrs. Sophia Sanders, of Blue River township, this coimty;
Mrs. Emma Brock, also of Blue River township; Mrs. Kate Smith, of Need-
ham township, and Caroline.

The subject of this sketch did not receive many educational advantages,
because his time was required in assisting in the support of the family. Dur-
ing his boyhood days he cut cordwood in the day time and studied at night.

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GEORGE W. WILD

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 673

in this way securing a fair practical education and getting an early start in
the practical affairs of life. At the age of fifteen years he began working out
by the month, his first wages being at the rate of fifteen doUara a month.
In this way he worked for eleven years, carefully husbanding his resources so
that eventually he found himself ready to start in life on his own account
His first employment was as manager of a poultry farm for Adam Dunlap,
for whom he worked about seven years. In 1901 Mr. Wild bought sixty-
seven acres of his present farm, and five years later purchased forty-four
acres additional. He has made many permanent and substantial improvements
on the place, including much ditching and rebuilding of houses and in many
ways he has brought the farm up to the highest modern standard of agricul-
tural excellence. He keeps practically all his own live stock, which he has
found a profitable method to pursue and has met with splendid success in this
line. He has thirty-five acres sown to wheat, twenty-five acres to com and
eight to oats, while ordinarily he cuts about ten tons of hay. He raises a large
number of live stock, averaging about seventy-five head of hogs annually, and
by careful attention to this branch of husbandry he has met with gratifying
success in his operations.

Mr. Wild has been aligned with the Democratic party since he attained
his majority and has been numbered »!yi^g^|^;^<^i v e 'fmd^worthy counsellors
of that party in local elections. In i^o^^h^ V^'^^ of Clark town-

ship, serving four years and two miriths^BftTf %i^^ iartfefact in the ad-
ministration of the aflfairs of the office to which he was efected by the largest
majority ever given in his township fihl3\fij£tyin|^^ first Democratic

trustee of that township in twenty years; In 1907 M?. Wild was elected to
the board of county commissioners, in vifAth he rendered such satisfactory
service that in 1910 he was re-elected for a six-year term, being the present
incumbent of the office. His religious membership is with the Presbyterian
church, of which he is a faithful and earnest adherent.

In 1892 Mr. Wild was united in marriage with Etta Logan, the daughter
of Roy Logan, of Johnson county. She proved to her husband a helpmate
in the truest sense of the word, encouraging him and advising him wisely,
much of his success being due to her splendid assistance. She died in April,
1913. To them were born three children, namely: Ruth, who is now a
student in the Normal College at Terre Haute, Indiana ; Alice and Christina,
who are students in the Clark township hi^h school. The subject has long
been a supporter of movements having for their object the material advance-
ment of the community, while his influence in promoting the social and moral

(43)

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674 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

welfare of his fellow men has been second to none. During his residence in
the township where he has always been regarded as a man of upright princi-
ples, industrious and kind-hearted to those in need, few in this community
are better or more favorably known than he.

MAJOR JOHN H. TARLTON.

One of the most difficult literary tasks is to writfe an unexceptionable re-
view of a living man. If the life is worthy of record there is always danger
of offending that delicacy which is inseparable from merit ; for even moderate
praise, when it meets the eyes of its subject is apt to seem fulsome, while a
nice sense of propriety would not be the less wounded b)^ a dry abstract con-
taining nothing but names and dates. To sum up a career which is not yet
ended would appear like recording events which have not yet transpired, since
justly to estimate the scope and meaning of a history it is important that we
have the closing chapter. In writing biographical notice, therefore, the
chronicler from the moment he takes up his pen should consider the subject
as no longer among his contemporaries, for thus he will avoid the fear of of-
fending by bestowing praise where it is merited and escape the risk of giving
but a fragmentary view of that which must eventually be taken as a unit. At
some risk, therefore, the writer assumes the task of placing on record the life
and character of a man, who, by the force of strong individuality, has
achieved eminent success in the vocations to which he has addressed himself
and has won for himself an enviable place among the leading men of the
city and county honored by his citizenship.

Major John H. Tarlton, the efficient and popular cashier of the Citizens
National Bank of Franklin, is a native of the county in which he lives, having
been born on September 24, 1850, on a farm east of Greenwood. He is the
son of Caleb B. and Evaline M. (West) Tarlton, both of whom were born
at Georgetown, Scott county, Kentucky, the father in 1827 and the mother in
1825. Caleb B. Tarlton came to Johnson county, Indiana, in 1835 with his
father, Merritt Tarlton. The latter, on coming to Indiana, had first settled in
Marion county, about eight miles east of Indianapolis, where he followed
farming, which vocation he also followed after coming to Johnson county.
Caleb Tarlton was reared to the life of the farm and never forsook that call-
ing, following it up to within about ten years of his death, which occurred
in 1909. His wife died in 1898. He was a prominent and influential man

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 675

in the public life of the locality and was active in political affairs, having
served as a member of the lower house of the Legislature as the representa-
tive from Johnson and Morgan counties in 1870-72 and as state senator from
Johnson and Shelby counties from 1876 to 1880. He was a Democrat in
politics and a Baptist in his religious belief. To him and his wife were born
seven children, of whom four are living, namely : William M., who lives in
California; James A., of Indianapolis; Charles W., of -Columbus, Indiana, and
the subject of this review.

John H. Tarlton w^as reared on the paternal farmstead and secured his
education in the district schools and the public schools of Indianapolis, after
which he was a student in Franklin College. From 1878 to 1886 he served as
deputy auditor of Johnson county, following which he was for two years
employed in the county treasurer's office, his service in these positions giving
him valuable experience and an insight into practical business methods. At
the close of his term in the auditor's office he w-as a candidate for the office of
auditor, but was defeated by a narrow margin. On leaving the treasurer's
office Major Tarlton accepted the position of bookkeeper in the Citizens
National Bank, of Franklin, which had been organized the year previous,
and he has remained identified with this strong and well-known institution
since. He was promoted first to assistant cashier and later to cashier, in
which position he is now- serving to the entire satisfaction of the officers of
the bank and its patrons. Careful and conservative, and with a compre-
hensive knowledge of all the details of banking methods, Major Tarlton has
filled his responsible position with marked ability and he has been an im-
portant factor in the splendid success which has marked the career of this
bank. Genial and unassuming, the Major readily makes friends and always
retains them so that today he enjoys a marked popularity throughout the
community.

In 1898, on the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, the subject, who
had been a member of the National Guard, enlisted for service, going to the
front with his command on April 26, 1898, and serving until mustered out on
November 4th of the same year. He was commissioned captain of his com-
pany, and gained a good reputation as a careful and competent officer, so that
after his discharge from the special military service, he was commissioned
major in the National Guard, serving as such for eight years, when he de-
clined another commission and was placed on the retired list. His military
record was a creditable one in every respect and he earned the commendation
of his superior officers.

On November 16, 1887, John H. Tarlton was married to Jessie B. Gib-

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fyj6 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

son, the daughter of Harvey J. and Adelaide Gibson, she having been born
at Franklin, Indiana, on August ii, 1863. This union has been blessed by
two children, Marcia Adelaide, who, on August 4, .1913, married L. E.
Miller and resides in Chicago, and Charlotte E., both of whom are at home
with their parents. Marcia graduated from Franklin College in June, 1913.
Politically, Major Tarlton gives his support to the Democratic party,
while, religiously, he is an attendant of the Baptist church. Fraternally, he
is a Mason, in which order he has taken the degrees of the York Rite, includ-
ing those of the Temple, belonging to Franklin Commandery No. 23. Be-
cause of his genial personality, sterling qualities of character and his success
in life, the Major is deservedly popular among his acquaintances.

DAVID R. WEBB.

In past ages the history of a country was comprised chiefly in the record
of its wars and conquests. Today history is largely a record of commercial
activity and those whose names are foremost in the annals of the nation are
those who have become leaders in business circles. The conquests now made
are those of mind over matter, and the victor is he who can most successfully
establish, control and operate commercial interests. Mr. Webb is unquestion-
ably one of the strongest and most influential of the men whose lives have been
an essential part in the history of Johnson county. Tireless energy, keen per-
ception, honesty of purpose, genius for devising and executing the right
thing in the right place and time are the chief characteristics of the man.
These, combined with everyday common sense and guided by strong will
power, are concomitants which will insure success in any undertaking.

David R. Webb was bom in Blue River township, Johnson county, In-
diana, on January 11, 1854, ahd is a son of John C. and Elizabeth (Abbett)
Webb. The father, who was born on December 25, 1827, on the old home-
stead in this county, died on June 24, 1901 ; his wife also was a native of this
county and her death occurred in 1855. The subject's paternal grandfather
was David Webb, who also was a farmer by vocation. John C. Webb early
in life was a tiller of the soil, later followed the livery and horse business and
eventually became a veterinary surgeon. He was a man of excellent qualities
of character and was highly respected in the community. The subject of this
sketch received a good practical education in the public schools of Edinburg.
and his first independent labor on his own account was as clerk in a store dur-

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DAVID R. WEBB

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 677

ing the daytime and as assistant in Winterberg's ice cream parlors in the
evenings. Later he was appointed deputy postmaster of Edinburg under
Postmaster Matthew Duckworth, and at the expiration of his term in that
office he applied himself to the tinner's trade, at which he worked two years.
He then accepted employment as clerk in the hardware store of Christian C.
Forrer, and in 1877 he bought a half interest from his einployer and in 1885
obtained sole control of the business. He was prospered in this line and con-
tinued in this business until 1900, when he sold a half interest to Oscar Mutz,
and later sold his entire interest. He is the owner of the building in which
the store is located. In 1900 Mr. Webb bought a half interest in the Martin
Cutsinger grain elevator, in which he was interested for five years, at the end
of which period he disposed of his interest, and in November, 1905, he
bought the MuUoda Veneer Manufacturing Company. This company had
been organized and was owned by Roscoe Mutz, Andrew J. Loughery and C.
W. Davis, who were the pioneers in the veneer industry in Edinburg. To this
business Mr. Webb has given his careful attention and has built it up to very
large proportions, the sales being handled through the Walter Clark Veneer
Corr!pany, of Grand Rapids. Michigan. The plant is well equipped with the
latest improved machinery, calculated to produce the finest qualities of veneer
at a reasonable cost, and the produce of this factory has found ready sale
wherever offered. Mr. Webb has demonstraJe^JuiQ^slf to be a man of ex-
ceptional business ability and entefprl$?5L^&^<*2bKafiirofi^his energetic methods
he has accumulated a fair share ofl tki^J^:^^a^:|M^"f* ^s a private citizen he
takes a deep and abiding interest ip all phases of the coAimunity life affecting
the educational, moral, social or mate54aL,>*f«li£|Lr€':<)fe-ihe people, and his sup-
port is always given to such movement^- «lsf are' cofiducive to the greatest
public good. ._>-<.-•> • '

In 1876 Mr. Webb was united in marriage to Laura Alice Leggate, the
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Mullendore) Leggate, the former having
been an old settler of Shelby county, where he successfully followed farming
and stock raising. His death occurred in 1857. Mrs. Webb, who was born
on September 7, 1857, received a good practical education in the common
schools of her home neighborhood and is a lady of many gracious qualities
of head and heart, such as have commended her to the good will of all who
know her. To Mr. and Mrs. Webb have been born three children, namely :
Eva. the wife of Claude Maley, a successful lumber and hardware dealer at
Evansville, Indiana; Jessie, who married, but is now deceased, having died at
the age of twenty-six years ; Ruth, who married Percy R. Broadbeck. lives in
Edinburg.

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678 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Politically, the subject of this sketch gives his earnest support to the
Republican party and has always taken an intelligent interest in public affairs,
having served for several years as treasurer of Edinburg, giving eminent
satisfaction in the discharge of his duties. Fraternally, he has been a member
of the Knights of Pythias since 1877, while in the Masonic order he has at-
tained marked preferment, having attained all the degrees of the Scottish
Rite to the thirty-second. He is also a member of Murat Temple, Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine, at Indianapolis. Mr. Webb lives in a comfortable and
attractive home on East Main street, Edinburg, where the spirit of genuine
old-time hospitality is always in evidence, and because of his genial disposition
and manly qualities of character and his genuine worth he is held in the
highest esteem by all who know him.

CAMILUS B. COOK.

The success of men in business or any vocation depends upon character
as well as upon knowledge, it being a self-evident proposition that honesty is
the best policy. Business demands confidence and where that is lacking busi-
ness ends. In every community some men are known for their upright lives,
strong common sense and moral worth rather than for their wealth or political
standing. Their neighbors and acquaintances respect them, the young genera-
tions heed their examples, and when they *Svrap the drapery of their couches
about them and lie down to pleasant dreams'' posterity listens with reverence
to the story of their quiet and useful lives. Among such men of a past
generation in Indiana was the late Camilus B. Cook, who was not only a pro-
gressive man of affairs, successful in material pursuits, but a man of modest
and unassuming demeanor, well educated, a fine type of the reliable, self-
made American, a friend to the poor, charitable to the faults of his neighbors
and who always stood ready to unite with them in every good work and active
in the support of laudable public enterprises. He was proud of the grand
state of Indiana and zealous of its progress and prosperity. He was a man
who in every respect merited the high esteem in which he was universally
held, for he was a man of public spirit, intellectual attainments and exemplary
character.

C. B. Cook was a native son of the old Hoosier state, having been born
in Rush county on the 8th of October, 1833, and was a son of John T. and
Mary (Morris) Cook. The father, who was a native of Pennsylvania, came

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 679

to Indiana in an early day, settling first in Rush county, but later moving to
Huntington county, where his death occurred. He was a man of splendid
personal character and stood high in the communities where he lived. The
subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools and his
first active labors were devoted to the cultivation of the home farm. Later
he entered the grain business on his own account in Greenwood, Johnson
county, having located in Pleasant township forty-eight years ago and thirty-
eight years ago located in Greenwood. Besides being heavily interested in
the grain elevator business, he also dealt, earlier in life, very extensively in
live stock, buying and selling the stock, in all departments of which he was
prospered and realized splendid profits from his investments. He accumulated
one hundred acres of land near Greenwood and also had a splendid residence
in Greenwood where his widow now lives. He was a man of sterling qual-
ities of character, being known to his neighbors as an industrious, hardwork-
ing man of undoubted honesty and the highest moral integrity, whose success
in life was fully earned and deserved. He was essentially a man of affairs,
sound of judgment and far-seeing in what he undertook and he won and re-
tained the confidence and esteem of all classes. His career was rounded in
its beautiful simplicity, for he did his full duty in all the relations of life and
it is safe to say that no man in the county in which he lived enjoyed to a
greater extent the affection and confidence of the people with whom he associ-
ated than did Mr. Cook. Mr. Cook's death occurred on December 5, 1910,
and his passing away was considered a distinct loss to the community.

In 1864, Mr. Cook was united in marriage to Elizabeth Voris, the daugh-
ter of Abram and Sarah (Lyons) Voris. Both of these parents are now
deceased, the father having died in Franklin and the mother near Green-
wood. They were the parents of three children : Margaret, deceased, Eliza-
l)eth (Mrs. Cook) and William, deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Cook were bom
two children, Cora, the wife of David DeMotte, an elevator man, and they
have one child, Camilus Bowen; Nora became the wife of Charles White, a
successful hardware merchant in Greenwood.

Politically, Mr. Cook was a stanch Republican and took an active part
in political affairs, though not himself a seeker for public office. In the
religious life of the community he was prominent as a member of the Chris-
tian church, standing stanchly for all those things which go to elevate human-
ity and lead others to the better life. He took a deep interest in the large
affairs of the community and as vice-president of the Citizens Bank, which
office he held at the time of his death, he wielded a large influence in local
financial and commercial affairs.

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68o JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

MILFORD MOZINGO.

Among the representative farmers of Johnson county is the subject of
this sketch, who is the owner of a fine landed estate in Needham township
and is carrying on the various departments of his enterprise with that dis-
cretion and energy which are sure to find their natural sequence in definite
success, having always been a hard worker, a good manager and a man of
economical habits, afid, being fortunately situated in a thriving farming com-
munity, it is no wonder that he stands today in the front rank of the agri-
culturists of this favored locality.

Milford Mozingo, who has been eminently successful in the pursuit of
agriculture in Needham township, Johnson county, and who has attained to
a relative degree of prominence in his county by faithful public service, was
born near the banks of Sugar Creek, Needham county, on April i, 1852, and
is the son of Joseph Mozingo. The latter was born in Clark county, Indiana,
on March 17, 1820, and died on September 24, 1909. He was the son of John
Mozingo, a native of Virginia, who located in the state of Indiana in 1819,
his coming from the South being prompted by his opposition to slavery. In
1823 the family settled on Sugar creek in Johnson county, where Joseph
entered school in a log cabin and afterward in the town of Franklin. At that
time but little improvement had been made in this section of the country, wild
game being numerous and Indians still being occasionally seen. He was a
prominent and influential member of the Second Mt. Pleasant Baptist church
for three-quarters of a century, being frequently elected a delegate to church
meetings. In 1839 he married Julia Ann Owens, and they estaWished their
home on fifty-six acres of land in Needham township. They became the
parents of seven children, of whom three are living, namely: Mrs. William
Neal, of Blue River township, this county ; Mrs. Mary Yelton, of Franklin,
and Milford, the subject of this sketch. The mother of these children died
on July 5, 1888.

Milford Mozingo received his education in the common schools of Need-
ham township and remained with his father until attaining the age of twenty-
one years, when he rented land and farmed on his own account imtil 1896,
when he bought his present splendid farm in Needham township. To the
cultivation of this place he has assiduously devoted his attention and has made
many permanent and substantial improvements, which have added to the
value and utility of the farm. He carries on general farming, his entire tract
of nearly one hundred acres being in cultivation and all being very productive.

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MILPORD MOZINGO

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 68l

as may be noted from the following figures for 191 2: Twenty-five hundred
bushels of corn and six hundred bushels of oats, while there is yet twenty-
five acres or more in wheat and thirty-eight in corn. Seventy head of hogs
are fed annually and every detail of the farm work is under the personal
supervision of Mr. Mozingo, who is practical and systematic in all he does.
A comfortable and attractive brick residence, located on a commanding knoll
and surrounded by fine, large shade trees, is one of the notable features of this
farm.

Politically, Mr. Mozingo has been a lifelong Democrat, and has taken an
active part in the advancement of the interests of his party, having served as
a delegate to judicial, county and state conventions. In November, 1906,
Mr. Mozingo was elected a member of the board of county commissioners
and served two terms, a period of six years, to the eminent satisfaction of his
constituents. At the time of his election the county was in debt to the amount
of fifty thousand dollars, and had a high rate of taxation, while when he re-
tired from office the debt had been cancelled and the tax rate materially low-
ered. He was faithful in the discharge of his official duties, and when he
retired from office his admirers, to show their esteem for him, presented him
with a fine leather rocking chair. Religiously, JVIr.^Mozingo is a member of
the Second Mt. Pleasant Baptist churcH, ofKwftitly^^H^Ribeen a faithful mem-
ber for over forty years. His fraternaj ityfeyW98iiii^9ia'!gitT*?l^ Franklin lodge.
Free and Accepted Masons, and Frdnklin Commandery No. 23, Knights
Templar, as well as the Knights of Pyihiasj-A \-o>?3.; fi<m^. *

Mr. Mozingo has been twice married, 'i&s^WT^Fdncuary* 7, 1874, to Susie
J. Parkhurst, daughter of John M. Earktmiyt^^n^ .t6 th^m was born one
child, William V. Mrs. Susie J. Mozingo died in 1876, and on October 10,
1888, Mr. Mozingo married Abbie M. Powers, of Clark township, this
county, a daughter of John T. Powers.

Mr. Mozingo's early life story is not uncommon in our western history
and serves as an object lesson to those who would mount the ladder of suc-
cess. His beginning was characterized by hard work and conscientious en-
deavor, and he owes his rise to no train of fortunate incidents or fortuitous
circumstances. It is the reward of application of mental qualifications of a
high order to the affairs of business, the combining with keen perceptions of
mental activity that enabled him to grasp the opportunities that presented
themselves. This he did with success and, what is more important, with
honor. His integfrity has ever been 'unassailable, his honor unimpeachable,
and he stands now, as he has stood in the past, one of the successful men
and representative citizens of the day and generation.

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682 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

JAMES T. GILMORE.

He to whom this, sketch is dedicated is a member of one of the oldest and
most honored pioneer families in Johnson county, and there is particular inter-
est attached to a study of his life record, owing to the fact that he has forged
his way to the front by reason of an innate ability and personal characteristics
that seldom fail to win the goal sought.

James T. Gilmore, the efficient and popular clerk of the court of Johnson
county, Indiana, is a native of his county, having been born on October 30,
1863. His paternal grand father, Alexander Gilmore, was one of the honored
old pioneers of Johnson county, having in an early day settled in Union town-
ship where he entered government land, on w^hich he spent the rest of his
days. He was a native of Kentucky. The subject's parents, Cornelius and
Virginia (Deer) Gilmore, were both natives of Johnson county, where the
father followed the vocation of carpenter during his active life in Union
township, where he was born and reared. His death occurred on January
22, 1902. His widow' is now living in Union township at the advanced age
of seventy-six years. She was born in Johnson county and is the daughter
of Willis Deer, who in an early day entered one hundred and sixty acres of
government land, on which he lived until seventy-five years old, when he re-
tired to his present home in Boone county, this state, w-here his death occurred
at the advanced age of eighty-two years. To Cornelius and Virginia Gil-
more were born four children, namely: Susan, the wife of John F. Hender-
son, of White River township, this county: Belle, the wife of Frank Etter,
of Union township; Laura, the wife of James R. Blackwell, of Union town-
ship, and James T., the subject of this sketch.

James T. Gilmore, who was born on a farm and received his education
in the common schools of his neighborhood, began his independent career as
a clerk in a general store in Union township, in which employment he con-
tinued during the greater part of his life just prior to his election to the
office of county clerk, though he had devoted a few years to agricultural pur-
suits, in which he was eminently successful. In 1910, he was nominated on
the Democratic ticket for the office of county clerk and was elected in the
ensuing fall, assuming the duties of his office on January i, 191 2, for a four-
year term. Mr. Gilmore is a man of sagacity and good business ability,
elements which have contributed materially to his success in his official posi-
tion, and he is discharging his public duties to the honor and satisfaction of
all those who have dealings with the office. Genial and accommodating in

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 683

manner, he has made friends of all who have come in contact with him, and
no more popular official is in the Johnson county court house than he.

On November 22, 1891, Mr. Gilmore married America Brown, the
daughter of John J. Brown, of Union township, and they have become the
parents of five children, Bino, Harry, Frank, Helen and John.

Politically, Mr. Gilmore has, as before stated, given his support to the
Democratic party and has taken an acitve part in political campaigns in his
county. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, Im-
proved Order of Red Men and Knights of Pythias, while his religious affilia-
tions are with the Christian church, of which he is an earnest member and to
which he gives a liberal support. Mr. Gilmore is a busy man, but he finds
time and opportunity to take an interest in matters pertaining to the progress
and growth of his community and county, keeping abreast of the times on
all questions of vital interest and being regarded by all as a leading citizen in
the locality honored by his residence.

JOHN C. McCLAIN.

Practical industry, wisely and vigorously applied, never fails of success.
It carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual character and
acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results
in life are often attained by simple means and the erercise of the ordinary
qualities of common sense and perseverance. The everyday life, with its
cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring experi-
ence of the best kind and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with
abundant scope for effort and improvement. The fact having been recog-
nized early in life by the subject of this sketch, he has seized the small oppor-
tunities that he encountered on the rugged hill that leads to life's lofty sum-
mit where lies the ultimate goal of success, never attained by the weak, am-
bitionless and inactive. Mr. McClain is carrying on the various departments
of his enterprise in Johnson county, Indiana, with that discretion and energy
which are sure to find their natural sequence in definite success, and in such
a man there is particular satisfaction in offering in their life histories justifica-
tion for the compilation of works of this character — not necessarily that the
careers of men of Mr. McClain's type have been such as to gain them wide
reputation or the admiring plaudits of men, but they have been true to the

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684 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

trusts reposed in them^ihave shown such attributes of character as entitle them
to the regard of all and have been useful each in his respective sphere of action,
while at the same time he has won and retained the esteem of all with whom
he has come in contact as a result of his industrious and upright career.

John C. McQain was bom in Clark township, Johnson county, Indiana,
on August 25, 1870, and is a son of George W. and Anna (Billingsley) Mc-
Qain. The father was bom in this county in 1839, and his father, Moses,
who was from one of the Eastem states, came to this locality in an early day.
George W. McCIain was a farmer by vocation in Clark township, where he
still resides, and where he has achieved a splendid reputation as an upright
citizen and progressive man of affairs. To him and his wife were bom seven
children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first in order of birth,
the others being Mon L., Moses S., Samuel, Stella, Henry and Mary M.
George W. McClain is a Democrat in his political views, though he has never
held other than minor public offices.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools,
and his early active years were devoted to agricultural pursuits, to which he
applied himself vigorously for fifteen years. He then relinquished farm labor
and engaged in the grocery business at Greenwood for four years, at the end
of which time he sold out and engaged in the furniture business. In this he
was successful for nearly twelve years, but has lately disposed of this business
and expects to engage in the undertaking business in the near future. In all
of the various affairs with which he has been connected his career has been
characterized by sterling integrity, high business ability and an enterprise
which brooks no obstacle. He is made of the stuff that is bound to succeed
and undoubtedly he will continue as he is today numbered among Greenwood's
leading business men and enterprising citizens.

In 1897 Mr. McClain was married to Jessie E. Bishop, daughter of
William H. and Sarah (McAlister) Bishop, and to this union have been born
four children, namely: Maurine Fay, Lillian May, Sarah Anna and John
William.

Politically, Mr. McClain has given his support to the Democratic party,
and from 1906 until 19 10 he served efficiently as trustee of Pleasant town-
ship. During the same period he also served as treasurer of Greenwood,
performing the duties of this responsible office with entire satisfaction to his
fellow citizens. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic and Odd Fellow
orders, having membership in the local lodges at Greenwood. Mr. McClain
is regarded as one of the leading men of his community in every respect, being
public-spirited, honest and upright in all his dealings with the world, and win-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 685

ning and retaining friends wherever he goes. Mrs. McClair is also much ad-
mired by those who know her for her congeniality and various womanly
traits.

JOSEPH JOHNSON. '

It is proper to judge of the success and status of a man's life by the
estimation in which he is held by his fellow citizens. They see him at his
work, in his family circle, in his church, at his devotions, hear his views on
public questions, observe the outcome of his code of morals, witness how he
conducts himself in all the relations of society and civilization and thus be-
come competent to judge of his merits and demerits. After a long course
of years of such daily observation it would be out of the question for his
neighbors not to know his worth, because, as has been said, "Actions speak
louder than words.*' In this county there is nothing heard concerning the
subject of this sketch but good words. He has passed so many years here
that his worth is well known, but it will be of interest to run over the busy
events of his lifein these pages.

Joseph Johnson, who, for a number of years, has been successfully en-
gaged in the marble and monument business at Edinburg, Johnson county,
Indiana, is a native son of the old Buckeye state, having been born in Cler-
mont county, Ohio, on March 2, 1827. He is the son of Richard and Kazia
(Vonosdal) Johnson, the former of whom was a native of Virginia and who
followed the vocation of farming. He came to Ohio in an early day and his
death occurred in 1870. The subject of this sketch received his education in
the common schools of his native state and his first independent employment
was as a carpenter, which trade he had learned in his youth and which he
followed for a number of years. In 1855 he came to Edinburg, Johnson
county, Indiana, and engaged in the marble business, in which he has con-
tinued since and in which he uniformly met with splendid success. He has
erected a large number of the best and most expensive monuments in this
and surrounding counties, and no man in this line of business enjoys a wider
reputation in his line than he. He has a well equipped marble shop and his
own ideas are artistic in the highest degree, so that those who come to him
find in him a wise adviser and expert workman.

In 1870 Mr. Johnson was married to Margaret Parker, a daughter of
James Parker. Mrs. Johnson's death occurred on August 17, 1889. They
were the parents of the following children : William A., who is now a suc-

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686 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

cessful attorney of Franklin, this state; Jennie, who became the wife of
Capt. M. C. Badger, who is now deceased and she makes her home with the
subject of this sketch, and Maggie, the wife of Charles Bokenkrager, of Los
Angeles, California.

Politically, Mr. Johnson gives a stanch support to the Republican party,
and he takes a deep and intelligent interest in all public questions, though not
in any sense a seeker after public office. Religiously, he is a faithful and
earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which
he gives liberally of his time and means. Mr. Johnson can honestly claim all
the honor accorded him for what he has accomplished, for he started in life
with practically nothing, but is now one of the substantial men of his com-
munity as a result of his close application to business and his persistency.
He is well know-n throughout the county and has a host of warm friends
here, for his life has been honorable in every respect. He is entitled to
special distinction because of the fact that he is the oldest Mason, the oldest
Methodist and the oldest Republican in this county, and helped to organize the
Republican party.

SAMUEL DEITCH.

In the early days the Middle West was often a tempting field to ener-
getic, ambitious, strong-minded men, and Indiana was filled with them during
the time she was struggling up to a respectable position in the sisterhood of
states. There was a fascination in the broad field and great promise whicb
this newer region presented to activity that attracted many men and induced
them to brave the discomforts of the early life here for the pleasure and grati-
fication of constructing their fortunes in their own way and after fheir own
methods. It is this class of men more than any other who give shape, direc-
tion and character to the business of a community. The late Samuel Deitch,
for a long lapse of years one of the most substantial and prominent citizens of
Johnson county, became identified with the commerce of this favored section
of the country at an early date, and from the first wielded a potent influence
in local commercial circles. He gave to the world the best of an essentially
virile, loyal and noble nature and his standard of honor was absolutely in-
flexible. He was a citizen of high civic ideals, and ever manifested his lib-
erality in connection with measures and enterprises tending to advance the
general welfare of the community honored by his residence. He was the
architect of his own fortune and upon his career there rests no blemish, for he

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 687

was true to the highest ideals and principles in business, civic and social life.
He lived and labored to worthy ends and as one of the sterling citizens and
representative men of his locality in a past generation his memory merits a
tribute of honor on the pages of history.

Samuel Deitch was born in October, 1811, in the province of Alsace,
which at that time was a part of France, but now belongs to Germany. He
secured his education in Paris, France, and in 1847 decided to emigrate to the
United States. The tiresome ocean voyage, which was made in an old-fash-
ioned sailing ship, required eleven weeks, and immediately after reaching this
country he came to Franklin, Johnson county, Indiana. At that time his cash
capital amounted to but eighty dollars, but he possessed a large stock of energy
and ambition and looked about at once for a favorable opportunity to get a
start. His first venture was in the mercantile business, having opened a small
general store at Waverly, Morgan county. About a year later he moved to
Williamsburg, now known as Nineveh, Johnson county, where he conducted
a store with considerable success until 1857, when he disposed of his business
and came to Franklin, where he lived until his death, which occurred on May
29, 1882. Measured by the true standard of excellence, Mr. Deitch was an
honorable, upright, courteous gentleman, true to himself and to others, and
his influence was always potent for good. He gave close attention to his busi-
ness affairs and amassed a sufficient amount of this world's goods to make his
later years comfortable and free from embarrassment. He was a man of
broad human sympathies, an element of his character that was specially em-
phasized at the time of his burial by the following words uttered by Rev. J.
W. Duncan, who knew him well: "From all that I can gather of his life
(and all who know him well will bear me out in the remark), he was a man
whose sympathies were easily reached. He could scarcely endure to see any
one suffer, and when he did the falling tears said, *I would relieve you if it
were within my power.* When he entered the home of the poor and found
them in distress, no time was lost until he had relieved that distress. The
citizens of Franklin will recall his interest in the stricken people of Chicago a
few years ago, and when a subscription was made for their relief, no one gave
more than the deceased. He that said years ago, 'If ye shall give a cup of
cold water in my name it shall be remembered,' will not forget the charities
of our deceased fellow man. In his business life, which was very successful,
he was particular and prompt. Carrying out his own promises to the letter,
he looked for the same promptness and fidelity from others. The unanimous
expression of the business men of Franklin toward the deceased was that of
commendation and approval.**

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688 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

On March 3, 1850, he was united in marriage to Caroline Lowe, who was
born in Johnson county, Indiana, on October 21, 1829, the eldest daughter of
Thomas and Sarah Lowe, who had come to Johnson county when it was prac-
tically a wilderness. She was a granddaughter of Jacob Whetzel, who was a
prominent figure in the opening and development of this locality. He came to
this county in 1819, cutting his way through the forests until he reached a
point on White river where Waverly is now situated, and for a long time the
"Whetzel trail" was well known to the settlers in this county. To Mr. and
Mrs. Deitch was bom one daughter, Sarah, who became the wife of William
F. Sibert, a prominent and wpll known citizen of Franklin, now deceased, and
who is referred to elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Deitch was a woman of ex-
alted character and enjoyed to a notable degree the love of those who knew
her. Though not a member, she was an adherent of the Methodist Episcopal
church, to which she gave liberally of her means. Many of her liberal deeds
are remembered, among these being the gift, by herself and her daughter, to
the Methodist church of the parsonage, and, later, the payment of the Baptist
church indebtedness. In the words of one who knew her, '*Her religion was
one of deeds, not words. Her principles were coin that passed current at the
court of heaven. She did not wait for the needy to come to her, but, like the
true Samaritan that she was, she sought them out. The world will never know
the loving deeds of this good woman." Though a wife, mother and home-
maker first of all, she had not confined her work to the boimdaries of her
home, but had found the opportunity and inclination to extend her field of
usefulness into the world around her, and had become an integral part of the
best things that make up the whole of the community life.

WILLIAM B. JENNINGS.

It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an emi-
nently active and busy life and who has attained a position of relative dis-
tinction in the community with which his interests are allied. But biography
finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording
of such a life history. It is, then, with a full appreciation of all that is de-
manded and of the painstaking scrutiny that must be accorded each statement,
and yet with a feeling of satisfaction, that the writer essays the task of touch-
ing briefly upon the details of such a record as has been that of the honored
subject whose life now comes under review.

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WILLIAM B. JENNINGS

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• JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 689

William B. Jennings, who in many respects is one of the most prominent
citizens of Johnson county, Indiana, was born January 4, 1852, on a farm
in White River township. He is the son of Wilham H. and Margaret J.
(Lyons) Jennings. Tlie father, who was born in Mercer county, Kentucky,
in 1818, died January 30, 1873. He was the son of Thompson Jennings,
who was born and reared irj Kentucky, and he came to Johnson county with
his father in the early thirties, spending his first night in Pleasant township,
where they sjept in a barn. The father eventually filed on land in White
River township and became a successful and influential citizen of this locality.
In 1846 he was elected sheriff of Johnson county and was re-elected to the
position in 1848. In 1850 he was elected county treasurer and two years
later was elected to succeed himself. He w^as then appointed to fill a vacancy
as state senator from Johnson and Morgan counties, and was eventually
elected mayor of the city of Franklin, this fact being noteworthy from the
fact that he was a leading Democrat of his community, and at the time of his
election the city of Franklin was Republican by an ordinary safe majority.
He was serving as mayor of the city at the time of his death, having been
re-elected. His record was one of which his descendants may justifiably be
proud, for his political career was marked by a faithful performance of every
duty and an intelligent interest in the welfare of his fellow citizens. The
subject's mother, who died in April, 1907, at the age of eighty- four years,
w^as a native of Johnson county, IfidiaSi?^.fir^;^*^|^^*$r of Robert Lyons,
one of the early pioneer settlers of Wtjite^^ifBf tt^^^nij; his estate adjoining
the Jennings estate. Mr. and Mrs. |ennings were the patients of five children,
namely: William Byron; Laura I^., j^y^e \j;i^|j^pf^g^miindson Cutsinger, of
Franklin, who died October 25, i90^r.Robci!t:iJ\v4fti«:^lied in infancy; Harry
v., deceased, and Emil H., who ijcoirnected \yith^the Merchants National
Bank of Indianapolis.

The subject of this sketch received his elementary education in the Frank-
lin public schools, after which he was a student in Franklin College, and later
attended Hanover College about one and one-half years. In 1873 Mr. Jen-
nings was appointed deputy .auditor under E. Newt Woolen, in which posi-
tion he served a year and then became deputy auditor under William K.
Sproule in Marion county, under whom he served four years. In 1878 he
was elected auditor of Johnson county, assuming the duties of his office in
November, 1879, and in 1882 he was re-elected to that position. In 1896
he was elected county treasurf^f, and so satisfactory was the performance of
his duties that he was re-elected to that position in 1898, having no opposition
at either election. He had d ?monstrat€d in an unmistakable manner his emi-

(44)

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690 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

nent ability and efficiency in the performance of public duties, so in Novem-
ber, 1907, he was again elected auditor of Johnson county. Upon the termi-
nation of his official term in 191 2 Mr. Jennings moved to his farm, to the
cultivation and improvement of which he has devoted his undivided attention.
He is the owner of two hundred and sixty acres of fine land on the state road
in Blue River township, and he maintains the place at the highest standard of
agricultural excellence, it being known as one of the best farms in the locality.

Politically, Mr. Jennings has always given his earnest support to the
Democratic party and has taken active and appreciative interest in local polit-
ical affairs. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
while his wife and daughter belong to the Christian church. Fraternally, he
is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to the several bodies
of this order, including that of Knights Templar at Franklin.

On December 10, 1895, William B. Jennings was united in marriage to
Claudia B. Cutsinger, the daughter of Edmondson Cutsinger, whose wife's
maiden name was Carroll. After the death of Edmondson Cutsinger
Mr. Jennings was appointed administrator of his estate. To the subject
and his wife has been born one daughter, Clara Margaret, whose birth oc-
curred on September 20, 1896, who has received a good musical education
and is a student in the Franklin high school. Personally, Mr. Jennings is a
pleasant man to know, hospitable in his home, straightforward and courteous
in his business transactions, and a man in whom all who have occasion to
know him repose the utmost confidence.

GEORGE W. WYRICK.

George W. Wyrick, a well-known citizen of Franklin, is descended from
sterling old German ancestry, his progenitors having emigrated from the
fatherland first to Pennsylvania, from which state they moved to Virginia,
and thence to Indiana, where the family has been established for many years.
The subject's paternal grandfather, Nicholas Wyrick, first settled in this
county west of Providence, in Union township, where he created a farm and
established his permanent home. He married a Miss I^onard, and to their
union were born the following children: Eli, Andrew, Hiram, Arch, Jacob,
Henry A.. Ephraim W. and two daughters, Diana Grose and Mrs. Betsey
Henderson.

The subject's father, Ephraim W. Wyrick, was born in Wytheville,
Wythe county, Virginia, on June 15, 1829, and was but six months old when

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 69I

his parents brought their family to the Hoosier state. In his young manhood
he was a carpenter, but later also followed agricultural pursuits. As a
carpenter he was a good workman, and a few of his buildings are still stand-
ing practically just as he built them. He farmed in White River township,
and during the sixties he served as trustee of that township. He was a strong
Democrat in his political faith and an earnest worker for his party. Religious-
ly, he was affiliated with the Christian church, of which he was an elder at
the time of his death, which occurred on January 22, 1902. He married, on
October 17, 1850, Elizabeth L. Garshwiler, who was born in 1832 in Union
township, Johnson county, Indiana, and whose death occurred on the 20th
of August, 1905. They became the parents of two children, the subject of
this sketch and Mrs. C. M. McCool, of Franklin.

George W. Wyrick was born in Union township, Johnson county, Indi-
ana, on July 7, 1 85 1, and spent his early childhood on the home farm. His
educational training was secured in the public schools of his home neighbor-
hood. On August 29, 1889, M^- Wyrick left the farm and removed to
Franklin, where he engaged in the grocery business for eleven years. In the
fall of 1904 Mr. Wyrick was elected to the office of county treasurer, assum-
ing the duties of that office on January ist following and served the full term
of four years. In the discharge of his public duties he exercised the same
careful and painstaking care over every detail and his administration of the
county's finances was eminently satisfactory to his fellow citizens. Since
retiring from the treasurer's office, Mr. Wyrick has occupied himself in look-
ing after his farming interests, otherwise being practically retired from active
affairs. His business career was characterized by sagacity and shrewdness
m judgment, promptness in execution and strict integrity, so that he has ever
enjoyed to a notable degree the confidence and good will of all with whom he
has had dealings.

On the 17th of October, 1872, Mr. Wyrick was married to Serena C.
Tresslar, who was born on September 21, 1852, the daughter of Valentine
M. Tresslar, an early settler and well-known citizen of Johnson county. To
this union have been born the following children : Mary Cecil, born August
9, 1873, died September 4, 1873; Adda M., bom January 27, 1875, is a suc-
cessful teacher in the Woodruff school, at Indianapolis; Amador T., born
September 19, 1879, is a partner in the dry goods firm of M. J. Voris & Com-
pany, at Franklin.

Politically, Mr. Wyrick has been a life-long supporter of the Democratic
party and has been active in its campaign. His religious membership is with
the Christian church, of which he is a trustee and deacon.

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69^ JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

SQUIRE H. McCLAIN.

The subject of this sketch is one of those strong, self-reliant and deter-
mined characters who are occasionally met with and who are of such a dis-
tinct type as to seem to be born leaders of their fellow men. Not that Mr.
McCIain courts that distinction, for he is entirely unassuming, but his great
force of character and his zeal and energy in whatever he undertakes natu-
rally place him at the head of the crowd, and he has been a potent factor in
the development of Johnson county, where he has long maintained his home
and where he is well known to all classes for his honorable and industrious
life, in both private and public.

Squire H. McClain, one of the most prominent farmers of Needham
township, Johnson county, Indiana, was born on August 23, i860, in Iowa,
and is a son of Alexander McClain, who was born in August, 1835, and died
in April, 1910. His mother, Mary Jane (Hendricks) McClain, was a daugh-
ter of Landon N. Hendricks, an early settler of this section of Indiana. Alex-
ander McClain, who was a native of Marion county, Indiana, settled in Iowa,
but after one year's residence there became dissatisfied and returned to John-
son county, Indiana, in October, i860, settling on the farm where the subject
of this sketch now lives, and there he made his home until his death. He
was successful in life, accruing two hundred and forty acres of fine land, and
was highly respected in the community where he Hved. He was the son of
John McClain, of Kentucky. During the latter years of his life he retired to
the city of Franklin and the subject of this sketch took charge of the farm.
To Alexander and Mary Jane McClain were born six children, namely:
Jasper, deceased; S. H., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Emma Brockman.
William, Mrs. Laura Adams, and John, deceased.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools
of the community where he now lives and was reared to the life of a farmer,
a vocation which he has never forsaken. He inherited part of his farm at
his father's death and later bought out the interests of the other heirs in the
homestead, so that he is now the owner of one hundred and thirty acres of
splendid land, forty-two acres of which are planted to wheat, sixty acres to
corn and twenty-seven acres to clover. He has the reputation of being one
of the best raisers of wheat in Johnson county, his yield this year averaging
from thirty-five to forty bushels to the acre. He is also interested to some
extent in the breeding and raising of live stock, having sold nineteen cattle
in 1912.

In 1887 S. H. McClain was married to Elva Tilson, the daughter of

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SQUIRE H. McCLAIN

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 693

James Tilson, and to them have been born five children, namely: Delta, a
graduate of Franklin College ; Mary and Marie, both graduates of the Frank-
lin high ^school and now students in Franklin College ; Oake, who is at home
and is a student in the college, and Lyman, twelve years of age.

Politically, Mr. McClain is an ardent supporter of the Progressive party,
while his church relations are with the Methodist Episcopal church at Frank-
lin. Mr. McClain has, by his indomitable enterprise and progressive methods,
contributed in a material way to the advancement of his locality, and during
the course of an honorable career has been highly successful in his business
enterprises, having been a man of energy, sound judgment and honesty of
purpose, and is thus well deserving of mention in this volume.

WILLIAM F. SIBERT.

To attain a worthy citizenship by a life that is always honored and re-
spected even from childhood deserves more than mere mention. One may
take his place in public life through some vigorous stroke of public policy,
and even remain in the hearts of friends and neighbors, but to take the same
position by dint of the practice^ji^.an.iipgight Uf^i-and without a craving for
exaltation and popularity, is wbrth^^^? m^ fil§TOSt araise and commendation.
The late William Frank SiberiL 61^ ftf^tfie- sutxif^if Jil business men and pub-
lic-spirited citizens of Frankli^, Indiana, who depai;|ed this life on April 10,
1912, who was well known th^ ^u^W^Ofift' ?fi^^ was a man respected

and honored, not because of tne' vigorous traiHjPg 9f his special talents, but
because of his daily life, each ^ay "hafVI'iT^^'^^fflnSffiS' that was above criticism
and passed upon in the light of real, true manhood. Strong and forceful in
his relations with his fellow men, he not only made his presence felt, but also
gained the good will and commendation of both his associates and the general
public, ever retaining his reputation among men for integrity and high char-
acter, no matter how trying the circumstances, and never losing that dignity
which is the birthright of a gentleman. Consequently his influence for good
in the general life of his community was most potent, and he will long be
sadly missed from the various circles in which he moved and over which his
influence was like sunshine on a field of ripened wheat.

William F. Sibert was a native and lifelong resident of Johnson county,
Indiana, having been bom at Franklin, on May 5, 1857, and was the son of

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694 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Henry and Minerva C. (Shaffer) Sibert. He secured his educational train-
ing in the pubHc schools of Franklin, after which he qualified himself as a
bookkeeper. His first employment was in the flouring mill of Baldwin &
Payne, and he later continued with Payne, Johnson & Company, as book-
keeper, in which line he was an expert. He believed thoroughly and abso-
lutely in doing well whatever he undertook and he at all times enjoyed the
confidence of those with whom he was associated. He possessed a rare equa-
nimity of temper and a kindness of heart, which won for him sincere regard
among all who knew him. His nature was genial and social and his manners
courteous and attractive. His mind was rich in the fruits of a life of reading
and observation. He had no personal enemies and provoked no one to enmity,
for the simplicity and cordiality of his nature and manners invited friendship
and forbade enmity. His personal character was above reproach. He was a
hospitable man and cordially responsive to all social claims, his home being
well equipped and attractive to all whom he numbered among his list of
friends. The death of such a man is a great loss to any community, and not
alone his personal associates, but the people of the city, felt a sense of per-
sonal bereavement in his loss. Mr. Sibert had been in ill health for some
time prior to his death, though able to attend to his business interests. For
several years Mr. and Mrs. Sibert had spent the winter months at Deland,
Florida, and had been back at his home in Franklin but a few days when the
summons came which called him to a higher life.

Fraternally, Mr. Sibert was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons,
in which he had attained to the Knight Templar degree, and in the Knights
of Pythias he was affiliated with the Uniform Rank. Religiously, he was
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in his daily life he was an
exemplar of that religion which he professed. A busy man, Mr. Sibert never
took a very active part in political affairs, though in 1894 he was nominated
on the Republican ticket for the office of city treasurer, to which he was
elected and the duties of which responsible position he discharged for eight
years to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens.

On October 2, 1901, Mr. Sibert was united in marriage to Sarah C.
Deitch, the daughter of Samuel and Caroline Deitch, a union which was more
than ordinarily congenial. Personal reference is made to Mr. and Mrs. Deitch
elsewhere in this work. As a Christian citizen Mr. Sibert wielded a potent
influence in the community, and as a public-spirited citizen he gave his earn-
est support to every movement for the advancement of the general welfare.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 695

OZAIS E. VANDIVIER.

Johnson county is indebted, perhaps, to the Vandivier family more than
to any other for its wondrous transformation to one of the choicest sections of
the Hoosier state, for members of this family have been leaders in agricul-
tural, industrial and civic affairs since the early days. Each, with a fidelity to
duty and a persistency of purpose peculiar to that class of men who take the
lead in large affairs, has performed well his duty in all the relations of life,
and while advancing their own interests they have not been unmindful of the
general welfare of their fellow citizens. Thus they rightfully deserve an
honored place in the history of this locality.

Ozais E. Vandivier, who is discharging in a satisfactory manner the re-
sponsible duties of sheriff of Johnson county, was born in Union township,
this county, on April 13, 1867. He is the son of Jefferson and Lucinda (Ca-
nary) Vandivier, the former a native of this county and the latter bom in
Kentucky. Jefferson Vandivier has been a farmer all his life and has taken
an active interest in public affairs, having served as trustee of Union township
for four years from 1882 until 1886. The subject's paternal grandfather,
Peter Vandivier, who was a native of Pennsylvania, moved from that state
to Kentucky and later to Johnson county, Indiana, where he settled on a farm
about eight miles west of Franklin, where he spent the rest of his days. He
married in Pennsylvania and reared a family of thirteen children. His son»
Jefferson, father of the subject, had twelve children, nine of whom are living,,
namely: Almira, the wife of T. L. Banta, of Union township; Minerva, the
wife of P. S. Hamilton, also of Union township; Rosa, wife of William
Garshwiler, late of Union township ; Mayo, deceased, late of Greenwood, who
married Alice Thompson, of Hensley township; D. M., of Marion county,
Indiana, married first Emma Hamilton, now deceased, his second wife bear-
ing the given name of Ida; the next in order of birth is the subject of this
sketch; Henry R., a successful physician, married Emma Lang, of Hensley
township, and lives in Clay City, Indiana; Strauther E. married first Anna
Parsley, now deceased, and then Dora Jenson, and lives in Franklin, follow-
ing the duties of deputy sheriff; Emma, the wife of M. S. Slack, of Hensley
township, but who lives in Franklin; Susan I., the deceased wife of Peter
Taylor, of Union township, and Harriett H., who is unmarried and remains
at the paternal homestead in Union township.

The subject of this sketch spent his early years on the home farm and
received his education in the country schools of the neighborhood. He was

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696 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

inducted into the mysteries of successful agriculture, and to that vocation de-
voted his energies until he was twenty-five years of age, when, in 1892, he
removed to Franklin, where he followed the trade of a plasterer. On Jan-
uary I, 191 1, having been elected to the office of sheriff of Johnson county,
he relinquished his former labors and entered upon the discharge of his offi-
cial duties. It is noteworthy that although he belonged to one of the most
numerous families in Johnson county he is the first Vandivier ever elected to
public office, as the members of the family have invariably been content to ap-
ply their energies to the discharge of their private affairs and have had no am-
bition for public distinction or preferment. Mr. Vandivier has proved him-
self the right man in the right place and has given to the administration of the
affairs of his office his paintaking and thorough supervision, so that he has
proved the wisdom of those who elected him.

In 1889 Mr. Vandivier was united in marriage to Janie Merriman, a
daughter of James F. and Lanie Merriman, of Hensley towqship, this county,
and to them have been born five children, namely: Lawrence, Laurel, Ree,
deceased, and Veta and Velma, twins.

Fraternally, Mr. Vandivier is a member of the Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Improved Order of Red Men, Mod-
ern Woodmen of America and Haymakers, as well as the encampment of
Patriarchs Militant. In the workings of these various orders Mr. Vandivier
takes a live interest, and in all the affairs of the community affecting the edu-
cational, social, moral or material welfare of the people, he is a factor of in-
fluence, for he is a warm supporter of all movements for the upbuilding of his
fellow citizens. Genial and unassuming in manner, he easily makes friends
and throughout Johnson county, where he is well known, his friends are in
number as his acquaintances.

JAMES A. FENDLEY.

The gentleman whose name heads this paragraph is widely known in
Johnson county and is one of the honored citizens of White River township,
where he is living in honorable retirement after a strenuous life of activity
in connection with agricultural pursuits. 'His well directed efforts in the
practical affairs of life,. his capable management of his business interests and
his sound judgment have brought to him prosperity, and his life demonstrates
what may be accomplished by any man of energy and ambition who is not

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 697

afraid to work and has the perseverance to continue his labors in the face of
any disaster or discouragement that may arise. In all the relations of life
Mr. Fendley has commanded the confidence and respect of those with whom he
has been brought into contact and a biographical history of this locality would
not be complete without a record of his career.

James A. Fendley, who, though he is now retired from active labor, is
the owner of one hundred and ninety-four acres of splendid land in White
River township, Johnson county, is a native son of the old Hoosier state, hav-
ing been born in Parke county, on February i, 1836. His parents, Silas A.
and Melinda (Ragsdale) Fendley, were both natives of Kentucky, the father
having come to Montgomery county in a very early day, later moved to Parke
county, and there made his permanent home. He was the father of eleven
children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only survivor. James A.
Fendley received his elementary education in the common schools of Mont-
gomery county, which he has liberally supplemented during the ensuing years
by much reading and close observation of men and events. He was reared
to the vocation of agriculture, which he has made his life work, and on attain-
ing mature years he took up farming in Montgomery county, subsequently
going to Vermillion county and still later to Illinois, where he remained about
four years. On December 2C^ iSfeg^-V^T-^-i^gT^ey c^ to Johnson county
and located on his present f arm\iii /^J\i^||rte iyy^Tr-'ipwnship, to the cultivation
and improvement of which he .devoted his attention lassiduously for a number
of ;^ears, achieving a success \f hiolpt.eyeptjialljr. epabljed him to retire from ac-
tive labors and he is now enjoying'^ 4he>&iaits.Q'f:l^s former years of effort.
The farm, which comprises orie..h;iidK4.iy}d, ninety}- four acres of land, is the
equal of any in the locality for productivity and for the state of its improve-
ments, for Mr. Fendley, during his active years, gave every department of
the farm work his personal attention, allowing nothing to fail through neglect
of his and giving intelligent direction to the rotation of crops and other
features of successful farming. ^

On October 26, i860, the subject of this sketch was united in marriage
with Mary Ellen Bristow, the daughter of Evans and Susan (Sells) Bristow,
both of whom were natives of the state of Virginia, and came to Indiana
in an early day, settling in Marion county. To Mr. and Mrs. Fendley were
born nine children : Laura, defeased ; Emma, Jennie, Ella, William, Minnie,
Austin, May and Nellie.

Mr. Fendley has for many years taken an active interest in public affairs,
giving his support to the Democratic party. His fellow citizens, recognizing
his ability, elected him to serve in several public offices, in all of which he

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698 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

discharged his official duties to the eminent satisfaction of his constituents.
He was county commissioner three years, county ditch commissioner four
years and supervisor of his township one term. Fraternally, he is a member
of the Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to the local lodge of Green-
wood, while his religious membership is with the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Fendley has ever enjoyed the esteem and respect of those who know him
for his friendly manner, his business ability, his interest in public affairs and
upright living, and he is regarded by all as one of the substantial and worthy
citizens of the community in which he lives. *

JOHN H. WOOLEY.

The true measure of individual success is determined by what one has
accomplished. An enumeration of those men who have succeeded in their spe-
cial vocations in Johnson county, and at the same time are impressing their
personalities on the community, men who are conferring honor on the locality
in which they reside, would be incomplete were there failure to make specific
mention of the gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph, for he is an
important factor in the business life of his community. The splendid success
which has come to him has been the direct result of the salient points in his
character, for, with a mind capable of laying judicious plans and a will strong
enough to carry them into execution, his energy, foresight and perseverance
have carried him forward to a position in the front rank of the successful men
of his community. He has carried forward to successful completion whatever
he has undertaken, and his business methods have ever been in strict con-
formity with the standard ethics of commercial life. He has taken an in-
telligent interest in the civic life of the community and has earned the high
regard in which he is held by all who know him.

John H. Wooley was born in Marion county, Kentucky, on November
28, 1842, and is the son of Zachariah and Burnetta (Burnett) Wooley. His
parents, who were both natives of Kentucky, moved to Johnson county, In-
diana, in the spring of 1846, locating on the Madison state road, about three
miles south of Franklin, and the father's death occurred in the fall of that
same year. He was a farmer by vocation and was a man of high character.
His widow survived him many years, dying about twenty years ago. They
were the parents of six children, namely: Jane, deceased; Frances, who is
the widow of John Harris, resides in Bloomfield, Indiana ; Sarah is the widow

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 699

of Henry T. Neal and also lives in Bloomfield; the subject of this sketch is
next in order of birth; Robert, who died about twenty-five years ago; Joseph,
who died in Dayton, Ohio, in February, 19 12.

John H. Wooley received his education in the schools of his day, and in
1858 his mother removed to Clay county, Indiana, where the family located
on a farm. At the outbreak of the Civil war, in 1861, Mt. Wooley enlisted
as a private in the Forty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with
which command he participated in many of the most noted battles of that
great conflict. He served valiantly and faithfully nearly four years, being
mustered out in 1865. The following year he spent in Greene county, Indiana,
and then, in 1866, he returned to Johnson county, and has been here since. He
first located on a farm about five miles south of Franklin, to the operation of
which he gave his attention until 1884, when he removed to Franklin and
engaged in carpenter work and contracting, in which he had to some extent
engaged before. In 1896 he engaged in the livery business, but in 1900 he
sold out and went into the lumber and mill business, in which he has remained
actively interested to the present time. The business is incorporated under
the name of the Franklin Lumber Company, though the stock is practically
all owned by Mr. Wooley and his son Otis. They carry a large and com-
plete line of all kinds of lumber and building supplies and also do a vast
amount of mill work, for which they are well equipped, and they have always
enjoyed their full share of the public patronage in their line.

Mr. Wooley has been twice married, first, in 1867, to Amanda Cox, a
native of Johnson county, to which union six children were born, namely:
Anna, Bertha, Burnetta, Jessie and Earl, all deceased, and Otis, who is asso-
ciated with his father in business. Mrs. Amanda Wooley died in 1885 and
in 1888 he was married to Thurza Dobbins, a native of this county, who is
still living.

In the public life of the community Mr. Wooley has taken a prominent
part for many years. While a resident of Blue River township he served four
years as justice of the peace, and also served four years as a member of the
Franklin city council. He is a stanch supporter of the Republican party.
Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which so-
ciety he has served as trustee for many years. Fraternally, he is a member
of the Masonic order, belonging to blue lodge, chapter and commandery. He
is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. In every avenue of
life's activities in which he has engaged he has performed his full part and he
now enjoys the fullest measure of public confidence and regard.

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700 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

W. W. AIKENS.

Johnson county has been fortunate in the number and character of its
newspapers, those advance agents of civilization and indispensable aids to so-
cial and industrial development. The county newspaper is recognized as an
institution and no other agency does so much for the development of a com-
munity. Some grow tired, others weary of the march and fall out, but county
newspapers w^ork all the time. On those industrious and often self-sacrificing
instrumentalities of progress, the people rely for news, advice and advocacy;
the newspaper is expected to do for nothing what all others charge for doing.
It contributes both financially and intellectually far beyond any other agency
engaged in developing and upbuilding. Its work is unselfish, as the editor
usually profits little, while making fame and fortune for others.

W. W. Aikens was bom on October i8, i860, at Newark, Ohio, and is
indebted to the common schools of his native city for his education. At the
age of fourteen years he entered the office of the Newark Advocate to learn
the printing trade. He was employed there until about 1882, when he started
out in life on his own account and through the Western states he was employed
in a number of printing offices. In the fall of 1884 Mr. Aikens came to Frank-
lin, and secured employment here as a general printer. On July 14, 1885, Re-
lieving that this field oflFered a splendid opportunity for a daily newspaper,
he started the Evening Star, which is said to be the oldest one-cent newspaper
in Indiana which has never changed its price. The paper met with instantan-
eous success and its support was so hearty and continuous that Mr. Aikens has
been compelled several times to enlarge its size. He is a natural-born news-
paper man, having keen instinct for the right sort of news and ^ forceful and
trenchant pen with which he comments on the current events of the day in an
interesting and pleasing style, so that his paper is a welcome guest in every
home into which it enters. In the strictest sense of the term Mr. Aikens is a
self-made man, and by strict business methods and definite convictions on
questions of the day he has made his business pay and his paper an influential
factor in the community. Personally, he is a man who makes friends and
retains them and enjoys a large following of admiring acquaintances. He has
erected a substantial brick building as a home for the Star, and has equipped
his office with a linotype machine and electrical service throughout, owning
his own electric plant. In connection with the Star, Mr. Aikens established
in 1890 the Peo pie's Paper, which, while still published from his office, is now
under different management. The Evening Star is non-partisan in politics

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 7OI

and consistently and warmly supports every movement for the upbuilding and
progress of the community or the welfare of the people along moral, educa-
tional or social lines.- Through the columns of his paper Mr. Aikens has
through the years wielded a definite influence in the community and is num-
bered among Johnson county's public-spirited and progressive men of affairs.
Early in his career here it was his fortune to inspire confidence in his honesty
and capacity, a confidence which has been abundantly justified by his record
since becoming identified with this community.

On November 29, 1883, Mr. Aikens was married to Louisa B. Ackcrman,
of Newark, Ohio, to which union were born three children, of whom Mary
and Jamie are deceased, w^hile Esther L. is a graduate of the Franklin high
school and Franklin College and is a member of the Pi Beta Phi fraternity.
Mr. Aikens and his family are members of the Presbyterian church, of which
Mr. Aikens is a trustee. In fraternal matters he takes a deep interest and in
the Masonic fraternity he belongs to the blue lodge, the chapter of Royal Arch
Masons, the council of Royal and Select Masters, the commandery of Knights
Templar of Frankfort, and Murat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of
Indianapolis. He also belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees, in which he
is keeper of records and finance, the Court of Honor, the Knights of Pythias,
the Improved Order of Red Men and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, in which
he is trustee. Politically, he is a Democrat, and has served as a member of
the school board with efficiency and satisfaction, being a member of the board
when the present high school building was erepted. He has faithfully per-
formed his part in every avenue of life*s activities, and the honor and esteem in
which he is held by all who have come into contact with him, whether in a
business, public or social way, is but a just tribute to his worth.

ROBERT M. MILLER.

No compendium such as the province of this work defines in its essen-
tial limitations will serve to offer a fit testimonial to the life and accomplish-
ments of Robert M. Miller, who for a long lapse of years has been one of the
best known legal lights in central Indiana — a man notable for the breadth of
his wisdom, his indomitable perseverance, his strong individuality, and yet
one whose entire life has not one esoteric phase, being able to bear the closest
scrunity. True, his have been ^'massive deeds and great" in one sense, and
yet his entire accomplishment but represents the result of the fit utilization of

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702 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the innate talent which is his and the directing of his eflforts along those lines
where mature judgment and rare discrimination have led the way. There
is in Mr. Miller a weight of character, a native sagacity, a far-seeing judg-
ment and a fidelity of purpose that has commanded the respect of all, and
today he stands in the very front rank of his profession in Indiana.

Robert M. Miller is the son of George and Margaret J. Miller, to whom
were born six sons, three of whom died before attaining their majority,
the other survivors being Judge John D. Miller, of Greensburg, Decatur
county, Indiana, and E. C. Miller, vice-president of the Franklin National
Bank, Franklin, Indiana. Robert M. Miller first saw the light of day on the
paternal farmstead in Fugit township, Decatur county, Indiana, on the 14th
of April, 1845, and he remained there until i860, when, his father having
died, the widowed mother removed with her boys to Hanover, Indiana, in
order to give them the advantage of the excellent college at that place. Mr.
Miller had received the educational training of the public schools and in 1865
he graduated from Hanover College with the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
A few years later his alma mater conferred upon him the Master's degree,
in deserved recognition of his scholarship and attainments. Immediately
upon his graduation from college Mr. Miller took up the study of law, in
connection with the vocation of teaching, and in June, 1870, he was formally
admitted to the bar of Johnson county, Indiana. He then formed a partner-
ship with Hon. W. W. Browning, and later was associated with W. C. Sande-
fur, both of these gentlemen being now deceased. On November 23, 1875,
he formed a professional alliance with Henry C. Barnett, under the firm name
of Miller & Barnett, which association has continued uninterruptedly to the
present time and which has for many years been considered one of the strong-
est and most successful legal firms in this section of the state.

The great secret of Mr. Miller's splendid career is that early in Hfe he
realized that labor is the only talisman of success. He ate no idle bread;
he flung away no priceless moment. An insatiate thirst for knowledge, in-
domitable energy, untiring industry, inflexible fidelity to duty, earnest devo-
tion to truth, an incorruptible sense of justice, purity of conduct, buoyancy
of disposition and fearless self reliance — these are the elements which have
characterized his record and contributed to the upbuilding of a character which
has stood the test of time and storm and today he stands pre-eminent among
the representative men of his county, while among his professional colleagues
he is held in the highest esteem because of his high attainments in the law
and his genuine worth as a man. As a private citizen, Mr. Miller takes a deep

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 703

interest in the general welfare and gives his earnest support to every move-
ment having for its object the advancement of the best interests of the com-
munity, educationally, morally or materially.

On September 28, 1870, Mr. Miller was married to Angeline Donnell,
of Kingston, Decatur county, Indiana, and to them were born five children,
four of whom are living, namely: Ethelwyn, Marcia, Bertha and Gladys,
their only son having died in infancy.

Politically, Mr. Miller has been a life-long supporter of the Republican
party and has taken an active part in the campaigns. In 1910 he was the
nominee of his party for the office of judge of the supreme court, but he
met defeat at the polls along with the rest of the party ticket. Mr. Miller's
personal relations with his fellow men have ever been pleasant, for, genial
and unassuming in his disposition, he is easily approached, and is obliging
and straightforward in all the relations of life.

DANIEL A. BREWER.

Daniel A. Brewer, who lives on a part of the old Brewer homestead in
Pleasant township, Johnson county, Indiana, and who is numbered among
that locality's enterprising and successful farmers, was bom on February 19,
1856, on the farm where he now lives, and is a son of David D. and Nancy A.
(Green) Brewer. There parents are referred to specifically elsewhere in this
work in the sketch of E. G. Brewer, to whom the reader is referred for such
desired information. The subject received his education in the common
and high schools of his locality and at the age of nineteen years had planned
to enter Hanover College, where his father bought a scholarship. However,
about that time, through the failure of the First National Bank of Franklin,
his father sustained a loss of about sixty thousand dollars, because of which
the sons were compelled to remain at home and assist in the operation of the
farm. Though the family's financial situation was far from encouraging,
they were not deterred by the unfavorable conditions, but the boys manfully
went to work to pay oflf the father's indebtedness. Though the land was
heavily mortgaged, yet in three years they paid of thirty-five hundred dollars
of principal and interest and eventually the entire debt was discharged. The
sons were energetic and hustling and the first year they raised fifteen hun-
dred bushels of wheat, for which they received one dollar and fifteen cents per
bushel. The subject of this sketch had originally intended to become a minis-

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704 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

ter of the Gospel, but, his studies having been interrupted, he was compelled
to alter his plans for a life work. However, their sacrifice made the father
happy and they desired no greater reward than his comfort and happiness.
Mr. Brewer has devoted his attention to farming and is now the owner of
ninety-two acres of the old home farm, to which he gives his attention. In
addition to the cultivation of the soil, he gives considerable attention to live
stock, his product amounting to about sixty hogs annually. He also has a
dairy herd of Jersey and Holstein cattle, in which he takes great pride and
which are becoming a source of considerable profit.

In 1881, Mr. Brewer married Jennie Smith, of Mercer county, Ken-
tucky, daughter of Thomas Smith, to which union were born the following
children: Nellie; Guy D., born November 5, 1887, of Frankfort, Clinton
county; Indiana, is now a civil engineer. He graduated from Purdue, and
has achieved a splendid reputation in his profession. On January 15, 1913,
he married Grace Norton, of Franklin. The third child, Smith, who was born
May 15, i8go, graduated from Franklin College, and is now principal of
the Edinburg high school, which position he has held for three years to the
entire satisfaction of the patrons. Jennie Brewer died on November 17, 1890,
and in December, 1891, Mr. Brewer married Mrs. Elizabeth Alexander
Maiden, the widow of Sheriff Ereslfcyc^lVlitdfeW ctf Franklin, who had three
children by her first marriage, $dS#4c}]-X^naian(lr'0ran.

Politically, the subject of tl|is sketch is a Prohibitionist, while his reli-
gious membership is with the \|^biit«te«di:MetjK«!cHst Episcopal church. He
is a man of progressive tendenfei^^-Srt<3''ei^erpi^irig'' spirit and enjoys the
sincere regard of the entire conTpaxm)l^-iQ--udwJaL.heu-iesides.

GEORGE HUGHES.

Among the enterprising and progressive citizens of Johnson county none
stands higher in the esteem of his fellow citizens than the gentleman whose
name forms the caption of this sketch. He has. long been actively engaged
in agricultural pursuits in this county and the years of his residence "here have
but strengthened the feeling of admiration on the part of his fellow men ow-
ing to the honorable life he has led and the worthy examfJe he has set the
younger generation, consequently the publishers of this Wographical com-
pendium are glad to give such a worthy character representation in this
work.

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TILDEN FUU«DATlOR8

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GEORGE HUGHES

MRS. URSULA HUGHES

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PUBLIC- LIBR^R^

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 705

George Hughes, who owns ^ splendid farm of one hundred and thirty-
four acres in White River township, Johnson county, Indiana, but who is
now practically retired from active labor, was born on March 31, 1834, in
the township in which he now resides, and is the son of Jesse Hughes, a native
of Tennessee, the latter being the son of Thomas Hughes. Jesse Hughes was
bom July 31, 1796, and on June 25, 1818, married Nancy Milton, who was
born on August 39, i8oi. Leaving his native state, Jesse Hughes first came
to Fayette county, liidiaaia, and then, in the late twenties, located in Johnson
county, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land. He took a
prominent part in the development and upbuilding of the early community
and deeded the land for the building of the^ Mt. Auburn Methodist church,
in which society he was active, and also took a deq) and intelligent interest in
all township affairs during his active life. To him and his wife were born
thirteen children as follows: David, who died in Iowa; Thomas, John,
James, Wesley and Almira are all deceased; William is a successful banker
in Wayne county, Iowa; Jesse, deceased; George, the immediate subject of
this sketch; Milton and Franklin are deceased; Mrs. Margaret Mitchell, of
Centerville, Iowa, and Absalom Paris, who died in youth.

George Hughes remained under the parental roof until he was twenty
years of age, receiving a fair education in the common schools of the neigh-
borhood. After the age mentioned h^ re^eiy^dt^Jifs freedom from his father,
with a horse and saddle, and after working^ one year longer received one
hundred dollars, with which he went to the state of Iowa and entered one
hundred and sixty acres of land in Wayne- cpuiity, also buying forty acres
of land in Putnam county, Missouri. EVfeiltaaHy lie traded this land for the
interests of his two brothers in the paternal , estate^ to which he gave his at-
tention, and after sixteen years of hard work he became the owner of one
hundred and sixty acres of splendid land. Part of this land was taken off
by the railroad which was put through it and the town of Stone's Crossing
was built on ten acres of it, so that he is now the owner of one hundred and
thirty-four acres of as good land as can be found in the township. In 1908
Mr. Hughes erected a fine dwelling, which is one of the most comfortable and
attractive residences in the township. In every phase of agricultural work
Mr. Hughes exercised good judgment and wise discrimination and was emi-
nently successful, so that he is not now giving attention to the cultiva-
tion of the farm, but is enjoying the rest which he has so richly earned.

Mr. Hughes has for many years taken a deep interest in the public
welfare of the community and has been especially generous in his attitude to-

(45)

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706 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

wards churches, having given more cash in this direction than any other
man in his community. He practically built the Rock Lane Methodist Epis-
copal church, and also assisted liberally in building both Mt Auburn and
Fairview churches. He is the oldest living member of the Mt Auburn church
and was superintendent of the Sunday school connected with that society
for more than half his lifetime. He was one of the principal members of the
community which had charge of the fiftieth centennial anniversary of the
Mt. Auburn Methodist Episcopal church, a celebration lasting from March
15 to 19, 1900. By a life characterized by consistency and integrity he has
earned the warm regard of all who know him.

Politically, Mr. Hughes has given his life-long support to the Demor
cratic party and served efficiently as supervisor of roads. Mr. Hughes has
twice been married, the first time on February 14, 1856, to Elizabeth Sells,
the daughter of William and Catharine (Robinson) Sells. She died on Janu-
ary 21, 1882, and in 1885 he married Mrs. Ursula Dorrell Clary, a widow, who
by her first marriage with Mr. Clary had five children : Mrs. Martha Seddon,
David Franklin, Mrs. Mary Catharine Surface, J. J., and Minnie Lucinda,
deceased. By his first marriage Mr. Hughes became the father of the follow-
ing children : Mrs. Nancy C. Washam, Mrs. Eliza Ann Dunham, Mrs. Rosa
A. Sedam, Mrs. Mary Etta McCarty, Chamron C, who lives in White River
township; Bruce, of Indianapolis; Mrs. Brusian Qary and Freddie D.

Mr. Hughes has passed a long and active life. In addition to the culti-
vation of his own land, he was for a quarter of a century one of the most
successful auctioneers in this part of the county, having cried all the sales over
a radius of many m*^ and been imusually successful in his work. In other
phases of life's activities he has been enterprising and progressive, winning
the praise and commendation of all who know him because of his energy,
indomitable spirit and the success which he has attained.

T. EDWARD NORTON

The following is a brief sketch of the life of one who, by close attention
to business, has achieved marked success in the world's affairs and risen
10 an honorable position among the enterprising men of the county with
which his interests are identified. It is a plain record, rendered remarkable
by n3 strange or mysterious adventure, no wonderful and lucky accident and
no tragic situation. Mr. Norton is one of those estimable characters whose

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 707

integrity and strong personality must force them into an admirable notoriety,
which their modesty never seeks, who command the respect of their con-
temporaries and their posterity and leave the impress of their individuality
upon the age in which they live.

T. Edward Norton was born August 23, 1868, in Mercer county, Ken-
tucky, and is a son of William T. and Sarah Jane (Johnson) Norton, also
natives of the Blue Grass state, who moved to Illinois when the subject of this
sketch was but six months old. The father died there in 188 1 and the mother
and her family later returned to their native state. They were the parents of
five children : T. Edward, James, Nannie, William and Stella. James and Will-
iam are residing in the state of Illinois ; Nannie married a Mr. Polter and lives
in Kentucky ; Stella, who married a Mr. Taylor, is a resident of Johnson coun-
ty. In February, 1885, when but seventeen years of age, the subject of this
sketch came to Johnson county and began working for Straughter Vandivier,
with whom he remained two years, and then during the following three years
he was with Isaac Vandivier. After his marriage in 1880, Mr. Norton rented
eighty acres of land west of Franklin, known as the P. Clark farm, to the
cultivation of which he devoted his attention for three years, and then for
sixteen years he lived on the E. D. Brewer farm, adjoining the place he now
owns. In 1909 he bought his present farm in Franlclin township, of which
he has made a splendid success. The farm is well improved in every respect,
one feature of which is a large and handsome house of ten rooms, modern
in every respect, which he erected in 191 1; good barns and other essential
farm buildings, well kept fences and other features of an up-to-date farm
characterize this as one of the best country homes in Franklin township.
Mr. Nortpn feeds practically all his grain to stock, selling annually about
two hundred hogs and about two car loads of cattle. He also buys and sells
several mules each year. He is a lover of live stock and keeps none but good
grades, finding it more profitable to handle the better grades than the cheap
stock.

In October, 1890, Mr. Norton was married to Dolly McDaniel, a daugh-
ter of Richard McDaniel, and they have become the parents of three children.
Pansy, Treva and Dorris. Politically, Mr. Norton is identified with the
Democratic party, in which for many years he has taken an active part. In
the fall of 191 1 he was elected a member of the board of county commis-
sioners from the middle district and is now discharging efficiently the duties
of that responsible office. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of
Pythias, while his religious membership is with the First Mt. Pleasant Bap-

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708 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

tist church. His life has been filled with activity and usefulness, while his
untiring energy and good business abflity have gained for him a conspicuous
place among the leading men of his township. In every sphere of endeavor
in which he has taken a part his unpretending bearing and strict integrity have
elevated him in the confidence of his fellow citizens and he is eminently en-
titled to representation in a work of this character.

D. W. SHEEK. M. D.

It is not always easy to discover and define the hidden forces that move
a life of ceaseless activity and large professional success; little more can be
done than to note their manifestation in the career of the individual under
consideration. In view of this fact the life of the successful physician and
public-spirited man of affairs whose name appears above affords a striking
example of well-defined purpose, with the abilitj' to make that purpose sub-
serve not only his own ends but the good of his fellow men as well. Doctor
Sheek holds distinctive prestige in a calling which requires for its basis sound
mentality and intellectual discipline of a high order, supplemented by the rigid
professional training and thorough mastery of technical knowledge, with the
skill to apply the same, without which one cannot hope to rise above medioc-
rity in ministering to human ills. In his chosen field of endeavor Doctor
Sheek has achieved a notable success and an eminent standing among the
medical men of his county. In addition to his creditable career in- one of the
most useful and exacting of professions, he has also proved an honorable
member of the body politic, rising in the confidence and esteem of the public,
and in every relation of life he has never fallen below the dignity of true man-
hood nor in any way resorted to methods that have invited criticism or
censure.

D. W. Sheek is a native of the county in which he now resides, having
been born in Pleasant township on October 8, 1871, and is a son of Isaac D.
and Martha H. (Henry) Sheek, natives, resi:)ectively, of North Carolina and
Johnson county, this state. Isaac Sheek, who was a farmer by vocation in
his native state, enlisted in 1861 in the Confederate army and for four years
he followed the fortunes of war, engaging, under Generals Jackson and Lee,
in some of the most hotly contested battles of that great internecine ccmflict.
His regiment took part in nearly all the concluding battles of the war in
Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania and every important engagement in the
Eastern army, and Mr. Sheek was present at the final surrender of General

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D. W. SHEEK, M. D.

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THE IfEW YORK
POBLK LIBRARY

ASTOH, l^HOX AND
TILDfiU FOUNDATIONS

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 709

Lee. After the conclusion of hostilities he returned to his home and in 1866
he came to Johnson county, Indiana, where he has since resided, his present
home being with his son, the subject of this sketch, at Greenwood. His wife
died on Deceml)er 3, 1900. To them were born three children, namely:
Myrtle, who died on January 22, 1908; D. W., the subject, and Luna E., who
died on March 23, 1903.

D. W. Sheek was reared under the parental roof and secured his ele-
mentary education in the public schools, graduating from the Greenwood
high school in 189 1. He then attended the Terre Haute Normal School for
a year, after which for two years he engaged in teaching school in Pleasant
township. During the following three years he was a student in the State
University at Bloomington, and then resumed his pedagogical work for a
year. Having decided to make the practice of medicine his life work, he
then matriculated in the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, where, four
years later, he was graditatcd with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, He
then served a year in the Indianapolis city dispensary, where he gained val-
uable experience. On May 16, 1904, Doctor Sheek came to Greenwood and
entered upon a professional career which has been not only successful from a
scientific standpoint, but which has gained for him the sincere regard and
confidence of the entire community. A high order of skill in his calling, a
broad-minded sympathy with the sick and suflFering, and an earnest desire to
help others have combined to make him unusually successful, and he is held
in the highest esteem by his b;:otiver. phy§iis;ij|ns because of his genuine worth.
Genial and cheerful, he carries ^ihsiftiit&liiiitt{t'onT|ort into every sick room
which he enters, winning at oiic^ ♦Hfe ^ednfifli&t^fid the co-operation of his
patients. Indeed, he is a welcome visitor in any company which he chooses to
enter, for he possesses to an'emifnent ttegree. tbps0 qualities which commend
a person to the good will of oth^f^: • He^ was honored by the medical fra-
ternity of the county by election-fts- president of the county medical society
in 1 91 2, discharging the duties of the position in an able and satisfactory
manner.

Fraternally, Doctor Sheek is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, belonging to the York Rite bodies, blue lodge, chapter, council and com-
mandery.

In 1908 Doctor Sheek was united in marriage with Anne Lewis Vivian,
the daughter of Albert and Laura (Reybum) Vivian, who were natives of
Kentucky and Kansas, respectively. The father, a successful dry goods mer-
chant, lives at Greenwood, where he is numbered among the leading men of
the community.. To the subject and his wife have been born the following
children: Daniel W., Lewis V. and Kenneth S.

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7IO JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

COL. JOHN C. WEDDLE.

It is by no means an easy task to describe within the limits of this review
a man who has led an active and eminently useful life and by his own exer-
tions reached a position of honor and trust in the line of industries w^ith
which his interests are allied. But biography finds justification, neverthe-
less, in thfe tracing and recording of such a life history, as the public claims a
certain property interest in the career of every individual and the time invaria-
bly arrives when it becomes advisable to give the right publicity. It is, then,
with a certain degree of satisfaction that the chronicler essays the task of
touching briefly upon such record as has been that of the subject who now
comes under this review.

Col. John C. Weddle, well known auctioneer, successful farmer and ex-
sheriff of Johnson county, was born in Hensley township, this county, on
March 5, 1857, and is the son of J. F. and Delilah (Spicer) Weddle, natives
respectively of Brown county, Indiana, and Kentucky. J. F. Weddle was
born in 1830, and when two years old was brought to Johnson county by his
father, Stephen A. Weddle, and mother, Rachel (Pruitt) Weddle, natives
respectively of Tennessee and Kentucky, who settled in this state in the early
twenties, their arrival in Hensley township being in 1832. J. F. Weddle,
who is still living, has spent practically all of his days in Hensley township.
To him and his wife were bom the following children: James S., who was
killed in Franklin in 1909; John C, the immediate subject of this sketch;
H. L., who resides on the home farm; Mrs. Sarah E. Green, of Franklin;
Emma, who died of typhoid fever at the age of twenty years ; Mrs. Addie L.
Spicer, of Franklin, and Louella, of Franklin.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools
of Hensley township and in the Morgantown high school, completing his
studies under Prof. John Martin, at Franklin. In 1886 he began his note-
worthy career as an auctioneer and from that time to the present he has
been one of the best known and most successful men in his line in this section
of the state. His reputation has not only been local, but almost national,
having cried sales in eight or more states as far south as Louisiana, as far
west as Iowa and Missouri, east into Ohio and north in to Michigan. He is
an especial expert in the sale of live stock, of which he is a good judge and
in the judging of which he holds a license, especially as judge on Poland

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 7II

China, Duroc Jersey, Chester White and Berkshire swine, and is very well
informed on Hve stock pedigree. At the age of ten years he was so unfor-
tunate as to lose his left arm in a mill accident, but this ordinarily imfor-
tunate condition has but inspired him to greater effort and in everything he
has attempted he has achieved success. He is the owner of one hundred and
forty-six acres of splendid farming land in Franklin township, to which
he gives a due amount of attention, having fifty acres planted to wheat, thirty
acres to com, fifteen acres to hay, twenty acres to grass, thirteen acres to
oats. His output of Hve stock, principally hogs, amounts to about one thou-
sand dollars annually. In connection with his farm he operates a small dairy
of twelve fine Jersey cattle and also owns eleven head of horses. His farm
is maintained in the best possible condition and as a result of his s^Jendid
management it returns him a very satisfactory income.

In 1880 Mr. Weddle was married to Eda C. Pritchard, the daughter of
John T. Pritchard, of Nineveh township, and to them have been bom six
children: Homer S., who married and has three children, Nelda Mar-
guerite, Gladys Imogene and Marion Lucille; Wilma Edith is at home;
Chester V. is married and lives on a farm two miles southwest of the home
farm and has one son, Maurice Edwin; Mecia, Georgia and Aria are at
home.

Politically, Mr. Weddle is a staunch Democrat, and among the leaders
of that party is held in high repute because of his political activity. He made
a race for the office of assessor of Hensley township when but twenty-one
years of age. and was defeated by only two votes. Subsequently he was
elected sheriff of the county and so efficiently did he discharge his duties that
he was re-elected and thus served two terms. His religious membership
is with the Bargersville Christian church. He was reared a Missionary
Baptist, but his wife and eldest son being members of the Christian church,
he joined them. Fratemally, he is a member of the Provident Masonic lodge,
in the working of which he takes a deep interest. In every avenue of life's
activities he has performed his part to the best of his ability, believing that
anything worth doing at all is worth doing well, the result being that he has
won and retains to a notable degree the sincere respect and confidence of all
who know him. He has a vast field of acquaintances, among whom are many
loyal, staunch and devoted friends, and wherever he goes he receives a hearty
welcome. Because of his high personal character and his genuine worth as
a man and a citizen he is specifically entitled to mention in a work of this
character.

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712 JOHNSON COUNTY. INDIANA.

JOHN WESLEY DITMARS.

Among the farmers of Johnson county^ Indiana, who believe in follow-
ing twentieth-century methods is John Wesley Ditmars, of the vicinity of
Franklin township. He comes of a splendid family, one that has always been
strong for right living and industrious habits, for education and morality,
and for all that contributes to the welfare of the commonwealth. Such people
are welcomed in any community, for they are empire builders and as such
have pushed the frontier of civilization ever westward and onward, leaving
the green, wide-reaching wilderness and the far-stretching plains populous
with contented i)eople and beautiful with green fields; they have constituted
that sterling horde which caused the great Bishop Whipple to write the mem-
orable line, "Westward the course of empire takes its way.''

John Wesley Ditmars, than whom there is no more successful or enter-
prising agriculturist in Johnson county, and who is the owner of a fine farm
in Franklin township, was bom September 5, 1852, in this township, and is
the son of Cornelius L. and Caroline (Banta) Ditmars. Cornelius L. Dit-
mars was born July 17, 1825, in Somerset county. New Jersey, and is the
son of Garrett and Sarah (Verbryck) Ditmars, also natives of that state,
Garrett being the son of Peter Ditiijars^;. -Sjaxafi ,VerT>ryck Ditmars was the
daughter of Major William Verbry(|kV a;j;et^rarr of .tli^ Ke\^orutionary war.
The family emigrated from New Jeriey to Warren county, Ohio, in 1830 and
in 1836 came to Johnson county, Indian^, where Qarrett bought a tract of
land on which the timl)er had been iwtirtiaUy cut and a log cabin built. Be-
cause of the fact that Cornelius Ditmars* was compelled to go to work at an
early age he was deprived of very much early education, his only schooling
being gained at a subscription school taught in a log cabin by an indifferent
teacher and with the most primitive ecjuipment. In 1846, about the time he
attained his legal majority. Cornelius Ditmars was hired by George King for
a year at nine dollars a month, but a few months later began working on the
construction of a pike road at seventy-five cents a day, and later went to work
in a saw-mill at eighteen dollars a month. He and his brother, Peter, bought
eighty acres of land with their savings and planted it to wheat. They were
successful and continued to make money for a few seasons. The next year
Peter moved onto a farm of his own and Cornelius worked for his brother,
William. A little later Peter married and was given one hundred and sixty
acres of land by his father-in-law, and Cornelius went to work for Captain
Banta, with whom he worked early and late, giving most faithful service to
his employer. In 1850 he married the daughter of Captain Banta. For

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r THE NEW YORK ^
I PUBLIC LIBRARY

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JOHN W. DITMARI

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TOE l^EW YORK
PfiBIiC LIBRARY

TILOeil FOLWOlO'IONS '
R 1-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 713

seven years he managed the latter s big farm, the Captain having moved to
Franklin. In 1866 Cornelius Ditmars bought one hundred and sixty acres
of the present home farm and moved onto it two years later and has resided
there ever since. He has been very successful in his agricultural labors and
has added to his acreage from time to time, one of his farms being managed
by the subject of this sketch, John W., and another is now owned by William
S. Cornelius Ditmars' first wife died, leaving four children, namely : John
W., Belle, William S., and Emmeline, who died at the age of four years.
For his second wife Cornelius Ditmars married Catherine Alexander, who
died shortly after her marriage, leaving one child, Olive D., now Mrs. Dungan,
who lives in the Hurricane neighborhood. For his third wife Mr. Ditmars
married Mrs. Jennie Graham Voris, who is still living. In politics Mr. Dit-
mars is a staunch Republican and has always taken an active interest in polit-
ical matters. His church relationships are with the Hopewell Presbyterian
church. Of his children. William S. is the father of two, Carter C, who is
married, and Jane, who married a Mr. Denning, one child being born to the
latter union. To Belle (Ditmars) McCaslin have been born two children,
Herbert and Caroline.

The subject of this sketch attended the district schools and Hopewell
Academy and Hanover College^ thus..QbJt?Li|iing a fair practical education.
When twenty-five years old he 4marirS!i#^ aR8"!sim$d on his present farm, to
which he has given his undivided ^*t?AAly)». ^li^S^?/!' he erected a fine farm
residence, modem in all its deji^rtments, and remodeled the house in 1907.
The farm also contains good, ifeul3§fen*ia4."Tand.'Q0^riiodious barns and other
buildings such as are needed oti ah.u^^datfe-^fo^tti, The buildings are all
attractive in general appearance and4h€'4:ewdence Jis. surrounded by splendid
shade and fruit trees, presenting a very inviting prospect. Mr. Ditmars is
the owner of sixty-three acres and also farms two hundred and twenty acres
of his father's land, thus comprising nearly three hundred acres of land.
He has planted eighty acres to com, fifty-three acres to wheat and sixty-three
acres to clover and hay. He handles from eighty to one hundred hogs an-
nually, feeding a fine herd of Jerseys and also gives some attention to cattle,
buying and feeding from fifty to sixty head annually. He has found the hand-
ling of live stock a very profitaUe department of farm work and is considered
an excellent judge of all kind* of live stock. Politically, Mr. Ditmars is a
Republican, serving efficiently as a member of the township advisory board.
Religiously, he is a member of the First Ptesbyterian church at Franklin,
whik his fraternal membership is with the Free and Accepted Masons, in
the workings of which order he takes a deep interest.

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714 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

In 1877, John W. Ditmars married Harriett Ong, the daughter of Oliver
Ong. She died in 1881 and in 1887 Mr. Ditmars married Etta Graham, and
to them have been bom two children, Marie, and Edith, who is the wife of
Iliff Brown, a successful farmer in Shelby county, this state, and they have
one child, Iliff I. Mr. Ditmars has long had the best interests of this locality
at heart and has sought to advance them in whatever way possible. His
career has been characterized by untiring energy, uncompromising fidelity
and an earnest desire to advance himself in his chosen vocation. He is quick
of perception, forms his plans readily and executes them with alacrity, at the
same time winning and retaining the high esteem of all with whom he comes
into contact by the honorable course which he has pursued.

WILLIAM HARVEY HARRELL.

Prominent in the affairs of Johnson county and distinguished as a citi-
zen whose influence is far extended beyond the limits of the community hon-
ored by his residence, the name of William H. Harrell stands out a conspicu-
ous figure among the successful fanners of the locality of which this volume
treats. All of his undertakings have been actuated by noble motives and high
resolves and characterized by breadth of wisdom and strong individuality and
his success and achievements but represent the result of fit utilization of in-
nate talent in directing effort along those lines where mature judgment and
rare discrimination lead the way.

William Harvey Harrell, a successful agriculturist of White River town-
ship, and who has been elected to the office of county commissioner, is a
native of the county in which he now lives, having been born on December
I5» 1863. He is a son of James M. and Anna (Davis) Harrell, the father a
native of Johnson county. His paternal grandfather, Moses Harrell, was a
native of Virginia, and came to Johnson county in 1830, where he entered
land and spent the balance of his life in its improvement and cultivation.
To the subject's father was born one other child besides himself, Margaret,
now deceased. William Harvey Harrell was educated in the common schools
of his township, and later became a student in the Center Grove high school,
from which he was a member of the first graduating class. He then took
up the vocation of teaching, which he followed successfully for three years,
but having decided that the pursuit of agriculture promised better returns
and more independence, he relinquished his pedagogical work and entered

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 715

upon the pursuit of husbandry. He is the owner of forty acres of land in
White River township and forty acres in Pleasant township, and also
operates one hundred acres belonging to the old home farm. He gives in-
telligent direction to his efforts and carries on general farming in connection,
with which he also raises Jersey cattle, which he has found to be a profita-
ble source of income. Politically, a Democrat, Mr. Harrell has long taken a
deep interest in the public affairs of the community and served as township
assessor for one term. In 191 2 he was nominated by his party for the office
of county commissioner and, being elected, will take office in 1914 for a three-
year term. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic and Pythian orders,
in the workings of which he is deeply interested, while his religious member-
ship is with the United Brethren church.

In 1889, Mr. Harrell married Evelyn Smithey, daughter of Robert and
Matilda (Scott) Smithey, the father being a native of Kentucky, who, in
i860, came to Johnson county. The Scott family were numbered among the
early settlers of the county, having entered land from the government. To
the subject and his wife have been born six children: Jessie, Edgar, Maggie,
James Harvey, Mary and Everett. Mr. Harrell has been successful in every
line of effort in which he has turned his attention. He has always taken an
active interest in public affairs and was always ready to do his part in ad-
vancing the interests of his community along all lines, especially educational.
He has a pleasant, well-kept and attractive home and substantial outbuildings,
and among his fellow agriculturists he occupies front rank. He is a man of
sterling qualities of character, even-tempered, patient and scrupulously honest
in all the relations of life, hospitable and charitable, and he has gained the
approval and high esteem of his fellow citizens because of his upright life.

I. NEWT BROWN,

To write the personal record of men who have raised thennelves from
humble circumstances to a position of responsibility and trust in a community
is no ordinary pleasure. Self-made men, men who have achieved success by
reason of their personal qualities and left the impress of their individuality
upon the business and growth of their place of residence and affect for good
stich institutions as are embraced in the sphere of their usefulness, unwit-
tingly, i^erhaps, built monuments more enduring than marble obelisk or

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7l6 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

granite shaft. Of such we have the unquestionable right to say l)elongs the
gentlenmn whose name appears above.

I. Newt Brown, who owns a fine farm of one hundred and twenty
acres in Pleasant township, Johnson county, Indiana, and who is now living
quietly in his comfortable home in Franklin township, Hopewell neighbor-
hood, is the son of Isaac S. and Mary Carnine (Camine) Brown. Isaac S.
Brown was born in Virginia in 1830, and in young manhood came to John-
scMi county, where he was married. To him and his wife were born five
children, namely: Robert A., C. A., Andrew C, I. Ne^^ton and Mrs. Lillic
Freeman. The subject was reared to the life of a farmer and on the paternal
farmstead in Pleasant township he lived until twenty-two years old, at which
time he was married and located on his farm in Pleasant township, where
he lived for thirty-nine years, being successfully engaged in the prosecution
of agriculture, and at the end of that period he located in his present com-
fortable and attractive home in Hopewell neighborhood, where he has lived
for five years. His farm, which is one of the most fertile and well improved
in Johnson county, is farmed by him and returns him a very comfortable
income. Up-to-date and methodical in all his operations, during a long
course of years he was numbered among the leading farmers of Johnson
county, and because of his earnest life, practical business methods and ener-
getic habits, he enjoys the warm regard of all who are familiar with his
life.

On October 23, 1889, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Edith
Lagrange, whose father, Daniel Lagrange, was a native of Kentucky. He
came to Johnson county in an early day and here married Catherine List, a
native of Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown has been bom one child, a daugh-
ter, Margaret K., who is now sixteen years of age and is in the third year at
the Hopewell high school.

M'r. Brown has always been an ardent supporter of the Republican
party and in 1900 was elected trustee of Pleasant township for a four-year
term, during which period he rendered much valuable service to his fellow
citizens. In 191 2 he was nominated for auditor of state on the Republican
ticket. Among the effective work accomplished b^- him was the erection of
the Whiteland high school building, one of the best school buildings in John-
son county. Mr. Brown was also appointed a member of the state board of
agricuhure, of which body he is still a member. In 191 1 he was elected
president of that body and re-elected in 19 12. He has always taken a deep
interest in all public matters and is regarded as one of the leading and in-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 717

fluential citizens of the couirty. Religiously, he is a member of the Hope-
well Preebyterian church, in which he is an elder and he and his family all
attend regularly and contribute to the extent of his ability to the support of
the society. There is much that is commendable in his life's record, for he
has been found true to duty in every relation, whether of a public or prii^ate
character, and while energy and untiring industry have been salient features
of his business career, he is equally well known for his uprightness and the
hoooraUe methods he has always followed, and 'for his loyalty to any
trust reposed in him. Because of his genial and tmassuming disposition and
his gentane worth, he enjoys a well deserved popularity throughout his part
of the state.

WALTER OWENS.

To a great extent the prosperity of the agricultural sections of our coun-
try is due to the honest industry, the sturdy persistence, the unswerving per-
severance and the wise economy which so prominently characterize the farm-
ing element of the Hoosier state. Among this class may be mentioned the
subject of this life record, who, by reason of years of indefatigable labor and
honest effort, has not only acquired a well merited material prosperity, but
has also richly earned the highest esteem of all with whom he is associated.

Walter Owens was born October 5, 1878, in the vicinity of his present
home in Needham township, Johnson county, Indiana, and is the son of
George W. Owens, also a native of this county, who was bom March 30,
1840, and died August 13, 1904. George was the son of John Owens, a
native of Virginia, who settled in Grant county, Indiana, in the late twenties,
being a pioneer of that locality. George W. Owens was a farmer by vocation
and became the owner of two hundred and sixteen acres of land, to the cul-
tivation of which he devoted his active years. He married Eliza A. Patter-
son, who was bom in Johnson county, Indiana, in 1849, ^^^ to them were
born six children, two of whom died in infancy, the others being Delia, de-
ceased; Alice (Mrs. Hedden), of Mobile, Alabama; Bertha (Mrs. Webb),
of Johnson county; and Walter, the subject of this review.

Walter Owens was reared by his parents and received his education in
the common schools. At the age of twenty-one years he assumed the manage-
ment of his father's farm, which he continued about foiu- years, and then
started out in life on his own account, having fallen heir to fifty-six acres of

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7^8 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

his father s estate. Subsequently he bought another tract of the same area
from his sister and is thus the owner now of a splendid tract of land which
is not excelled for fertility by any land in the neighborhood. All of tlie
land is in cultivation and is devoted to the raising of general crops, the major
part of the grain being fed to live stock on the place, about fifty to seventy-
five head of hogs being fed annually. Persistent industry and sound judg-
ment have contributed to Mr. Owen's success, and among his fellow agri-
culturists he occupies an enviable standing because of his business success
and personal characteristics.

Politically, Mr. Owens is identified with the Progressive party and takes
an intelligent interest in the current issues of the day. Fraternally, he. is a
member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Franklin, and his religious mem-
bership is with the Second Mt. Pleasant Baptist church.

On September 12, 1894, Walter Owens was united in marriage with
Hattie R. Patterson, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Patterson, of
Johnson county, the father being deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Owens has
been born one child : Minor O., who was bom on May 14, 1897.

Mr. Owens' career, although strenuous and to a marked degree progres-
sive and successful, has always been characterized by honorable dealing.
He is well known throughout the county and is highly respected by all be-
cause of his public spirit and upright dealings with his fellow men.

WILLIAM P. THRELKELD.

That the plenitude of satiety is seldom attained in the affairs of life
is to be considered a most beneficial deprivation, for where ambition is satis-
fied and every ultimate end realized, if such be possible, apathy must follow.
Effort would cease, accomplishment be prostrate, and creative talent waste
its energies in inactivity. The men who have pushed forward the wheels
of progress have been those to whom satisfaction lies ever in the future, who
have labored continuously, always finding in each transition stage an incen-
tive for further effort. Mr. Threlkeld is one whose well directed efforts have
gained for him a position of desirable prominence in the agricultural circles
of Johnson county, and his energy and enterprise have been crowned by a
gratifying degree of success.

William Threlkeld is a native of the old Blue Grass state of Kentucky,
where he was born on July 31, 1855, and is a son of Daniel G. and Mary

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 719

(Bradley) Threlkeld, both of whom also were natives of that state. Daniel
G. Threlkeld reared his family in Kentucky and came to Johnson county,
Indiana, some time after the arrival here of his son, the subject of this
sketch. To Daniel and Mary Threlkeld were bom five children: William
P., Melinda J., Elenora, Edward and Frank, the last three named being
deceased. The subject of this sketch received his education in his native state,
and followed the pursuit of farming there until about twenty-four years of
age when, on February 22, 1879, he came to Johnson county, Indiana, set-
tling in Pleasant township, where he has made his home continuously since.
He has always followed the. pursuit of agriculture, in which he has achieved
a pronounced degree of success, and today is the owner of a fine farm of over
one hundred and fifty acres, which he devotes to the raising of all the crops
common to this section of the country, and also gives some attention to
dairying, having now a fine herd of sixteen Jersey and Holstein cattle, which,
however, he expects to materially enlarge. Every detail of the farm work
receives Mr. Threlkeld's careful and painstaking attention, with the result
that he has usually been rewarded with abundant harvests. Every feature
of the farm indicates that the owner is a man of careful and systematic
methods, and among his fellow agriculturists he is held in high esteem because
of the success that he has achieved and his high personal character.

In 1888 Mr. Threlkeld married Electa Agnes Demaree, daughter of
William W. and Lydia Ann (Canine) Demaree, both families having been
long residents of this county, although they originally came from Kentucky.
To Mr. and Mrs. Threlkeld have been born four children, Chester D., Carl
C, William Clifton and Myrtle May.

In the public life of the township in which he lives, Mr. Threlkeld has
long taken an active interest, and is now serving as a member of the advisory
hoard of Pleasant township, giving eminent satisfaction to his fellow citizens.
Religiously, he is a Methodist and gives earnest support to that society, both
with his time and with his means. He is one of those solid men of brains
and substance so essential to the material growth and prosperity of a com-
munity, and his influence has been willingly extended in behalf of every de-
serving enterprise that has for its object the advancement or welfare of his
fellow citizens. His estimable qualities of head and heart and the straight-
forward, upright course of his daily life have won for him the esteem and
confidence of the circles in which he has moved, and has given him a reputa-
tion for integrity and correct conduct such as should be coveted by every
man.

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720 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

JOHN T. DITMARS.

The gentleman of whom the biographer now writes is widely known as
one of the honored pioneers of Johnson county and for over a half century
he has been a valued factor in the development of the same, prominently iden-
tified with the varied interests of his commimity. His well-directed energies
in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of his own business
interests and his sound judgment have demonstrated what may be accom-
plished by the man of energy and ambition, who, persevering often in the
face of seemingly insurmoimtable obstacles, proves that he is the possessor
of those innate qualities that never fail to bring success if property directed,
as they have evidently been in the case of Mr. Ditmars.

John T. Ditmars, whose fine farm of three himdred and seventy acres
in Franklin township is numbered among the best farms in Johnson county,
was bom on January 7, 1830, in Somerset county. New Jersey, and is de-
scended from good old Holland-Dutch stock. His parents were Garrett and
Sarah (Verbryck) Ditmars, natives also of New Jersey, while his paternal
grandfather, Peter Ditmars, was also a native of that state. In April, 1830,
Garrett Ditmars emigrated to Warren county, Ohio, where he remained six
years, and in the spring of 1836 the; family settled in Johnson county, In-
diana, where the father occupied a farm two miles north of Franklin. Two
years later they moved to Union township, where the son resided until the
father's death. Sarah Verbryck, the -subj-ect^'s mother, was born January 20,
1785, and was the daughter of 'Wiltiam and Rebecca (Low) Verbryck, the
father having been an honored citizen of his locality. He was a vSoldier in
the war of the Revolution, attaining to the rank of major and lived to the
advanced age of ninety-six years. To the subject's parents were born thir-
teen children, of whom twelve were reared to maturity, and four are now liv-
ing, namely: Cornelius, who lives west of Franklin: John T., of Hopewell:
Rebecca (Mrs. Donnell), of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Richard V., of
Franklin. The deceased are William, Mrs. Mary Hall, Mrs. Jane Van Nuys,
Mrs. Margaret McCaslin, Mrs. Caroline Van Nuys, Peter, Magdalena, Jacob
and Edward.

The subject of this sketch received but little opportunity for securing an
education, as the facilities in that line were primitive and somewhat limited
in his youth. He attended for awhile what was known as the Turkey Hill
school house, but the greater portion of his early years was given to assist-
ing in the cultivation of the home farm. At the age of twenty-one years he

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 72 1

hired himself to his eldest brother at twelve dollars a month and was em-
ployed by him at fjarm labor for two years. A few years later he bought a
small tract of land near Hopewell, which he farmed for about four years,
but sold this and planned to buy better land. In 1866 he bought the nucleus
of his present fann, for which he paid sixty dollars an acre, and as he was
prospered he added to the farm until he became the owner of one of the
best farms in the county, now comprising about three hundred and seventy
acres. Mr. Ditmars has farmed according to the best methods of the period
and has been intelligent and progressive in adopting new ideas when their
practicability has been demonstrated. The present splendid and comfortable
residence was erected in November, 1884, and there are also other excellent
buildings on the farm, all of which are surrounded by nice lawns and ever-
green hedge, which gives the place an attractive and inviting appearance.

Politically, Mr. Ditmars has been a life-long Republican, having voted
for General Scott, John C. Fremont, Abraham Lincoln and every Republican
candidate for President since. His religious affiliation is with the Franklin
Presbyterian church, of which he became a member in 1887, and in the win-
ter of 1 91 3 he donated to that church a ten-thousand-dollar pipe organ, a
donation which has been duly appreciated by the membership and the con-
gregation. He is extremely liberal in all his views as to local improvement
and his hand is active in advancing the welfare of the community in every
way possible. A man of generous impulses and genial disposition, he readily
makes friends and always retains them. Having gained by his earnest ef-
forts and consecutive labor a competence for himself, he is now enabled to
take life easy and he is every ready and willing to help those less fortunate
than himself. Because of his earnest character and business success he is
eminently entitled to representation in a work of the character of the one at
hand.

GEORGE W. KERLIN.

Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and as
a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses, as well as those of
energy and thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free, outdoor life
of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence
of mind and self-reliance which characterize true manhood and no greater
blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the

(46)

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722 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

healthful, life-inspiring labor of the fields. It has always been the fruitful
soil from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country, and
the majority of our nation's scholar3 and distinguished men of letters were
born on the farm and are indebted to its early influence for the distinction
which they have attained.

George W. Kerlin, who operates one hundred and seventy-eight acres
of land in Needham township, comprising the Kerlin estate, and also owns
one hundred and four acres of his own in the same township, was born
February 22, 1863, in Franklin township, Johnson county, Indiana, and is a
son of Joseph and Sarah E. (Bergen) Kerlin, natives respectively of Ken-
tucky and Indiana. Joseph Kerlin, who was bom in 1828 and died in 1885,
at the age of fifty-seven years, was a son of George Kerlin, also a native of
Kentucky, who moved to Indiana in about 1835, settling in Johnson county.
For several years he operated rented land here and eventually acquired a
farm in the northwest part of this county. In March, 1865, he bought the
land comprising the present Kerlin estate, to the improvement and opera-
tion of which he devoted his attention and here lived until his death. He was
twice married, first to Miss Covert, who died while young in years, and
second to Sarah Bergen, who survives him, being now about eighty years of
age. They were the. parents of five children, namely: Ward B., who died
in January, 1912; George W., the immediate subject of this sketch; Charles
B., who is engaged in the operation of a saw mill at Bargersville, and Viola
and Mabel, who are at home with their mother.

George W. Kerlin was reared under the parental roof and received his
elementary education in the Whiteside school, after which he entered the
Franklin high school, where he graduated at the age of twenty-one years.
He early learned the habit of industry and during his vacation periods, while
attending school he was constantly employed on the home farm, to the culti-
vation of which he devoted himself continuously since attaining his majority.
Upon the death of his father he assumed control and possession of the place
and has since been operating it in the interests of the estate, in addition to
which he also cultivates his own farm in Needham township. He is energetic
and enterprising and carries on a diversified style of agriculture, raising all
the crops common to this section of the country and meeting with marked
success in his work. He gives a good deal of attention to the raising of live
stock, shipping from fifty to eighty head of cattle annually, from which he
realizes good profits.

Politically, Mr. Kerlin gives his support to the Democratic party, al.-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 723

though in no sense a seeker after office. Fraternally, he is a member of the
Masonic order, and religiously his affiliations are with the Baptist church,
to which he gives a liberal support.

In 1887, Mr. Kerlin was united in marriage with Mary L. Cutsinger,
of Franklin, a daughter of George Cutsinger, and this union has been blessed
with the following children: J. Paul, who is engaged in the automobile
business at Franklin; Mark C, a graduate of Franklin College with the
class of '13; Warren, who graduated from the Franklin high school, class of
'13; Norris, a student in the high school, and Hugh W.

Mr. Kerlin is a man of splendid personality and, because of his indus-
trious habits and persistent energy, he has attained definite success in his vo-
cation and enjoys the respect and esteem of the community in which he
resides.

DANIEL D. DORRELL.

Dependent very largely upon his own resources from his early youth,
Daniel D. Dorrell, of White River township, has attained no insignificant
success, and though he may have, like most men of affairs, encountered ob-
stacles and met with reverses, he has pressed steadily forward, ever willing
to work for the end he has in view. His tenacity and fortitude are due, no
doubt, in a large measure to the worthy traits inherited from his sterling
ancestors, whose high ideals and correct principles he has ever sought to per-
petuate in all the relations of life.

Daniel D. Dorrell was born in Johnson county, Indiana, on October 15,
1862, and is the son of WiUiam and Marcella (Bristow) Dorrell, who were
the parents of eleven children, namely: Jacob G., who is referred to else-
where in this work; Daniel D., who is the immediate subject of this sketch:
Joseph, who died in infancy; Mrs. Sarah Matilda Umbarger, of near Stone's
Crossing; Pascal E., of Indianapolis; William A., of Morgan county, this
state; Thomas, who is referred to elsewhere in this work; James M., who
lives in Missouri; Robert, of near Whiteland, and Mrs. Cena J. Repass, of
Hamilton county, this state.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools
of his home neighborhood and was reared to the life of a farmer, which he
followed until of age, and then he took up carpenter work, in which he is ac-
tively engaged in connection with his agricultural pursuits. He is the owner
of fifty-one and one-half acres of good land in White River township, in the

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7^4 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

cultivation of which he has achieved a splendid success, owing to his sound
judgment and up-to-date methods, and he is enjoying a gratifying degree of
success in everything to which he turns his hand. As a carpenter he is a
good workman and beheves in doing well whatever he undertakes, so that he
has enjoyed a liberal patronage in that line.

In 1 891 Mr. Dorrell was united in marriage to Rosa A. Dorrell, the
daughter of Peter and Polly Dorrell, natives of Ohio county, Indiana, and
to this union have been born five children: Raymond, Gaylord and Thomas
and two who died 3'oung. Mrs. Dorrell died on November 3, 1909.

The subject of this sketch gives his political support to the Democratic
party, while, religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He has served two terms as justice of the peace and has discharged the duties
of this office to the entire satisfaction of all having business with him in this
particular capacity. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias,
in the woi;kings of which he takes a live interest. Mr. Dorrell is a
man whom to know is to admire, for he has led a most exemplary life, and
has sought to do his full duty in all relations w^ith his fellow men, being a
man of honor, public spirit, charitable impulses and unswerving integrity and
enterprise, consequently he is eminently deserving of mention in a history
of his county, along with other well known and representative citizens.

, EDWARD GILL BREWER.

Among the strong and influential citizens of Johnson county the record
of whose lives have become an essential part of the history of this section,
the gentleman w^hose name appears above occupies a prominent place and for
years he has exerted a beneficial influence in the locality where he resides.
His chief characteristics are keenness of perception, a tireless energy, hon-
esty of purpose and motive, and every-day common sense, which have en-
abled him not only to advance his own interests, but also largely contribute
to the moral and material advancement of the community.

Edward Gill Brewer, than whom no farmer in Pleasant township, John-
son county, Indiana, enjoys a higher degree of popular confidence and regard,
was born on the farm where he now lives on September 23, i860, and is the
soft of David D. Brewer, who was bom in Kentucky in 1812 and died on
April 24, 1884. The subject's paternal grandfather, Daniel Brewer, a native
of Kentucky, came to Johnson county early in the thirties and entered the

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 725

present rural homestead. David D. Brewer married Nancy Green, a native
of Tennessee and the daughter of George Green. She was born in 1825,
was brought to Johnson county by her parents in an early day, and her death
occurred in 190 1. By her union with Mr, Brewer she became the mother
of six children, namely: Daniel A., who lives on a part of the old home-
stead in Pleasant township; Mary J., who died in 1900; E. G., the subject
of this sketch ; two who died in infancy, and John, who died at the age of two
years. David D. Brewer was a prominent man in the community in his day
and at one time owned three hundred and eighty acres of fine farm land
near Whiteland. He was also largely interested in the First National Bank
of Franklin, and at the time of the bank's failure lost between fifty and sixty
thousand dollars. He was progressive in his disposition and enterprising in
his attitude toward local matters, being an influential man and active in the
advancement of the community's bc^st interests. Politically, he was a Demo-
crat, and, religiously, a Presbyterian.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the Whiteland
schools, though he was compelled by necessity to leave school at the age of
eighteen years and assist his father in the operation of the home farm. At
the latter's death he inherited a share of the estate, comprising one hundred
acres, in the operation of which he has been successful and to which he has
added eighty acres. At one time he owned twksf hundred and fifty acres, but
of this he has sold seventy acres. He carries on a^Jversified system of farm-
ing and raises all the crops known to this locality and gives a share of his
attention to live stock. He has at^pf^s^ht-^forty-five acres planted to com,
thirty-three acres in wheat and $hree aeries in hayy eight acres in peas and
twenty acres in clover. In live stock' fils annual ."^bajput is one hundred and
fifty hogs, he having more than two hundred animals on the place, and he
feeds about one load of cattle, having also twenty head of horses and mules.
The farm is kept up to the highest standard of agricultural excellence and its
general appearance and the method of its operation reflects great credit on
the sound judgment, wise discrimination and indefatigable energy of the
owner.

Politically, Mr. Brewer has given his ardent support to the Democratic
party, but has been in no sense a seeker after the honors of public office for
himself. Fraternally, he belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons and
Knights of Pythias, belonging to the Franklin lodge of the first named order,
while his religious affiliations are with the Presbyterian church, in the pros-
perity of which he is deeply interested.

In 1889 Mr. Brewer married Cora Vanarsdell, the daughter of Jackson

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726 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Vanarsdell, a native of Kentucky. Mrs. Brewer was also born in the old
Blue Grass state, where she was reared and where her marriage occurred. To
this union have been bom two children, namely: Wilbur Jackson, bom in
August, 1890, graduated from Franklin College, and for the past two years
has been teacher of English in the high school at Sioux City, Iowa; Norval
David, the younger son, was bom on December 16, 1901, is a graduate of the
Whiteland high school and now has practical charge of the home farm. That
Mr. Brewer is enterprising in his operation is evidenced by the fact that in
1897 he bought forty acres of land north of the interurban crossing at White-
land, for which he paid two hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre, and
three years later he sold this for three hundred dollars per acre, a substantial
profit. In all his operations he is actuated by the highest motives, his relations
with his fellow citizens having been such as to gain their confidence and good
will, and, because of his unassuming manners and genial disposition, he has
earned and retains the sincere regard of all who know him.

JOHN FOXWORTHY.

The biographies of enterprising men, especially of good men, are in-
structive as guides and incentives to others. The examples they furnish of
patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what it is in the
power of each to accomplish. Some men belong to no exclusive class in
life; apparently insurmountable obstacles have in many instances awakened
their dormant faculties and served as a stimulas to carry them to ultimate
renown. The instances of success in the face of adverse fate would seem
almost to justify the conclusion that self-reliance, with a half chance, can
accomplish any reasonable object.' The gentleman whose life history is
herewith outlined is a man who has lived to good purpose and achieved
a splendid success. By a straightforward and commendable course he has made
his way to a respectable position in the business world, winning the hearty
admiration of the people of his county and earning a reputation as an enter-
prising, progressive man of affairs which the public has not been slow to
recognize and appreciate.

John Foxworthy, one of the representative citizens and successful agri-
culturists of Nineveh township, Johnson county, Indiana, was bom on Decem-
ber 8, 1850, in Nelson county, Kentucky, and is the son of John and Margaret
Foxworthy, both of whom were bom, reared and married in Kentucky, and
both of whom are now deceased, the father dying in 189 1 and the mother in

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^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 727

1898. Upon coming to Indiana the family first settled on Sugar creek in Blue
River township in February, 1850, and they became known as respectable,
hardworking and honest citizens. They became the parents of seven chil-
dren, namely : Louise, deceased ; Mrs. Sarah Ann Durham ; Taylor, deceased ;
John, the immediate subject of this sketch; Mrs. Susan Hilt, deceased; Ed-
ward and Joseph.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools
of Nineveh and Blue River townships, his first studies being pursued in a
school house at the east edge of Nineveh. By necessity he was compelled to
start in life on his own account at an early age and by hard work and the
strictest economizing he was enabled to save a little money. He first followed
sawmill work and later was employed in a grist mill until 1903 when he
purchased his first farm of forty-three acres in Nineveh township, to the im-
provement and cultivation of which he has devoted himself since. He is a
practical and thorough agriculturist and has achieved a splendid success in
his work. He follows the most practical methods of farming, not hesitat-
ing to adopt new methods when their practicability has been demonstrated
by experience to be better than old methods, and the general appearance of
his place is a credit to him. In addition to the cultivation of the soil, he also
gives some attention to the breeding and raising of live stock, which he has
found to be a valuable adjunct to agriculture, and in every department of his
work he has earned a reputation as a careful, painstaking and thorough
man.

Politically a Democrat, Mr. Foxworthy has been for many years active-
ly interested in the welfare of his community, and in 1904 he was elected
trustee of his township, in which responsible position he discharged his duties
in a manner eminently satisfactory to his fellow citizens. Fraternally, he is
a member of Nineveh Lodge No. 317, Free and Accepted Masons. Reli-
giously, he is a member of the Christian church and has served as an elder
of that society for the past seven years.

In July, 1882, Mr. Foxworthy was married to Mary A. Sconce, the
daughter of William Sconce, of Blue River township, this county, and to
them have been born two children, namely: Mrs. Una Sledge, who is the
mother of one child. Ivory, and Paul, who graduated from the Nineveh high
school in May, 1913, and is now^a student in the State University, intending
to follow the vocation of teaching. Mr. Foxworthy has made his influence
felt for good in his community in Nineveh township, being a man of sterling
worth, whose life has been closely interwoven with the history of the corn-

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728 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

munity in which he resides and whose efforts have always been for the
material advancement of the same, as well as for the social and moral welfare
of his fellow men. The well regulated life he has led, thereby gaining the
respect and admiration of all his fellow citizens, entitles him to representa-
tion in a biographical work of the scope intended in the present one. Genial
and unassuming in his relations with his fellow men, he has won and re-
tains the confidence and good will of all with whom he has come in contact.

MARTIN CUTSINGER.

The following is the sketch of a plain honest man of affairs, who by
correct methods and a strict regard for the interests of his patrons has made
his influence felt in Edinburg and won for himself distinctive prestige in the
business circles of that city. He would be the last man to sit for romance or
become the subject of fancy sketches, nevertheless his life pfesents much that
is interesting and valuable and may be studied with profit by the young, whose
careers are yet to be achieved. He is one of those whose integrity and
strength of character must force them into an admirable notoriety whicli their
modesty never seeks, who command the respect of their contemporaries and
their posterity and leave the impress of their individuality deejJy stamped
upon the community.

Martin Cutsinger, who in many ways has been prominently identified
with the commercial and industrial progress of Edinburg, was bom in Shelby
county, Indiana, on February 7, 1856. He is the son of Samuel and Eliza-
beth (Harris) Cutsinger, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky and
who came to Shelby county in 1830. Settling in the woods, he created and
developed a splendid farm, and to its cultivation and improvement he gave his
undivided attention for many years. In 1865 he engaged in the starch manu-
facturing business in Edinburg with the assistance of two other men, but in
1890 the plant was sold to the National Starch Manufacturing Company, who
ran the business until 1893, when the plant was closed. Eventually the Irwins,
of Columbus, Indiana, bought the plant and equipment and now it is operated
as a glucose factory, manufacturing fancy table syrup. After relinquishing
his interest in the starch factory the subject's father engaged in business with
J. A.. Thompson, with whom he was associated up to the time of his death,
which occurred on October 20, 1893. Politically, he was a staunch Democrat,
while his religious belief was that of the Christian church, in the building of

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MARTIN CUTSINGER

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 729

which edifice he was an important factor. The subject's father died on June
7, 1894. They were the parents of thirteen children, of whom seven daugh-
ters and one son are still alive. Mary is the widow of J. A. Thompson and is
living in Edinburg; Jennie is the widow of J. I. Thompson and also lives in
Edinburg; Maria is the wife of George MuUendore, a successful farmer near
Edinburg; Catherine is the wife of D. C. Marsh, of Edinburg; Hannah B. is
the widow of H. E. Smith, of Indianapolis; Indiana is the widow of James
Detrick, of Chicago; Eleanora is the wife of J. C. Valentine, of Franklin;
William K, of Indianapolis; George and Edmundson are deceased; the sub-
ject of this sketch was next in order, and the two youngest were I. H., de-
ceased, and a baby who died in infancy.

The subject of this sketch was educated in the common schools of John-
son county and his energies were applied to the pursuit of agriculture from
1876 until 1890, when he moved to Edinburg and became interested in the
starch business with his father until 1893 when he bought an interest in the
grain and veneer business. For three years he was local agent for the Na-
tional Starch Company, then he became associated with J. A. Thompson in
the grain business, the latter eventually selling his interest to D. R. Webb,
with whom the subject was associated for five years, when they both sold their
interests and the subject has since conducted the grain and veneer business on
his own account. In 1906 W. T. Thompson was associated with him for a

while until May, 1913, when Mr. Cutsin^er.Qhtained full control of the busi-

• * .1'' '""^
ness and is now operating on his ow;i/accdunt. Mr. Cutsinger is a wide-awake

business man of progressive iaeas, keenly al|x«!^to the best interests of his
patrons and by honorable and'a str^aigPrt^ry^^ici' m has won the confi-

dence of the public and forged to the irontj^on^- th« most enterprising men
of his community. His career has ttide^d been an honorable one and, though
strenuous, there is nothing in it savoring in the slightest degree of disrepute,
his relations with his fellowmen having ever been above reproach and his
good name beyond criticism.

In 1876 Mr. Cutsinger was united in marriage with Charity Williams, th©
daughter of Claybom and Nancy (Scott) Williams, both now deceased. The
father was a successful farmer in Johnson county and stood high in the com-
munity. To Mr. and Mrs. Cutsinger have been bom five children: Homer I.,
who is his father's assistant in business; Clarence D., who also is with the
subject, married Rebie Thompson: Corwin, deceased: Minnie Belle, the wife
of H. H. Mutz, a druggist, and David M., deceased.

Politically, Mr. Cutsinger has given an ardent support to the Democratic

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730 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

party, in the success of which he takes a live interest and in all the affairs of
life he is a man among men. His religious affiliations are with the Christian
church, of which he is an earnest member and to which he contributes lib-
erally. He is a man of genial disposition and enjoys a large popularity in the
community where he has spent his life, while in his home, being a man of
marked domestic tastes, he finds his greatest enjoyment in the society of his
loved ones and in the entertainment of his many friends, who ever find there
the spirit of true, old-time hospitality.

ALBERT T. BRUNNEMER.

It was remarked by a celebrated moralist and biographer that "there ]ias
scarcely passed a life of which a judicious and faithful narrative would not
have been useful." Believing in the truth of this opinion, expressed by one of
the greatest and best of men, the writer of this review takes pleasure in pre-
senting a few facts in the career of a gentleman who, by industry, perseverance,
temperance and integrity, has worked himself from an humble station to
a successful place in life and won an honorable position among the well known
and highly esteemed men of the locality in which he resides.

Albert T. Brunnemer was born near his present home in Pleasant town-
ship, Johnson county, Indiana, on October 29, 1869, and is the son of George
L. and Nancy C. (VanArsdale) Brunnemer. George L. Brunnemer, who was
bom January 22, 1842, and who died in 19 10, was the son of Anthony and
Blanche (Mitchell) Brunnemer, natives respectively of Virginia and Tennes-
see. In i860 the family settled on a farm one mile north of Whiteland,
Johnson county, Indiana, and the parents spent the rest of their days in the
vicinity of Whiteland. George L. Brunnemer was married on February 5,
1863, to Sarah E. MtQellan, the daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Clem)
McClellan, natives of Kentucky, and to this union were born two children,
James B., born December 11, 1863, who married Louie A. Sharp, and Sarah
E., bom August 12, 1866, now deceased. Mrs. Sarah Brunnemer died Sep-
tember 5, 1866, and on October 23, 1867, he married Nancy C. Vanarsdale,
the daughter of Cornelius A. B. and Nancy J. (Clem) Vamarsdale. She
was born in Pleasant township, Johnson county, Indiana, on October 20, 1849,
and bore to her husband three children : Albert T. ; Amy J., born December
8, 1871, who became the wife of Hugh E. Johnson, and William J., born

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 73 1

March 3, 1874. George L. Brunnemer enlisted on February 15, 1865, in
Company E, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, and served as corporal until receiving an honorable discharge on
September 5, 1865. In 1866 he moved to his farm in section 29, Pleasant
township, where at the time of his death he owned three hundred and sixty
acres of splendid land. He also owned and operated a saw mill with success
and profit.

Albert T. Brunnemer received his education in the district schools of his
community and lived on the home farm until twenty-nine years of age, when
he located on his present place, in the operation of which he has achieved a
very gratifying success. He is a practical and systematic farmer, giving
his personal attention to every detail of the farm work, and in the raising
of general crops and a due share of attention to live stock he has been re-
munerated for his efforts. He was also an organizer and is at the present
time a director of the Whiteland National Bank, and in the community is
numbered among the men of strong business ability and progressive ten-
dencies, having given his support to all movements for the upbuilding and
progress of the community.

On December 9, 1896, Mr. Brunnemer was united in marriage to Rose
Perkins, the daughter of George and Sarah (Yaste) Perkins, both of whom
are natives of Mercer county, Kentucky. Mrs. Brunnemer was born March
19, 1878, and by her union with Mr. Brunnemer has become the mother of
one child, Myron L., who was bom on November 26, 1898.

Politically, Mr. Brunnemer gives his support to the Republican party,
in the success of which he has taken a commendable interest, though in no
sense a seeker for public office for himself. His religious affiliations are with
the Methodist Episcopal church, in the prosperity of which he is deeply in-
terested. On his splendid farm of seventy-four acres of land he is enjoying
life to the full, realizing, as the public at large are realizing more than ever,
that the farmer today is to be envied rather than his condition deplored, as
was at one time the case. Mr. Brunnemer*s life has been one of unceasing
industry and perseverance and the notably systematic and honorable methods
he has followed have won for him the unbounded confidence and regard of
all who have formed his acquaintance. He has worked his w^ay from an
humble beginning to his present situation, which fact renders him the more
worthy of the praise that is duly accorded him by his fellow men.

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732 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

WILLIAM J. BRUNNEMER.

Upon the roll of representative citizens s^nd prominent and influential
agriculturists of Pleasant township, Johnson county, appears the name of
the gentleman at the head of this county since his youth and has worked his
own way to a position of marked precedence in both business and political
affairs, while he is held in unqualified esteem by the people of his community.

William J. Brunnemer, who is living on the old Vanarsdale homestead
in Pleasant township, Johnson county, Indiana, where he operates successfully
one hundred and thirty-two acres of splendid farming land, was born in the
neighborhood where he now lives and is the son of George L. and Nancy C.
(Vanarsdale) Brunnemer. The father was born on January 22, 1842, the
son of Anthony and Blanche Brunnemer, who were bom in Virginia
and Tennessee respectively. In i860, the family came to Indiana, locat-
ing about a mile north of Whiteland, Johnson county, where they pursued
the vocation of agriculture and where George L. spent the balance of his days,
his death occurring there in April, 1909. He was a native of Morgan county,
and at the outbreak of the Civil war his patriotism was aroused and he gave
his support to the cause of the Union. On February 15, 1865, he enlisted as
a private in Company E, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Regiment Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, in which he was appointed a corporal. He served valiant-
ly during the closing months of the war and on September 5, 1865, received
an honorable discharge. The following year he located on his farm in section
29, Pleasant township, to the cultivation of which he devoted his time and
energies with considerable success so that at his death he was the owner of
three himdred and sixty acres of land. He also gave some attention to the
operation of a saw mill which he owned in that neighborhood. He was
twice married, first on February 5, 1863, to Sarah E. McClellan, the daugh-
ter of Joseph and Margaret (Clem) McClellan, natives of Kentucky, and to
this union were bom two children: James D., who was born on December
II, 1863, and married Louie A. Sharp, and Sarah E., whose birth occurred
on August 12, 1866, and who is now deceased. Mrs. Sarah Brunnemer died
on September 5, 1866, and on October 23d of the following year Mr. Brunne-
mer was united in marriage to Nancy C. Vanarsdale, a daughter of Cor-
nelius A. B. and Nancy J. (Clem) Vanarsdale, her birth having occurred in
Pleasant township, this county, on October 24, 1848. To George L. Brunne-
mer's last union were born three children: Albert T., who is represented
elsewhere in this work; Ammie J., who was born on December 8, 1871, and

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 733

became the wife of Hugh E. Johnson, and William J., the immediate subject
of this sketch. Religiously, the subject's parents were ardent and faithful
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

The subject of this sketch was reared on the paternal homestead and
received his education in No.ii school. He remained with his father until
twenty years of age, when he moved onto the farm where he now lives,
and to which he has since given his indefatigable attention, his industry and
perseverance being rewarded with a fair measure of success. He is a good
all-around farmer, giving due attention to every detail of his work, and has
a splendid residence which he erected in 1908, while the other buildings on
the place as well as fences and other details show the owner to be a man of
good judgment and sound discrimination.

Mr. Brunnemer has been married twice, first in November, 1894, to Ida
Caplinger, the daughter of Robert and Mary (McLain). Caplinger, of John-
son county, though natives of Kentucky. Mrs. Brunnemer died in August,
1900, at the age of thirty-two years, her child having died in infancy. In
July, 1901, Mr. Brunnemer married Burdette McLain, the daughter of John
A. and Susan (Caplinger) McLain, and to this union were bom five chil-
dren: William Merrill, born August 11, 1902; Winford Harrell, born Febru-
ary 26, 1905; Georgia Catherine, born January, 1908; Christine Frances,
bom June 6, 1911, and Marion, born May 29, 1913.

Mr. Brunnemer gives his political support to the Republican party, in
the success of which he takes an active interest, while his church relations are
with the Methodist Episcopal society, to which he gives a liberal support. He
has always been regarded as a man of high principles, honest in every re-
spect and broad-minded. A man of broad character, kindness of heart to the
unfortunate and ever willing to aid in any way any cause for the better-
ment of the community and the public with whom he has to deal, he is
held in high favor and the utmost respect by all who know him.

M. J. VORIS.

The gentleman to a brief review of whose life the reader's attention is
herewith directed is among the foremost business men of Franklin and has
by his enterprise and progressive methods contributed in a material way to
the industrial and commercial advancement of the community. Possessing
splendid executive and business ability, he has been successful in a material

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734 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

way and because of his sterling qualities he is numbered among the represent-
ative men of the city in which he lives.

M. J. Voris, head of the well known mercantile firm of M. J. Voris &
Company, was born on February 4, i860, and is the only son of John C. and
Elizabeth Margaret (Morgan) Voris. The parents were both bom m John-
son county, the father in Union township and the mother in Nineveh town-
ship. John C. Voris was a carpenter and contractor and a well known
citizen in his day. He was a son of Peter Voris, one of the pioneer settlers
of Johnson county and a man of much prominence in the community, having
served at one time as probate judge. John C. Voris, during the Civil war,
organized a company of Home Guards in Hensley township, and he after-
wards went into active service. Near the close of the war he was promoted
to second lieutenant of Company H of the Ninth Indiana Cavalry. He was
captured by the enemy at Sulphur Springs, Alabama, and put in prison at
Cahaba, Alabama, being held there until the close of the war, a period of
about six months. In the fall of 1865 he removed his family from Trafalgfar
to a farm north of Franklin, and two years later, in the fall of 1867, he re-
moved to Franklin. Here he operated a planing mill and lumber yard, the
property being a part of that now occupied by the Franklin Coil Hoop Com-
pany, and he followed contracting for a number of years very successfully.
Many of the most substantial buildings of the county were erected by him,
among them being the Methodist Episcopal church and the Dr. Martin
property, in Franklin, C. L. Ditmar's residence at Hopewell, and the William
Pritchard residence and the Union church, south of Franklin. John C. Voris
died in Franklin in May, 1870, being survived by his wife, who now lives
in the old home on Jackson street. They had two children, the subject of
this sketch and a daughter who died in 1894.

M. J. Voris received a good practical education in the public schools
of Franklin, and upon the completion of his studies he became clerk in a
dry goods store in Franklin. Soon afterwards he became a partner in the
business and in 1892 he formed the firm of M. J. Voris & Company, which
has since been known as one of the most substantial mercantile concerns in
this city. In 1896 he bought the building and business of W. A. McNaugh-
ton, which is the present site of the Voris business. Mr. Voris is a man
of marked business ability and has become materially interested in a number
of local enterprises. He is a stockholder and director in the Franklin Na-
tional Bank, a director in the Union Trust Company, a director in the Mutual
Building and Loan Association. He is the owner of a fine farm of two hun-

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 735

rlred and twenty-five acres in this county, owns property on Jefferson street,
Franklin, and has a substantial interest in the Williams & Voris Lumber
Company, of Chattanooga, Tennessee. He is a member of the board of trus-
tees of Franklin College and in many ways has shown a commendable interest
in the welfare of his city and community.

Politically, Mr. Voris has been a life-long supporter of the Republican
party and sees no reason today why he should desert that party for any other.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has taken all
the degrees of the York rite, thirty-two degrees of the Scottish rite, and is
also a member of the Mystic Shrine. Religiously, he has for many years
been an active and earnest member of the Presbyterian church, in which he
has served as a deacon for twenty-six years.

On December 20, 1888, Mr. Voris was united in marriage to Arta H.
Payne, the eldest daughter of Dr. P. W. Payne, who is referred to elsewhere
in this work, the latter having been a pioneer physician and prominent citi-
zen of this community.

The success attained by Mr. Voris in his business affairs has been great-
ly owing to his steady persistence, stern integrity and excellent. judgment,
qualities which have also, won for him the confidence and esteem of the
public to a marked degree. Personally, he is a man of quiet and unassuming
disposition, though genial and friendly in his relations with others, and he has
for many years enjoyed a wide acquaintance and large prestige throughout
Johnson county.

J. J. BEATTY.

Although not an old man in years, the gentleman whose life record is
herein outlined has stamped his individuality upon the locality where he re-
sides in no uncertain manner, being an excellent representative of that type
of the much heralded American business man — the type that does things —
Mr. Beatty being a worthy descendant of a long line of honorable and in-
fluential ancestors.

T. T. Beatty, one of the enterprising and progressive business men and
influential citizens of Greenwood, Johnson county, Indiana, was born in
Shelby county, this state, on the 22d day of August, 1870. He is the son of
George and Amanda (Tolin) Beatty, the former a native of Kentucky and
the latter of Marion county, Indiana. The subject has lived in Johnson county

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736 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

since he was thirteen years old and has been a prominent figure in the civic
life of the community. He has for a number of years been successfully en-
gaged in the mercantile business here, and because of his high business prin-
ciples, his staunch integrity and good qualities as a man and citizen, he has not
only enjoyed a large and constantly increasing patronage, but has gained the
confidence and good will of the entire community. He has made two races
for county sheriff, being unsuccessful in each instance, was once elected as-
sessor of White River township, and is now a candidate for county clerk on
the Democratic ticket. He is deserving of success in his aspirations, for he
is not only a man of acknowledged ability, but he is of that character that
lends honor and dignity to a community.

Mr. Beatty married Maggie Fishback, a daughter of Thomas and Rachel
(Paskins) Fishback, both of whom are now deceased, the father having been
a successful farmer and a well known and highly respected citizen. The
Paskin family was an old and well known family in this county, having been
early settlers of the community. To the subject and his wife have been bom
five children, all of whom are at home, namely: Floy, Elsie, Oral, Fawn and
Fern. Fraternally, Mr. Beatty is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the
order of Freemasons, in the workings of both of which he takes a deep and
intelligent interest. In every avenue of life's activities in which he has en-
gaged he has been true to every trust and he is eminently deserving of the
high position which he holds in the esteem of all who know him. Genial and
unassuming in manner, he readily makes friends and he and his wife both
move in the best social circles of the community, their home being a favorite
stopping place for their friends. In the public life of the community Mr.
Beatty has taken a deep interest, giving his support to every movement which
will conserve the best interests of his fellow citizens.

WILLIAM W. WHITE.

There are individuals in nearly every community who, by reason of
pronounced ability and force of character, rise above the heads of the masses
and command the unbounded esteem of their fellow men. Characterised by
•perseverance and a directing spirit, two virtues that never fail, such men al-
ways make their presence felt and the vigor of their strong personality serves
as a stimulus and incentive to the young and rising generation. To this en-
ergetic and enterprising class the subject of this review very properly belongs.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 737

Having never been seized with the roaming desires that have led many of
Johnson county's young men to other fields of endeavor and other states,
where they have sought their fortxmes, Mr. White has devoted his life to
industries at home and has succeeded remarkably well, as we shall see by a
study of his life history.

William W. White, who is one of the leading citizens of Johnson county,
was born in Nineveh township, this county, on February 20, i860, the son
of George B. and Rachel I. (Lane) White, the White family having been
for many years one of the most prominent in this section of the country.
Mr. White received his elementary education in the common schools of his
neighborhood, and then attended the high school at Nineveh, later taking a
course of three years in Franklin College. He was thus well qualified for
life's battles, and upon leaving college took up the vocation of farming, to
which he has since given his undivided attention and in which his success has
been of unusual order. In addition to a general line of farming Mr. White
has given a great deal of attention to the breeding and raising of live stock,
including sheep, Jersey cattle, hogs, Shetland ponies, and saddle horses.
He has acquired a reputaticHi extending over a wide range of this section
of the state because of the high quality of his stock, but of recent years he has
discontinued the breeding of all these lines except the Jersey cattle, of which
he now has a splendid herd and for which he finds a ready sale. His farm
comprises one hundred sixty acres of as fine land as can be found in his
township, and all of the improvements on the same are of up-to-date charac-
ter in every respect, the general appearance of the place being complimentary
to the owner. Still in the prime of life, Mr. White gives his detailed atten-
tion to all departments of his farm work, and among his fellow agriculturists
he enjoys a high reputation because of the honest success which he has at-
tained in his work.

In the public life of his community, Mr. White has for many years
occupied a very prominent place. For many years he was superintendent of
roads, giving careful and painstaking attention to this department and his
efforts were appreciated by his fellow citizens. A member of the Johnson
County Fair Association for about fifteen years, he was an efficient and faith-
ful servant of the people in whose interests he labored. He has always taken
a deep interest in everything pertaining to the agricultural features of his
county, and as chairman of the Farmers Institute he has earned many warm
words of praise and commendation. In order to better qualify himself for not

(47)

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72i^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

only his own work, but for his interests and active part in agricultural insti-
tutes, Mr. White took a course in Purdue University, where he gained much
valuable knowledge by study and observation regarding agricultural methods.

Religiously, Mr. White is an active and earnest member of the Christian
church and has served in many capacities in the interests of religious work.
He was chairman of the Johnson County Sunday School Union and superin-
tendent of the Johnson County Adult Sunday School Department. In his
own church he has served efficiently as superintendent of the Sunday school.
He has always stood for the highest standard of right and morality and
among his fellow citizens there has never been breathed a word of suspicion
against his character. His political affiliation is with the Democratic party,
of which he has been a staunch supporter, though never a seeker for public
office.

On October 3, 1890, Mr. White was united in marriage to Jennie
Mullendore, a daughter of Louis and Harriett (Records) Mullendore, both
families of which are represented elsewhere in this work. To Mr. and Mrs.
White have been bom three children, Dora Muriel, Verne and William E.
By his persistent advocacy of wholesome living, pure policies and honesty
in business, Mr. White has long enjoyed the undivided respect and esteem of
all who know him, being regarded as one of Johnson county's most sub-
stantial and worthy citizens, and therefore he merits representation in a work
of the province of the one at hand.

J. W. RUNKLE.

Indefatigable industry, sound business judgment and wise management
have been the elements which have contributed to the success achieved by
J. W. Runkle, an enterprising and progressive farmer of Blue River town-
ship, Johnson county, Indiana. His farm is well improved and highly pro-
ductive, being numbered among the good farms of the township in which he
lives, and because of his high character and unquestioned integrity, he enjoys
to a marked degree the sincere respect of the community.

J. W. Runkle, one of the most enterprising farmers and progressive
citizens of Blue River township, was born on January 9, 1863, in the town-
ship where he now resides, and is the son of Gather B. and Mahala (Ander-
son) Runkle. His father w^as bom December 7, 1834, near Edinburg, in

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 739

Bartholomew county, Indiana, and is the son of Louis Runkle, a native of
Culpeper county, Virginia, who migrated to Indiana in an early day and
established a tannery below Edinburg'. He finally migrated to Iowa, where
he spent the remainder of his days. He was a son of Peter Runkle, who
fought in a Virginia regiment during the Revolutionary war, and the latter
was the son of John Runkle, the emigrant ancestor of the subject, who
originally came from Germany and settled in Culpeper county, Virginia.
The subject's grandfather, Louis Runkle, married in Bartholomew county
and two years later came to Blue River township, this county, and purchased
land in the early thirties. His wife had borne the maiden narrie of Barlow.
Mr.. Runkle was very prosperous in his business affairs, accumulating con-
siderable wealth, and to him and his wife were born three children, Gather
B., John L. and Mary Ann, the latter dying at the age of fourteen years.
John L. was a soldier in the Civil war and died from the effects of a wound
received in battle. Mahala Anderson Runkle was a daughter of William
and Rebecca Anderson, natives of Kentucky. She was bom November i6,
1834, and died on May 21, 1901. She was bom and reared in Bartholomew
county, but later her parents moved to Shelby county. To Gather and Ma-
hala Runkle were born three children, namely: John W., the subject of
this sketch; Mrs. Eliza L. (Furnas) Long, of West Lafayette, Indiana, and
Mrs. Mamie Shepherd, of Blue River township, this county. Thus four
generations of this family have been reared on the land where the subject
now lives.

John W. Runkle received his education in the public schools, graduating
from the Edinburg high school, and then became a student in the Louisville
College of Pharmacy, where he received a thorough technical education, and
afterward followed his profession at Indianapolis for a period of two years.
In 1888 he received from his father eighty acres of land in Blue River town-
ship and at once came home and entered actively upon its management and
operation. One of the first acts after his coming here was to set out a large
orchard and otherwise substantially improve the farm, so that it is now one
of the best in this locality. As he prospered in his affairs he added to his
acreage until he is now the owner of 6ne hundred and sixty-seven acres. of
splendid land. He also rents one hundred and ten acres of his father's farm.
He has eighty-five acres planted to corn, seventy-five acres to wheat and
twenty acres to alfalfa and hay, while in the way of live stock, which he
has found a valuable adjunct to farming, he handles one hundred and -fifty
hogs and a carload of cattle annually.. He carries on his farming operations

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740 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

according to modern methods and gives his attention to other details of the
farm work, so that his success is entirely a matter of his own creation.

Politically, Mr. Runkle gives his support to the Republican party, while
in fraternal matters he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, belonging to the local lodge at Edinburg, Religiously, his sympathies
are with the Methodist Episcopal church, to whicl^ he gives a liberal support.

On August 6, 1893, M^- Runkle married Lola Miner, the daughter of
John B. Miner, of Edinburg, her birth having occurred on August 8, 1864,
on a farm in Blue River township, this county. To them have been born
three children: Louis W., born July 5, 1894; Byron J., born July i, 1898,
and Lola Monta, bom October 24, 1899. These children have all received
good educations and move in the best social circles of the commimity where
they live. Mr. Runkle is a man of decided convictions on the leading ques-
tions of the day and gives ardent support to all movements for the upbuild-
ing of the community socially, educationally, morally and materially. The
result is that he has in a large measure enjoyed the sincere regard and confi-
dence and good will of all who know him, and he is numbered among the
leading and influential citizens of his locality.

EPHRAIM B. CHENOWETH, M. D.

The present age is essentially utilitarian and the life of every successful
man carries a lesson which, told in contemporary narrative, is productive of
much good in shaping the destiny of others. There is, therefore, a due meas-
use of satisfaction in presenting, even in brief resume, the life and achieve-
ments of such men, and in preparing the following history of the scholarly
physician whose name appears above, it is with the hope that it may prove
not only interesting and instructive, but also serve as an incentive to those
who contemplate making the medical profession their life work.

Ephraim B. Chenoweth was bom January 18, 1875, in Eminence, Mor-
gan county, Indiana, and is the son of Stephen and Verbenia (Gray) Cheno-
weth, natives of Pennsylvania and Kentucky respectively. On the paternal
side the subject traces his ancestry back to John Chenoweth, an Englishman,
who settled on the site of Baltimore in 1720. He was a Profestant in his re-
ligious faith. On the maternal side the family is traced in a direct line of
descent from Oliver Cromwell. Stephen Chenoweth was bom in 1838 in

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 74 1

Pennsylvania, and was a son of Ephraim B. and Marie (Reisinger) Cheno-
weth, the father a native of Pennsylvania and of English descent, and the
mother of German parentage. Ephraim B. Chenoweth was an early settler
in Morgan county, Indiana, in the late twenties and attained to considerable
prominence in the early life of the community, in the upbuilding and prog-
ress of which he took an important part. Stephen Chenoweth enlisted for
service at the outbreak of the Civil war, becoming a private in the One Hun-
dred and Fifty-ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he
rendered valiant service for three years. He has followed the vocation of
blacksmithing during the grejiter part of his active life, but is now retired.
His wife died in 1909. To them were born three children, Mrs. Lillian
Stringer, Matthew, deceased, and Ephraim B., the subject of this sketch.

Ephraim B. Chenoweth received his elementary education in the com-
mon schools of Eminence and the high school at Martinsville. He then pur-
sued the scientific course at Danville Normal School, from which he grad-
uated in 1898, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He then matriculated
in the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, where he pursued his tech-
nical studies four years, graduating in 1902 with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine. He immediately located in the active practice of his profession
at Quincy, Morgan county, Indiana, where he remained seven years, build-
ing up a good patronage and gaining an enviable reputation as a successful
medical practitioner. He serve4 as coroner of Owen county with efficiency
during the years 1907-8-9, resigning in the latter year because of his re-
moval from that county. He then located at Nineveh, where he has since
been actively engaged in the practice, gaining a wide notoriety throughout the
county as a competent, able and successful doctor. He has had remarkable
success as a healer of diseases, and has often been called into consultation by
his professional brethren because of his ability as a diagnostician and his
uniform success in the healing of diseases. In addition to splendid technical
skill he possesses broad sympathies which enable him to at once gain the
confidence of his patients, a point which all physicians will admit is a most
important element of success in medical treatment. He is a member of the
Johnson County Medical Association and the Indiana State Medical So-
ciety, in the proceedings of both of which he takes an interested part. He is
now holding the position of township physician for the poor and indigent.
He takes an intelligent interest in every phase of local life and all move-
ments which promise to benefit the community educationally, morally, so-
cially or materially enlist his warmest support and hearty co-operation. He

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742 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

is well read and widely informed, a splendid conversationalist and a welcome
visitor in any company which he chooses to enter.

Fraternally, Doctor Chenoweth is a member of Nineveh Lodge, Knights
of Pythias, of which he is medical examiner; of Nineveh Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, and the chapter of Royal Arch Masons at Edinburg. He
is also a member of the Improved Order of Red Men at Quincy.

In 1903 Doctor Chenoweth was united in marriage to Mina Kennedy,
the daughter of William Kennedy, of Martinsville, and to this union have
been born three children, Morris Kennedy, Byron Elsworth and Robert
Denslow. Doctor Chenoweth has always not only kept in close touch with
the trend of medical thought, but is also a close student of all social, po-
litical and scientific subjects, being broad-minded, full of spirits and a leader
in those matters relating to the advancement of his fellow meji. He is a man
of decided convictions on public questions, maintains his stand with resolute
finnness and has made his usefulness felt in various trusts with which he
has from time to time been honored. In every sphere of endeavor in which
he has taken a part, his unpretending bearing and strict integrity have ele-
vated him in the confidence of his fellow citizens, and his influence is always
powerful and salutary in the community.

THOMAS DORRELL.

An enumeration of the representative citizens of Johnson county, In-
diana, would be incomplete without specific mention of the well known and
popular gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. A member of one of
the old and highly esteemed families of the central part of the state and
for many years a public-spirited man of affairs, he has stamped the impress
of his individuality upon the community and added luster to the honorable
name which he bears, having always been scrupulously honest in all his rela-
tions with his fellow men and leaving no stone unturned whereby he might
benefit his own condition as well* as thaf of his neighbors and friends, con-'
sequently he has long ago won the favor of a great number of people of
White River township, where he maintains his home;

Thomas Dorreir was bom May 29, 1872, in White River township,
Johnson county, Indiana, and is the son of William and "Marcella (Bristow)
Dorrell, who were the parents of eleven children: Jacob G., who resides on

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 743

the old Jacob Dorrell farm two miles north of Stone's Crossing; Daniel D.,
who resides a quarter of a mile north of Stone's Crossing; Joseph, who died
in infancy; Mrs. Sarah Matilda Umbarger, who lives a mile west of Stone's
Crossing; Pascal E., of Indianapolis; William A., of Morgan county, this
state; Thomas, the subject of this sketch; James M., who lives in Missouri;
Robert, who lives two miles northeast of Whiteland, and Mrs. Cena J. Re-
pass, of Hamilton county, this state.

The subject of this sketch received a splendid education and prepara-
tion for life's duties, having completed his common school education at the
Center Grove high school, where he graduated in 1891, and in 1899 he en-
tered Indiana State University at Bloomington, graduating there in 1903
with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then engaged in the vocation of
teaching in the common schools, which he followed for five years. He
achieved eminent success in this calling, his ability being recognized through-
out the county, and he became principal of the high school and superintendent
of the school at Center Grove, where he remained three years. He is now
giving his sole attention to the cultivation of his fine fann in White River
township, where he is operating two hundred acres of land, including ninety
acres belonging to his mother. Owing to his skilful management and careful
attention, the farms are well kept and are under a high state of cultivation,
returning abundant harvests for the labor bestowed upon them. He has
worked his way up to a position of prominence in his community and com-
parative affluence, having ever maintained a high order of living and dealt
fairly and honestly with his fellow men until no man in Johnson county today
stands higher in general public esteem. While he has never sought public of-
fice, he has always been a loyal Democrat and ever assisted in furthering the
interests of his community, whether in a political, moral or social way, and no
more praiseworthy citizen is to be found in his community.

Religiously, Mr. Dorrell is a faithful and earnest member of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, while his lodge memberships are with the Knights of
Pythias at Stone's Crossing and the Free and Accepted Masons at Greenwood,
in the workings of both of which he takes an appreciative interest.

On May 30, 191 1, Mr. Dorrell was united in marriage with Margaret
A. Gregg, the daughter of Ira T. and Elizabeth L. (Shera) Gregg. The former
died in January, 1913, and she died September 28, 1913. To Mr. and Mrs.
Dorrell has been born a daughter, Elizabeth Marcella, w^hose birthday wets
April I, 1912.

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744 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

SCOTT CURRY.

Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Johnson coun-
ty within the pages of this book, citizens who have figured in the growth and
development of this favored locality and whose interests are identified with its
every phase of progress, each contributing in his sphere of action to the well-
being of the community in which he resides and to the advancement of its
normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is Scott Curry, one of the
leading farmers and stock raisers of Whiteland, Johnson county, Indiana.

Scott Curry, a resident of Whiteland, with which community he is closely
identified in a business way, and who is also one of the most successful farm-
ers of Pleasant township, is a native of Johnson county, having been born on
December 23, 1855, and is the son of John and Matilda (Wise) Curry. Both
of these parents were natives of the state of Kentucky, the father having been
born in Fayette county and the mother in Louisville. They were married in
that state, and in 1883 came to Johnson county, settling in Clark township,
where the father followed farming during the remainder of his years. He
bought his original tract of land here from Dr. Murphy, well known in his
day, and to the improvement and cultivation of that land he gave his attention,
developing it into a good farm and achieving for himself a splendid reputation
as an agriculturist and business man. To him and his wife were bom eight
children, namely : Tisdal Eddie, deceased ; Laura, deceased ; Eliza, who lives
at Huntingfton, Indiana; Thomas, of Southport, Indiana; Henry, deceased;
William, of Indianapolis; Isabel, deceased, and Scott, the subject of this
sketch. Scott Curry received his education in the common schools of his town-
ship, and his boyhood days were spent on the paternal farmstead, where he
early learned the secrets of successful agriculture under the intelligent direc-
tion of his father. He devoted himself assiduously to the cultivation of the
soil until 1911, when he retired from active farm work and moved to White-
land, where he has since resided. He has not, however, relinquished his ac-
tive operation of the farm, which is carried on under his personal direction.
He owns one hundred and twenty acres of the old homestead, on which are
raised all the crops common to this locality, and where also considerable atten-
tion is given to the raising and feeding of live stock, large numbers of animals
being sold from his farm annually, lie keeps the farm up to the highest type
of modern agricultural methods, and not only financial success has come
through his operations, but also an enviable reputation as a successful agri-
culturist. Mr. Curry is also interested financially in various enterprises at

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SCOTT CURRY

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 745

Whiteland, and is a stockholder, director and vice-president of the Whitdand
National Bank.

Politically, Mr. Curry is a staunch supporter of the Republican party, to
which he has given his vote at every election since attaining his majority. He
is not a seeker after personal office for himself, but wields a definite influence
in the party campaigns. Fraternally, he is a member of the time-honored
order of Freemasonry, belonging to the local lodge at Franklin and taking a
deep interest in the workings of the order. Religiously, he is a member of
the Christian church and gives this society his liberal support. Mr. Curry has
never married. He is a man of large views and broad s}rmpatbies, and no
movement for the advancement of his community has ever solicited his aid in
vain, for he believes in progress all along the line of material effort and his
interests are always in full harmony with the highest and best interests of his
fellow citizens. Genial and unassuming in manner, he has won a large and
loyal circle of friends throughout Johnson coimty, who esteem him highly
because of his genuine worth and high personal character. Because of the
success which he has attained, he is eminently entitled to representation in a
history of his coimty.

It was once remarked bj a geljpljg^i^ iiidtt*st>and biographer that 'There
has scarcely passed a life o^ >ij]feidiia>*j4Sffi8rf)^^s* aAd faithful narrative would
not have been useful.*' Beljevingijj JJi^>iiiiiiB(fr llii opinion, expressed by
one of the greatest and best men, the writer of this memoir takes pleasure in
presenting a few of the leading facts in the commendable career of a gentle-
man who, by industry, perseverance, temperance and integrity, worked him-
self from an humble station to a successful agriculturist and won an honorable
position among the well known and highly esteemed men of a foniier gen-
eration in Johnson county. For it is always pleasant as well as profitable to
contemplate the career of a man who has won a definite goal in life, whose
career has been such as to command the honor and respect of his fellow citi-
zens. Such, in brief, was the record of the late John Oliver, than whom a
more whole-souled or popular man it would have been difficult to have found
within the borders of Johnson county, where he long maintained his home and
where he labored not only for his own individual advancement and that of his
immediate family, but also for the improvement of the entire community
whose interests he ever had at heart.

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746 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

John Oliver was bom on May 30, 1831, in county Derry, Ireland, and
was of Scotch descent, his parents having fled from Scotland to Ireland dur-
ing- the Scotch Rebellion. These parents, John and Margaret Oliver, were
strict Presbyterians in their religious belief of the branch known as Covenant-
ers and they were staunch defenders of their faith, willing to suffer for their
honest convictipns. John Oliver, Jr., was born in Ireland and at the age of
eighteen years he came to America with his widowed mother, who located
in Philadelphia. There he was employed by his brother-in-law, John McCauley,
grain merchant. Before the war he and his brother-in-law came to Johnson
county, Indiana, and acquired a farmstead, and in 1866 Mr. Oliver brought
his wife, whom he had married earlier the same year, to his new home and
located on the Dr. Donald farm, which he rented for five years. In 1867 he
rented the Banta farm and, by dint of the most indefatigable effort and the
most rigid economy, saved money and in 1872 was enabled to buy his pres-
ent farm. His first home was in a good log cabin for a year, but in May,
1873, a more substantial and attractive residence was built. Mr. Olivier was
a hardworking and progressive man, enterprising in his methods, and his keen-
est delight was in the thought that he was creating a good home. He was
domestic in his tastes, his greatest enjoyment being found in the family circle
with his loved ones. Among his fellow citizens he was courteous and genial
and to a notable degree he enjoyed their respect and good will. As a business
man he was shrewd and sagacious and carried forward his plans with energy
and ability. Broad-hearted and charitable, he was a man among men and no
worthy cause ever appealed to him in vain. His death removed from Johnson
county one of the most substantial and highly esteemed citizens and the many
beautiful tributes to his character as a man and citizen attested to the abiding
place he had in the hearts and affections of his friends.

On August 14, 1866, Mr. Oliver married Mary F. B. McFall, who was

born on March 23, 1843. ^^ Ballymoney, Ireland, the daughter of Daniel M.

and Mary McF'all, natives of Scotland and Covenanters who fled to Ireland to

escape persecution because of their religious belief. They were members of

the Douglas clan who had opposed King James and were therefore forced to

flee the country. To Mr. and Mrs. Oliver were born eight children, of whom

six were reared, namely: John, who died in infancy; Elizabeth Adelaide^

who married a Mr. Graham, of Franklin; John Van Nuys, who died in 190U

was attorney of the city of Franklin, and a partner of Gabriel Overstreet;

William, who is the present mayor of the city of Franklin, is a graduate of the

Indiana Law School ; Gertrude is the wife of Mr. Shufflebarger, who is a bank

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 747

cashier at Martinsville, this state ; Llewelyn is a fanner and makes his home
with his mother; Daniel Arthur is also at home. These children have all
been well educated, completing their studies in Franklin College. Mrs. Oliver
comes from a long and sterling line of ancestry, her family having had a coat
of arms which is now used by Mrs. Oliver. The arms bear the inscription
**Make Sure,'' with a figure of a hand and dagger. Mrs. Oliver also pos-
sesses an old heirloom in the shape of a seal many years old.

John Oliver, who was one of the most respected members of his com-
munity, was a rigid churchman, giving special observance to the Sabbath. He
and his wife united with the Hopewell Presbyterian church in September,
1866, and thereafter he gave that society his staunch support. His death oc-
curred on September 23, 1909, and throughout the community it was felt as
a personal loss, for his character was such that he had endeared himself to all
who knew him. Mrs. Oliver is a lady of many charming qualities and in the
circles in which she moves she is held in high regard because of her high per-
sonal character and pleasing disposition. She has reared her family to hon-
orable manhood and womanhood and now is numbered among the citizens of
her community who are giving honor and dignity to the society to which
they belong.

VV. L. NEIBLE.

Success in this life comes to the deserving. It is an axiom demonstrated
by all human experience that a man gets out of this life what he puts into it,
plus a reasonable interest on the investment. The individual who inherits a
large estate and adds nothing to his fortune can not be called a successful man.
He that falls heir to a large fortune and increases its value is successful in
proportion to the amount he adds to his possession. But the man who starts
in the world unaided and by sheer force of will, controlled by correct princi-
ples, forges ahead and at length reaches a position of honor among his fellow
citizens achieves success such as representatives of the two former classes can
neither understand nor appreciate. To a considerable extent the subject of
this sketch is a creditable representative of the class last named, a class which
has furnished much of the bone and sinew of the country and added to the
stability of our government and its institutions.

W. L. Neible, a successful attorney and the efficient postmaster at Edin-
burg, Johnson county, Indiana, is a native of the old Hoosier state, having

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748 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

been born in Shelby county on March 5, 1870. The family is originally of
Holland origin, the first representatives of the name having come to this
country in an early day, locating in New Amsterdam, New York. Later
members of this family moved to Virginia and afterwards to Ohio. They
became prominent in the life of the communities where they resided. The
subject's parents were Lewis and Catherine (Gephart) Neible, the father a
native of Montgomery county, Ohio, and the mother of Reading, Bucks
county, Pennsylvania. Lewis Neible was an energetic farmer and active
lumberman and was successful in his vocations, attaining a prominent and in-
fluential place in his locality. The subject's parents are both now deceased,
the mother dying in 1899 ^^^ the father in 1893.

The subject of this sketch received his education first in the common
schools and later in the normal school at Danville, Indiana, and the Valparaiso
University. Having decided to make the practice of law his life work, he
then became a student in the Indianapolis Law School, where he graduated
in 1899. His early years were not characterized by hours of ease or in-
fluential assistance from outside sources, for he was practically compelled to
work his own way through school. In 1899 ^I*"- Neible entered upon the
active practice of his profession in partnership with Harry M. Scholler, under
the firm name of Scholler & Neible, an association which continued with
mutually satisfactory results until 1907, when Mr. Scholler retired from the
practice, since which time Mr. Neible has continued alone.

Careful preparation, painstaking effort and sterling integrity of character
are the concomitants which contributed to the success of Mr. Neible in the
practice and among his professional colleagues, as well as the general public,
he attained high distinction because of his ability and genuine worth. In 1906
Mr. Neible was appointed postmaster at Edinburg, a position which he still
holds, and he is discharging his official duties to the entire satisfaction of the
department and the patrons of the office. For a number of years he rendered
efficient service as city attorney of Edinburg. He is also interested in the
newspaper business, owning a one-third interest in the Edinburg Courier.
In the civic life of the community he takes a live interest and is now the
efficient and energetic president of the Commercial Club of his city, one of
the important factors in the commercial and civic life of the community.

In October, 1910, Mr. Neible was married to Cornelia, the daughter of
Judge Nelson R. Keyes and Elizabeth (Mooney) Keyes. Mr. Keyes, who
was a prominent and well known attorney of Columbus, ranking high as one
of the successful lawyers of Indiana, was judge of the circuit court of
Bartholomew countv at the time of his death. He was a man of marked

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 749

ability, wise judgment and wide experience, and few cases of prominence were
conducted in his and adjoining counties with which he was not engaged on
one side or the other.

Politically, the subject of this sketch has been a life-long Republican,
and has taken an active interest in the success of his party. Fraternally, he
is a member of the Masonic order, having attained the thirty-second degree
in the Scottish Rite, and is also a member of Murat Temple, Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine, at Indianapolis. Personally, Mr. Neible is a man of strong
personal qualities, easily makes friends and always retains them. United in
his composition are so many elements of a provident, practical nature, which
during a series of years have brought him into prominence and earned for
him a first place among the enterprising men of his county, that it is but just
recognition of his worthiness that he receive specific mention in this work.

MATHEW J. TRACY.

In the respect that is accorded to men who have fought their own way to
success through im favorable environment we find an unconscious recognition
of the intrinsic worth of a character which can not only endure so rough a
test, but gain new strength through the discipline. The gentleman to whcwn
the biographer now calls the reader's attention was not favored by inherited
wealth or the assistance of influential friends, but in spite of this, by perse-
verance, industry and wise economy, he has attained a comfortable station in
life, making his influence felt for good in his community in Pleasant town-
ship, Johnson county, where he has long maintained his home, and because
of the hcMiorable career he has known here and also because of the fact that he
is numbered among those patriotic sons of the North who assisted in saving
the Union's integrity in the dark days of the sixties, he is eminently worthy of
a place in this book.

Mathcw J. Tracy, a respected citizen and retired farmer of Pleasant
township, Johnson county, Indiana, than whom no man in his locality is more
deserving of mention in a work of this character, was bom on January 6,
1832, in Pleasant township, the son of James and Mary (Tanner) Tracy, na-
tives respectively of North Carolina and South Carolina. In the paternal line
the subject traces his ancestry back to Nathaniel Tracy, who was born in 1743
and died in 18 18, and who married Mary Tidwell. Nathaniel Tracy was a
native of Maryland, who later emigrated to North Carolina. He was a sol-

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750 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

dier in the Revolutionary war, as was Josiah Tanner, the subject's maternal
grandfather, who was wounded in the right arm in the battle of King's Moun-
tain, Ijeing crippled for life. Both of these men moved from the Carolinas to
Kentucky, where they spent the remainder of their lives and died. Their
children became scattered, but many of them are still living in Indiana. James
Tracy was born May 14, 1785, and died on February 14, 1883. On Septem-
ber 27, 1804, he married Mary Tanner, who was born on December 16, 1789,
and died on May 28, 1848. Their children were John, Keziah, Nathaniel,
Thomas, Elinor M., Margaret, James, Elizabeth A., Mahala, William, Josiah
H., Martha W., Mary Jane, and Mathew J., the immediate subject of this
sketch. James Tracy, on coming to Johnson county in 1828, entered land
and brought his family here the following year. He made permanent and
substantial improvements on his land, and at his death left a splendid estate.

Mathew J. Tracy was reared under the parental roof and has followed
the vocation of carpentering and also farming throughout his life. He has
been a practical man in every sense of the word and, aside from the tilling of
the soil, has held other interests, having served for a number of years as vice-
president of the Whiteland Bank, w^hieh position he relinquished, however,
upon his retirement from active business a few years ago. During the Civil
war he gave practical evidence of his loyalty by enlisting as a private in Com-
pany F, Third Indiana Cavalry, which comrnand was assigned to the Army
of the Potomac. Mr. Tracy took part in seventy-one battles and engage-
ments, and was slightly wounded. Among the principal battles in which he
took part were South Mountain, second Bull Run, Antietam, Culpeper Court
House, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Richmond. He had his horse killed
under him at Culpeper, Virginia, and in one engagement was twice wounded.
After the war he gave his attention to his private interests, and accumulated
an estate of nearly seven hundred acres. He has deeded to his children over
five hundred and three acres, and is the owner himself of one hundred and
sixty acres near Whiteland. Staunch integrity, persistent industry and an in-
domitable spirit th'at would brook no obstacle have been the elements that
have contributed to his success, and no man in his community occupies a
higher standing in the esteem of his fellow citizens than he. He has given
his support to all worthy enterprises of the community, particularly churches,
all of which he has donated liberal sums to, but he is not identified by mem-
bership with any. Fraternally, he was for a number of years an active mem-
ber of the Masonic order. Politically, since the opening of the Civil war he
has been an ardent supporter of the Republican party.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 75 1

On December 2, 1852, Mathew J. Tracy was married to Susan Margaret
Smith, who was born on May 21, 1836, and died on April 10, 1857. Their
children were Louis Franklin, born November 9, 1853, and James Buchanan,
bom April 20, 1856. For his second wife Mr. Tracy choose Mary K. Var-
ner, who was born January 2, 1842. Their children were Richard Marion,
deceased; Mathew Varner, deceased, and Clarence Allen, deceased. Mr.
Tracy's third marriage was to Sarah E. Zwires Boulden on October 23, 1890.

SAMUEL J. McCLELLAN.

This well known old family, whose name appears above, has been so long
identified with the history of Franklin that the history of one is pretty much
the history of both. The family also bears an unique distinction in the fact
that from 1861 to the present time, a period of over a half century, the posi-
tion of station agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Franklin
has been held by two members of the family, the subject of this sketch and his
father. This record, while a very unusual one, is more worthy of note from
the evidence which it conveys of the absolute trustworthiness with which the
company's business has been attended to and stands in unmistakable evidence
of the capability and honesty of the McClellans, father and son.

Samuel J. McClellan was born on September 14, 1849, ^^ the city of
Franklin, Johnson county, Indiana, and is the son of James H. and Isabella
(Bryan) McClellan, both of whom were natives of Kentucky, the father hav-
ing been born in Trimble county. James H. McClellan came from his native
state to Johnson county in an early day, settling first eight miles north of
Franklin, where he maintained his home until 1848, when he removed to
Franklin. In 1853 ^^ ^^^ appointed postmaster of this city, serving in that
position eight years, or until 1861, when he became the agent of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company at Franklin. He served in that capacity up to the
time of his death, which occurred on February 28, 1881. Soon after coming
to Indiana, he had for a short time taught school in Marion county, being a
man of intellectual attainments and high character. In his religious faith
he was a Methodist. To him and his wife were bofn three children, namely :
Mrs. Betty Riley, of Franklin; Mrs. Mary Whedon, deceased, formerly of
Louisville, Kentucky, and Samuel J., the immediate subject of this sketch.
The mother of these children survived her husband many years, her death
occurring on December 23, 1903.

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752 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Samuel J. McClellan received a fair education in the public schools of
Franklin, and on October i, 1866, he began to learn telegraphy in the office
of the Pennsylvania Compjany, under his father's direction. He has since
that time been in that office continuously, having been appointed agent on
March 4, 1881, on the death of his father. The Pennsylvania Company is
one of the most exacting corporations and to retain so responsible a position
for^so many years is a record of which Mr. McQellan is deservedly proud.
Among the patrons of the road he enjoys a merited popularity, for his
courtesy and evident desire to please and care for the patrons of the road
have been duly appreciated by the public, who esteem him for his effective
work as agent.

Politically, Mr. McClellan is a stanch Democrat. Fraternally, he is a
Knight of Pythias and a Mason, in the latter order having attained to the
order of Knight Templar. Religiously, he is a Presbyterian. Mr. McClellan
has always given his support to every movement calculated to advance the
highest interests of the community and because of his integrity of character,
his genial! disposition and his genuine personal worth, he is held in high esteem
in the communit}^

C M. DURHAM.

Among those men of sterling attributes of character who have Impressed
their personality upon the community of their residence and have borne their
full share in the upbuilding and development of Johnson county, mention must
not be omitted of C. M. Durham, of Whiteland, where he has maintained his
home and where he has exerted a strong influence for good on the entire com-
munity, being a man of upright principles and desirous to sec the advancement
of the community along moral, educational and material Knes, at present hold-
ing the responsible position of cashier of the Whiteland National Bank.

C. M. Durham is a natiye of the old Blue Grass state, having been bom
on May 16, 1883, and is a son of William Robert and Ellen (Cox) Durham,
natives of North Carolina and Kentucky, respectively. The subject's father
died in 1898 and his widow still resides in Kentucky. Besides the subject,
there were Elijah, Benjamin, of Washington, William, of Kentucky, and
Odom, of Shirley, Indiana. The subject of this sketch received his education
in the common schools and in Morehead Normal School. At the age of nine-
teen years he accepted a position as cashier of the Sandy Hook Bank, Elliott
county, Kentucky, where he remained four years, then came to Whiteland as

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PUBLIC llBUru

*8T0«. LENOX AMD
lWU>«M^00J(iJyixi0«8

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 753

cashier of the Whiteland National Bank, in which position he has since re-
mained. He was one of the organizers of the latter institution, which has
become one of the most substantial and best known financial institutions in
Johnson county. It was organized in 1909, and' has a capital of twenty-five
thousand dollars, with resources of one hundred and twelve thousand dollars.
The bank has erected a splendid brick building, with all modern fixtures and a
burglar and fireproof vault, and pays three per cent, on deposits. The present
officers and the directors are as follows : President, S. E. Brewer ; vice-pres-
ident, Scott Curry; cashier, C. M. Durham; directors, S. E. Brewer, Scott
Curry, E. D. Brewer, Charles Boone, E. O. McAlpin, A. T. Brunnemer and
C. M. Durham. As the executive officer of the bank, Mr. Diu-ham has busi-
ness qualities of the highest order, and his absolute integrity has won for him
the highest esteem of the officers of the bank and its patrons.

On December 25, 1903, Mr. Durham was married to Effie Williams, of
Kentucky, and they have had two children, Lenora Florine and Robert. Po-
litically, Mr. Durham is a supporter of the Democratic party, while bis re-
ligious membership is with the Baptist church. Fraternally, he is a member
of the time-honored order of Freemasons, in the workings of which he takes
a deep interest. Of marked domestic tastes^^ Mr. Durham finds his greatest
pleasure in his home circle* GeniaJ arid ui^assuming in his relations with
others, he has made many ; wiatr}ii . f rielitte siface coming to Whiteland, and
among those who know Shim he is held in hig^ regard.

DICKSCX'^BROTHERS.

Among the progressive young business men of Whiteland, Johnson
county, Indiana, identified with an important industrial enterprise, and whose
training and ability have enabled them to achieve a noteworthy success in
their line, are the Dickson Brothers, John B. and Mino. Men of intelligent
ideas and wide experience, their interests have been so interwoven with the
establishment with which they are identified as to make the history of one
practically the history of the other within the past few years, and as experts
in the line of endeavor to which their enegries and talents have been devoted
they have an honorable record and have achieved much more than local reputa-
tion. Messrs. Dickson are both natives of Johnson county, John B. having
(48)

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754 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

been born here on August 22, 1875, and Mino on December 5, 1881. They
are the sons of Francis and Etha J. (Brewer) Dickson, the father a native of
Owensboro, Kentucky, and the mother of Johnson county, Indiana, the daugh-
ter of John D. Brewer. FrJincis Dickson located in his early life at New Al-
bany, Indiana, where he remained until 1869, when he came to Franklin,
Johnson county, and for a year or so followed milling. He then bought the
Whiteland flour mill and entered into the milling business on his own account,
continuing at such until 1887, when the mill was converted into an elevator.
He conducted this elevator successfully until 1903, when he retired from ac-
tive business pursuits. He was a man of large business ability and achieved
a gratifying degree of success with his enterprises, enjoying to a noted degree
the warm regard of all who knew him. He was the father of three children :
John B., Una, who married a Mr. LaGrange, and Mino. The parents of these
children are both deceased, the father dying on May 5, 1913, and the mother
on August 5, 1894. They were faithful and earnest members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church and were much respected in the community.

The subjects of this sketch received their education in the common
schools and upon attaining mature years decided to go into business on their
own account. Their earlier years had been si>ent as assistants to their father,
under whom they had learned much of the detail of modern business methods,
so that when, in 1904, they embarked in business on their own account, they
were well qualified. Under the firm name of Dickson Brothers, they engaged
in the manufacture of drain tile, and their business career has been replete
with continued successes. They have a capacity of three hundred car loads of
tile per year, in all sizes from four inches up to eighteen inches, the quality of
the tile being the best advertising medium. The tile are made from surface
clay and are considered equal to any of similar kind upon the market. The
Dickson Brothers handle the entire output, selling direct to consumers and
jobbers. The plant has been in active operation night and day since it was
started in 1904, and the demand is generally ahead of the output. The pro-
prietors also take contracts for putting in county drains up to three and five
miles in length, and in this line of business the firm has been very successful,
their work meeting with the full approval of the county authorities and those
interested. The Dickson Brothers have worked hard and honorably earned
the reputation which they enjoy, not only as successful business men, but as
leading public-spirited citizens of their locality, and it is needless to add that
they are held in the highest esteem by all with whom they come in contact,
for they have shown the force of their strong individualities and their sterling

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 755

integrity in helping to make the community what it is. They are essentially
men of affairs, sound of judgment and farseeing in what they undertake, and
they have won and retained the confidence and esteem of all classes.

On November 15, 18^, John B. Dickson was united in marriage to
Maude Vaught, the daughter of George B. and Violento (Coleman) Vaught.
George B. Vaught was the son of Andrew J. and Mary (Thomas) Vaught,
ijoth of whom were natives of Virginia, coming to Clark county, Indiana, in
an early day, and later to Johnson county, where they settled in Franklin
township. Mr. Vaught followed farming all his life and became a prominent
and respected member of the community. To him and his wife were born
three children. In the Methodist Episcopal church he was a prominent work-
er and his father in the early days was a licensed exhorter. He and his wife
are both now deceased. To John B. Dickson and wife have been born two
children, Etha and William, both of whom are at home.

On July 24, 190 1, Mino Dickson was married to Laura Hibbs, the daugh-
ter of Oliver P. and Clara (Botchford) Hibbs, the father a native of Johnson
county, Indiana, and the mother bom in Connecticut, she having come to this
county in her childhood with her parents. To Mr. and Mrs. Dickson have
been born three children, Frances, Dale and Vivian, the latter being deceased.

Politically, the Dickson boys are not active, though they give their sup-
port to the parties of their preference, John being a Republican in his political
belief, while Mino gives his support to the Democratic party. In their re-
ligious belief the brothers are also divided, John being a Methodist and Mino
a Presbyterian, and each gives due measure of attention to all worthy benevo-
lent and charitable objects, no movement for the welfare of the people or the
upbuilding of the community appealing to them in vain.

In their business affairs the Dickson Brothers have earned an enviable
reputation for their enterprise, energy and persistence. They keep four
wagons delivering goods in Johnson county and the surrounding country, also
ship a great deal of their stuff throughout the state as far south as Madison,
and through Hendricks, Shelby, Hancock and Bartholomew counties. They
have earned a good reputation as reliable business men, their word being con-
sidered as good as a bond, and wherever they have had dealings they have left
a good impression with those with whom they have dealt. They are men of
sterling honesty and integrity of character, and because of these elements
and their genial disposition they have made friends wherever they have gone.
Their past record and their personal character justify the belief that the future
holds in store f(^r them far greater successes than they have already achieved.

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756 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

JAMES W. WHITAKER.

Among the honorable and influential citizens of Johnson county, Indi-
ana, is the subject of this review, who has here maintained his home for many
years, winning a definite success by means of the agricultural industry, to
which he has devoted his attention during the years of an active business life.
His career has been without shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and thus
he has ever commanded the confidence and esteem of his fellow men.

James W. Whitaker, trustee of Pleasant township, Johnson county, Indi-
ana, and a progressive and successful farmer, was born September 28, 1859,
in this county, and is a son of Willis and Sarah E. Whitaker, natives of Indi-
ana and Kentucky respectively. Willis Whitaker, who was bom in 1843 ^tnd
died in February, 1901, was the son of M. B. Whitaker, a native of Kentucky
and one of the early settlers of Johnson county. To Willis and Sarah
Whitaker were born three children, namely : Louisa Minerva, deceased ; James
W., the subject of this sketch, and Lucetta A., who died in February, 1908.
James W. Whitaker was reared under the paternal roof and secured his edu-
cation in the common schools of Pleasant township, where he has spent his
entire life. He was reared to the vocation of farming and has never seen
any reason to forsake this calling, in which he feels there is a dignity and
independence not to be found in any other vocation. He is the owner of
eighty-five acres of splendid land, to the improvement of which he has given
careful attention, his houses, barns and other buildings being attractive, while
the general appearance of the fields indicate that the owner is a man of right
judgment and sound discrimination in his conduct of the same. Politically,
a Democrat, Mr. Whitaker has long taken an active interest in the public
affairs of his locality. He served efficiently one term as road supervisor, and
in 1 91 1 was appointed trustee of Pleasant township, in which office he is now
serving, his term expiring in 191 4. During his service he has made substan-
tial improvements in the Whiteland high school buildings, at a cost of between
thirty and thirty-five thousand dollars, including a new addition of nine rooms,
comprising a large assembly room and auditorium. The building has been
made modern throughout and is now one of the best school buildings in John-
son county. Mr. Whitaker has taken a deep interest in the welfare of the
township and, as far as lies in his power, has contributed to the welfare of his
fellow citizens. Religiously, he is a member of the Christian church, while
his fraternal membership is with the Masonic order at Greenwood.

In 1880 Mr. Whitaker was married to Christina A. Drake, a daughter of
William I>rake, and to them have been born the following children: Mrs.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 757

Pearl Smith; Granville, of Indianapolis; Leona; Roy, of Pleasant township;
Ray, Rose, Warren, Dault, Inez and Gladys. Mr. Whitakcr is a man of
splendid influence in his community, having been a very industrious man and
led an honorable career, setting a worthy example to the younger generation
of his community and giving his own children a splendid training. He is
regarded as a public-spirited man and can always be counted on to support
the right side of any movement involving the moral, educational or social
welfare of his fellow citizens.

JOHN FULMER.

Any person who will investigate the facts in the case will be surprised
to learn of the great number of people of Germanic descent now living in
the United States. Unquestionably the greatest number of emigrants reach-
ing the shores of the new world comes from that nation, and statistics show
that there is more Germanic blood in the United States than any other. This
being a fact, it is easy to account for the prosperity and morality of this
country. Not only that, but it will aflford an explanation for the love of
learning shown by the people of this vast nation. Germany is famous the
world over for its remarkable universities, for its educated men, for its
poets and philosophers, and for the industry, patience, intelligence, rtiorality
and sturdiness of its citizens. These qualities have been brought to this coun-
try by the immigrants, and are now part and parcel of our wonderful nation
— its progress in domestic economy, its advancement in every branch of
material improvement, and its love of country and home.

John Fulmer, one of the sturdy and successful agriculturists of White
River township, Johnson county, Indiana, was bom in the locality where he
now lives on December 20, 1862, and is a son of Joseph and Christina (Kay-
lor) Fulmer. Both of his parents were bom in Germany, from whence they
came to the United States in 1852, having married in their native land. They
first landed in New York City, from whence they went to Cincinnati and sub-
sequently to Indianapolis. After remaining there for a time they came to
Johnson county, settling near Smith's Valley on what is now known as the
Sutton farm, where they remained for two or three years and then returned
to Indianapolis. After four years more in the Capital City, they returntfd
to their former farm, where they remained until 1863, when they moved
to what is known as the Fishef farm, where Mr. Fulmer now lives. They'

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758 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

were the parents of seven children: Andrew; Henry; Mary, who married
Henry Weyl; Sarah, who married Josiah Selch; Elizabeth, who married
A. D. McKinney; John and William.

The subject of this sketch received a fair education in the common
schools, and upon attaining mature years took up the vocation to which he
had been reared and in which he has achieved a pronounced success, being
now numbered among the most enterprising and successful farmers of White
River township. He is the owner of one hundred and eighty-seven acres of
land in this township, practically all of which he has earned by his own
efforts and for which he has earned the proud American title of "self-made
man." He carries on a diversified system of agriculture, in connection with
which he breeds, feeds and sells live stock, to his financial profit. The farm
which he now operates is splendidly improved in every respect, its general
condition and appearance reflecting great credit on its owner.

John Fulmer has twice been married, first on October 14, 1885. to
Martha Alice Engle, the daughter of Frank and Martha (Looper) Engle.
both of whom were natives of North Carolina. The father is deceased, but
the mother is still living at the age of seventy-seven years. To Mr. and
Mrs. Fulmer were bom two children, Grace Mabel, who is now a teacher,
and Lester Carl, who was bom on June 2y, 1894. Mrs. Martha Fulmer died
on September 3, 1903, at the age of thirty-seven years, and on Febmary 28,
191 1, Mr. Fulmer married Flora B. Evans, the daughter of Levi and Rebecca
(Parke) Evans, the mother being a daughter of Samuel Parke. Her father
was a native of Kentucky, and the mother of Johnson county, Indiana.
Samuel Parke was numbered among the early and influential settlers of John-
son county. To Levi and Rebecca Evans were born two children, Mary,
who married John Sutton, and Mrs. Fulmer.

The subject of this sketch has been a life-long supporter of the Demo-
cratic party, and is now servings as a member of the advisory board of White
River township. Aside from political affairs, he takes an interest in every
department of public life which affects his fellow citizens or the general ad-
vancement of the community, and he has been a potential influence in its
progress and achievement. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order,
belonging to Lodge No. 679 at Bargersville, while in the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows he is affiliated with the lodge' at Smith's Valley, and is also
a member of the Knights of Pythias. Religiously, he is an earnest member
of the Christian church and takes deep interest in its spiritual verities. His
career thus far has been a consistent and honorable one, and because of his

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 759

Staunch integrity and his accomplishments he is entitled and holds the sincere
confidence and good will of all who know him. He has been one of those
solid men of brain and substance so essential to the material growth and
prosperity of a community and whose influence has been willingly extended
in behalf of every deserving enterprise that has for its object the advancement
of the moral welfare of the community.

JACOB G. DORRELL.

It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an emi-
nently active and busy life, and who has attained a position of relative dis-
tinction in the community with which his interests are allied. But biography
•finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of
such a life history. It is, then, with a full appreciation of all that is demanded
and of the painstaking scrutiny that must be accorded each statement, and yet
with a feeling of satisfaction, that the writer essays the task of touching
briefly upon the details of such a record as has been that of the honored sub-
ject of this sketch whose eminently honored and successful career now comes
under review.

Jacob G. Dorrell, who was born in White River township, on what is
known as the Messersmith'farm on May 23, 1869, ^^ the son of William and
Marcella (Bristow) Dorrell. Mr. Dorrell secured his education in No. 5 dis-
trict school, and his early years were characterized by much hard labor upon
the home farm. He remained with his mother until he was twenty-one years
old, when he moved on to his farm, where he lived from October until Jan-
uary 25, 1 88 1, and then located on the old Dorrell homestead, where he has
lived continuously since, with the exception of about five months, when he
resided on his uncle Pascal's place. He is now the owner of about sixty acres
of splendid land, which comprises the old Dorrell homestead, originally set-
tled on by his grandfather, Jacob Dorrell, and here he is giving the personal
attention to tlie cultivation of his land, which brings splendid success. He has
a comfortable and substantial dwelling and good outbuildings and his farm
indicates thai he is an excellent manager and a man of good judgment. In ad-
dition to the raising of the ordinary crops common to this locality, he gives
some attention tc the breeding and raising of live stock.

Politically, Mr. Dorrell is a Prohibitionist, while his church relations are
with the Mt. Auburn Methodist Episcopal church. He is very active in church

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760 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

work and is at present trustee of his church. Fraternally, he is a member of
the Knights of Pythias at Stone's Crossing and with the Masons at Green-
wood.

On October 6, 1880, Mr. Dorrell married Maria Ellen Umbarger, the
daughter of James Umbarger, and to them have been born six children, name-
ly: Charles Omer, a farmer; Walter Martin, of Indianapolis; William Ed-
gar, of Indianapolis; Mrs. Okal Purvis, of Indianapolis; Lola and Hazel, at
home. The family move in the best social circles of the community and be-
cause of their genuine worth and the splendid family record they are held in
high regard by all who know them.

SAMUEL E. BREWER.

Specific mention is made in the following paragraphs of one of the
worthy citizens of Johnson county, Indiana — one who has figured in the
growth and development of this favored locality and whose interests have
been identified with its progress, contributing in a definite measure in his
particular sphere of action to the wellrbeing o-f;;jfhrH:ommunity in which he
resides and to the advancement^ of its nof mSl^^ growth. Addi-

tional interest also attaches to his'^r^r ffotn thfe ^act that practically his
entire life has been passed withjn the borders of thi^ county. Earnest pur-
pose and tireless energy, combined witlV rllitui^^^jtli^itJent and everyday com-
mon sense, have been among hfe 'm^sf '{)r6mineivt characteristics and he has
merited the respect and esteem vJ'hiylnaFt ■aLlbl'grraTiTm by all who know him.

Samuel E. Brewer, president of the Whiteland National Bank, was bom
June 28, 1842, in Pleasant township, this county, and is the son of John D.
and Frances (Webb) Brewer, natives of Mercer and Henry counties, Ken-
tucky, respectively. John D. Brewer was the son of Daniel A. Brewer, a na-
tive of New Jersey, who migrated to Kentucky, and the latter was the son
of Abram Brewer, who was born and reared in New Jersey. The latter was
the son of Everardus Brewer, who was the son of Jacob Brewer, the son of
Adam Brewer, who came from Holland to America in 1642 and settled on
Manhattan island. John D. Brewer came to Johnson county, Indiana, in
1828, locating on some land which he had secured while here on a hunting
trip, having previously made four trips to this county, and in 1832 he filed on
a piece of land in Pleasant township. He was prospered in his business af-
fairs and at the time of his death, which occurred in August, 1882, he was the

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1 tHg HEW YORK

'PUBLIC LIBRARY

*««>«, LMOX Ann
rU^MM FOUJ<DaTIONS

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SAMUEL E. BREWER

MRS. MELISSA BREWER

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IBS JIE"» YORK
POBWC LIfiRARY

JdttOR, tJMOt. AND

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 761

owner of one thousand acres of good land. In 1834 Daniel Brewer and his
family came, his wife being Theodosia Darland, and they, with their chil-
dren, Garrett, David, Daniel, William, Sarah, Mary and Samuel, all settled
on farms in Pleasant and Franklin townships. John D. Brewer built a log
cabin, in which he **batched'' for eight years, and then married Frances Webb,
a daughter of James Webb, a native of Henry county, Kentucky, where he was
an early settler. To John D. and Frances Brewer were born nine children,
namely: Samuel E., subject of this sketch; Frances, who died at the age of
two years; one who died in infancy; Mrs. Theodosia Miller, of Bloomington,
this state; Mary, of Indianapolis; Mrs. Etha Dixon, deceased; Mrs. Frances
Brewer, deceased ; Mrs* Belle Covert, of Los Angeles, California ; Mrs* Mar-
garet Tracy, of Whiteland, and Mrs. Tclvia Brooks, of Indianapolis. The
mother of these children died in 1894^

The subject of this ?ketch received his education in the district schools*
supplemented by attendance at Hopewell Academy during i86i to 1864. He
then engaged in teaching school, following that Vocation for a few years, and
then located on eighty acres of his father's land, to the cultivation of which
he devoted his time for a few years, at the same time teaching, as his business
affairs would permit. In 1871 he bought a saw mill, which he operated until
1887, and then erected the Whiteland canning factory, which he operated.
He had a hard struggle to-make^he^onrrcta.;^ success, but eventually got it
on its feet and in 1898 sold K7o}'"G^^8?f Jojinson. The factory is now a
prosperous institution anfl ?s'^dW<!W^tWe^8^is: canning factories in the state.
Mr. Brewer managed thSs factory until 190^, when he disposed of his in-
terests and retired. In i9od%^^j%te*<fti^^organi2atio of the Whiteland
National Bank, of whicll lie Avai^*elei^eS^^?^ment, and in which capacity he
is still serving. Much o^'l4^tif*^^c^€esr^tyfiJT^ institution has been due

to his good business management and personal influence, and among his busi-
ness associates he is held in high regard, his sound judgment and wise dis-
crimination being considered invaluable in the management of the bank. He
is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of splendid farm land, besides
which he owns a splendid residence and one of the best business blocks in
Whiteland.

Politically, Mr. Brewer is. a Democrat, though he assumes an independent
attitude in local affairs, voting for the men whom he deems best qualified for
office. He was elected justice of the peace, serving four years in this ca-
pacity to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.

In 1867 Mr. Brewer married Melissa, the daughter of Cordonand
Springer, a native of Virginia and an early settler in Johnson county, having

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762 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

come here in the late twenties. To Mr. Brewer have been bom the following
children : Mrs. Annie Graham, who lives one mile east of Whiteland and is
the mother of seven children: Roy, Earl, William, Fannie, John and two
others ; Mrs. Fannie Alexander, now deceased, lived in Illinois, and left three
children, Mary, Anna and Melissa; Edward, who died in 1900, left two chil-
dren, Samuel and Marcie; Mrs. Leona Tingle lives in Greenwood. Mr.
Brewer's career has been one of honor and trust and no higher eulogy can be
passed upon him than the simple truth that his name has never been coupled
with anything disreputable, and that there has never been the shadow of a
stain upon his reputation for integrity and unswerving honesty. He has been
a consistent man in all that he has ever undertaken and his career in all of
the relations of life has been absolutely without pretense. His actions are the
result of careful and conscientious thought and when once convinced that he
is right no suggestion of policy or personal profit can swerve him from the
course that he has decided upon. He is essentially a man of affairs, sound of
judgment and far-seeing in what he undertakes and he has won arid retained
the confidence and esteem of all classes.

GEORGE W. HECK.

That life is the most useful and desirable that results in the greatest good
to the greatest number and, though all do not reach the heights to which they
aspire, yet in some measure each can win success and make life a blessing to
his fellow men; and it is not necessary for one to occupy eminent public posi-
tions to do so, for in the humbler walks of life there remains much good to be
accomplished and many opportunities for one to exercise talents and influence
which in some way will touch the lives of those with whom we come in
contact, making them brighter and better. In the list of Johnson county's
successful citizens the subject of this review has long occupied a prominent
place. In his career there is much that is commendable and his life forcibly
illustrates what a life of energy can accomplish when his plans are wisely
laid and his actions governed by right principles, noble aims and high ideals.

The subject of this sketch, George W. Heck, who operates a splendid
farm of one hundred acres in Clark township, Johnson county, Indiana, was
born in this township on January 29, 1871, and is a son of Peter and Jennie
(Cutsinger) Heck. Peter Heck, who was the son of Jacob and Mary Heck.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 763

was bom in Ohio on July 28, 1825, and died on April 10, 1907. His parents
were sturdy Germans, from whom he inherited many of the characteristics
for which that great nation is noted. He was one of eleven children. The
family moved to Indiana when he was an infant and settled near Mt. Auburn,
Shelby county, Indiana, where, on December 7, 1854, he was married to
Jennie Cutsinger and on October 7, 1855, settled in Johnson county. Jennie
Cutsinger Heck was born on June 16, 1836, and died on April 25, 1909.
Peter Heck became the owner of six hundred and forty acres of land and was
considered a very successful farmer. He inaugurated a system of giving
to each of his twelve children forty acres of land or its equivalent in money,
though the boys earned the same by work. Upon his death Peter Heck left
an estate of three hundred acres. To him and his wife were born twelve
children, namely: John R., James B., Mary, Hannah, deceased, Elizabeth,
Saloma, George W., Abraham, Nancy, Emma, Samuel, and Jacob, deceased.

The subject of this sketch received his education in school house No. 9
in Clark township, and his boyhood days were spent in work with his father
on the home farm. In 1896 he received forty acres of land from his father,
to which he at once gave his attention and which he has increased from time
to time i^itil he is now the owner of one hundred acres of splendid land in
Clark township. To the improvement of this he has indefatigably devoted
himself and in 191 1 he built a fine, new barn, thirty-eight by sixty feet in
size, and has a neat and attractive residence set in the midst of a grove of
locust and apple trees, the whole presenting a very attractive appearance.
Mr. Heck gives his attention to the raising of all the cereals common to
this locality, having twenty-six acres in corn, twenty-five acres in wheat, and
raising annually about forty head of hogs. By his efficient labor and success-
ful management his farm has become one of the most productive and valua-
ble of its area in the county, as well as one of the county's most beautiful and
attractive rural homes.

Politically, Mr. Heck gives his support to the Democratic party, while
his church membership is with the Rock Lane Christian church.

On February 21, 1896, Mr. Heck married Addie May Huffman, a
daughter of Aaron and Sarah (Half acre) Huffman. Abel Huffman was
bom in 1842 in Johnson county and died in 1910. He was a son of Aaron
and Jemima (Wells) Huffman, natives of Kentucky, and his wife, whose
maiden name was Sarah Halfacre, was bom in 1838 and died in 1905. They
were the parents of two children, Mrs. Eva Heck and Mrs. Addie Heck.
Aaron Huffman was the owner of ninety-two acres of land in Marion town-

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764 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

ship, Johnson county. Jemima (Wells) Huffman was the (laughter of Charles
and Violet Wells, natives of the state of Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs..
Heck has been born one child, Odine, born November 26, 1896, who is
now living at home arid is a member of the senior class in the Clark town-
ship high school.

JAMES L. GRIFFITH.

The occupation of farming, to which the major part of the business life
of James L. Griffith, one of the well known and popular citizens of Johnson
county, has been devoted, is the oldest pursuit for a livelihood of mankind
and the one in which lie will ever be the most independent. His name has
long been inseparably connected with the general growth of Johnson county,
of which he is a native and where, in fact, he has spent fnost of his life.
While primarily attending to his own varied interests, his life has been largely
devoted to his fellow man, having been untiring in his efforts to inspire a
proper respect for law and order and ready at all times to uplift humanity
along civic and social lines.

James L. Griffith, one of the leading farmers and influential citizens of
Clark township, Johnson county, Indiana, was born in this township on
January 19, 1869, and is the son of Granville R. and Mary E. (Fitzpatrick)
Griffith. The father, who was 'a native of Jennings county. Indiana, came to
Johnson county at the age of seven years with his parents, his father, James
Griffith, having been an early settler of this county, where he followed farm-
ing during his entire residence here. He was a public-spirited citizen and took
an active interest in all public 'affairs, although he never held office. He was
the father of six children : William, Robert, John, one who died in infancy,
Melissa and Granville. To the latter were born four children, James L.,
Maggie M., 'Mary V. and Annabelle. In the common schools of Clark town-
ship the subject of this sketch secured his education, and then followed the
pursuit to w^hich he has been reared, that of agriculture, in which he has al-
ways been successfully engaged. He is the owner of two hundred and forty
acres of land in Gark tovmship, the improvements on which are of the best,
the splendid and attractive residence being one of the best in the country,
and all the other improvements on the farm are in accordance therewith.
For many years he has carried on the various departments of his work with
that discretion and energy which are sure to find a natural sequel m definite
success, having always been a hard worker, a good manager and a man of

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 765

economical habits, and, being fortunately situated in a thriving farining com-
munity, it is no wonder that he gained the front ranks of the agriculturists
of this favored locality.

Mr. Griffith has been twice married, first on January 2, 1894, to Minnie
B. Von Talge, the daughter of Henry and Laura (Curry) Von Talge, the
father being a native of Kentucky and an early settler of this county, to which
union were bom two children, Marie and Granville Ray. On September 12,
1906, Mr. Griffith married Florence Depue, daughter of William and Lavin-
na (Records) Depue, both families having been prominent in the early his-
tory of this county.

Politically, Mr. Griffith has given his support to the Republican party,
while his fraternal relations are with the Knights of Pythias. He is a member
of the Baptist church and takes a deep and active interest in the verities of the
spiritual life. In every avenue of life's activities he has been true to every
trust and is justly popular in his home community.

ARCH W. BYERS.

The science of agriculture— for it is a science as well as an art — ^finds
an able demonstrator as well as successful practitioner in the person of Arch
W. Byers, who is widely known in Johnson county, maintaining a very pro-
ductive and desirable farm in Fraiiklin township. He comes of a very
highly honored pioneer family, members of which have played well their
l)arts in the general develoi>inent of this favored section of the great Indiana
commonwealth.

Arch W. Byers, well known throughout Johnson county as the owner
of the celebrated "Melrose Farm" in Franklin township, was bom on Decem-
ber 28, 1869, in this township, and is the son of Henry S,, Sr., and Maria
(McCauley) Byers, natives of Kentucky, his mother being a daughter of
Dr, Robert McCauley, a native of Scotland, and the latter was also one of
the early pioneer physicians of Johnson county, where he was held in high
esteem. Henry S. Byers, Sr., was born in 18^3 and died in 1900. He came
to Johnson county, Indiana, with his father, Henry Byers, in 1825, the
family settling in Franklin township, where the father had filed on govern-
ment land, one hundred and sixteen acres of this tract being still in posses-
sion of the family. Henry S. Byers became an extensive land owner and live
stock man, owning at one time five hundred and eighty acres in one tract.

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766 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Besides this tract he bought other land and gave a farm to each of his chil-
dren, allowing them to pay out in time. During his life he owned over one
thousand acres of land and was numbered among the most prosperous agri-
culturists of Johnson county. Politically, he was a staunch Whig, and upon
the formation of the Republican party he became aligned with that political j

faith, from which he never departed. He was a member of the Home Guards, '

and his religious membership was with the First Mt. Pleasant Baptist church. 1

The subject's mother died in 1901. They had become the parents of thirteen
children, of whom nine were reared to maturity, namely : Robert McCauley,
who died at the age of forty-two years; Sarah M. Vandivier, of Franklin
township; George W., of Franklin; Alonzo N., of Franklin township; Ade-
line, who married a Mr. Wilkes and lives in Hensley township, and Caro-
line, the wife of Mr. Riggs, of Franklin township, are twins, Sylvanus, of
Franklin township; Susanna (Mrs. McCaslin), of Franklin township. R. N.
McCaslin now occupies the old home place, where the subject of this sketch
first saw the light of day, it having belonged to the old Dr. McCauley estate.
The house, a fine old brick mansion, was built in ante-bellum days, but was
burned down during the war and later rebuilt. The subject of this sketch
received his education in the little brick school house near his home, and he
was reared to the life of a farmer. Upon starting out in life for himself
he applied himself diligently to the vocation of agriculture, spending seven
years on his father's farm. In 1897 he received one hundred and thirty-six
acres of the home fann,on which he built a house, and in time he paid his
father for the land. The father had a peculiar plan of distributing his proper-^
ty among the children. When a child had accummulated two thousand dol-
lars, the father gave him a farm and also two thousand dollars and gave him
time to pay for the land without interest. The payment notes were five
hundred dollars yearly, and if all the notes aggregating thirty-seven hun-
dred dollars were paid as they came due they bore no interest. Nine chil-
dren in the family were thus treated, and were thus enabled to accumulate
good estates. The subject lived on his tract of land for eleven years and then
traded with George W. Byers for his present farm, which comprises one hun-
dred and thirty-one acres, and which is improved with a fine sixteen-room
modem residence, large and substantial bams and other necessary outbuild-
ings. Mr. Byers feeds stock largely with the grain produced on the farm, and
has thus been able to realize unusually good profits from his eflforts. He keeps
fifteen to twenty full-blooded Jersey cows and sells the milk from these, aver-
aging three hundred pounds a day or thirty-five gallons. He has twenty acres

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 767

of land planted to wheat, fifty acres to com, fifteen acres to oats and forty
acres to clover and hay.

Politically, Mr. Byers is a staunch and active supporter of the Pre gres-
sive party, heartily endorsing the policies of that party as promulgated by
Theodore Roosevelt. His religious membership is with the First Mt. Pleasant
Baptist church, to which he gives liberally and of which he is a regular at-
tendant.

In 1890 Mr. Byers was united in marriage to Nona Nichols, and to them
have been born two children, Paul and Raymond Nichols.

Reverting to the genealogical ancestry of the subject of this sketch, it
is worthy of note that the emigrant ancestor of the subject, George Frederick
Byers, who came from Germany to this country, married Caths^rine Sams.
Among their children was Henry, bom January 15, 1788, who married
Elizabeth Wylie, September 5, 181 1, and whose death occurred on April 14,
1865. They had eleven children, George, Sarah, John, Isaac, Benjamin,
Henry S., Sr., Catharine, Elizabeth W., Cynthia Ann, Jacob and David.
Henry Byers was born in Pennsylvania, and, having lost his father while
quite young, he was taken into the family of Demaree. who brought him to
Henry county, Kentucky. He was there reared and in the spring of 1825 he
was married and moved to Indiana, the trip being made on horse-back, on
which he also carried a sack of flour. He entered a farm five miles south-
west of Franklin, the same being that now owned by Sylvanus Byers, of
which he cleared five acres and planted it in corn. He then returned to Ken-
tucky after cultivating his crop and brought back his family. He
was an expert drummer, and was presented with a drum by the
state for his services during the Indian troubles. This drum, with
the gift inscription, is now owned by Arch W. Byers. Henry
Byers married Maria McCauley on January 9. 1845, and to them were born
the following children : Robert M., bom November 17, 1845, died November
30, 1887; Mary E., bora March 27, 1847, died September 18, 1851; Sarah
M., bom October 4, 1848; George W., June 15, 185 1 ; Alonzo N., October 3,
1853; Caroline, December 7, 1855, and Adaline, the same date, twins; Syl-
vanus, April 20, 1858; Clarissa, July 4, i860, died April 4. 1863; Rachel,
November 10, 1862, died December 4, 1862; Almira, Febmary 7, 1864, died
April 22, 1865; Susanna, April 13, 1866; Arch W., December 28, 1869, the
last named being the immediate subject of this sketch.

Mr. Byers has long been numbered among the progressive agriculturists
and public spirited citizens of this county, and is now the owner of a very
desirable farm property and is one of the substantial men of his community.

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768 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Endowed by nature; with strong mental powers and possessing th^ courage
and energy to direct his faculties in proper channels, he early became a msm
of resourceful capacity, as the able management of his private affairs abun-
dantly testify. He possesses the happy faculty of not only making friends,
but binding them to him by his good qualities of head and heart.

WILLIAM A. RUSSELL.

In his special line of effort, probably no man in central Indiana has
achieved a more . pronounced success nor a larger record than William A.
Russell, who is not only a farmer of large importance, but is also a noted
horse breeder. For a quarter of a century he has given his particular atten-
tion to the breeding and raising of Percheron draft horses and mules, and be-
cause of the eminent success which he has achieved he has gained a reputation
which extends far beyond the borders of his own locality. Sound judgment,
wise discrimination and good common sense have so entered into his make-up
as to enable him to carry on his business along lines that have insured his suc-
cess. Because of his splendid record and his high personal qualities, he is
eminently deserving of representation in the annals of his county.

William A. Russell was born on January i8, 1866, on the farm where he
now lives, and is a son of Alexander R. and Mary (Durbin) Russell. Alex-
ander R. Russell, who was born in Shelby county, Indiana, on July 28, 181 8,
was the first white child born in Shelby county. He was the son of John Rus-
sell, a native of Kentucky and one of the first settlers of Shelby county, In-
diana, having made the trip by horseback to his new hcmie in 1815. His wife,
Mary, was born in Blue River township. Johnson county, Indiana, on July 8,
1836, and was a daughter of William Durbin, a Kentuckian by Wrth and also
an early settler of Blue River township, Johnson county. Alexander R. Rus-
sell, whose death occurred in April, 1900, was one of the most successful
farmers of Johnson county, and accumulated four hundred and eighty acr^s
of fine land.. He was twice married and was the father of thirteen children,
ten of whom lived to mature years. His first wife was Susan Cutsinger, who
bore him Margaret, Harvey, Jacob, Mar>% Malvina, Sarah, John and Susan.
To his union with Mary Durbin were horn William A., Mrs. Harriet Solen-
burg and Matilda.

William A. Russell was reared to the life of a farmer and secured his
education in the common schools of his home neighlxjrhood and one year in

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 769

the Edinburg high school. He has never seen any reason to induce him to
forsake the vocation to which he was reared, and he has been eminently suc-
cessful. He is himself the owner of fifty-two acres of land in Blue River
township and forty acres in Nineveh township, while he and his mother to-
gether own two hundred and eighty acres of land, and he oversees one hun-
dred acres in Nineveh township. He is thoroughly up to date in all his
operations, giving proper attention to the maintenance of the fertility of the
soil, while the building and other permanent improvements on his farms indi-
cate him to be a man of good taste and sound ideas.

It is, however, as a breeder of horses that Mr. Russell has achieved his
greatest reputation and it is deemed consonant in this connection to recite in
some detail the description of some of the splendid animals which are in his
stables. During the past twelve years Mr. Russell has devoted his attention
principally to the breeding and raising of Percherons and jacks. He has ten
registered Percherons, the finest of their kind in Johnson county, and nine-
teen grade horses. He also gives careful attention to the breeding and raising
of Duroc Jersey hogs, in the handling of which he is also highly successful.
Mr. Russell began his breeding operations with Wannetta, 45592, recorded by
the Percheron Society of America, and which was purchased by Mr. Russell
on February 28, 1909. Prior to that time, however, he had owned a number
of pure-bred horses. The next mare, a daughter of Wannetta, was Belvia,
45593, and Wannetta's second colt was St. Elmo, 59694. St. Elmo is a black
stallion and is as handsome a horse as there is in the country and is recorded
in the Percheron Society of America. Sire, Madrid, 41499 (57014).

A full sister to St. Elmo is Martha Washington, 71 130, whose pedigree
is the same as that of St. Elmo. The next colt was Red Pepper, 94445, whose
sire was Glen, 49173, and recorded in the Percheron Society.

Other pure bred mares in Mr. Russell's stables are Dorothy, 55003 ; sire,
Madrid (see St. Elmo). Lena, 86895; sire, High Top, 35557. Bertha,
94446; sire. Glen. 49173 ; dam, Dorothy, 55003. Pedigree runs back to 1884.
Several of the pedigrees run back to the seventh dam, imported in 1851. Mr.
Russell also has a colt, sired by Challenge, 63426 ; dam, Belvia.

Mr. Russell also has three splendid black jacks, the chief of which is
Rastus, sired by Bnid Ritter; dam, Charlotte.

Mr. Russell is a member of the executive committee of the Indiana Draft
Horse Breeders' Association, and a member of the Percheron Society of
America, being in line for election as a director of the latter organization. He
has exhibited his horses at a number of state and county fairs and has won

(49)

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TJO JOPINSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

many blue ribbons with them. He is justifiably proud of his attainments as a
horse breeder, and has done much to promote among the rank and file of
the farmers a desire for a better breed of horses than they were formerly
satisfied to own.

Politically, Mr. Russell is a stanch supporter of the Republican party.
He contributes liberally to the support of the Methodist church, to which his
family belongs. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted
Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Improved Order of
Red Men, at Edinburg.

On September 15, 1883, Mr. Russell was united in marriage to Lottie
Burkhart, the daughter of Andrew and Ursula (Stevens) Burkhart, and to
this union have been bom the following children: Mary, Mrs. Hattie Kyle,
Earl L., Alexander and Edna. Personally, Mr. Russell is well liked, being
a man of pleasing address, and he is rightfully numbered among the leading
men of his community.

ELMORE TODD EARNEST.

Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Johnson
county within the pages of this work, citizens who have figured in the growth
and development of this favored locality and whose interests have been iden-
tified with its every phase of progress, each contributing in his sphere of
action to the well-being of the community in which he resides and to the ad-
vancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is he
whose name appears above, peculiar interest attaching to his career from the
fact that practically his entire life has been spent within the borders of this
county.

Elmore T. Earnest, a successful farmer and popular citizen of Need-
ham township, was born December 22, 1854, on the farm where he now^ lives,
and he enjoys the additional distinction of having lived in the same yard
for fifty-nine years, his first home having been in a log house built by Henry
Henderson in about the year 181 2, the present home having been built by
his father in 1864. Therefore, but two houses have occupied this site in a
period of over one hundred years. Mr. Earnest is a son of David E., who
was born in Virginia in 1827, and came to Johnson county, Indiana, in 1842.
Here he married Mary A. Bennett, a native of Oldham county, Kentucky,
born in 1827, who came to Johnson county at the age of seven years, and here

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 77 1

Spent the remainder of her life, dying in 1906. David E.; who had come
to this country in company with an uncle, Stephen Tillson, one of the early
pioneers of this section of the state, became a well known and successful
resident of this locality, and his death, in December, 1896, was considered
a distinct loss to the community. To him and his wife was born one child,
the subject of this sketch.

Elmore T. Earnest received his education in the common schools of
the home neighborhood and was reared to the life of a farmer, which voca-
tion he has followed ever since. On the death of his father he inherited the
home farm of one hundred acres and has brought it up to a high state of
cultivation, with splendid modern improvements, so that the place is now
valued at one hundred and seventy-five dollars per acre. The land is extraor-
dinary fertile; good fences are maintained on the place, and the land is
properly ditched and tilled, these improvements making it one of the most
attractive and profitable farms in the neighborhood. The land is all in culti-
vation and practically all of the grain produced is fed to hogs and cattle, of
which the output in the spring of 1913 was forty-nine head, although the
annual capacity of the farm is about sixty head. The acreage of grain on the
farm is twenty-five acres of com and thirty acres of wheat, while thirty tons
of hay will be cut this year. Mr. Earnest is indefatigable in his efforts and
up-to-date in his methods, so that he is numbered among the representative
agriculturists of this section of the county.

Mr. Earnest has twice been married, first, on November i, 1877, ^^
Lida R. Freeman, who died in 1896, leaving one daughter, Anna, who is now
the wife of Edward C. Vest, a farmer of this county, and they have two
children, Mary Pauline and Lottie Davis. Mr. Earnest's second marriage was
in February, 1899, ^^ Mrs. Cora M. Ragsdale, nee Willard, who by her
former marriage was the mother of a son, Herbert Collier Ragsdale.

Politically, Mr. Earnest is an ardent supporter of the Democratic party
and has served his township efficiently as road supervisor. He takes an
intelligent interest in the current affairs of the day, but is not a seeker after
public office. Fraternally, he belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and to the
Anti-Horsethief Association, while his religious membership is with the
Baptist church, of which he is an earnest supporter and to which he contrib-
utes liberally of his means. The members of the family move in the best
social circles of the community and, because of their genuine worth and
splendid personal qualities, they enjoy the warm regard of all who know
them.

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jyZ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

ISAAC W. BOWDEN.

It is proper to judge of the success of a man's life by the estimation in
which he is held by his fellow citizens. They see him at his work, in his fam-
ily circle, in church, hear his views on public questions, observe the operations
of his code of morals, witness how he conducts himself in all the relations of
society and civilization, and are therefore competent to judge of his merits
and his demerits. After a long course of years of such daily observation, it
would be out of the question for his neighbors not to know of his worth, for,
as has been said, "actions speak louder than words." In this connection it is
not too much to say that the subject of this sketch has passed a life of unusual
honor, that he has been industrious and has the confidence of all who have the
pleasure of his friendship.

Isaac W. Bowden, whose splendid farm is located in Pleasant township,
Johnson county, Indiana, is a native of the state of North Carolina, having
been bom in Davie county, on August 27, 1857, and is a son of Caleb and
Mary (Etchison) Bowden, both of whom were also natives of North Caro-
lina, where they si)ent their entire lives. They were the parents of twelve
children, of whom, besides the subject, a brother and sister are still living in
Davie county, one of the children is in Nebraska and one in Iowa. Three
brothers of this family served in the Confederate army during the war of the
Rebellion, one having been killed at Seven Pines, and one died at Goldsbor-
ough. North Carolina. The subject of this sketch received his education in
the common schools of his native community, and as soon as old enough be-
gan farm labor, with which industry he has been identified ever since. On
January 26, 1880, he came to Johnson county, Indiana, and located on his
present farm in Pleasant township, to which he is giving his close attention.
He is the owner of eighty-six acres of land, practically all of which is under
cultivation, and here he gives due attention to the rotation of crops and other
modern ideas relating to successful agriculture, 30 that his efforts have been
abundantly rewarded with success. He gives some attention to dairying, hav-
ing sold milk for the past fifteen to twenty years. In addition to the cultiva-
tion of the soil, he gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock,
particularly Poland China hogs, in the handling of which he has been quite
successful. He has been, a close observer of modern methods and is a student
at all times of whatever pertains to his chosen life work, and, judging from his
past record, he will undoubtedly achieve much in the future years. He takes

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. TJ}^

his place among the leading agriculturists of a community noted for its fine
farms and adroit husbandmen.

Politically, the subject of this sketch has always given his support to the
Democratic party, though aside from the casting of his ballot he has not taken
an active part in campaigns. He is a staunch advocate of all that will ad-
vance the interests of his community, and no worthy movement bids for his
support in vain. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Ma-
sons and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the workings of both
organizations taking a deep interest. Religiously, he is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church and gives his support to every phase of that so-
ciety's work.

On June lo, 1880, Mr. Bowden was united in marriage to Margaret J.
Sheek, the daughter of Leven W. and Mary E. (Henry) Sheek, both families
having long been identified with Johnson county, of which they were early
settlers. Mrs. Bowden's mother, Mary E. Sheek, was a daughter of Hiram
Henry, who was a prominent man in Johnson county during his life. To Mr.
and Mrs. Bowden have been born five children: Lola May, the wife of Jesse
Tilson; Jessie, the wife of Ray Brown; Flora, of Indianapolis; Annie Marie,
the wife of Oral Fix, of Greeaw^Q6ff;7?4^d^^1tav who remajns at home. The
family move in the best spcjal £a'cips ©| ■!tihA<€cinmunity and are held in the
highest esteem by all who,?know them because (\i their genial disposition and
genuine worth. ': ,,^ ., . ,^ ., . •

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jdHW^iT'OrVEKST^fe

All callings, whether humble or exalted, may be productive of some
measure of success, if enterprise and industry, coupled with a well directed
purpose, form the motive force of the person directing the same, and in no
case is this fact more apparent than in agricultural pursuits. It is a well
authenticated fact that success comes as the result of legitimate and well
applied energy, unflagging determination and perseverance as well as the above
enumerated qualities. When a course of action is once decided upon these
attributes are essential. Success is never known to smile upon the idler or
dreamer and she never courts the loafer, only those who have diligently
sought her favor being crowned with her blessings. In tracing the history
of the prosperous and influential agriculturist whose name forms the cap-
tion of this biographical review, we find that the above named elements have

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774 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

entered largely into his make-up and therefore we are not surprised at the
large and ever-growing success which he has attained.

John T. Overstreet was born in Clark township, Johnson county, In-
diana, on August 28, i860, and is a son of John H. and Eleanor V.' (Covert)
Overstreet, the father born January 12, 1809, and the mother on December
25, 1818. John H. Overstreet was a native of the state of Kentucky, from
whence he came to Johnson county in an early day, settling in the city of
Franklin, where he and his brother, William, entered the mercantile business,
which they continued about two years; then John H. Overstreet came to
Clark township, his entry here being in the year 1848, and he settled on
the land which the subject of this sketch now owhs and cultivates. Just
before coming to this township, however, he had tried out some land in
Franklin township, but after three years' residence there he decided on a
change and came to Clark. He was twice married, and by his first union
had four children, George S., Mary, Benjamin W. and Willis G., of whom
Mary is deceased. To his second union were also bom four children, Nancy,
CorneHus B., deceased; Martha, deceased, and John T., the immediate sub-
ject of this sketch. Both parents are now deceased. They were prominent
in the community during their active lives, standing staunchly for the best
interests of the people, and, because of their sterling integrity and the high
order of their living, they were numbered among the leading citizens of the
community.

The subject of this sketch received a good common school education,
after which he spent two years as a student in old Asbury College, now
DePauw University, at Greencastle. Thus well qualified for life's duties,
he returned to the home farm, to which he has since given his attention
and in the cultivation of which he has shown sound judgment arid wise dis-
crimination. In addition to husbandry, he has also given considerable atten-
tion to the buying, feeding and shipping of live stock, to which he closely
applied himself for about fifteen years with good financial results. He has
up-to-date ideas as to farming methods, has rotated his crops so as to retain
the original fertility of the soil and he raises abundant harvests. He is a
man whose years of straightforward and honest dealing have gained for him
the confidence of his neighbors and have made him a man of influence in his
community, as his geniality and amiability make him welcome in any social
gathering or group of men.

On January 14, 1880, Mr. Overstreet was united in marriage with
Dessie D. Reece, a daughter of Thomas and Eliza (Garrison) Reece, both of

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 775

whom were natives of Indiana, though on the paternal side the subject's wife
was of German ancestry, her grandparents having come from the fatherland
and located in Kentucky, from which state they came to Indiana in an early
day. Thomas and Eliza Reece were the parents of five children, Elmira,
Artie, Albert, Dessie D. and Desmus, twins. To Mr. and Mrs. Overstreet
has l3een bom one child, Chella Cecil, who became the wife of Arlis G. Patter-
son, of Clark township.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Overstreet has for many years taken an
active part in the public affairs of his locality, and in 1909 was elected trus-
tee of Clark township, in which responsible position he is now serving and in
which he is discharging the duties of that office to the entire satisfaction of
his fellow citizens. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted
Masons at Franklin and the Knights of Pythias at Greenwood, being a char-
ter member of the latter lodge. Religiously, he is a member of Rock Lane
Christian church, in the prosperity of which he is deeply interested and to
which he contributes liberally of his means. Clark township has had no
worthier or more highly respected citizens than the Overstreet family, which
has been identified with its progress from the pioneer days to the present
time, its several members working simultaneously for their own advancement
place in this history.

WILLIAM EDGAR McCASLIN.

Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and as
a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses, as well as those of
energy and .thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free out-door life
of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence
of mind and self-reliance which characterizes true manhood and no truer
blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the
healthful, life-inspiring labor of the fields. It has always been the fruitful
soil from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country, and
the majority of our nation's great warriors, renowned statesmen and dis-
tinguished men of letters were born on the farm and were indebted largely
to its early influence for the distinction which they have attained.

The subject of this sketch is descended from one of the old established
families of Indiana, his paternal grandfather, Alexander McCaslin, having
come to this state from Mercer county, Kentucky, in 181 6. He settled first
in Scott county, where the family remained until 1829, when they came to

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y7(> JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Johnson county, locating about two miles south of Franklin, where Alexan-
der remained during the remainder of his life. His son, John McCaslin,
father of the subject of this sketch, was bom in Scott county and accompanied
the family on its removal to Johnson county. He married Martha Jane
Alexander, and among their children was the subject of this sketch.

William Edgar McCaslin secured a good practical education in the com-
mon schools of Johnson county, and, being raised to the life of a farmer,
he early recognized the fact that no other career offered to him so many
opportunities for advancement and independence as agriculture, therefore
he has never forsaken this vocation, but has given it his undivided attention
with eminent success. He is the owner of a good farm of ninety-one acres
in Franklin township, and his systematic methods and persistent energy have
resulted in a commensurate degree of success.

In 1899, Mr. McCaslin married Hattie May Halstead, a daughter of
Albert and Louisa (Hoagland) Halstead, the father a native of Blue River
township, this county. To Mr. and Mrs. McCaslin have been born two
children, Martha Elizabeth and Eleanora Louise. Politically, Mr. McCaslin
gives his supf>ort to the Republican party, and he takes a deep and commend-
able interest in public affairs, though he has never been a seeker after office
of any kind. In every avenue of life's activities he has performed his full
part as a man, standing "four square to every wind that blows," and because
of his genuine worth and high character he has enjoyed to a large degree the
respect and confidence of his fellow citizens. He and his wife move in the
best social circles of the community and are extremely popular among their
acquaintances.

HERNAN BARLOW.

It is with marked satisfaction that the biographer adverts to the life of
one who has attained success in any vocation requiring definiteness of pur-
pose and determined action. Such a life, whether it be one of calm, con-
secutive endeavor or of sudden meteoric accomplishments, must abound in
both lesson and incentive and prove a guide to young men whose fortunes and
destinies are still matters for the future to determine. The subject of this
sketch is distinctively one of the representative agriculturists of Jdinson
county. For a number of years he directed his efforts toward the goal of
success and by patient continuance in well doing succeeded at last in over-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. *jyy

coming the many obstacles by which his pathway was beset, and is today con-
sidered one of the foremost farmers of- the county.

Hernan Barlow, whose fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in
Clark township is one of the show places of Johnson county, was bom in
this county on September 15, 1870, and is a son of John and Hannah (Smith)
Barlow, the father a native of Kentucky and the mother of Indiana. John
Barlow came to Johnson county with his parents when he was but a boy, the
family settling near Edinburg, where they remained until 1853, when they
moved to Clark township, where they spent the remainder of their days. John
Barlow was a farmer during all his active years and enjoyed high repute in
the neighborhood where he lived because of his honest character and good
business ability. He held no offices, although he took a deep interest in the
public affairs of the community. He was a member of the old Grange of the
Patrons of Husbandry, and among his neighbors he co-operated in the ad-
vancement of the interests of the community. He and his wife were the par-
ents of four children : William, Ora, May, who married a Mr. Copeland, and
Hernan.

Hernan Barlow received his elementary education in the common schools
of Clark township, and then was_a student in the Acton Normal School for
a while. Upon the completion feJCBi^' Sdiutatfonsd training, he took up the
vocation of farming, to whifhyfieiHiiJ.ib^enJ^4i*red; and is still actively and
successfully engaged in that |pursuit. He is the dwner of two hundred and
forty acres of as fine land asjcanobe feu»ij i|> J^n$on county, it being eligibly
located in Clark township, and lieVe^ -Mr. Barlow ^carries on mixed farming.
To say merely that he is a successful f9^?:mi?r*dQ€fe not imply the true fad's,
for he has given to his affairs such able and intelligent direction and has car-
ried on his business transactions on so large a scale that he is almost in a
class by himself as a farmer. For about four years Mr. BarUjw carried on
dairying with abundant success, giving his special attentiou to Holstein cat-
tle, which breed he found gave the best general res^ife. His dairy barns
are up to date in every respect, and are built to accommodate between seventy-
five and one hundred head of cattle. Vacuum milking machines are used
and were connected to each stall. In connection with the barn there are big
cement silos, and altogether about two hundred head of cattle, both dairy and
feed cattle, can be accommodated. Mr. Barlow's residence is one of the finest
in the county, the house itself being modem and up to date in every par-
ticular, with all the conveniences that one could desire, while cement walks
and beautiful lawns, as well as a large cement veranda encircling the entire

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778 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

house, give it an air of comfort and hospitality that makes it very inviting
to one passing by. One would have to travel far before finding a more satis-
factory agricultural prospect than is to be found on the Barlow farm, and
among his fellow citizens Mr. Barlow is held in the highest esteem, because
of the success he has achieved.

Politically, Mr. Barlow is a supporter of the Progressive party and
takes a deep interest in public affairs, though he is not himself a seeker after
public office. He is a member of the Anti-Horse Thief Detective Associa-
tion, and, religiously, is affiliated with the Christian church, of which he is a
stanch supporter.

On January 27, 1907, Mr. Barlow Was united in marriage with Mamie
Whitton, a daughter of Joseph and Maggie (Wells) Whitton, the father a
native of Kentucky and the mother of Marion cotmty, Indiana. The father
came to this county in his early life, and he took up the occupation of farm-
ing, to which he devoted his active years. His marriage also occurred here.
To Mr. and Mrs. Barlow have been born three children, Ethel May, Russell
W. and Everett J. By a straightforward and commendable course Mr. Bat-
low has made his way up to a respectable position in the business world, win-
ning the hearty admiration of the people of his neighborhood, and earning
a reputation as an enterprising and progressive agriculturist and a broad-
minded and upright citizen, and has much in his life record that could be
studied with profit by a young man starting on the battle of life.

THOMAS W. McQUINN.

Among the citizens of Nineveh township, Johnson county, Indiana, who
have built up a comfortable home and surrounded themselves with valuable
landed estates and personal property, few have attained a higher degree of
success than the subject of this sketch. With few opportunities except what
his own efforts were capable of mastering and with many discouragements
to overcome, he has made an exceptional success in life and in his old age
has the gratification of knowing that the community in which he resides has
been benefited by his presence and his counsel.

Thomas W. McQuinn, who is successfully operating a fine farm of
one hundred and ninety acres in Nineveh township, Johnson county, Indiana,
was bom April 2, 1852. in this township, and is a son of Martin and Abigail
(Legan) McQuinn, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. As the name

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 779

would indicate, the McQuinns are of Irish descent, and have inlierited the
staunch qualities which have made that nationality so desirable an element
in our national life. Martin McQuinn reared four children by two marriages,
their names being Mrs. Frances (Sawans) Branigin, who is the stepmother of
Elba L. Branigin, editor of the historical portion of this work; Alfred T.,
of Nineveh township; Mrs. Sarah Coons Kephart, of near Bargersville, and
Thomas W., the immediate subject of this sketch. The subject's mother,
who was Martin McQuinn's second wife, died in 1861, and her husband
died in the spring of 1895. Mrs. Abigail McQuinn had been married before
her union with Mr. McQuinn, her first husband having been a Mr. Coons.

Thcmas W. McQuinn received his education in the common schools and
lived on the ])aternal homestead until he had attained his twenty-second year.
After his marriage, which occurred in 1874, Mr. McQuinn lived a year on
rented land and then bought eighty acres of land, to the cultivation and im-
provement of which he gave his attention, and subsequently bought additional
land from time to time until he is now the owner of one hundred and ninety
acres of as good land as can be found in Nineveh township. In i89() he
erected a splendid home and now his buildings are up to date and first class
in every respect. His barn, which is of the bank style, is large and com-
modious and the residence, which is attractive and well arranged, is set
in a beautiful grove of lawn and shade trees. In addition to the cultivation
of the soil, Mr. McQuinn gives a good deal of attention to the breeding and
raising of live stock, selling annually one hundred head of cattle and a like
number of hogs, his cattle being of thoroughbred Jersey stock. His 191 3
crops embrace fifty acres of com, forty-eight acres of wheat and fifty acres
of hay. He is up to date in his methods and is achieving a splendid success
as a farmer, his place being considered generally one of the best in Johnson
county.

On March 8, 1874, Mr. McQuinn married Elizabeth Mullendore, the
daughter of Lewis Mullendore, and to them have been bom seven children,
six of whom are living, namely: Everette M., a mechanic and contractor
of Indianapolis, married Dora Featheringill, the daughter of Thomas Feather-
ing^ll, and they have two children, Harry and Margaret; Bertha Abigail,
who was the wife of Oscar Adkins, died on July 5, 1909; Mrs. Harriet
Brewer, of Whiteland, is the mother of two children, William and Donald;
Ernest Raymond, a farmer, married Opal Forsythe, and they have one child,
Ralph Mullendore; Louis E., who lives in northern Michigan, is an auto
mechanic and shop manager ; Alice Marie and Thomas Wendal are at home.

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780 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Mrs. Elizabeth Catherine (MuUendore) McQuinn, who was bom on Janu-
ary 5, 185 1, is a representative of one of the best known families in Johnson
county, a complete sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this work.
She is a lady of splendid personal qualities of character and is beloved by
all who know her. Mr. McQuinn is a man of many praiseworthy traits of
character, being scrupulously honest in all his dealings with the world, gener-
ous and pleasant, possessing rare fortitude and good judgment, advocating
clean policies, wholesome living and honest in business. Needless to add that
such a man has hosts of friends and stands high in the estimation of all who
know him.

JOHN A. McCASLIN.

In the history of Johnson county, as applying to the agricultural inter-
ests, the name of John A. McCaslin occupies a conspicuous place, for through
a number of years he has been one of the representative farmers of Frank-
lin township, progressive, enterprising and persevering. Such qualities al-
ways win success, sooner or later, and to Mr. McCaslin they have brought
a satisfactory reward for his well-directed effort, and while he has benefited
himself and community in a material way, he has also been an influential
factor in the educational, political and moral uplift of the community favored
by his residence.

John A. McCaslin, who is numbered among the enterprising and success-
ful farmers of Franklin township, Johnson county, is a native of the county
in which he now lives, and was bom on November 11, 1870, being the son of
John and Martha Jane (Alexander) McCaslin. The subject's paternal grand-
father, Alexander McCaslin, was a native of Mercer county, Kentucky, and-
came to Scott county, Indiana, in 1816, remaining there until 1829. The
subject's father was born in Scott county, and came to Johnson county with
his parents in 1829, locating about two miles south of Franklin, where they
remained for the remainder of their lives. To John and Martha McCaslin
were born five children, George A.. Robert \\'., Belle, John A. and Edgar. The
subject's father was a Presbyterian in his religious belief, and a Republican
in politics, though not active in political matters.

John A. McCaslin received the advantage of a good common school
education in Franklin township and spent his early years under the parental
roof, giving his assistance in the operation of the home farm. He has never

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 781

forsaken the basic science of' agriculture, in which he has achieved a splendid
success, and he is still actively engaged in that line of effort. He is the
owner of a splendid farm in Franklin township, the general appearance of
which is a credit to him, and he has exercised a wise judgment and sound
common sense in its operation, so rotating the crops as to not impair the
fertility of the soil. In addition to the tilling of the land, he gives some
attention to the breeding and raising of live stock, which he has also found
a profitable source of income.

In 1897, Mr. McCaslin was married to Leila Covert, the daughter of
Albert N. and Susan (Magill) Covert, who were early settlers of this county
and reared a large family here. Politically, Mr. McCaslin has always given
his support to the Republican party, while his religious membership is with
the Presbyterian church, which he attends regularly and to which he gives
a liberal support. He has become well and most favorably known through-
out his locality for his loyalty to the truth, his uprightness in business, his
public spirit and friendly disposition. He and his wife are among the most
influential and popular citizens of their community, being abreast of the
times in every way and always willing to give their time and substance, if
need be, to further any movement looking to the betterment of the locality
where they reside, religiously, socially or educationally.

J. J. CLARY.

Fealty to facts in the analyzation of the character of a citizen of the
type of J. J. Clary is all that is required to make a biographical sketch interest-
ing to those who have at heart the good name of the community, because
it is the honorable reputation of the man of standing and affairs, more than
any other consideration, that gives character and stability to the body politic
and makes the true glory of a city or state revered at home and respected
abroad. In the broad light which things of good repute ever invite, the name
and character of Mr. Clary stand revealed and secure and, though of modest
demeanor, with no ambition to distinguish himself in public position or as a
leader of men, his career has been signally honorable and it may be studied
with profit by the youth entering upon his life work.

J, J. Clary, a successful fanner of White River township, of which
civil subdivision he is trustee, was bom on May 23, 1870, on the farm on
which he now. lives, and is the son of Wesley P. Clary, whose death occurred

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782 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

in 1884. His mother, Ursula (I>orrell) Clary, a native of Johnson county,
is still living. Wesley P. Qary was the son of David Clary, whose parents
were natives of Ireland. He married a Miss Bristow, of Welsh descent. The
Qarys were early settlers and pioneers of Indiana, and have always been
numbered among the best citizens of their community. To Wesley P. Qary
and wife were born five children, namely : Mrs. Martha Sedden, of Marion
county, Indiana; David Franklin, who died in 1879; Mrs. Mary Catherine
Surface, of Oldenburg, Texas; J. J., the immediate subject of this sketch,
and Minnie, who was born in 1876 and died in 1882. After the death of her
husband, the subject's mother married George Hughes, with whom she is
still living.

J. J. Qary received a good practical district school education and has
followed farming during all his active years. He lived with his mother
on the home farm until attaining his majority, when he went to Indianapolis,
where he was a member of the police force for two years. He was a good
officer, but preferred the independent and out-door life of the farm and
returned to the home farm, thirteen acres of which he had inherited from his
father and to which he thereafter gave his strict attention. He was prosper-
ous in his efforts and added to his original holdings from time to time as he
was able until he is now the owner of sixty-seven acres in White River town-
ship and forty acres in Pleasant township. The place is well improved and
maintained in excellent condition, the nice lawn and attractive home, with all
modern appointments, making life very pleasant and commending the owner
as a man of good judgment and excellent taste.

From boyhood Mr. Clary has taken an active interest in political affairs,
giving his support to the Democratic party, and in 1897 he became road
supervisor of the township for four years, while in 1908 he was elected trus-
tee of White River township for a four-year term, which, however, by legis-
lative enactment was lengthened to six years. He is now engaged in the
erection of a new school house, which will cost about fifteen thousand dollars,
having four rooms and basement and modern in every respect. Religiously,
Mr. Clary has for a long tin;te been an active member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, while, fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias
at Stone's Crossing, in which he has been a member for twenty-two years
and an incumbent of one office or another for eighteen years. He also be-
longs to the Masons at Bargersville.

On January 31, 1891, Mr. Clary was united in marriage to Brusan
Hughes, a daughter of George Hughes. To them have been bom three

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. § 783

chUdren, Hazel Kirk, bom August 17, 1893, George Denzel, born June 30,
1899, and Elsie Glenn, born November 8, 1900. Mr. Clary is a most gracious
and companionable gentleman, honorable and reliable in all his dealings, and
he ranks among the enterprising and public-spirited citizens of the com-
munity in which he resides, manifesting an active interest in whatever per-
tains to the progress of his county, and co-operates with others in forwarding
all measures whereby his fellowmen may be benefited. Because of his high
principles and his success in life he is held in high favor by his fellow citizens.

CHRISTIAN HELD.

Among the earnest men whose enterprise and depth of character have
gained a prominent place in the community and the respect and confidence
of his fellow citizens is the honored subject of this sketch. A leading farmer
and stock raiser of the township in which he resides and a man of decided
views and laudable ambitions, his influence has ever been exerted for the
advancement of his kind, and in the vocation to which his energies are de-
voted he ranks among the representative agriculturists of the county.

Christian Held, who is operating successfully one of the largest and most
fertile farms in Franklin township, Johnson county, is a native of the do-
minion of Canada, where he was born October 25, 1855, and is the son of
Christian and Mary (Henglesten) Held. The father was a native of the Ger-
man empire, who came to this country iif an early day, landing in New York
City, from whence he went to Canada, where he resided for a time, eventual-
ly coming to Indiana, where he spent the balance of his life. He was engaged
here in farming and in the community where he lived he was held in high es-
teem because of his genuine worth and high character. To him and his
wife were born ten children, six of whom are still living.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools
of Jennings county, Indiana, where the family resided for some time, and
on attaining mature years he took up the vocation of farming, which he has
followed ever since. He is now operating the R. V. Ditmars farm of two
hundred and ninety-three acres, located in Franklin township, one of the
best and most fertile tracts of land in the county, and to this farm he is
giving most intelligent direction, the fruits of his efforts being evident in the
abundant harvests he reaps annually. In addition to a general line of farm-
ing, Mr. Held also gives some attention to the raising of live stock, in the

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784 • JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

handling of which he has met with considerable success. The cozy and attrac-
tive home, large and commodious barns, well-kept fences and other features
of a modern and up-to-date farm characterize the place, and in the com-
munity where he has resided so many years Mr. Held is regarded as a com-
petent and progressive agriculturist. Because of his sterling qualities of char-
acter and the deep interest he has taken in the affairs of the community, he
has enjoyed to a marked extent the confidence and esteem of his fellow citi-
zens. Politically, Mr. Held has given his support to the Democratic party,
but has never been an aspirant for public office of any nature. His religious
belief is embodied in the creed of the Presbyterian church, which he attends
and to which he gives a liberal support. Socially, he and the members of his
family move in the best circles of the community and are popular among
their acquaintances.

On March 9, 1893, Mr. Held was united in marriage to Cora M. Hensley,
the daughter of Prettyman B. and Barbara Ann (Wallace) Hensley. The
father was a native of this county, of which his family had been very early
settlers. More details of the family history will be found elsewhere in this
work in the sketch of Hit-am Hensley. Mrs. Held is a woman of many
splendid qualities of character and, like her husband, she is popular among
her acquaintances.

ROBERT A. SERVICE.

The student interested in Johnson county, Indiana, does not have to
carry his investigation far into its annals before learning that Robert A.
Service has long been an active and leading representative of its agricultural
interests and that his labors have proven a potent force in making this a rich
farming region. Through several decades the subject has carried on farming,
gradually improving his valuable place, and while he has prospered in this,
he has also found ample opportunity to assist in the material development
of the county, and his co-operation has been of value for the general good.

Robert A. Service, one of the most enterprising and progressive farmers
of Needham township, Johnson county, Indiana, was born in Franklin, this
county, on November 12, 1858, and is a son of Henry and Leah (Whitenack)
Service. The father was a native of county Derry, Ireland, and came to this
country in a very early day, landing at Quebec, Canada, from whence he
went to Philadelphia, later to Cincinnati, and in 1855 came to Johnson coun-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 785

ty. He was a shoemaker by trade, which vocation he followed until 1878,
when he moved to Needham township, where he remained until 1884, and
then came back to Franklin, where he died in 1885. He was prosperous
in his business affairs, and erected the old building at the northwest comer of
the public square in Franklin, which is now owned by his widow. He was
prominent in the public life of the community, though never an office holder.
Fraternally, he was a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Franklin, and was
a member and an active worker in the Presbyterian church. To him and his
wife were bom two children, namely: Robert A., the immediate subject of
this sketch, and Lydia, who married a Mr. Bronson and lives in Bridgeport,
Alabama.

The subject of this sketch received his preliminary education in the
common schools of Franklin, after which he attended the old Franklin
Academy. He then followed the vocation of his father, being employed at
shoemaking from 1874 imtil 1878, when he relinquished the bench and took
up the vocation of farming, which has been his active pursuit since that
time. He is now the owner of eighty acres of splendid land in Needham
township, to the operation and cultivation of which he gives intelligent direc-
tion, and on which he raises abundant crops annually. In addition to the till-
ing of the soil he gives considerable attention to the breeding and raising of
Jersey cattle, of which he sells large numbers every year. He gives every de-
tail of the farm work his personal attention, and by his enterprise, progressive
ideas and systematic methods he has achieved eminent success in his calling.

On February 5, 1885, Robert A. Service was united in marriage to
Elizabeth Stephens, who was reared by Jacob and Jeannette (McQueston)
Stephens, who were natives of Scotland, from which they came to
America and some time afterward settled in Johnson county. To the sub-
ject and his wife have been bom four children, namely : Essie, who marrfed
a Mr. Cecil Holdren, an insurance agent of Indianapolis; Harry, of Johnson
county, and Guy and Rhea, of Needham township.

In his political ideas Mr. Service is in full harmony with the platform
of the Progressive party, to which he gave his earnest support in the last
election, and during the period from 1890 to 1895 he rendered efficient serv-
ice as assessor of Needham township. Fraternally, he is a member of the
Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Order of Eagles at Franklin. In the
widest and best sense of the term, his life has been a pronounced success, as
he has always measured up to the hig^ standard of citizenship required by
men of his stamp, serving well and faithfully his day and generation, and by

(50)

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786 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Virtue of his consistency to truth, honor and right living he has won an
honored name in the township in which he resides. Therefore, he is eminent-
ly well qualified for a place in the present volume.

WILLIAM MARTIN FISHER.

Johnson county, Indiana, enjoys a high reputation because of the high
order of her citizenship, and none of her citizens occupy a more enviable
position in the esteem of his fellows than the gentleman whose name appears
at the head of this sketch. A residence here of over sixty years has given
his fellows a full opportunity to observe him in the various lines of activity
in which he has engaged and his present high standing is due solely to the
honorable and upright course he has pursued. As a leading citizen of his
community he is eminently entitled to representation in a work of this char-
acter.

William Martin Fisher, a prominent citizen and the present popular
trustee of Needham township, Johnson county, Indiana, was born in this
township on October 31, 1849, 2,nd is the son of Jacob and Katherine
(Bowers) Fisher, both of whom were natives of North Carolina. In their
youth they came to Indiana, their marriage occurring after their settlement in
Clark county, and in 1826 they came to Johnson county, settling on the
farm which the subject of this sketch now owns. It consists of one hundred
and forty-nine acres, all of which is eligible for cultivation, and here Mr.
Fisher has carried on successfully for many years his vocation as an agricul-
turist. He is systematic in his methods and raises all the crops common to
this locality, among his fellow citizens being considered a man of exceptional
ability and acumen. His father spent his entire life on this farm after locat-
ing on it, and here he raised to maturity eleven children, namely: Henry,
John, Phoebe, Jane, George, Katherine, an infant, Thomas, Mary, William
M. and Eliza, seven of these children being now deceased. Jacob Fisher was
a Methodist in his religious views and active in religious work. Politically,
he was not active, although taking a deep interest in everything pertaining to
the welfare of his community.

On October 29. 1883, the subject of this sketch was united in marriage
to Jane Boner, the daughter of Henry and Penelope (Kinnick) Boner, both
of whom were natives of North Carolina, coming to Johnson county, Indiana,
in 1857, settling in Pleasant township, where they remained during their ac-

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 787

tive lives. They were successful farming people and enjoyed the respect and
esteem of all who knew them. The mother is still living. To the subject
and his wife have been born two children, Olesta and Erie R.

The subject of this sketch has been a prominent worker in the ranks
of the Democratic party for many years, served as road supervisor for one
term, and in 1908 entered the office of township trustee, to which he had
been elected and the duties of which he is discharging to the entire satis-
faction of his fellow citizens. His term will not expire until 1914. Fra-
ternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Franklin, in
which he takes an active interest, while his religious membership is with the
Second Mt. Pleasant Baptist church, in which he is an active worker and to
which he contributes liberally of his means. He is a man of sound and
practical intelligence, keenly alert to ever3rthing relating to his interests, and,
in fact, with all that concerns the prosperity and advancement of his com-
munity. Because of his splendid personal characteristics and his genuine
worth, he enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who know him, and he is
eminently entitled to representation in a work of the character of the one
at hand. *

ELMER VANDIVIER.

One of the most enterprising of our younger generation of farmers in
Johnson county, who has believed from the outset of his career that the
"wisdom of yesterday is sometimes the folly of today," and that while the
methods of our grandfathers in tilling the soil were all right in their day,
yet in the twentieth century we are compelled to adopt new methods and
farm along different lines, in view of the fact that conditions of climate, soil,
grains, etc, have changed since the days of the pioneers. He has been a
close observer of modern methods and is a student at all times of whatever
pertains to his chosen life work and he has therefore met with encouraging
success all along the line, and, judging from his past record, he will un-
doubtedly achieve much in the future years and take his place among the
leading agriculturists of a community noted for its fine farms and adroit
husbandmen.

Elmer Vandivier, proprietor of the well known Spring Hill farm in
Franklin township, Johnson county, Indiana, is a native of this county, his

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788 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

birth having occurred on October 3, 1872, the son of Isaac N. and Sarah M.
(Byers) Vandivier. His father and his grandfather also, John Vandivier,
were natives of Johnson county, of which locality the Vandivier family were
early settlers and. prominent citizens. The subject's mother was also a native
of this county, the daughter of Henry Byers. The subject is the only child
bom to his parents. Isaac N. Vandivier was a life-long farmer after his
marriage, before which event he had followed the mercantile business to
some extent at Traf?ilgar. His first farm was in Franklin township and he
never left the home place, giving his entire attention to its cultivation and
improvement, in which he was successful to an eminent degree. He carried
on general farming and stock raising, and in all the affairs of his community
he was considered a prominent and potential factor.

The subject of this sketch attended the common schools during his
boyhood days and early he learned the mysteries of successful agriculture
through his father's direction. He is now the owner of one hundred and
sixty acres of splendid land in Franklin township, where he carries on general
farming and also successfully breeds the finest ^ains of Jersey cattle, for
which he finds a ready sale. He owns an attractive and comfortable resi-
dence, large and commodious barns and other necessary farm outbuildings,
and in the operation of his place he exercises a wise discrimination and sound
judgment, which has insured his material success.

On November 16, 1893, Mr. Vandivier was united in marriage to Carrie
Park, a daughter of Rufus L. and Serelda (Silver) Park. The Park fam-
ily originally came to this county from Kentucky and were early and
prominent settlers of the same. To Mr. and Mrs. Vandivier have been bom
five children, Ruth, Margarette, Helen, Bonnie and Grace, all of whom are
at home with their parents.

Mr. Vandivier's political preferences are with the Republican party, of
which he has been a staunch supporter for many years. Fraternally, he is a
member of the Knights of the Maccabees, while his religious membership
is with the Baptist church, of which he is an earnest member. Personally,
Mr. Vandivier is friendly, a good mixer and wins and retains friends with-
out effort, for he is at all times a gentleman, obliging, unassuming and honest
to the letter in his dealings with his fellow men. His life has been one of
unceasing industry and perseverance, and the notably systematic and honora-
ble methods he has followed have won for him the unbounded confidence
and regard of all who have formed his acquaintance.

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 789

.GEORGE OWENS, SR. '

Descended from honored ancestry and himself numbered among the
leading citizens of Johnson county, Indiana, the subject of this sketch is
entitled to specific recognition in a work of this character. A residence in
this county of many years has but strengthened his hold on the hearts of
the people with whom he has been associated and today no one here enjoys
a larger circle of warm friends and acquaintances, who esteem him because
of his sterling qualities of character and his business ability.

George Owens, Sr., one of the oldest residents and successful farmers of
Johnson county, was bom on June 30, 1833, in Needham township, this
coimt}% and is the son of Samuel and Millie (Fisher) Owens. His father is
a native of Clark county, Indiana. The subject's paternal grandfather came
from Virginia in a very early day in its history and located in Clark county,
later settling in Johnson county, where he made his future home. He was a
farmer during all his active years. He was the father of seven children, three
of whom are now living. The subject of this sketch received his education
in the common schools of Johnson county, and has followed farming through-
out his active years, being now the owner of one hundred and eighty acres of
splendid tillable land in Needham township, to which he devotes his attention.
His farm is well drained and well fenced and his fields are kept in a high state
of productivity, owing to his skill in rotating crops and other modern methods
of farming. He has a modem and comfortable dwelling, which is nicely
furnished. Many convenient outbuildings also stand on the place, which
altogether stands in marked evidence of the owner's wisdom and good judg-
ment. He is among the most highly respected citizens of Needham township,
where he is well known to all classes and much liked by all who know him,
for his life has been led along even-tempered and useful lines. He is re-
garded as unqualifiedly upright and as advocating whatever tends to promote
the moral, civic and educational affairs of the county, being known to be
kind and hospitable to those whom misfortune of any kind has overtaken.

Politically, Mr. Owens has always given his support to the Democratic
party, in the success of which he has taken the deepest interest, and he served
four years efficiently as supervisor of Needham township, performing the
duties of his office to the full satisfaction of his fellow citizens.

Mr. Owens has been married twice, first on January 18, 1854, to Kath-
ryne Owens, the daughter of John and Mary (Fisher) Owens, who were
early settlers of this county. To this union were bom two children, Emma,

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790 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

deceased, and Martin. On March lo, 1859, Mr. Owens married Serena
Hutchings, the daughter of John and Lilly (Fisher) Hutchings, who were
natives of North Carolina, coming to Clark county, this state, in an early day,
where they spent the rest of their lives. Mr. Hutchings was a life-long
farmer and a prominent man in his community. To him and his wife were
bom eleven children, five of whom are still living.

To George and Serena Owens were bom seven children, namely : Mary
Etta, Robert, Joseph, Bert, Ora, Lula, Willis and Grace. The members of
the family move in the best social circles of the community and are well liked
by all who know them, for the family has always stood for the best things
in the community and is numbered among the progressive and enterprising
families of the county.

SAMUEL M. MITCHELL.

The character of a community is determined in a large measure by the
lives of a comparatively few of its members. If its moral and intellectual
status be good, if in a social way it is a pleasant place to live, if its reputa-
tion for the integrity of its citizens has extended into other localities, it will
be found that .the standards set by the leading men have been high and that
their influence has been such as to mold the characters and shape the lives of
those with whom they mingle. In placing the late Samuel M. Mitchell in the
front rank of such men, justice is rendered a biographical fact universally
recognized throughout the locality long honored by his citizenship by those
at all familiar with his history. Although a quiet and unassuming man,
with no ambition for public position or leadership, he contributed much to
the material, civic and moral advancement of his community, while his ad-
mirable qualities of head and heart and the straightforward, upright course
of his daily life won for him the esteem and confidence of the circles in
which he moved and gave him a reputation for integrity and correct conduct
such as few achieve, and although he is now sleeping the **sleep of the just/'
his influence still lives, and his memory is still greatly revered.

Samuel M. Mitchell was born in Johnson county, Indiana, on Novem-
ber 10, 1868, and his death occurred at his home in Franklin township on
August 25, 191 1. He was a son of John F. and Martha (Fishback) Mitchell,
his father also having been a native of this county, as was his father before
him, James Mitchell. The subject's paternal great-grandfather, John D.
Mitchell, was a native of Kentucky, and came to Johnson county in 1820,

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 79I

entering land in Nineveh township. The various members of the family in
this county have always taken a prominent part in the public life of the com-
munity, and have stood high in the esteem and confidence of the people. To
the subject's parents were bom three children, Samuel M., Asa W. and Ora.

The subject of this sketch received a good, practical common school
education, and was reared to the life of a farmer, which pursuit he fol-
lowed throughout his active life. He was the owner of one hundred and
sixty acres of splendid land in Franklin township, where his widow now
resides, and to the cultivation and improvement of this tract he gave his un-
divided a,ttention with eminent success. He was not only an excellent and
capable farmer, but he had a true love for his occupation, by reason of which
he was enabled to lead a contented and successful life. He was not con-
tent to farm exactly in the same manner as all his neighbors, but he removed
from the beaten path and devoted his energies to agriculture according to
the most up-to-date and modem methods. There seemed to be united in
him such qualities of head and heart as would insure success in every
field of endeavor and the winning of the good graces of the people wherever
he went, for he was possessed of those qualities that are everywhere ad-
mired. His life had been more or less shaped by the early teaching and
training of his boyhood days, for he had been reared in a pure moral at-
mosphere. He had been taught self reliance, independence of thought and
action, and a sturdy belief in a strict adherence to the accepted standard of
ethics. Sterling honesty in his dealings with his fellow men and an exact
sense of justice in every transaction of life were the principles that seemed
to govern his active career, as those who knew him longest and best can tes-
tify. He was a progressive citizen of his community, where he labored not
only for his own advancement, but also for the good of the people gen-
erally, his eflforts having been amply repaid with abundant material suc-
cess and the esteem of his fellow men. He was a man of many sterling
characteristics, hesitating at no obstacles and ever willing to do his full share
in the work of progress, a man whose word was as good, if not better, than
the bond of most men.

On August 24, 1890, the subject of this sketch was united in marriage
to Evelyn Branigin, a daughter of Edmond and Mary A. (Nay) Branigin,
the father a native of Johnson county.^ Mrs. Mitchell's paternal grandfather,
Nicholas S. Branigin, was a native of Kentucky, from which state he came
to Indiana in an early day, his parents having been among the early and
prominent settlers of this community. Nicholas Branigin was the father of

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79^ JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

five children, Edmund D., Williani, Emery D., Oscar D. and one deceased
unnamed. To Edmund and Mary Branigin were also bom five children,
namely: Winifred, Evelyn, Edmonie, Minnie and Harry L., of whom Wini-
fred and Edmonie are deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell was born one
child, Max D., who remains at home with his mother.

Politically, Mr. Mitchell was aflFiljated with the Democratic party, but,
aside from the exercise of the right of franchise, he never took a very active
part in political affairs, though maintaining at all times an intelligent in-
terest in the current issues of the day. Religiously, he attended the Chris-
tian church, to which he gave liberally of his means, and in every way pos-
sible contributed his quota to the advancement of the best interests of the
community. His death was considered a distinct loss to the community, for
he had been a man of sterling character, whose support was ever given to
the best things and whose influence was always exerted for the highest ideals.
Mrs. Mitchell is a lady of many splendid graces of character, and among the
friends with whom she associates she is held in the highest esteem.

CORNELIUS L. DITMARS.

The life history of Cornelius L. Ditmars, one of the well known and
highly esteemed venerable citizens of Johnson county, now living in honor-
able retirement, shows what industry, good habits and stanch citizenship will
accomplish in the battle for success in life. His record has been one replete
with duty well and conscientiously performed in every relation of life. He
has come down to us from the pioneer i^eriod and has noted the wondrous
transformation from that time to this, playing well his part in the drama of
civilization. He has thus been an advocate of wholesome living and cleanli-
ness in politics as well and has always stood for the highest and best inter-
ests of the community in which so many of his active years have been passed
and which has been honored by his citizenship.

Cornelius L. Ditmars was bom on the 17th day of July, 1825, in Somer-
set county. New Jersey, and is the son of Garrett and Sarah (Verbryck) Dit-
mars, who also were natives of that state, Garrett being the son of Peter
Ditmars. Sarah Verbryck Ditmars was the daughter of Major William Ver-
bryck, a veteran of the Revolutionary war. In 1830 the Ditmars family
emigrated from New Jersey to Warren county, Ohio, where they remained

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CORNELIUS L. DITMARS

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 793

until 1836, when they came to Johnson county, Indiana. Here Garrett Dit-
mars bought a tract of land, on which the timber had been partially cut and a
log cabin built. At an early age Cornelius Ditmars was compelled to go to
work, and was thus deprived of the educational advantages which he desired,
his only school instruction being gained at a subscription school taught in a
log cabin by a teacher of very ordinary ability and with the most primitive
equipment. In 1846, at about the time he attained his legal majority, Cor-
nelius Ditmars entered the employ of George King for a year, at nine dollars
a month, but a few months later began working on the construction of a pike
road at seventy-five cents a day, later going to work in a saw mill at eighteen
dollars a month. He was wisely economical of his funds and eventually he
and his brother Peter bought eighty acres of land with their savings and plant-
ed it to wheat. In this enterprise they were successful and continued to make
money for a few seasons. The following year Peter moved on to a farm of
his own and Cornelius went to work for his brother William, but a little later
he entered the employ of Capt. John P. Banta, to whom he rendered the most
faithful service. In 1866 Mr. Ditmars bought one hundred and sixty acres
of the present home farm, on to which he moved two years later and where
he has resided ever since. He has been very successful in his efforts and
added to his acreage from time to time^ ur^Jil he became one of the largest
farmers, as well as on^-efHfcjK^'fiaegtTi^^ and enterprising in his sec-

tion of Johnson counts. ^,j&e.4A*.r^cW^^?ft<ff%ijn practical retirement, having
turned the operation of jhis Tand over to otho* hands, though he still retains
personal supervision of his business, ^f^^i^^B^ \

Cornelius L. Ditmats HVs "^jeeiJ'.-nMteTtcd \three times, first, in 1850, to
Caroline Banta, the daughter of Capt. John" P. and Catherine (List) Banta, to
which union were born four children, John W., Belle, William S., and Emme-
line, who died at the age of four years. Mrs. Caroline Ditmars died in 1861,
and in 1867 Mr. Ditmars married Catherine Alexander, whose death occurred
in 1870, their union resulting in the birth of a daughter, Olive D. In 1872
Mr. Ditmars married Mrs. Jennie Graham Voris, who is still living.

Politically, Mr. Ditmars has always been a stanch Republican and has
taken an active interest in public affairs. Religiously, he and his wife are
earnest members of the Hopewell Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Ditmars
has served as elder for many years. Personally, he is a man of clean char-
acter and has ever exerted a healthful influence in the community, giving his
support to every movement which promised to advance the welfare of the
community in any way. Because of his genuine worth and the success which

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794 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

has crowned his life's efforts, he enjoys the sincere respect of all who know
him and he is eminently entitled to representation in a work of the char-
acter of the one in hand.

BARNEY M. VAUGHT.

Among those persons who have, by virtue of their strong individual
qualities, earned their way to a high standing in the estimation of their fel-
low citizens, having by sheer force of character and persistency won their
way from an humble beginning to a place of influence and prominence in the
community where they are active in industrial affairs, the subject of this
sketch is entitled to special mention in a volume of this character.

Barney M. Vaught is a native of Johnson county, having been born here
on July 9, 1859^ and is a son of Andrew J. and Mary (Thomas) Vaught,
both of whom wtsrc natives of Virginia, coming to Clark county, Indiana, in
early days, and later to Johnson county, where they settled in Franklin town-
ship. Mr. Vaught followed farming all his life and became a prominent and re-
spected member of the community. To him and his wife were born ten chil-
dren, namely : Martha, James, John M., Anna, Andrew J., Robert M., George
B., William M., Louisa and Barney M. Andrew J. Vaught was a staunch sup-
porter of the Republican party, but had no aspirations for public office, pre-
ferring to give his ^tire attention to his private interests. In the Methodist
Episcopal church he was a prominent worker in the early days and was a
licensed exhorter. He and his wife are now both deceased.

The subject of this sketch received his early education in the common
schools of Johnson county, and then took up farming, which vocation he
has followed throughout his active life. He carries on a diversified system
of agriculture, raising all the crops common to this section of the country,
and also giving a great deal of attention to the raising of live stock, which
he has found a profitable source of income. His farm is well improved and
up to date in every particular, and he gives his personal attention to every
detail of the farm work.

Mr. Vaught has been twice married, the first time in 1879 to India
Tilson, a daughter of Stephen and Susan (Ballard) Tilson, both of whom
were natives of this county. To this union were born three children, Judson,
Guy C. and Nina. Mr. Vaught's first wife died in 1891, and in 1892 he
married Minnie E. Exlmonds, a daughter of William and Hester (Bronson)

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 795

Edmonds, the father a native of Alabama and the mother of Ohio. The
Bronsons were an early and prominent family in Johnson county. To the
subject's second union has been bom one child, Opal Hester.

Politically, Mr. Vaught is a staunch supporter of the Republican party,
and has served efficiently one term as trustee of Needham township. His
fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of Pythias at Franklin, while, re-
ligiously, his membership is with the Christian Science church at Franklin.
Though never aspiring to public office for himself, his support has always
been given to the best man for the county offices and for many years he has
taken an active interest in all movements looking to the betterment of his
township and county. He has always led a quiet, well regulated and honest
life, which has gained for him the respect of a host of admiring friends^
who regard him as one of the leading citizens of Johnson county.

WILUAM M. PROVINCE, M. D.

Among those men of high personal attainment and exalted professional
character who have reflected honor on Johnson county, and at the same time
attained to a commendable position among their fellow men, is the gentleman
whose name appears at the head of this paragraph, a man who in every walk
in life has performed his full part, who has given his unreserved support to
every movement for the public welfare and who in his daily life has so lived
as to earn the confidence and good will of his fellow citizens.

William M. Province was bom in Kentucky on December 19, 1840,
and is the son of Samuel Province, a farmer who was bom in 1805 and died
in 1863. The latter was a native of Ireland who, in his boyhood, was brought
to America by his widowed mother, who settled in Kentucky. There Samuel
Province was reared to manhood and married, rearing five children, namely :
Jane, the wife of Dr. Lindley, of Waverly, Indiana; Dr. William M., the
subject of this notice; Mrs. Rebecca Shufflebarger, Mrs. Mary E. Aldridge
and Daniel H.

William M. Province secured his education in the common schools of
his native community in Kentucky and in 1864 he came to the state of In-
diana, where he has since made his residence. At the outbreak of the Civil
war the subject's patriotic spirit was aroused and on October 12, 1861, he
enlisted as a private in Company K, Sixth Regiment Kentucky Union Volun-
teer Infantry, and for three years, two months and twelve days he followed

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796 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the vicissitudes of war with his command and took part in the battles of
Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Murfreesboro and many other hotly con-
tested engagements, as well as skirmishes, marches and other military service.
He was a valiant soldiei; and in the battle of Chickamauga received a severe
wound in the left arm. In January, 1865, Mr. Province entered Blooming-
dale Academy, where he studied two years and then, having decided to take
up the practice of the medical profession, he entered Miami Medical College at
Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating in March, 1867. On April 15th of the same
year he began the active practice of medicine at Providence, or Union Village,
where he has since remained and where he has attained to the foremost rank
among the leading citizens of that community. He is the owner of a splendid
farm of two hundred and forty acres, to the cultivation of which he gives
his personal attention and he is building a beautiful and attractive new home
in Franklin, where he expects to move in near future. As a doctor the sub-
ject of this sketch has through the years handled many very difficult cases
and has been uniformly successful in the practice.

On October 12, 1868, Doctor Province was united in marriage with
Julia Abraham, the daughter of William Abraham, and to them were bom
three children, namely: Clarence and Orin, both of whom are well known
and successful physicians in Franklin, and Florence, the wife of Dr. Garsh-
wiler, a practicing physician in Indianapolis, whose residence is in South-
jXDrt. By a life of consistent action and thought, the subject of this sketch
has earned the high standing he now enjoys in his fcommunity, and it is a
pleasure to give him representation in a work of the province of the one at
hand.

WATSON M. VAN NUYS.

An enumeration of the representative citizens of Johnson county would
be incomplete without specific mention of the well known and popular gen-
tleman whose name introduces this sketch. A member of one of the old and
highly esteemed families of this locality and for many years a public-spirited
man of affairs, he has stamped the impress of his individuality upon the
community and added luster to the honorable name which he bears, having
always been actuated by a spirit of fairness in his dealings with the world
in general, and leaving no stone unturned whereby he might benefit his own
condition as well as that of his friends and the favored section of the great
commonwealth in which he has been content to spend his life. Straight for-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 797

ward and unassuming, genial and obliging, Mr. Van Xuys enjoys the good
will and respect of a wide circle of friends throughout this part of the state.

Watson M. Van Nuys, who enjoys an enviable reputation in his part of
the country because of his eminent success as a farmer and stock raiser, was
born on July 22, 1877", in Franklin township, this county, and is a son of
Charles C. and Adda M. (List) Van Nuys, his mother having been a daugh-
ter of Albert List. Charles C. Van Nuys was born in 185 1, the son of John
H. Van Nuys, a native of Mercer county, Kentucky, and a pioneer settler
in Johnson county, Indiana, where he purchased a farm which had been en-
tered by a Mr. Covert. John H. Van Nuys married Caroline Ditmars, and
in the early life of the community they were highly respected because of their
sterling character. Charles C. Van Nuys, who for the past sixteen years
has conducted a summer hotel at Winona Lake, married Adda M. List, and
to them were born four children: Watson M., the subject of this sketch;
Edna, Mrs. Voorhies, of Rockwell City, Iowa; Ruth, Mrs. McGee, of Re-
dondo Beach, California, and Kitty, Mrs. Granger, of Marion, Iowa.

Watson Van Nuys received his elementary education in the Hopewell
schools, supplementing this by study in Franklin College, where he com-
pleted a fair and practical education. For the past sixteen years he has had
charge of the home farm, which he has conducted in such a way as to real-
ize very advantageous results. The farm comprises one hundred acres, lo-
cated in Franklin township, and, besides the raising of the ordinary grain
crops common to this locality, Mr. Van Nuys is a breeder of pure bred Duroc
Jersey hogs, of which he handles about one hundred annually. He has
thirty-five acres planted to com, twenty-three acres to wheat and three acres
to peas, while on an average he cuts about sixteen tons of hay. Practical in
all his operations, no detail of the farm work escapes his careful attention,
and the general appearance of the farm indicates the owner to be a man of
sound judgment and wise discrimination.

Politically, Mr. Van Nuys is a staunch Republican, though not a seeker
for public office, while his religious membership is with the Hopewell Pres-
byterian church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, belong-
ing to the blue lodge and to Franklin Chapter No. 65, Royal Arch Masons.

In 1902 Mr. Van Nuys married Daisy Alberta Branigin, a daughter of
William D. Branigin, a well known and prominent citizen of this county.
They move in the best social circles of the community and among their ac-
quaintances they are deservedly pppular. In agricultural circles Mr. Van
Nuys stands in the front rank as a man who honors his calling in the present

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798 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

day and, because of his industry, integrity and courtesy, he is a man tor
whom the future holds much of promise and reward. His integrity is of
the most insistent and unswerving character and no shadow has rested upon
any portion of his career as a sterling citizen. Because of his honorable
record and sterling qualities of character Mr. Van Nuys' is eminently entitled
to representation in a work of the province of the one at hand.

WILLIAM OWENS.

Agriculture has been the true source of man's dominion on earth ever
since the primal existence of labor and has been the pivotal industry that
has controlled, for the most part, all the fields of action to which his intelli-
gence and energy have been devoted. Among this sturdy element of John-
son county whose labors have profited alike themselves and the community
in which they live is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this
sketch, and in view of the consistent life record lived by the subject since
coming to this section of the country, it is particularly fitting that the fol-
lowing short record of his career be incorporated in a book of this nature.

William Owens, an enterprising citizen and successful farmer of Need-
ham township, was bom on the old home farm on the 21st day of November,
1840. His paternal grandfather, James Owens, who was bom in Virginia,
and in an early day came to Indiana, located first in Clark county. Later he
came to Johnson county, probably about 1830 or 183 1, and here entered a
tract of government land, to the improvement and cultivation of which he
devoted his attention and there spent the remainder of his life, dying at an
advanced age. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and was a man of strong
character. He reared a large number of children, among whom was Samuel
Owens, who was bom on March 3, 1808, and spent his entire life as an
agriculturist. In 1827 he became a resident of Johnson county and the fol-
lowing year entered land here upon which he located. At that time the
greater part of this tract was covered with a dense growth of timber and his
first years here were years of arduous toil in the effort to clear the land and
make it fit for cultivation. He added to his acreage as he was prospered until
at the time of his death, which occurred on October 15, 1846, he was the
owner of two hundred and forty-six acres of as good land as could be found
in that community. He married Millie Fisher, a native of North Carolina,
and to them were born ten children, six sons and four daughters, of whom

JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 799

three are now living, George, William, and Nancy, who is the wife of
Theophilus McBride, and all residing in Needham township. Mrs. Owens
was born on February 21, 1810, and died on February 22, 1896, at the ad-
vanced age of eighty-six years. She and her husband were members of the
Baptist church and by their consistent lives and earnest example they exerted
a marked influence among those about them. The subject's grandfather
on the maternal side was bpm in North Carolina and came to Qark county
in an early day, there living to an advanced age. He was a farmer and
reared a number of children.

William Owens has spent his entire life in Needham township, where
he has successfully followed agricultural pursuits. His education was ob-
tained in the old subscription schools of the neighborhood, the instruction
there received being supplemented by much reading and close observation.
He remained under the parental roof until attaining manhood, when he went
to forming on his own account on the home farm, continuing his work there
until the spring of 1863, when he purchased forty acres of land upon which
he now lives and to which he has devoted his attention since. He has been
prospered in his operations and has added to his landed estate until he is
now the possessor of two hundred and twelve acres of highly cultivated and
fertile land. He is a man of splendid business qualifications and of inde-
fatigable energy, the general appearance of his place indicating him to be a
man of sound judgment and good taste.

On April 22, 1867, Mr. Owens was married to Susanna Qark, the
daughter of John and Susanna (Webb) Clark, and whose death occurred on
July 6, 1908, at the age of sixty-four years. To this union were bom three
children, Mabel Grace, Edith Millie and John Clark. Of these, Edith married
Elbert Brown, and they now live in Needham township, and are the parents
of a daughter, Mabel Grace; John C. married Cora A. Brickett, of Bargers-
ville, and they have a daughter, Marjorie Fern. Mrs. Owens' father, John
Clark, was a native of England, having been born at Epworth, Lincolnshire,
while his wife was a native of Camden, New Jersey. Mr. Clark was a miller
and in the fall of 1841 located in Indianapolis, where for some years he
successfully operated a mill. Later he bought a mill on Sugar creek, John-
son county, which he conducted for a number of years with good success.
To him and his wife were born seven children, four sons and three daugh-
ters, of whom one is now living: Hannah, the wife of Jacob Tressler, of
White River township, this county; Josiah, late of Los Angeles, California,
deceased; Susannah, wife of the subject of this sketch, and' John, deceased,

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800 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

late of Delaware county, Indiana; William, another son who made his home
in Shelby county, Indiana, died on November 6, 1903. John Clark, Mrs.
Owens' father, died on February 22, 1879, at the age of sixty-nine years,
and his wife passed away on December 4, 1871, aged sixty-one. Both were
Episcopalians in their religious belief and took a prominent part in the
spiritual life of their community. Mrs. Owens' paternal grandfather, Will-
iam Clark, who also was a native of England, died at an advanced ag^,
leaving four children. Her maternal grandfather, John Webb, was a native
of New Jersey and followed farming during his active years, his death oc-
curring in his native state. He was the father of two sons and two daugh-
ters. His wife was formerly the wife of a Mr. Huntsinger, a soldier in
the war of the Revolution. Mrs. Millie Owens was bom in Roann county.
North Carolina, on February 22, 1810, and was the daughter of (jeorge and
Catherine Fisher, who came to Indiana in 181 5, a year prior to the admis-
sion of the state to the union. Millie Fisher was a woman of remarkable
character and her descendants are numerous, there being forty-seven grand-
children and thirty-one great-grandchildren.

Fraternally, Mr. Owens is a member of the ICnights of P)rthias, while,
religiously, he and his wife were active members of the First Baptist church
at Franklin, with which Mr. Owens was long identified. Early in his life
he became an ardent advocate of the Democratic party, and for many years
has been active in its support. Mr. Owens is a quiet, unassuming man and
it is useless to add that he is highly respected by all who know him through-
out the locality where he lives and where he has spent practically his entire
life, in all the relations of which he has been foimd faithful to every trust
and, because of his 'Sterling worth, uncompromising integrity, courteous man-
ners and pleasant disposition, he has won and retained the warm regard of
all with whom he associates, the latter including the best people of this lo-
cality.

GILBERT HENDERSON.

Fealty to facts in the analyzation of the character of a citizen of the
type of Gilbert Henderson, a well known and successful business man in
Franklin and a progressive farmer of that neighborhood, is all that is required
to make a biographical sketch interesting to those who have at heart the good
name of the community honored by his residence, because it is the honorable
reputation of the man of standing and affairs, more than any other considera-

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GILBEHIT HENDERSON

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PUBUC LIBRARY

ASTOa» LfiltfOA AND

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 8oi

tion that gives character and stability to the body politic. While advancing
his individual interests, he has never lost sight of his obligations to the com-
munity in general, where for many years he has held a high place in popular
confidence and esteem.

Gilbert Henderson was bom in Johnson county, Indiana, on March ii,
1872, and is a son of James and Margaret (Vanarsdall) Henderson. James
Henderson was bom in Kentucky in 1823, the son of Thomas Henderson.
In 1828, when but five years of age, he accompanied the family on their re-
moval to Indiana, locating in Johnson county, where they followed agricul-
tural pursuits. James Henderson, by a life of earnest and persistent en-
deavor, not only gained material prosperity, but, also that which is more desir-
able, the respect and good will of all who knew him. His death occurred in
1897 ^^^ his widow is now making her home with her children. James Hen-
derson was twice married, first to Mary Lagrange, the daughter of P. D.
Lagrange and a sister of William Lagrange, president of the First National
Bank of Franklin. To that union were bom four children, Eva, who died in
youth ; Robert C, who lives in Colorado ; Anna, the wife of J. B. Tracy, and
Qara, the wife of D. B. Wincligstg.t^iiXJiidiaaapolis. After the death of his
first wife, Mr. Hendersoii mW*fed'^4fe5fgtfret jVanarsdall, and to this union
were born three children;; )€SHi^rt,i 55l«ifeV ''aid Stella, the wife of J. B.
Lemasters. |

Gilbert Henderson iiece5M«dkiH*.qireBrftina]ry education in the common
schools of his home neigh WHoAtff^dHi^M^rg'h^s studies in the high school at
Hopewell. Then he becai^^i^-ituAwf^n^^G^ School of Undertaking, later
attending Eckell's School of Embalming, at Louisville, Kentucky, and the
Honshue School of Embalming at Richmond, Indiana, from all three of which
he received diplomas. In 19 10 Mr. Henderson engaged in the undertaking
business at Franklin, though prior to that time he had acquired some valuable
practical experience with Covert & Covert, undertakers, at Hopewell. He is
now a member of the firm of Henderson, Flynn & Johnson, which has earned
a reputation as one of the leading firms in its line in the county. Mr. Hen-
derson is a man of marked ability, courteous in his relations with his patrons,
and absolutely honest and straight forAvard in his dealings with others. He
has been financially successful and is the owner of a splendid farm of sixty-
five acres, which he operates together with one hundred and thirty acres of
rented land, in the management of which he has been rewarded with very
satisfactory returns.

Politically, Mr. Henderson is an earnest supporter of the Republican

(51)

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 803'

ing, which he followed throughout his active life. For several years he lived
on the home farm and cared for his father and mother in their last years. He
was the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of splendid land, on which
he resided until 1869, when he bought a farm in the Hopewell neighborhood,
residing there until 1889, when he located on his present attractive little place
of four acres. He is practically retired from active labor, but for the past
twelve years he has rendered efficient service as deputy county assessor,- and
in 1900 he served as census enumerator for this district.

In 1862 Mr. Covert was married to Susan Magill, the daughter of Sam-
uel and Julia Magill, to which union have been born six children, three sons
and three daughters, namely: William C, who is pastor of the First Pres-^
byterian church in Chicago, a congregation of sixteen hundred members ; Mrs.
Luetta Lockwood, who resides near Southport, Indiana; James G., a dairyman
and farmer in Franklin township, this county; Mrs. Leila Eudora McCaslin;
Mrs. Emma Henderson; Omar, of Valparaiso, Indiana, a member of the
Lyric Quartet, a company of famous singers. His birth occurred in 1876.

In politics Mr, Covert is a member of the Progressive party, to which
he gives his staunch support, while his religious membership is with the Pres-
byterian church, of which he and his wife have been members since their
childhood. In every phase of life's activities in which he has engaged Mr.
Covert has been true to every trust and because of the genuine worth of his
character he has earned and retains the sincere regard of all who know him.

WILLIAM FLINN.

One of the conspicuous names on the list of Johnson county agriculturists
is William Flinn, proprietor of Hickory Grove farm in Nineveh township, a
gentleman of high standing to whom has not been denied a full measure of
success. Long recognized as a factor of importance in connection with the
farming and stock-raising industries here, he has been prominently identified
with the material growth and prosperity of this part of the state, his life hav-
ing been closely interwoven with the history of the county where he has been
content to live and follow his chosen vocation for over a quarter of a century.

William Flinn, whose fine farm of one hundred and ninety-six acres is
located partly in Franklin and partly in Nineveh township, this county, was
bom on August 8, 1871, about one and one-half miles west^ of his present
home. His parents were Thomas and Elizabeth (Jones) Flinn, both of whom

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JOHNSON COT

career in one of the most useful of call
member of the body politic ; rising in
in every relation of life, he has never
hood nor in any way resorted to metl
sure. As a citizen he has easily ranke
peers and is ever looking toward the be
has ever been above suspicion and tho
him are profuse in their praise of his t
qualities.

WILLIAM S.

It is a well authenticated fact that
mate and well applied energy, unflaggi
a course of action when once decided
upon the idler or dreamer and she n<
men who have diligently sought her fj
In tracing the history of the influential
Franklin township, Johnson county, Ii
tion of this review, it is plainly seen ths
been won by commendable qualities an
has gained for him the high esteem of t

William S. Ditmars, who is genei
successful agriculturists of Johnson cou
tober 4, 1857, and is a son of Comeliu
He was reared under the paternal roof,
of the home farm, and during the wi
schools. He received a good practical
a three years' course in the high school
hundred and twenty acres of splendid a:
and is also operating two hundred acres
of the two tracts requiring his undivid*
the operation of which have been rewai
man of sound judgment and wide expei
tions have always been characterized bj
spirit, so that he has been enabled to ac
mum of effort. He gives due attentior
modern ideas in relation to agriculture,

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8o6 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the soil he also gives a proper share of his attention to the raising of live
stock, which is an important and necessary adjunct to successful farming.
On. December i6, 1885, M^"- Ditmars was united in the holy bonds of
wedlock with Minnie R. Graham, the daughter of David and CaroHne
(Adams) Graham. Her father was a native of Ohio, of which his family
were early settlers, but later they came to Johnson county, Indiana. To Mr.
^and Mrs. Ditmars have been bom two children, James, born in July, 1888,
and Cort C., born in 1889. Politically, Mr. Ditmars has always given his
support to the Republican party and in the civic life of the community he
has borne his full share of the burden, giving his support at all times to
those movements and measures which have promised to be of material benefit
to the people generally. He is a man of upright character and progfessive
spirit and is unalterably opposed to all forms of vice or lawlessness. Per-
sonally, he is genial and unassuming, easily makes friends and always retains
them, so that in the community in which he has spent his entire life he is one
of the popular residents.

CHESTER T. DEVORE.

The gentleman to whom the reader's attention is now directed was not
favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of influential friends, but in
spite of these, by perseverance, industry and a wise economy, he has attained
a comfortable station in life, and is well and favorably known throughout
Johnson county as a result of the industrious life he has lived here for many
years, being regarded by all who know him as a man of sound business prin-
ciples, thoroughly up to date in all phases of agriculture and stock raising
and as a man who, while advancing his individual interests, does not neglect
his general duties as a citizen.

Chester T. Devore, among whom none of the up-to-date agriculturists
of Johnson county enjoys a higher reputation, was born in Clark township
on February 3, 1876, the son of John and Sarah (Chambers) Devore, the
father a native of Johnson county and the mother born in Decatur, Indiana.
The subject's paternal grandfather, Thurrett Devore, was a native of Ken-
tucky, who came to Johnson county among the early settlers and located near
Shiloh, where he spent the remainder of his life. To the subject's parents
were bom the following children: One who died in infancy, Alice, Chester
T., Otis and Merle, the two last named being deceased. John Devore followed

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 807

practical farming during his entire life and was successful in this calling to a
gratifying degree, being numbered among the enterprising and highly re-
spected residents of this section. of the county.

The subject of this sketch was reared by his parents and secured his
elementary education in the common schools of Clark township, completing
his scholastic training at Franklin College, which he attended two years. Im-
mediately after completing his education, Mr. Devore applied himself vigor-
ously to the vocation of farming, in which he has been eminently successful
and achieved gratifying financial remuneration for his efforts. In addition to
the raising of all the crops common to this section of the country, including
the breeding and feeding of live stock, in which he has also been successful,
Mr. Devore has given a good deal of attention to the raising of pure bred
poultry, operating what is known as Glenbrook Poultry Farm, where he
raises the finest bred Barred Plymouth Rock chickens to be found in this sec-
tion of the state, and also Black Cochin Bantams. He keeps none but the best
breeds, and through them has won seven silver trophies as medals and in-
numerable ribbons at exhibitions. He also makes a specialty of seed corn,
the two varieties which meet his approval being the Johnson County White and
the Yellow Dent. He is careful in his selection of this corn and sells at a fancy
price all that he can raise.

Politically, Mr. Devore is an ardent advocate of the policies of the Pro-
gressive party and took an active interest in the last campaign. His fraternal
relations are with the Knights of the Maccabees, and his church membership
IS with the Baptist, to which society he contributes liberally.

On May 12, 1898, Mr. Devore married Bertha May Kelly, the daughter
of Andrew Taylor and Phoebe Jane (Lowe) Kelly. The father was a native
of Johnson county, as well as his wife, their people having come from Ken-
tucky to this state in an early day, locating in Clark township. To Andrew
and Phoebe Kelly were born five children, namely: Samuel L., Robert E.,
Clara M., Bertha May and Ossie Ethel. The mother of these children is still
living, the father being deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Devore have been bom
two children, Chester H., deceased, and Freda May, who is at home with her
parents. In the public life of the community where he lives, Mr. Devore has
long taken a prominent part and intelligent interest, and is now serving as a
member of the advisory board of Clark township, where he is rendering ef-
ficient service in the interests of the people. He is a man of strong character
and acknowledged ability and, because of these elements and his genuine per-
sonal worth, he enjoys a marked popularity in the locality where he lives.

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8o8 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

ALVIN GILBERT HICKS.

The best title one can establish to the high and generous esteem of an
intelligent community is a protracted and honorable residence therein. The
subject of this sketch, who has spent the major portion of his life in Franklin,
has, because of his earnest and consistent life and his high attainments in his
special line of endeavor, earned the sincere respect and good opinion of all
who know him.

Alvin G. Hicks was bom in Franklin, Indiana, on February 23, 185 1,
and is a son of Royal S. and Mary G. (Keen) Hicks. His father, who was a
native of Switzerland county, Indiana, was a lawyer by vocation, but also de-
voted considerable attention to the newspaper business, having for many years
published the Weekly Democrat at Rockport, Indiana. He served efficiently
as deputy state auditor under Major Dunn, and also was clerk of Spencer
county for eight years, performing all of his public and official duties to the
entire satisfaction of all concerned and earning a high reputation as a man
of ability and honor. In the profession of law he was successful and con-
tinued in the active practice until his death, which occurred in 1884.

Alvin G. Hicks received his education mainly in the public schools of
Spencer county, attending the Rockport schools until seventeen years of age,
when, ambitious to take up life's battle on his own account, he engaged in
the business of photography, to the pursuit of which he has devoted himself
ever since, a period of forty-five years. His apprenticeship was served under
John Nicholson, one of the most expert and artistic photographers of his day,
and the high ideals gained by Mr. Hicks at that period have never been laid
aside, he having made at all times a faithful and conscientious effort to
turn out nothing but the very best work. His reputation as an original and
painstaking artist in photography has long been firmly established throughout
this section of the state, and his patrons come from many of the neighboring
counties. Many of the engravings in this work have been reproduced from
photographs made by Mr. Hicks, who has thus in a large measure contributed
to the success of this department of the work.

Mr. Hicks has been married twice, first, in 1870, to Betty Burton, and
in 1875 to Sarah C. Jackson.

Politically, Mr. Hicks is an earnest supporter of the Democratic party,
and takes a commendable interest in public affairs, though in no sense a seeker
after public office. Fraternally, he is a member of Hesperian Lodge No. 12,
Knights of Pythias. Socially, he is a man of pleasing address and, because

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ALVIN G.

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JOHNSON a

of his sterling qualities of character,
in the esteem of his fellow citizens.

IRA E. V

One of Nineveh township's agric
of a place in this book is Ira E. Vandi
of the utmost integrity of purpose, j
entire life, stood high in the estimati
interests he has sought to promote wh

Ira E. Vandivier, who is a repr<
and representative families of Johnsoi
1st day of December, 1863, and is a
Vandivier, the father a native also o
Vandivier family appears elsewhere ir
taken for a repetition of the same her
dren: Ina E., John, Edward, Lorj^^
Charles Feaster. i r:^^^''

The subject of this sketc^ reteive
his home community and then- became
desiring to better prepare hims'*elf :i©r f
ing in the old Bryant and StrattdnSi
completion of which he took up the voc
given his undivided attention. He has
culture, raising all the crops common
in addition given considerable attentic
mules and cattle, in which also he ha
of four hundred and forty acres of
possesses, and in the cultivation of thi
sound judgment and excellent taste,
great credit on the owner.

In 1888 Mr. Vandivier was unite
the daughter of James P. and Mary J
a native of Johnson county and a mem
came here from Kentucky. To the si
children, Fred F., Hugh E., Orris A., I

Politically, the subject of this sket

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8lO JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

is now giving his support to the Progressive wing of the party. He takes an
intelligent interest in all public affairs and on the current issues of the day he
holds decided opinions. He is a man who gives his support to all movements
which have for their object the advancement of the public welfare. As a
member of the Christian church, he takes a commendable interest in spiritual
affairs and gives his liberal support to the material advancement of the society
to which he belongs. Personally, Mr. Vandivier is well liked by all who
know him. His home farm is one of the best improved in the township, for
he has been most vigilant in keeping it up to a high standard in every respect.
Success has attended his efforts l^ecause he has worked for it along legitimate
lines and has not permitted discouraging situations to thwart him and has been
honest and fearless in pursuing a course when he knew he was in the right.

GEORGE I. WHITE.

In every community are to be found individuals who, by reason of pro-
nounced ability and forceful personality, rise superior to the majority and
command the homage of their fellows; who, by revealing to the world the
two resplendent virtues, perseverance in effort and directing purpose, never
fail to attain positions of honor and trust and become in the full sense of the
term leaders of men. Of this class is the well known gentleman and success-
ful lawyer whose name appears above, a man who ranks among the leading
citizens of Johnson county and who for a number of years has borne an in-
fluential part in the affairs of the city and county in which he resides.

George I. White is descended from sterling old Hoosier ancestry, and
was born in Nineveh township, Johnson county, Indiana, on the 14th of
October, 1870. He is the son of George Boyd and Rachel I. (Lane) White,
the father a native of Shelby county, Kentucky, and the mother of Bartholo-
mew county, Indiana. The father, who was a farmer by vocation, came to
Johnson county in young manhood and spent the remainder of his life in
Nineveh township except four years in Franklin, when he was performing
the duties of county commissioner, to which office he had been elected in
1870. He was bom on July 16, 1816, and died on December 29, 1885, while
his wife, who was born November 29, 1827, died on March 22, 1910. To
him and his wife were born eleven children, of whom six are living, three
having died in infancy. Jacob White, who died on May 13, 1889, ^'^is the
prosecuting attorney of Johnson county for two terms and a member of

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 8ll

the lower house of the state Legislature for two terms during the years 1887
to 1889; Silas A. lives on the home farm in Nineveh township; Edward F.,
who died on October 12, 1902, was also an attorney by profession and had
served as county attorney and as deputy county clerk; Mary D., Viola,
Martha J. ; William W. lives on a farm south of Franklin, and is the father
of three children.

George I. White, the immediate subject of this sketch, lived on the
paternal farmstead until the fall of 1889, when he accompanied his mother
on her removal to Franklin. He had received his elementary education in
the schools of Nineveh township and in the high school at Franklin, and com-
pleted his scholastic training in Franklin College. He then engaged in teach-
ing school for one year and th^n decided to follow the vocation of a lawyer,
to which end he entered upon his legal studies in the office of Buckingham &
White in 1894. On November 8th of that year he was admitted to the bar
and immediately formed a law partnership with his brother, Edward F.
White, under the firm name of White & White, a partnership existing until
his brother's death. After that event he formed a law partnership with
Fred R. Owens, which still exists and which is numbered among the strong
legal firms of Johnson county. Mr. White gives his attention to general
practice, although he makes a specialty of work in probate 'court, for which
he has especially qualified himself and in which he has achieved a noted suc-
cess. He was county attorney of Johnson county for three years, in which
position he gave eminent satisfaction, and in 1905-7 was a member of the
lower house of the Indiana Legislature, having been elected on the Demo-
cratic ticket. In 1907, Governor Hanly appointed Mr. White a member of
the legislative visitation committee to visit the state institutions, and in the
discharge of this duty he rendered valuable service to the state. For years
Mr. White has stood high in his profession and, as already indicated, has met
with gratifying success. His name has appeared in connection with much
important litigation, in addition to which he does a large and lucrative
office business, being esteemed and honorable, as well as an able lawyer, faith-
ful to the interests of his client and above the suspicion of reproach as a
counsellor. As a business man he is prompt and methodical, as a lawyer
careful and critical, and as a private citizen, a man of unbending integrity
and unfaltering conscientiousness.

On November 7, 1905, Mr. White was united in marriage to Leila L.
Lagrange, a daughter of P. D. and Margaret B. Lagrange, of Johnson
county, and to them has been born one child, Pauline Margaret.

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8l2 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Religiously, Mr. White is a member of the Christian church, in the ac-
tivities of which he has taken a deep interest. He served as deacon for
six or seven years, and for the past five years has been elder. His social
relations are with the Delta Theta college fraternity, of which he was an
active member in school. A man of high ideals, social and of affable address,
Mr. White is popular with all classes throughout the county, where he is well
known, and because of his genuine worth, high character and personal in-
tegrity, he is eminently deserving of representation in a work of the charac-
ter of the one at hand.

EDWARD HILL.

One of the best known and most enterprising of the younger agricul-
turists of Johnson county is Edward Hill, now in the very prime of life and
usefulness, and his influence as an honorable, upright citizen is productive of
much good upon all with whom he comes in contact. His past success gives
assurance of something yet to come, and he is evidently destined to con-
tinue a potent factor for substantial good for many years to come. He is the
owner of fine farming lands in Johnson county, which he conducts in a man-
ner that stamps him as fully abreast of the times.

Edward Hill, one of the most successful farmers in Blue River town-
ship, Johnson county, Indiana, was born on November 5, 1873, ^^ Shelby
county, this state, and is the son of John and Margaret (Leslie) Hill, natives
respectively of Bartholomew county, Indiana, and Edinburg, Johnson county.
They were the parents of five children, Ida, Edward, Manuel, Jesse and
Gertrude.

The subject of this sketch received a good, practical common-school
education and was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation which he has
never forsaken. In 1898 he moved to Johnson county, and for thirteen years
resided on the T. E. Valentine farm, to the operation of which he gave his
undivided attention. In February, 1904, he purchased his present farm in
Blue River township, and for a number of years successfully conducted both
farms, moving to his present home in 1906, where he has since resided. His
place is well improved in every respect, the improvements comprising a nice
residence, substantial barn and other necessary outbuildings, and he has
twenty-five acres sown to rye and seventeen acres to com. His annual output
of live stock comprises two hundred hogs and he also has fifty head of cattle

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JOHNSON a

on his place. He gives proper attent
the cereals common to this locality,
his intelligent conduct of his affairs
which he is held among his fellow a^

In January, 1892, the subject 0
Ada Ensley, and to them have beei
Frank, Ruby, Ruth, Oscar and Arth

Politically, the subject is a sup
ticket he has voted since attaining I
member of the Edinburg lodge of Fre
of which he takes a deep interest. N
ests of the community and gives a v
for the good of his fellows. He has
by all who know him.

EDGAR D

Among the enterprising, progress
township, Johnson county, Indiana, is
the head of this sketch, who is the o\
of land splendidly located near White!
gressive agricultural methods, his emi
sonal character, won the warm regard
home, which is set in the midst of a s
a beautiful drive, fronts on the intern
pect to the passerby. Mr. Brewer has
those who know him best are warmest

Mr. Brewer was bom on March :
south of Whiteland, and is a son of
who was bom in 1814 and died in i{
Brewer, who was a pioneer settler of P
ty in 1832, filing on one hundred and
ject's farm in Pleasant township. He
o^\Tiing over one thousand acres in thi!
a tract of land by inheritance and W2
owning over six hundred acres of lar
ried four times, first to Mary Jane I
pioneer of this county, her death occui

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8l4 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

To them were bom two children, one of whom is deceased, the survivor being
Mrs. William L. LaGrange, of Franklin. For his second wife Mr. Brewer
chose Magdalene Ditmars, who was bom in 1827 and died in April, 1862.
They became the parents of four children, two of whom died young, the
others being Edgar, the subject of this sketch, and Margaret, the wife of P.
D. LaGrange. Daniel Brewer's third wife was Olive McClintock, who died
one year after marriage, and his fourth wife was Lucretia Beazley, who died
May 17, 1910.

Edgar D. Brewer received his education in the public schools and in the
Hopewell Academy, and in 1869 he engaged in the mercantile business in
partnership with R. V. Ditmars, of Franklin, in which he remained until 1871.
He then returned to his farm, where he has since lived. For the first three
years, or until 1874, he was with his father on the farm, and from 1874 until
188 1 he lived on the old Brewer place, locating on his present farm in the
latter year. He has been an industrious and persistent worker, his aim being
to maintain his place at the highest possible state of excellence and in the
achievement of this ideal he has been eminently successful, his farm now
being considered one of the best in the locality. He follows modern meth-
ods of agriculture and leaves no detail unattended to in his management of
the place. His splendid home, commodious barns and other appurtenances
of an up-to-date farm indicate him to be a man of good judgment and sound
discrimination.

On October 21, 1873, ^'^- Brewer married Sarah M. Beasley, daughter of
Augusta and Sallie Ann (Webb) Beasley, natives of Virginia who emigrarea
from that state to Kentucky, the subject's marriage occurring in the latter
state. To the subject and his wife have been born four children, namely :
Mrs. Norma Pitman, of Indianapolis, who is the mother of three children,
Sallie Ann, Edgar Nelson and Nomia Elizabeth; J. D., who resides on the
home fami, is the father of two children, William Ditmars and Charles Don-
ald ; Mrs. Neva Sharp, of Whiteland, is the mother of a son, Thomas Edgar,
and Magdalena, who is at home with her parents.

Politically, Mr. Brewer has given a life-long support to the Democratic
party and has taken an intelligent interest in all public affairs. Religiously,
he gives his support to the Presbyterian church, of which he is a faithful
member and to which he contributes liberally of his means. In all the rela-
tions of life he has proved a man among men and because of his sterling per-
sonal qualities and of his staunch integrity he is deserving of the confidence
which has been placed in him by his fellow men.

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JOHNSON C(

PETER D.

Conspicuous among the represen
Johnson county is the well known g<
of this article. He has made his infl
Franklin township, being a man of st
interwoven with the history of the co
efforts have always been for the nia
as for the social and moral welfare o
life he has led, thereby gaining the i
citizens, entitles him to representation
tended in the present work.

Peter D. LaGrange, who owns
township, Johnson county, Indiana, v
Hopewell neighborhood and is a son
Grange. The subject's mother died (
subsequently married Mary List. Ai
scent, reared four children l)y his fir*
wife of Dr. G. W. Covert, of Lon<
Newton, of Franklin, and Peter D., th
his marriage with Mary List the folk
Brewer, Mrs. Josephine Ransdell, dec
Cain, of Franklin, and Samuel, also of

Peter I). IvaGrange attended the
then was a student at Hopewell Acad
over College, and he therefore receive
After his marriage in 1874 he engager
with Isaac N. LaGrange, his brother,
father's farm, while for the past eightc
farm, which comprises two hundred a
improved with good and substantial 1
as characterize an up-to-date farm. Ir
bungalow in which he is now living wl
to take active charge of the same. I
looked after by him during his active
successful and practical farmers of th<

In 1874 Mr. LaGrange married ^
three children: Mrs. Leota White, (

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8l6 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

daughter, Pauline; Edgar Adonis, of the Franklin Hardware Company, who
married Una Dixon, and they have had three children, of whom two survive,
Loren and Richard; Roy, who has charge of the milk receiving station at
Whiteland, married Helen Boon, and they have two children, Edwin and
Janette Evlyn.

In politics Mr. LaGrange has given his support to the Republican party,
but has never been a seeker after the honors and emoluments of public office.
Religiously, he gives his earnest support to the Presb)rterian church, of which
he is a faithful member, while his fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic
order, in the workings of which he is deeply interested. Mr. LaGrange has
during his life time shown himself worthy of the high esteem in which he is
held. His life has been filled with activity and usefulness, while his untiring
energy and ability have secured for him a conspicuous and honorable place
among the citizens of his community. His strict integrity and tmpretending
bearing have elevated him in the confidence of his fellow citizens, and his in-
fluence has always been exerted in the interests of those things which have
helped to elevate his fellowmen socially, morally and educationally. Because
of his successful career and his high personal character, he is eminently en-
titled to representation among the leading men of his county. v

ALBERT LIST.

The best title one can establish to the high and generous esteem of an
intelligent community is a protracted and honorable residence therein. Albert
List, one of the best known and most highly esteemed men of Johnson county,
has resided here many years, and his career has been a most commendable
one in every respect. Beginning life under none too favorable auspices, he
allowed nothing to deter him and, by persistent industry and the exercise of
sound common sense in his operations, he gained the rewards for which he
labored, and is today numbered among the substantial and influential men of
his community.

Albert List was bom in Shelbyville, Shelby county, Kentucky, on Novem-
ber 4, 1830, and is a son of Garrett and Elizabeth ( Voris) List. Garrett List,
who was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1808, was a farmer and came
to Johnson county, Indiana, in 1829, entering one hundred and forty acres of
government land, a part of which he cleared and on which he built a log cabin.
In 1834 he brought his family here and here they remained for twenty-five

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 817

years, when he moved to a farm near Indianapolis, in Marion county, where
his death occurred in 1891. The subject's mother, who also was a native of
Kentucky, died in Johnson county in 1844. They were the parents of eight
children, of whom Albert is the eldest. After the death of his first wife,
Garrett List married Melinda Alcorn, to which union were also bom eight
children. Politically, Garrett List was aligned with the Democratic party
until 1856, when he joined the Republican party, with which he remained
identified until his death. He never was an office seeker, but while a resident
of Marion county he rendered efficient service as justice of the peace. Re-
ligiously, he was a member of the Presbyterian church, of which he was an
elder for many years.

Albert List received a somewhat limited school education in the log-
cabin schools of the pioneer period, and at the age of fourteen years his father
hired him out until the age of eighteen years, when he was given his time.
At the age of fourteen he began work as a farm hand and the following years
were characterized by labor of the most strenuous kind. He was steady in
his habits and economical in the use of his money, so that when twenty-three
years old he was enabled to buy Qneht^fwdre^- acres -of land in Marion county.
To the operation of that land h^ applied •himself and in his operations met
with splendid success. Aftef remaining on that farm for twenty-five years,
Mr. List returned to his present farm in Franklin township, where he has since
resided. He is the owner of one hundred- and -ten acres of high-class land,
which he rents, having retired fjrpm .active labor 'some years ago. He re-
sides in a fine old brick house, which he remodeled into a home of comfort
and convenience, and here he is enjoying the rest which his former years of
toil so richly entitle him to. The farm is up-to-date, the buildings, fences
and other details of the place reflecting great credit on the owner.

Mr. List has been twice married, first, in 1854, to Eliza Ho^fgen, a
native of Pennsylvania, who died in 1868. To this union were born five
children, namely: Adeline, who, on September 6, 1876, was married to
Charles C. Van Nuys, to whom she bore four children, Watson M. (who lives
on the old Van Nuys homestead, which is one of the landmarks of Johnson
county), Edna (who became the wife of Rev. Gilbert Voorhies, now of
Rockwell City, Iowa), Ruth (the wife of Charles McGeehe. of Redondo
Beach, California) and Catharine (the wife of A. E. Granger, of Marion,
Iowa) ; Ella became the wife of T. R. Alexander, of Marion, Iowa, and they
have a daughter, Mabel ; Mattie, who married J. B. Jones, of this county, and
they have three children, Mellie, Maxwell and Dorothy, all residents of John-

(52)

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8l8 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

son county ; George and Melinda are deceased. On September 29, 1870, Mr.
List married Amelia Lockwood, the daughter of William and Eliza (Arm-
strong) Lockwood. William Lockwood was bom in Providence, New Bruns-
wick, and moved to Springfield, Ohio, in 1835, where he followed his vocation,
that of a carpenter. Sometime after the Civil war he came to Indiana, locat-
ing at Southport near Indianapolis, where his death occurred some time after

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 819

and three daughters, namely : Grace, Irene, Harry B., William F., Fannie and
John. The subject's father spent his entire life in Jefferson county, excepting
about two years in Johnson county, and was a man of eminent respectability,
who enjoyed the esteem of all who knew him.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools
of Dupont, where he attended until eighteen years of age. In 1898, fired by
a spirit of loyalty and patriotism, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred
and Sixty-first Regiment Indiana Volunteers, for service during the Spanish-
American war and served one year. His regiment was one of the first to
march to Havana after the occupation of that city and the regiment was dis-
charged after the anny left the island. Mr. Shephard was present at the of-
ficial evacuation of Cuba, which occurred at Havana on January i, 1899.
After the war Mr. Shephard took up the vocation of photography and land-
scape artist at Dupont, Jefferson county, for which work he had a natural
aptitude. About a year later, however, he engaged in contract painting,
which he carried on with fair success for six months. On March 16, 1900, he
engaged in the merchandise business at Rock Lane, under the firm name of
Day & Shephard, a partnership which lasted about one. year and ten months,
when Mr. Shephard bought his partner's interest. He then continued busi-
ness under his own name until November, 1912, when the firm name was
changed to H. B. Shephard & Company, J. W, Tnilock buying an interest in
the business. Mr. Trulock had been in the employ of Mr. Shephard for about
five years, having begun work in the store at the age of fifteen years and
proved a man of not only good habits, but of marked business ability. The
business has been remarkably successful from the beginning when Mr. Shep-
hard started in with a capital of less than two hundred dollars. However,
when Mr. Shephard bought Mr. Day's interest, the business invoiced fifteen
hundred dollars, and now about five thousand dollars' worth of merchandise
is carried in stock. Sound business judgment and courteous treatment of his
patrons have been the elements which have contributed to the success of the
business and now Messrs. Shephard and Trulock are numbered among the
most successful business men of their community. Mr. Shephard owns the
building in which the store is located and also a nice residence at Rock Lane.

On July 16, 1900, Mr. Shephard married Grace L. Rayborn, of Jefferson
county, the daughter of Frank Rayborn, though she was born and reared in
Canaan, Indiana. To them has been born one child, Monta L., bom in 1902.
Mr. Shephard is a member of Lodge No. 385, Knights of Pythias, at Acton,
and his religious membership is with the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr.

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&20 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Shephard is one of the highly respected citizens of his community, having es-
tablished a firm reputation for honesty of purpose in his dealings with his
fellow men and by being the advocate of clean and wholesome principles in
the home, society and politics.

GARRETT DITMARS.

A review of the life of the honored subject of this memoir must of neces-
sity be brief and general in its character. To enter fully into the interesting
details of the career of the late Garrett Ditmars, touching the struggles of his
early manhood and the successes of his later years, would far transcend the
limits of this article. He filled a large place in the ranks of the active, ener-
getic and public-spirited citizens of his day and generation, and the memories
which attach to his name and character fonn no inconsiderable chapter in the
history of his adopted county, where he did his work and achieved his success.

Garrett Ditmars was a native of New Jersey and was the son of Peter
Ditmars, also a native of that state and the descendant of good old Holland
stock, a lineage which played a large part in the settlement and development
of various sections of this country, various lines from which he descended
being mentioned in the early annals of the colonies. In April, 1830, Garrett
Ditmars emigrated from Somerset county, New Jersey, to Warren count>%
Ohio, where he remained six years, and in the spring of 1836 he came to
Johnson county, Indiana, locating on a tract of land about two miles north of
Franklin. Two years later he moved to Union township. Garrett Ditmars
took an active part in the early development of his locality, of which he was
a pioneer, and among those men of courage and stamina who laid the founda-
tion for the subsequent splendid civilization which has characterized this
locality, Garrett Ditmars deserves his full share of credit.

Garrett Ditmars was married to Sarah Verbryck, who also was bom in
I^Iew Jersey, on January 20, 1783, the daughter of William and Rebecca
(Low) Verbryck. Her father, who was an honored citizen of his locality,
had been a soldier in the war of the Revolution, attaining to the rank of major,
and lived to the advanced age of ninety-six years. To Mr. and Mrs. Ditmars
were born thirteen children, of whom twelve were reared to maturity, and four
are now living, namely: Cornelius, who lives west of Franklin; John T.,
of Hopewell: Mrs. Rebecca Donnell, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Richard

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THE NEW YORK
PUBUC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LfiMOX AND

TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 82 1

v., of Franklin. The deceased are William, Mrs. Mary Hall, Mrs. Jane Van
Nuys, Mrs. Margaret McCaslin, Mrs. Caroline Van Nuys, Peter, Magdalena,
Jacob and Edward.

OTIS M. VANDIVIER.

The importance that attaches to the lives, character and work of the
early settlers of Johnson county and the influence they have exerted upon
the cause of humanity and civilization is one of the most absorbing themes
that can possibly attract the attention of the local chronicler or historian.
If great and beneficent results — results that endure and bless mankind —
are the proper measure of the good men do, then who is there in the world's
history that may take their places above the hardy pioneer. To point out
the way, to make possible our present advancing civilization, its happy homes,
its arts and sciences, its discoveries and inventions, its education, literature,
culture, refinement and socal life and joy, is to be the truly great benefactors
of mankind for all time. This was the great work accomplished by the early
settlers and it is granted by all that they builded wiser than they knew.
Among the pioneer families of Johnson i^yiify'^?!^"^^^^ ^^^^^ identified with
this locality no family has as large a, i^fesejjtj^k^n In the county as the
Vandivier family, members of which have played m important part in
civic and public affairs. A worthy representatiye pi this family is the gentle-
man whose name appears at the hea4. P^f .iW-Sifceteh', ^vtio is not only a suc-
cessful farmer, but is also giving efficient service as ft*ustee of Clark township.

The Vandivier family is originally from Germany, the first emigrant
ancestor, Peter Vandivier, who was born in 1760 and died in 1823, having
first settled in Pennsylvania, later moved to Virginia, and finally made his
home in Kentucky, where he died. His wife, whose maiden name was Anna
Lagrange, was born in 1769 and died in 1855. They were the parents of six
children, one of whom, Peter, was born in 1785. On March 2, 1801, he
married Sarah Garshwiler, a native of Kentucky, and in 1826 they came to
Johnson county, settling on the Martinsville road, where he entered a home-
stead in Union township. To him and his wife were born a large family,
fourteen children in all, and all settled on the Martinsville road, the family
owning practically all the land from that locality to the Morgan county
line. These children with the dates of their birth are as follows : Madison,
December 15, 1809; Eliza (Mrs. Byers), February 9, 1811 ; Strawther, August
30, 1812; John. April 18, 1814; William T., January 29, 1815; Susan (Mrs.
Byers). May 27, 1817; Peter. November i, 1818; Joseph S., January 6, 1820;

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822 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

James H., January 13, 1823; Mary (Mrs. Deer), September 18, 1824; Isaac,
July 15, 1826; Henry, December 25, 1827; Jefferson, August 25, 1829, and

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 823

1899, and they have two children; Paul M., bom July 25, 1902, and Margaret
L., born December 22, 1904.

Otis M. Vandivier, the immediate subject of this sketch, received his
education in the country schools of his locality and in the normal school. He
was the first pupil enrolled in the high school in Union township and after
the completion of his studies, in 1890, he began teaching school, in which
vocation he was engaged for eighteen years in the district schools of this
county. During the same period he was also in agricultural work, to which
he devoted his time during school vacations. In 1900 he bought one hundred
and three acres of his present farm, and in 1910 bought eighty-five acres ad-
ditional. He is now the owner of one hundred and eighty-eight acres of good,
tillable land and all in cultivation except about thirty acres of timber which
is used largely for grazing purposes. He gives his careful attention to every
detail of his farm work. He feeds large numbers of live stock, averaging
an output of fifty head of hogs annually, six cattle and about eighteen to
twenty-five sheep. His farm is in many respects one of the best in the
township, and owing to his persistent industry, progressive methods of carry-
ing forward his work, Mr. Vandivier has met with a gratifying degree of
success, being generally considered one of the best farmers in his section
of the county. He has a splendid residence with all the modern improve-
ments and the general appearance of the place is a credit to the owner.

On March 22, 1893, Otis M. Vandivier was united in marriage to Blanche
C. Hamilton, the daughter of William H. Hamilton, and they are the parents
of two children: Harold Henderson, born January 26, 1904, and Aaron
Augustus, born November 19, 1910. Politically, Mr. Vandivier gives his
support to the Democratic party, and in 1908 was elected trustee of Clark
township, in which position he is now serving, his term having been extended
to six years by legislative enactment. Religiously, he is a member of the
Bush Grove Baptist church, in the success of which he takes a deep interest.
His fraternal membership is wath the Providence lodge. Free and Accepted
Masons. Mr. Vandivier has taken an active and intelligent interest in local
affairs and is counted upon always as a supporter of any movement for the
betterment of the community in which he lives. He is the historian of the
Vandivier family reunions, this being, as before stated, the largest in Johnson
county, and he has recorded many interesting and valuable facts of local
history, especially as pertaining to his family. Because of his sterling personal
qualities, his genial disposition and the material success to which he has at-
tained, he is held in high regard in the community where he lives and his
friends are in number as his acquaintances.

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824 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

RUFUS WEBSTER TERHUNE, M. D.

Johnson county, Indiana, has reason to take pride in the personnel of
her corps of medical men from the earliest days in her history to the present
time, and on the roll of honored names that indicates the services of dis-
tinguished citizens in this field of endeavor there is reason in reverting with
gratification to that of Dr. Rufus Webster Terhune, of Whiteland, who has
attained eminence in his chosen calling and for a number of years has stood
among the scholarly and enterprising physicians in a community long dis-
tinguished for the high order of its medical talent. He realized early that
there is a purpose in life and that there is no honor not founded on worth and
no respect not founded on accomplishment. His life and labors have been
eminently worthy because they have contributed to a proper understanding of
life and its problems.

Rufus Webster Terhune was born near Samaria, Johnson county, In-
diana, October 21, 1866. He attended the district schools and afterwards the
Trafalgar high school, where he graduated March 14, 1884, with first honors.
Having industriously studied to complete the high school course during the
winter terms of six months each and having devoted his summer vacations
to a special training for teaching, he obtained a high grade teacher's license
two months after his high school commencement and began his work as a
teacher September 14, 1885. He had long felt a preference for the science
of medicine, the study of which he began upon reaching his majority and
continued with energy not only during his vacations, but also at nights while
devoting his days to the work of teaching. He entered the Kentucky School
of Medicine in 1889 and graduated June 18, 1891, with the degree of Doctor
of Medicine, and on February 15, 1892, he located at Whiteland and en-
tered at once upon the active practice of his profession. He soon demonstrated
his ability and for several years has been numbered among the successful
physicians of his county. He has been actuated throughout his professional
life by the highest ideals and has never compromised his usefulness by
countenancing any but noble and legitimate practice. He has always main-
tained the high dignity of his calling and has keenly felt the responsibility
resting upon him as a minister of the healing art. He possesses a thoroughly
disciplined mind and is a close and critical student of medical literature and
of the trend of modern thought in the science to which his life and services
have been devoted.

His ability and success have earned for him a high reputation in his
community and the genuine respect of his professional colleagues. In the

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 825

public and civic life of his community Doctor Terhune has long been a
prominent and influential figure. He served as town clerk and treasurer of
Whiteland for the year 1897. In 1898 he was ^elected coroner of Johnson
county, and was thrice elected, making a total of eight years in which he
served in this responsible position. He was again elected town clerk and
treasurer of Whiteland for the years 1910 and 1911. Since the expiration
of his term as clerk and treasurer he has served as president of the board of
trustees of Whiteland and has been instrumental in building cement side-
walks on every street in town ; has opened up new streets, built sewers, secured
electric light service and paved Main street. He has been health officer for the
town since 1908, and has assiduously given his time and energy to establish
those conditions which so largely promote the health fulness of the community.
His interest in public health, preventive medicine and child welfare caused
him to be the pioneer medical inspector of schools in Johnson county. He
prepared a series of papers on **School Hygiene," which he read to teachers'
institutes and thus helped to arouse a public sentiment in favor of improve-
ment which resulted in the erection of the present commodious and sanitary
high school building in Whiteland. Doctor Terhune is a member of the
Johnson County Medical Society, -4iho- Indiana :§l;?tte')Medical Association and
the American Medical Association. H^'Ti^V'/servied the County Medical
Society as president and secretary for several y^afs J By way of recreation,
Doctor Terhune reads history. ^ He has a good historical library and takes an
intelligent interest in the intensive study of th6 an'oals of Johnson county and
has done much original research.' The results of Jiis investigation he has
published under the title of "HistcfrTckt Sketches of Medicine and Medical
Men in the Early Days of Johnson Coimty." He contributed the article
regarding the early physicians of Johnson county for Dr. G. W. H. Kem-
per's ''Medical History of Indiana" (chapter on Medicine in Branigin's His-
tory). For ten years he has been a laborious collector of Terhune genealogy
in all parts of the United States. This material he has published under the
title of **Albert Albertsen ter Huen and his Descendants.'' A few years ago
he prepared and published an illustrated chart and "A Manual of Scientific
Temperance," several thousand copies of which were placed in the public
schools for use in teaching the harmful effects of alcohol upon the human
system.

Politically, Doctor Terhune is an active and enthusiastic member of the
Democratic party. Fraternally, he is a Modern Woodman of America and a
Knight of Pythias. Religiously, his affiliations are with the Bethany Presby-
terian church at Whiteland.

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826 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Doctor Terhune has been twice married. His first marriage was with Mrs.
Lena Enfield Doran, of Louisville, Ky., on June 21, 1892, whose death
occurred on the 15th day of October, 1898. His second marriage was with
Evabel Robinson, of Minneapolis, Minn., on the nth of August, 1909. To
this union have been born two children: Helen Irene Terhune, September
7, 1910, and Webster Lucian Terhune, January 7, 1912.

During the period of his professional practice in this community, Doctor
Terhune has not only gained the respect of his confreres in his chosen
profession, but has also sustained a sound reputation for uprightness and
nobility of character in all the relations of life. He has realized that to those
who attain determinate success in the medical profession there must be not
only given technical ability, but also a broad human sympathy which must
pass from mere sentiment to be an actuating motive for helpfulness. His
useful life as one of the world's workers has been one of devotion to his
calling and he merits specific mention in the annals of his county, where he
has given the best of his powers and talents for the aiding and betterment of
his kind.'

Doctor Terhune is descended from a long line of sterling ancestors, who
have been particularly distinguished for their courage and integrity. The
patient genealogist laboriously delving in the quaint and musty records of
New Amsterdam is rewarded by discovering early in the year 1650 a name
not previously found therein. And a prosecution of the search is rewarded
by finding an occasional repetition of the same name in a variety of forms.
Sometimes it appears as "Albert Albertse,*' or '*Elbert Elbertse"; again it is
written "Albert Albertsen ter Huen,'' or "Alberzen ter Heun," or "ter Hunen,"
or "ter Huyn." or "ter Huen.*' These forms are but variants of the modem
name Terhune. (I) "Albert Albertse," the first of the name in America,
is the common ancestor of all the Terhunes that have lived and died through-
out the years since that early day. His wife's name was Geertje (Gertrude),
and they were the parents of two sons and four daughters:

1. Jan Albertsen (John Albert).

2. Heyltje (Hail) Albertse, born January 12, 1650.

3. Albert^AIbertsen, Jr., born August 13, 1651.

4. Annetje (Anna) Albertse, bom March 3, 1653.

5. Styntje (Christiana) Albertse (in Cloes Janse Romyn May 2, 1680).

6. Sarah Albertse, married Hanse Van Noorstrant.

Albert Albertse, the immigrant, was born about the year 161 5, evidently
in Hunen (Huinen or Huynen), Holland, where his father, Albert, and family
had located after their flight from France. Old records and family traditions

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 827

establish the fact sufficiently well that the family was of French Huguenot
origin, and that it has suffered the same senseless persecutions that were in-
flicted upon thousands of other families of the noblest people of France in that
cruel, intolerant age. The confiscation of their estates and their expulsion from
their native land left them utterly destitute in stange lands. People of re-
finement and affluence were compelled to resort to manual labor, sometimes of
the most menial kind, in order to earn a scant livelihood. Albert Albertse
chose the less laborious handicraft of ribbon weaving. But he was ill con-
tent in Holland, even though he had married one of its fair-haired daughters.
Visions of the New World, with its alluring call to the down-trodden and the
oppressed of all nations, kept arising in his mind. He longed to recoup the
ruined fortunes of the family and own once more a landed estate. So he
finally braved the stormy Atlantic and sought a home in New Amsterdam.
The voyage was probably made in the year 1637.

In a roll call of the residents of King s county, province of New York,
who took the oath of allegiance to the English king on the 26th, 27th, 28th,
29th and 30th days of September, 1687, the name of **Elbert Elbertse** heads
the list of residents of Flatlands with the declaration that he had been a
resident of the country for fifty years. His career was one of trial
and stress. He found that a little Dutch village in the New World
was no place in which to build up a great ribbon-weaving industry.
Besides the failures of this enterprise he had various other troubles and was
engaged in much litigation for two or three years. Finally he turned to the
soil for a livelihood and in 1657 rented and cultivated a farm on the Nyack or
Najack tract in New Utrecht, Long Island, owned by Cornelius Werck-
hoven and held for the heirs of the estate of Jacques Cortelyou. Here he
built a rude home, after the manner of the Dutch pioneer farmers, consisting
of a dug-out cellar and a small house covered by a heavy thatch of straw and
located on a hillside for drainage and near a spring that fresh water might
be available. But he was soon deprived of this poor, squalid excuse for a
home. As a result of danger from Indian hostilities, Albert Albertse, with
other scattered farmers, was ordered by the director-general and council of
New Amsterdam to destroy their homes and repair to the garrison village of
New Utrecht for protection from the savages. This flight from danger
Albert Albertse flatly refused to make. He was consequently haled before
the council and fined fifty guilders for non-conformity to the orders of the
government. He refused to pay the fine and was remanded to prison, but
was finally released upon his promise to join in the erection of a house in
the village of New Utrecht. But no sooner was the house completed than

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828 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

he left New Utrecht and went to Flatlands where he bought fifty acres of
land of Jacob Van Couwenhoven. To obtain a deed as provided in the
agreement to purchase he was obliged to appear before the burgomaster's and
schepen's court which forced Cowenhoven to make good the terms of the
agreement.

On July 16, 1660, he obtained a deed for a piece of land in Flatlands
from Jacob Stendman, the deed being recorded in Dutch on page 214 of
"Calendar of New York Historical Manuscript." He sold the lease of
his New Utrecht farm to Nathaniel Britton, April 3, 1664, and in 1665 pur-
chased more of the Cowenhoven tract and a tract from Elbert Elbertse Stoot-
hoff, and on the StoothoflF land he erected a dwelling house. In the tax-roll
of 1676, his personal property in Flatlands was assessed for £129 sterling
and his real estate, 20 morgans of land (50 acres) at £58 sterling. His
name, with that of his wife, Geertje, appears on the records of the Ehitch
Reformed church of Flatlands as members. About this time he joined with
Jaques Cortelyou and other residents of Flatlands, including the Gerretsons,
Van Winkles and Spiers in the purchase of the Acquaehanock (Passaick)
patent of five thousand acres of land on the Passaic river in Bergen county,
East New Jersey, which purchase was the beginning of the settlement that
resulted in the town of Hackensack. The proprietor of the Acquaehanock
patent received a con format ory patent from the governor-general and council
of East New Jersey in 1685, as recorded on page 118, volume i, of the
journal of the government and council.

(II) Jan Albertse, eldest son of the ribbon weaver, was bom probably
in New Amsterdam, but no record of his birth has been preserved. He ac-
companied his parents to Flatlands, where he was a farmer. His name is
on the records of the Dutch Reformed church of that place as a member in
1677; as a deacon in 1687. He took the oath of allegiance to the English
crown, as a native, in 1687, and he was a lieutenant of militia in 1691, and a
captain in 1700. In 1690 he and others obtained a tract of land near Duck
Creek, at St. John's on the Delaware. (Vol. Ill, Documents of Colonial
History.) He married Annetje Roelefse Schneck, at Flatlands, July i,
1683. She died in 1688 and he married June 6, 1691, Margrietje Van
Schyellen (Van Sichlen). According to the records of the Dutch church at
Flatlands, he. paid November i, 1686, sixteen guilders for a grave for his
son; on March 25, 1688, nineteen guilders for a grave for his wife; April
15, 1693, twenty guilders for a grave for his mother; December i, 1703,
twelve guilders, ten st., for a grave and the use of a pall; and November 5,
1704, twenty-two guilders for graves for two of his children. His will is

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 829

dated February 20, 1696. He died, it is supposed, in 1705. He signed his
name *']B,n Albertsen Ter Hunen." His children were as follows : Albert,
born at Flatlands, April 13, 1684, married Aeltje Voorhees, October 17,
1708; (III) Roelof (see sketch); Ancke, of whom there is no further
trace.

(Ill) Roelof Terhune, son of Jan Albertse and Annetje Roelefse
(Schneck) Terhune, was born in Flatlands, Long Island, in 1686. He
married Morretje Gerretse Wyckhoff, daughter of Gerret Pieterse Wyckhoff,
at Flatlands, May 5, 1706. They were the parents of eight children, as fol-
lows: Albert (IV), Gerret, Willemtje, Marya, Hyntie, Aeltie, Margrietje,
Ante. Roelof continued to live at Flatlands. He was captain of the Fifth
Con:pany of King's county, Long Island, militia in 171 5. Below is a copy of
his will :

Will of Roelof Terhune.

Dated February 20, 1753 Page 3, Liber 23

Proved April 30, 1761 New York Wills.

In Name of' God, Amen,

February 20, 1753, I, Roelof Terhune, of Gravesend, in King's county,
Being very sick, will that, after payment of debts, etc., etc., I leave to my
son, Gerret "my great selver kop, and my keenen swoord, and my leder
britses, and the selver botten hoels.*'

I give to my son Roeloff — a gun, to that child of my son Albert named
Roelof, my gun and great Bybcl. To son Albertus — All that farm where I
now live and the meadow that lies in the Flatlands meadow, and he shall
pay one hundred and fifty pounds to each of my daughters, Willimentie,
Marya, Hyntie, Alise and Margaret. To my son Gerret, one hundred and
twenty pounds out of a piece of land in Flatbush bounded by Bernardus
Ryders or Johanes lot and so by the highway. The surplus of money to my
children and to children of daughter Ante, deceased — named Roelof, Johanes
and Marya. Roelof, twenty pounds, Johanes, forty pounds and Marya,
sixty pounds. To my wife, five pounds and bed and bedstead with its
furniture. If she lives with my son, Albertus, he shall pay her ten pounds a
year. If not, he shall pay her sixteen pounds a year. Two sons and "son-
in-law Jooster ye Younger'* executors, they shall sell the lot above mentioned
and use the interest for the use of my wife, but if she is not in want, they shall
pay to my "poer sister, Geroeb, reclase, three pounds, eight shillings and seven

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830 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

pence yearly during her life, but when the payments are done my children shall
pay to my poer sister, lerrebrey.

Witnesses,

Engelbert Gott,
Benjamin Ryder/'
Roelof died at Flatlands in 1761.

(IV) Gerret or Garrett Terhune, son of Roelof and Morretje
(Wyckhoff) Terhune, was born at Flatlands, Ix)ng Island, August 30, 1709.
When quite young he, in company with some young cousins, sons of Albert
Terhune, left Long Island and went to central New Jersey. There he met
and married Alice Voorhees, daughter of Stephen Coerte Voorhees, of New
Brunswick, New Jersey. He eventually located in Somerset county. New
Jersey, as a farmer, where he died September 20, 1781.

(V) Stephen Terhune, son of Gerret and Alice (V^oorhees) Terhune,
was born in Somerset county, New Jersey, November 27, 1735. He was
married, the 5th of September, 1755, to Margaret Cornell, who was born the
same (lay as liimself. Previous to the year 1755, there is nothing to help
the genealogist in the construction of this record but musty wills, deeds
and long forgotten court records. But with Stephen and Marget (Cornell)
Terhune it is different. Faint memories of them still linger in the minds
of their descendants. It has l)een remembered of **Marget" that she was
a large woman, of a pronounced blonde type, with fine blue eyes, a ruddy face,
plenty of freckles and lot of bright red hair. The type still appears in pro-
fusion among her descendants even to the sixth generation. Stephen and
Marget lived on a farm near Harlingen, New Jersey. Those were the times
when the French and Flnglish were fighting for supremacy in the western
world. The war cloud hung ominously over Pennsylvania and New York.
But central New Jersey behind its sheltering mountains was a paradise of
peace. Somerset county was fertile and well improved. Highways from
New York to Philadelphia spanned its full extent. Beautiful colonial houses
rose on either hand. Cultivated fields were interspersed with umbrageous
woodlands that cast a cooling shade and there were many refreshing springs
and streams of unpolluted water. In this favored region Stephen and
Marget lived content. Their farm more than supplied their needs and
that of their growing family. They took life easy. Of winter evenings they
sat before their cheerful fire of logs and read their Dutch Bible by the light
of tallow candles. They spoke both the Fnglish and Dutch tongues, but
they attended the Dutch Reformed church and brought up their children in
that faith. They had a large family and their family Bible, which is still in

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INI

existence at Blawenburg, New Jersey, records
of birth of their ten children: Garrett, born j
bom October 13, 1757; Stephen, born February
29, 1762; Marget, born January 25, 1764;
Cornelius, born November 30, 1768; Eva, boi
May s, 1773; Reulef, born July 3, 1777.

This family remained intact for nearly
nothing less potent than the dark days of
sufficient to break into its happy circle. Ne
patriotic as were Massachusetts and Virginia,
ington's distressed "continentals slowly stragglinj
and without shoes or blankets, failed to rous(
sense of their own responsibility in the mattei
consumed three weeks in crossing the province :
come to his assistance. But close upon the he
Americans came the arrogant redcoats and the
mercenaries. They roamed at will over the pr<
as they went. Fences and barns were burned, |
away, houses looted of every valuable and defense
and violated. The stolid Dutch were at last
against the invader was felt on every hand, and th
by revenge and patriotic fervor flocked to the cc
the first to come w^as (VI) William Terhune.
sent to his enlistment, so he stole away from
might be a soldier for his country. He had not .••
there came the terrible ordeal of crossing the D
the great commander in the Princeton fight and th
suft'ered both measles and smallpox while in the
iam left his father's home at midnight to )>e a «■
his mother shed tears at his departure. On a r
Maria (Vanarsdalen) Van Nuice, widow of Jol
born 1720, died 1763. Her datighter, Maria,
Though she was but a child in years she had th
had given to William her first virginal love, h
into blossom jn his sight; after he left home
days dragged slowly by. At an early hour one bi
2, 1777, Maria heard the roar of cannon several i
and she divined at once that a battle was on s
wherever the fight might be there William wc

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832 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

thick of it. Her heart sank and for several hours her anxiety and suspense
were almost more than she could bear. At last came the blessed news that
relieved her heart. William, $ure enough, had been in the forefront of
battle, but had come forth imscathed. After four years he came home from
the war and he and Maria were married March 23, 1781. They lived
at Harlingen, where William owned a farm, and their family Bible records
the birth of the following children :

1. Stephen, born April 15, 1782; died Februarj^ 8, 1833, in Henry
county, Kentucky; married Polly Montfort in 1802.

2. John, born August 19, 1783; died March 28, i860, in Mercer county,
Kentucky; married Anna Comingo, March i, 1806.

3. William, bom November 3, 1786; died October 20, 1845, ^tt Green-
wood, Ind. ; married, first, Rachel Lowe, November 27, 1806, and, second.
April 2, 182 1, Anna Salter, who was bom March 8, 1799, and died August
23, 1851.

4. Martha, born January 23, 1789; died August 13, 1822, in Mercer
county, Kentucky; married Allen Raines, October 19, 181 1.

5. (VII) Garrett, born November 15, 1791 ; died January 24, 1875;
married, first, on August 15, 181 3, Nancy Davis, who was bom April 9, 1794;
died February 14, 1851 ; second, Mrs. Jane Forsythe, August 3, 1851, who was
born September 30, 1787, died February 2, 1856; third, on September 4,
1857, Mrs. Nancy Pickerel, who was bom Febmary 3, 1794; all died at
Trafalgar, Johnson county, Indiana.

6. Isaac, born March 17, 1796; died March 13, 1869, at VermilHon,
Edgar county, Illinois; married Elizabeth Shepherd, March 18, 181 5.

7. Margaret, born July 13, 1797; died July 21, 1812.

8. James, bom January 14, 1801 ; died May 31, 1884, married on
January 11, 1823, Parthenia Pancake, who was bom November 2, 1798, died
April 2, 1884; both died in Brown county, Indiana.

9. Ruloflf, born June 23, 1803; died June 13, 1872; married first on
August 26, 1824, Mary Vermillion, who was born September "8, 1808; died
July I, 1864; second, on February 9, 1865, Margaret Brown, who was born
March 7, 1806; died September 18, 1867; third, on May 28, 1868, Lydia
Comingore; all of Ruloff's family lived and died in Mercer county, Ken-
tucky.

As their family grew in numbers a desire to give the children better
opportunities caused William to decide to seek a new home in that beautiful
new world bevond the mountains, wonderful stories of which had been afloat

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 833

ever since the close of the Revolution. In May, 1793, occurred a great
migration from New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the woods and hills of
beautiful Kentucky. William and Garrett Terhune and their families were
among the number who went. Their families and household goods were
placed in great canvas-covered wagons drawn by horses or oxen and ac-
companied by droves of cattle, sheep and hogs. In this way they crossed the
mountains to Pittsburg, where they took flat boats and drifted down the
beautiful Ohio to Limestone (Maysville), Kentucky. Here they landed,
transferred their possessions once more to .the wagons and completed the
overland journey to Harrod's Station in Mercer county, Kentucky. This
migration was but one hundred and twenty years ago, yet the change in the
country since that time has been inconceivably great. There was not a bridge
nor a steamboat on the whole course of the river. Marietta was a little village
only five years old ; Cincinnati contained some two hundred and fifty lawless
spirits living in squalid log cabins. The journey was made in June, the most
beautiful season of the year. The river was yet flush with the spring rains;
wild roses bloomed in profusion along its banks; bold hills to the right and
left stood clothed to their summits in the gleaming verdure of spring. Occa-
sionally Indians peered from the thickets in idle curiosity, or in more hostile
mood exchanged shots with the riflemen on the rapidly drifting boats. Three
months were required to complete the journey from Harlingen to Harrod's
Station. At night the caravan halted at some spring or stream of water.
On Sabbath they rested. Hunters helped to supply the company with food.
When the cows were milked in the morning the milk was put into tea pots and
by night the rough jolting of the wagons had produced butter ready for use.
Soon after his arrival at Harrod's Station, William Terhune bought a tract
of land on Harrod's Run, where he and his sons built a house and cleared
some fields. Here the family lived for twenty-seven years and here the four
younger children were bom. But before much of this time had elapsed the
little community had felt the need of a house of prayer. '* Indeed the serious
and religious nature of these people was the heritage of the ages. Re-
ligious liberty was cradled in the Netherlands. It means something to be
of the blood of those who fought at Ivry or perished in the butchery of St.
Bartholomew; it means much to be the children of those who suffered the
horrors of Haarlem and Leyden, and who cut the dykes to let in the wild
North Sea upon their homes, sooner than prove false to their religion. Of
such ancestry were the Bantas, the Brewers, the Rikers, the Terhunes, the
Van Xuvses, the Van Arsdales and the Voorhees." Though they were

(53)

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834 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

in the wilderness and without a pastor, they kept up their Sunday services.
The colonists who founded Boonesborough, Harodsburg and other early
settlements did not introduce public worship. But the Dutch Reformed did
not neglect their rigid observance of worship. They were a praying people.
After the pioneers were provided with homes to shelter their families they
set actively to work to build a house of worship. Henry Comingore, a son-
in-law of Garrett Terhune, was sent to New Jersey to solicit funds. He made
the trip on horseback — a ride of six weeks either w^ay — collected the money
and brought it home in his saddle bags. Land for the church site and ceme-
tery was bought from David Adams, and a large church of logs, plastered
with mud, was erected on the dry fork of Salt river about four miles south
of Harrodsburg. This- church, built in 1800, and known as the "Mud
Meeting House,'' is still standing. The members of the Dutch Reformed
church, among whom were William and Garrett Terhime, built this house of
God with their own hands. It was their place of worship as long as they
Jived, and it yet stands as a monument to the piety and religious zeal of its
founders. A few more lines will complete the earthly career of William
Terhune. In the year 1820 he bought a tract of land of Christian Ludwick,
five miles south of Harrodsburg. Here he died June 18, 1828, the owner
of two hundred and seventy-five acres. He was laid to rest in a little ceme-
tery surrounded by a stone wall, on a beautiful eminence near the west bank
of Salt river, in Boyle county, Kentucky. His wife, Mary (Van Nuice)
Terhune, followed him to their long home August 4, 1848.

(VII) Garrett Terhune was born at Harlingen, New Jersey, Novem-
ber 15, 1 79 1, and was brought by his parents to Kentucky when he was only
eighteen months old. He grew up on his father's farm and married Nancy
Davis on the 15th day of August, 1813. She was the only daughter of Ed-
ward and Sarah Davis, and was born in Tennessee April 9, 1794. They were
the parents of the following children :

1. Sarah, born August 10, 181 4; died April 21, 1896; married on
October 25, 1833, Fielding Utterback, who was bom November 23, 1809,
died July 31, 1881 ; both died in Mills county, Iowa.

2. Mary Anne, born August 25, 181 5; died August 5, 1842; married
Henry Utterback, May 13, 1832, who was born September 11, 1805, died
November 21, 1836, in Johnson county, Indiana.

3. Harvey, bom March 22^ 181 7; married on October 31, 1839, Susan
Wilson; went to Missouri, no further trace.

4. William, bom March 22, 1819; died Febmary 3, 1880; married
Deborah Zook, who was bom March i, 1822, died April 10, 1895.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 835

5. James (VIII), born February 3, 1821 ; died January 21, 1892; mar-
ried on March 17, 1842, Eusebia Neville Nay, who was born October 11, 1825,
died December 19, 1892; both died in Johnson county, Indiana.

6. Martha, bom July 3, 1822; died January 9, 1908; married on
September 26, 1839, William Robert Hunt, who was born December 14,
181 8, died August 20, 1886, at Trafalgar, Ind.

7. Margaret, bom August 7, 1824; died August 17, 1911 ; married on
March 16, 1843, Henderson Ragsdale, who was born November 9, 1823, died
March 29, 1913, at Trafalgar, Ind.

8. Lucinda, born March 8, 1826; died February 22, 1901 ; married on
December 26, 1844, Harvey Ragsdale, who was born May 13, 1825, died
August 9, 1904, at Trafalgar, Ind.

9. Ida Riker Terhune, born October 5, 1829; died February 9, 1894;
married on July 13, 1848, James A. Nay, who was born March 3, 1828, died
March 4, 1902, in Boone county, Indiana.

10. Davis Terhune, born September 23, 183 1; died October 5, 1877;
married first on January 27, 1854, Cynthia J. Riker, who died October 2,
1854, at Trafalgar, Ind. ; second, on October 19, 1858, Mary Jane Ter-
hune, who was born September 16, 1833, ^^^^^ March 8, 1908, at Providence,
Indiana

11. Minerva Jane, bom January 10, 1834; died June 30, 1906; mar-
ried on December 27, 1854, Joel H. Hoback, who was born July 25, 1835,
who died at Dickson, Okla. Mr. Hoback was captain of Company H, Fifty-
seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry.

10. Obadiah Terhune, bom April 10, 1836; died July 26, 1837.

Garrett Terhune lived on a farm near Nevada, Mercer county, Ken-
tucky, from August, 1813, to September, 1830, when he came to Johnson
county, Indiana. At the time of his removal from Kentucky he had a wife
and nine children. He had found life impossible upon the limestone hills of
his native state and he braved the hardships of the wilderness that his chil-
dren might have the advantages which he knew could never be theirs in the
old neighborhood. Banta's History of Johnson county, says : "In the fall
of 1830 Garrett Terhune and his brother, James, arrived from Kentucky
and settled on the east side of Union township, a mile west of Peter Vandi-
vier's place. Garrett Terhune had a wife and ten children to maintain, be-
sides two horses and a dozen head of cattle. He paid a man thirty dollars
— all the money he had — to move him out. No preparation for shelter had
been made and when the end of the journey had been reached the movers'
goods and their families were literally turned out in the woods. The brothers

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836 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

at once built two open camps, ten feet apart and facing each other. In the
space between they made the camp fire at which the meals were cooked and
around which lx)th families gathered of nights, listening to the moan of the
autumn winds in the tree tops and the howl of the prowling wolves. At the
end of six weeks they abandoned their camps for a double cabin which they
had erected in the meanwhile." The story of the hardships endured by
Garrett Terhune and his family, as told by a son who survives, presents a
most pathetic picture of the time :

*The first and second planting of corn failed, and the third which came
was ruined by the frost. There was no grain for the cattle and many of them
died. The horses were so poor that they could not work in the plow beyond
two hours at a time, but had to be turned out to graze. Before the second
year's crop came Mr. Terhune had to have corn for bread. 'I never ate acorns
because 1 had absolutely nothing else to eat,' said James, the son, 'but I often
ate acorns because I was hungry and had not enough of other things.' The
meal was low in the barrel and the com pone was cut into twelve equal
pieces at each repast. The father without money went to the *Hawpatch'
(a settlement in Bartholomew county), to buy bread, where he met a distant
relative who sold him the needed grain and waited for the money. Thus they
tided over their day of distress till the new crop came."

The tract of land on which Garrett Terhune lived was an eighty-acre
tract six miles southwest of Franklin, on the Franklin and Martinsville road.
In the year 1839 he removed to an eighty-acre tract of land on the "Three
Notched Road" about one mile northwest of the present site of Trafalgar,
Ind. His first wife, the mother of his children, died there February 18, 185 1.
On August 3, 1 85 1, he married Mrs. Jane Forsyth, who was bom September
20, 1787, and died February 2, 1856, and on September 4, 1857, he married
Mrs. Nancy Pickerel, who was bom February 3, 1794. He died January 24,
1875. He was a member of the Christian Protestant church, as was also
his wife. Politically he was a Democrat,

(Vni) James Terhune, fifth child of Garrett and Nancy Davis Ter-
hune, was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, February 3, 1821. At the age
of nine he was brought to the dreary wilderness of Johnson county, Indiana.
The country was devoid of the comforts and advantages of civiHzation and
the boy thus grew up face to face with all the hard phases of pioneer life;
its toil, its sickness, its gloomy solitude; its utter lack of books or of educa-
tional advantages of any kind. In his boyhood the only schools were taught
in miserable log houses with greased paper windows, enormous fire places and
mud plastered walls. His opportunities to attend these schools were few

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 837

and there were no books at his command. In the absence of any text books
he learned to read and spell in the 'Testament." Upon reaching his majority
he married Eusebia Neville Nay, March 17, 1842. She was the daughter of
Asa B. Nay and Lucinda (Whitesides) Nay, and was bom in Oldham county,
Kentucky, October 11, 1825. Her father, Asa B. Nay, in early life, was a
teacher and later a minister in the Primitive Baptistv church. He was born in
Oldham county, Kentucky, November 30, 1799, and died in Boone county,
Indiana, December i, 1876. He was a son of Samuel and Nancy Nay.
Samuel Nay was bom in Culpeper county, Virginia, March 9, 1 763, and died
in Johnson county, Indiana, September 30, 1848. He was a soldier in the
Revolution. After his marriage, Mr. Terhune bought a farm and went to
work with great energ\-. Farming was his life work. He finally owned and
beautified a farm of one hundred and fifty acres two miles west of Trafalgar.
Retiring from his farm in 1882, he lived for eight years in Franklin, and
two years in Trafalgar before his death. He was energetic, industrious and
progressive in his ideas. He donated both money and labor in 1866 to the
rebuilding of the Cincinnati and Martinsville railroad from Martinsville to
Fairland, Ind. He was a man of the highest moral worth and his whole
life was above reproach. He and his wife were both faithful meml:)ers of the
Bethel Primitive Baptist church. He died January 21, 1892. and she fol-
lowed him December 19, 1892. They were the parents of the following
children :

1. Thomas Linval (IX), born April 17, 1844; ^h^^l February 15, 1903;
married, on December 7, 1865, Caroline Vories, who was born :\ugust 30,
1844, and died July 29, 1896.

2. Asa Garrett, tern September 29, 1846; died March 17, 1898; mar-
ried, on May 21, 1869, Nannie Williams, who was born on July 11, 185 1,
in Boone county, Indiana.

3. William Davis, born August 11, 1849; married, first, on Septem-
ber 16, 1873, Sarah Forsyth, who was born December 22, 185 1, died Septem-
ber 24, 1902; second, on January 25, 1908, Mrs. Alpha T. Clayton, bom
July 15, 1859.

4. Lucinda Margaret, born November 18, 1852; married, on October
23, 1872, Samuel Nelson Schuck, who was torn December 22, 1849, ^1^^^
February 22, 1896.

5. John Walter, born May 5, 1856; died Octol)er 18, 1879.

6. Erminie Addie, born January 5, 1861 : married James R. Shank, who
was born May 18, 1858.

7. Dillard Webster, born January 7, 1864; died November 7, 1865.

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838 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

(IX) Thomas Linval Terhune, the eldest son of James and Eusebia
(Nay) Terhune, was born in Johnson county, Indiana, April 17, 1844. At
the time of his birth the county had not been inhabited by white men for more
than twenty years. Swamps with their noisome exhalations covered much of
the land and the dark wilderness was hardly broken. The environment of his
early years lacked many of the elements that are contributory and almost
essential to the highest mental and spiritual development. The schools of that
time were poorly taught in dismal log houses. The homes were devoid of
musical instruments, of pictures and of books. The churches were dreary and
uninspiring. The only music to be heard in them was the uncultured con-
gregational singing of hymns that were drawled out a couplet at a time in
broken meter and with a nasal intonation. The sermons were hard, doctrinal
and denunciatory. Truly these were not the pleasant lines for a sensitive,
eager-hearted little lad to fall upon. But fortunately, he had honest, pious,
God-fearing parents who, by precept and example, kept his young and tender
feet in the pathway that led to higher things. When he grew in years
and stature he went to the country school nearest his father's home and
learned as best he could from the poor, unlearned teachers of that time.
And so he grew up, despite his crude environment, to be studious, gentle
and refined. When he quit the country schools he went to the Edinburg
high school and to the "Old Academy" at Franklin, and supplemented this
by a private course of instruction under Dr. John H. Martin, of Frankhn,
who was then the leading educator in Johnson county and afterwards became
president of Moore's Hill College. In the winter of 1862-3 he taught his
first school and then began a career of teaching in the country schools of
Hensley township, which continued for more than thirty years. Those
little roadside structures with four bare walls were more than school houses
to him. Each one was to him a sanctuary ; each one a studio where he might
take the ])lastic, rebellious clay of childhood and mould it through the years
into forms of goodness and usefulness; a place where the rough diamonds
picked up from the filth and rubbish of the world might be chased and wrought
in that slow and gentle way of his, patient and forbearing, into gems of
exquisite worth and beauty.

He was united in marriage with Caroline Vories, December 7, 1865.
She was born August 30, 1844, and died of typhoid fever July 29, 1896.
Two years after the death of his wife, Mr. Terhune closed his career as a
teacher and came to Whiteland, where he lived until February 14, 1903. He
was a man of high Christian character and utter unselfishness of nature.
Quiet and unassuming even to the point of selfefiFacement, he was not a seeker

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 839

after gain nor worldly place, and he did not try to impress himself upon a
wide circle. Not only in the little things of every day, but in the broad and
enduring purposes of a life time he followed the precepts of the Golden
Rule. He had a perfect self-control and poise of temperament, and the rare
ease of manner that comes of culture and nobility of heart. His presence
was ev^er kindly, serene and tender. He was not the product of his own
time only, but was a composite of the best heritages of three centuries. For
twelve generations his ancestors had been seriously and prayerfully con-
sidering the problems of life and eternity; of man's relation to his fellow man
and to his God. In the perfection of his character, the purity of his life and
the sublimity of his ideals, Thomas L. Terhune was the ultimate and highest
fruition of twelve' generations of such men and women as had gone to the
making of his character and his ancestry. Thomas L. and Caroline Vories
Terhune were the parents of two children, namely, (X) Rufus Webster Ter-
hune. the immediate subject of this sketch, and Violet Vories Terhune, who
was bom in Johnson county, Indiana, on July 9, 1869. She was a dutiful and
helpful daughter and a kind and affectionate sister, always responsive to every
call upon her sympathy and kindness.

THE BURR-ROBIN SOlsf LINEAGE

Evabel (Robinson) Terhune, the only daughter of Henry and Cynthia
Ellen Burr Robinson, was born at Lemond, Minnesota, June 6, 1878. At the
age of tive years she was taken by her parents to Owatonna, where she was
deprived of her father by death January 4, 1885. Her mother continued
to live in Owatonna where Evabel was in school until October, 1892, when
they went to Minneapolis to live. She attended the Emerson school and
the Central high school, from which she graduated in June, 1898. She then
entered the University of Minnesota, where she obtained an excellent classical
education. She did special work in the languages and became proficient in
Latin, French, German and English. After leaving college she spent two
years in travel and then returned to Minneapolis for residence where she
became a general social favorite and also an active 'member of the Kewaydin
Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and of the Park Avenue
Congregational church. In the summer of 1906, she met Dr. R. W. Ter-
hune, of Whiteland. Indiana, who was then seeking health and strength
in the "land of the Dacotahs/' Their acquaintanceship quickly ripened into
an affection which resulted in their marriage in Minneapolis on the nth day
of Augu^^t, 1909. After taking up her residence in Whiteland, she united

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840 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

with the Bethany Presbyterian church, and with the Alexander Hamilton
Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Franklin, Indiana. In ad-
dition to social duties, she also took an intelligent and sympathetic interest in
the several phases of her husband's work, as a citizen, as a practitioner
of medicine, as a public health official and as a hardworking and faithful
leader of the civic and municipal development of his home community. But
these many activities are but incidental to her environment. By nature she
is thoroughly domestic in her inclinations and is, first of all and above all, a
cheerful and lovable home maker and a devoted, affectionate wife and mother.
To these priceless moral traits have been added a personality of rare beauty
and charm. She has brought happiness into her husband's home and they
live an idyllic life of perfect congeniality. They are the parents of two chil-
dren: Helen Irene, bom September 7, 1910, and Webster Lucian, bom Janu-
ary I, 1912.

In the paternal line Mrs. Terhune can trace her lineage no farther than
her grandfather, William Robinson, who was bom near New Romney, Kent.
England, August 29, 1809. His father was. a land owner and magistrate in
his own community, but William, not being the first-born, did not inherit the
land, so upon the death of his father he left his native land and sought a new
home in the great western world. He crossed the ocean and came to Port
Samia, Ontario, where he was married to Anne Matthews, January 15, 1838.
Miss Matthews was also a native of England, having been born at Salisbury,
Wiltshire, on the 19th of January, 1822, and had come to America in 1833.
The young couple lived in Port Samia until 1847, when they came to the
States and located in Waukesha county, Wisconsin. Previous to the out-
break of the Civil war they moved to Leon, Wisconsin, where they lived until
1871 ; thence to Lemond, Minnesota, where Mr. Robinson owned a farm and
lived until 1887. In that year they went to Owatonna. for one year and
thence to Bowdle, South Dakota, where Mr. Robinson succumbed to pneu-
monia. May 14, 1889. After her husband's death, Mrs. Robinson lived for
ten years with her daughter, Mrs. Kayser, at Marshall, Minnesota, and then
with another daughter, Mrs. David' Gamble, at Milbank, South Dakota, until
Mrs. Gamble's death, and then with her son, William, at Milbank, where she
peacefully fell asleep, October 8, 1913. They were the parents of twelve
children, as follows:

I. Matilda E., born July 15, 1839, at Port Sarnia, Ontario; died De-
cember 28, 1899, at Owatonna, Minnesota; married William Gamble, August
29, 18 — .

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 84 1

2. Frances, born December 20, 1841 ; died April 15, 191 1; married
David Gamble, August 9, 1857.

3. Henry J., born at Port Samia, January 9, 1844; died January 4,
1885, at Owatonna, Minnesota; married on April 8, 1868, at Leon, Wiscon-
sin, to Cynthia Ellen Burr, who was born March 8, 1845, ^tt Copley, Ohio.

.4. Mary L., bom November 26, 1845; ^^^d May i, 1907; married
Alexahder Gamble, at Sparta, Wisconsin.

5. William R., born November 6, 1847; married Marie Musser, April
7, 1874. Now living at Milbank, South Dakota.

6. George W., bom February 22, 1850; at Waukesha, Wisconsin; died
December 17, 1866, at Leon, Wisconsin; never married.

7. Albert F., bora December 2, 185 1; married Alice Musser, at
Owatonna, April 7, 1874. Now living at Lemmon, South Dakota.

8. Sarah A., born September 7, 1853; died March 29, 1903; married
Fraftk Bryant, at Owatonna, Minnesota, February 23, 1875.

9. Oscar C, bora July 30, 1855; married, first, Eliza Mitchell, and,
second, Mrs. Mitchell.

10. James A., bom April i, 1857, married Alice Colgan at Owatonna,
Minnesota, and now lives at White Fish, Montana.

11. Eva, born August 7, i860; married William C. Kayser; now living
at Milbank, South Dakota.

12. Alice Lietta, born February 3, 1862; died July 16, 1866.

Henry J. Robinson was born at Port Saraia, Ontario, January 9, 1844.
He accompanied his parents in their removal to the States and in their few
changes of residence until their location at Leon, Wisconsin. Upon the out-
break of the Civil war Mr. Robinson was anxious to become a soldier, but
as his parents would not give their consent, he deferred to their wishes and
refrained from enlisting until after his twenty-first birthday. Then he and
his brother William enlisted at LaCrosse on the 28th day of March, 1865, and
were assigned to Company K, Fifty-eighth Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteer
Infantry, under Col. J. H. Lewis. But the war was practically over and the
boys were sent to the woods and swamps of Missouri to guard the Missouri
Pacific railroad, then in process of construction, from the vandalism of
guerillas. More monotonous service than that could not be imagined and the
boys were delighted when honorably discharged July 28, 1865, after only
four months service. Mr. Robinson returned to Leon, Wisconsin, where he
was united in marriage with Cynthia Ellen Burr, the bright, attractive teacher
of the village school, on the 8th of April, 1868. In April, 1869, the young

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842 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

couple went to Lemond, Minnesota, for residence. Here Mr. Robinson pur-
chased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and engaged in farming and
stock raising, in both of which he was eminently successful. Failing health
induced him to take up the business of dealing in agricultural implements, for
which there was an immense demand due to the rapid development of the vast
farming regions of the Northwest. His death occurred in Owatonna, Minne-
sota, January 4, 1885, leaving a wife and three children, namely, Harry
Leigh, Ernest Lynn and Evabel.

In tlie maternal line Evabel (Robinson) Terhune has descended from a
long line of New England ancestry that can be traced back to

(I) Benjamin Burr, who came from England in the Winthrop fleet
which landed at Salem, June 22, 1630. Of all the people who came from
England to find homes in the New World there were none of a higher type
than the nine hundred that composed that notable migration. "Not adven-
turous, not vagabonds were these brave. people, but virtuous, well educated,
courageous men and women, who for conscience' sake left comfortable homes
with no expectation of returning."

**A part of the new immigrants settled at Salem, others at Cambridge and
Watertown.'' In all probability Benjamin Burr went to Cambridge and re-
mained there until 1635 ^^ ^^3^ when the immigration from that place led
to the founding of Hartford, Connecticut, for on a memorial tablet in the
Central Congregational church at Hartford may be found the name of Benja-
min Burr as one of the original founders of that city. In May, 1637, he was
one of the sixty volunteers who marched under Captain John Mason to take
part in the Pequot War. He died in Hartford on the 31st of March, 1681.

(II) Thomas Burr, a son of Benjamin and Anne Burr, was born at
Hartford, Connecticut, January 26> 1645. He married Sarah Speck, a daugh-
ter of Gerard Speck, of Hartford. He was a member of the First church of
Hartford and died in that city in 1733.

(III) Rev. Isaac Burr, son of Thomas and Sarah (Speck) Burr, was
bom in Hartford in 1697. ^^ graduated at ^lale College in 171 7, and was
ordained pastor of the Presbyterian church at Worcester, Massachusetts, and
in 1744 he was called to Windsor, Connecticut, where he remained in charge
of a Presbyterian church until his death in 1752. He married a daughter of
Judge John Eliot, grandson of John Eliot, the famous apostle to the Indians.

(IV) Dr. Isaac Burr, Jr., son of Rev. Isaac Burr, was bom in Hart-
ford. Connecticut, in 1724, and was a reputable physician in that city all his
life.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 843

(V) Isaac Burr, Jr., a son of Dr. Isaac Burr, Sr., was born in 1759 in
Windsor, Connecticut. He married Irene Orcott, of that place. He was a
soldier of the Revolution and fought in the battle of Bennington, August 17,
1777. In the year 1804 he removed to Ellisburg, New York, where he died
April 27; 1827.

(VI) Harry Burr, son of Isaac Burr, Jr., and Irene (Orcott) Burr,
was born in Dorset, Vermont, October 20, 1803, and was taken by his parents
to Ellisburg, New York, in the year 1804. He was married to Alvira Adeline
Thompson, of Ellisburg, February 28, 1833. He moved the same year to
Copley, Ohio, w^here he lived twelve years; thence to Florence, Erie county,
Ohio, for eight years, and thence to Fulton count\'. Ohio, for three years.
In 1866 he moved to Leon, Wisconsin, where he died January 15, 1876.

Alvira Adeline (Thompson) Burr was born at Ellisburg, New York,
January 17, 1813, and died in Fulton county, Ohio, July 21. 1854. She had
descended in the paternal line from Jasper Thompson, of Ballston Spa, New
York. He was a soldier of the Revolution and was severely Avounded in the
leg. He married Hannah Needham, of Ballston Spa, and they were the
parents of seven children, as follows: Jasper, Robert, Crowell, Eleanor,
Harmer, Needham and Mary Ann.

Needham Thompson was born in Ball Town Springs, New York, in
1790 and served as a drum major in the war of 181 2. He was married to
Sally HoUey, of Westmoreland, New York, January 30, 181 2. Sally Holley,
daughter of Nathan and Cynthia (Tillison) Holley, was born at Westmore-
land, New York, June i, 1797, and died at Leon, Wisconsin, April 5, 1881.
Other children of Nathan and Cynthia Holley were Alonzo, Morgan, Alzina
and Nathan. David Holley, brother of Nathan. Sr., had a son, David, whose
daughter, Marietta Holley, became famous as the author of **Josiah Allen's
Wife," "Samantha Allen at Saratoga'* and other productions similar in kind.

Needham and Sally (Holley) Thompson w^ere the parents of Owen. Ora,
William, Alvira Adeline, Cynthia, Alzina Emmeline and Sally Anne.

Harry and Alvira Adeline (Thompson) Burr were the parents of ten
children as follows:

1. Alson Burr, born July 7. 1834, at Copley, Ohio; married Lodema
McEnterfer, November 4, i860; now lives at Mount View, California.

2. Orcott, born January 29, 1836, at Copley, Ohio; died June 30, 1913,
at Sparta, Wisconsin; married Minerva Richardson, March 13, 1861.

3. Ira Burr, born March 9, 1838, at Copley, Ohio: killed at Gettysburg,
July 2, 1863; private Company K, Fifty-fifth Regiment Ohio Volunteer In-
fantry; unmarried.

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844 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

4. Elvira, born March 9, 1838, at Copley, Ohio; died November 25,
1910, at Sparta, Wisconsin; married Usual Mullen July 11, i860.

5. Harlow, born May 18, 1840, at Copley, Ohio; married, first, Mrs.
Jane Pray, December 22, 1861, and, second, Mrs. Laura T. Spencer; served in
Third Regiment Ohio Cavalry.

6. Owen, born August 29, 1842; died May 25, 1895; unmarried; lived
at Sparta, Wisconsin.

7. (VII) Cynthia Ellen, bom at Copley, Ohio, March 8, 1845 J niarried
on April 8, 1868: at Leon, Wisconsin, to Henr>' Robinson, who was bom
January 9, 1844, and died January 4, 1885.

8. Orrin, lx)rn March 23, 1847; ^'^^ September 4, 1889, at Orange,
Texas; married Helen Walker. November 9, 1871 ; served in Third Ohio
Cavalry.

9. Rosina, born at Copley, Ohio, September 22, 1849; ^^^^ August i,
1899, at Copley; married Charles F. Arnold, December 13, 1871.

10. Newman, born May 16. 1852, at Florence, Ohio; married Bertha
Robertson, October 10, 1875 ; now living at Houston, Minnesota.

Cynthia Ellen ( Burr) Robinson was born at Copley. Ohio, March 8,
1845, ^^ daughter of Harry and Alvira Adeline (Thompson) Burr. She
secured a good education and began teaching school at the age of nineteen
years, which vocation she followed for four years. She accompanied her
father to Leon, Wisconsin, in 1866, and there met Henry J. Robinson, to
whom she was married April 8, 1868. After the death of Mr. Robinson, at
Owatonna, Minnesota, January 4, 1885, she remained in Owatonna until
both her sons had completed their high school course. In October, 1892,
she removed with her son, Ernest, and daughter, Evabel, to Minneapolis, where
she has since made her home, that she might be near her two sons, Harry and
Ernest, Harry having already established a business in the city before her
arrival.

Harry Leigh Robinson, elder son of Henry and Cynthia Ellen (Burr)
Robinson, was born at Leon, Wisconsin, February 22, 1869. He was taken
by hi.; parents when but nine weeks of age to Lemond, Minnesota, where the
family lived for thirteen years. Then they went to Owatonna, where the
boy entered the city schools, from which he graduated June i, 1887. -^ ^o'"
lege education had been his ambition, but the death of his father before he
was sixteen years old caused him to decide to begin at once a business career.
He secured a position in a mercantile establishment in his home city, at
which he worked for four years. Then feeling capable of* greater things, he
went to Minneapolis, where on the 2d of March, 1892, he formed a partner-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 845

ship with Messrs. Ross A. and David F. Gamble for the purpose of establish-
ing a wholesale fruit and produce commission business under the firm name
of the Gamble-Robinson Company. In April, 1903, this business was incor-
porated under the original name with the following officers: President,
Ross A. Gamble; vice president, David F. Gamble; secretary and treasurer,
Harry L. Robinson. The business has grown with marvelous rapidity from
one room and a few hundred dollars of capital in 1892 to a corporation with
fqurteen branch houses and $1,000,000.00 capital in 1913. This vast business
operates over a territory extending seventeen hundred miles from Big Timber,
Montana, to Sudbury, Ontario. Its organization and promotion has been
the purpose nearest Mr. Robinson's heart for more than twenty years. Be-
sides the original house in Minneapolis, from which the business took its
name, there are now thirteen branch houses. Of these different enterprises
Mr. Robinson is prominent of five and secretary and treasurer of eight.
He is skillfully and masterfully promoting and developing this business to
a point compared with which its present volume will seem small indeed.

On the 26th day of January, 1897, Mr. Robin.son was united in marriage
with Irene Allen, a descendant of prominent Vermont families, but a resident
of Minneapolis. She was born January 2*], 1875, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
the daughter of Charles and Caroline (Eaton) Allen. She is a most estimable
and charming young lady and is a musician of much talent and culture. Their
home life is ideal, and they are the parents of three children, as follows:
Harold Allen Robinson, born October 9, 1900; Harry Leigh Robinson, Jr.,
born June 9, 1908; Douglas Burr Robinson, bom December 15, 191 2.

Politically, Mr. Robinson is a Republican and religiously, a Congrega-
tionalist. He is a member of the Minneapolis Commercial Club and of the
Automobile Club. By way of recreation from- his strenuous business labors
Mr. Robinson travels. In person he is slender, with a refined face, and a
manner so quiet and unobtrusive that one would almost think of him as some
scholarly gentleman of retiring habits rather than a hustling, successful busi-
ness man of great constructive and executive ability.

Ernest Lynn Robinson, second son of Henry J. and Cynthia Ellen (Burr)
Robinson, was bom at Lemond, Minnesota, March 16, 1871. The first
twelve years of his life were spent on a farm. During the cold w inters of that
latitude, he and his brother, Harry, walked across the prairies a mile and a
half to the little country school house. Then, on account of his father's failing
health, the family went to town to live in the autumn of 1883. When Ernest
was but fourteen years of age he suffered the irreparable loss of his father
by death. Many days of sadness followed for the tender-hearted little lad.

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846 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

but his mother was brave and far seeing and held steadfast to the purpose of
securing for her chilren the advantages of an education. So Ernest continued
his studies until he graduated from the Owatonna schools in June, 1892. In
October, 1892, he w^ent to Minneapolis and began work for the Gamble-Robin-
son Commission Company, and has been connected with the firm ever since.
In 1903, when the business was incorporated he became a stockholder, and in
1899 he went to the Pacific coast in the interest of the company and remained
for nearly three years. While in California he met Lulu Maude Blaney, a
daughter of the Rev. Linus and Mrs. Gertrude (Demmon) Blaney, of Ken-
dallville, Indiana, and they were united in marriage at Los Angeles, April 2.
1902. Mrs. Robinson was born July 17, 1876. Their union has been blessed
with three beautiful little girls, as follows: Eleanor Lucille, born June 16,
1903 : Dorothy June, bom June 2, 1909, and Virginia Roselda, bom November
13, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have lived in Minneapolis since 1903, but
he has continued to travel for the firm and has been in everj' state in the union,
as well as in Canada and Maxico. He is a faithful member of the Park Ave-
nue Congregational church. Politically, he is a Republican. It has been Mr.
Robinson's good fortune and to be endowed with a refinement of manner, an
integrity of character, a kindliness of nature and a chann of personality, that
win for him the love of all whom he meets.

VORIES LINEAGE.

Caroline Vories was descended in the paternal line from Steven Coerte
or Steven Koers, the common ancestor of the Voorhees and Van Voorhees
families of America, who with his wife and daughter, Merghein, emigrated
in April, 1660, in the ship Bontekoe (Spotted Cow). In the old world Steven
Coerte had no family name, but when he began life anew in the great new
world, he adopted as his surname the name of the village or community in
Holland from which he came. This happened to be a small neighborhood of
nine houses and fifty people, near Ruinen, Drenthe, Holland, known locally
as "Hess*' or "Hies.'' The father of Steven Coerte was Coerte Alberts who
lived in front of Hees (Hies) or before Hees (Hies). The word "Voor"
signifies "before," so the two words were combined into the name "Voorhees."
The prefix "Van" meaning "from" was often used and these three words
"Van-Voor-Hees" thus combined formed the full family name of the descend-
ants of Steven Coerte in America. Steven Coerte was bom in 1600. He
married Willempie Roelofse, who was bom in 1619 and died in 1690. On
November 29, 1660, he purchased a farm of Cornelius Dirckson Hoogland, in
Flatlands, on which he settled and where he died Febmary 16, 1684. His

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 847

descendants located in different places on Long Island, in New Jersey and
at Caughhaughwago, Pennsylvania. At the latter place Francis Voorhees
was bom in 1763. During the winter of 1779-80 he and his widowed mother,
in company with a family of Bantas, came to Kentucky and located near
Harrod's Station. Francis Voorhees married Charity Montfort, about the
year 1786, and moved to the "Low Dutch Tract/' situated in Shelby and
Henry counties. He was a soldier in the expeditions of Harmer and St. Clair
against the Indians. When the Indian wars were brought to a close he re-
turned to his farm, on which he remained until his death in 1848. Francis
and Charity (Montfort) Voorhees were the parents of the following children :
Peter, Francis, William, James, John, Eliza (Thomas), Polly (Mary Town-
send)), Catherine (Yarber), Charity (Crawford), Henry, Preston, and one
other.

John Vories, son of Francis and Charity (Montfort) Voorhees, was born
in Shelby county, Kentucky, May 3, 1797. He was married in the year 1819
to Mrs. Sarah (Cully) Garrett, of Louisville, Kentucky, a daughter of
James and Sarah Cully, of Greenbrier county, Virginia, where she was bom
on the 3d day of February, 1782. She had been married to William Garrett.

After her marriage to John Vories, Mrs. Sarah (Cully Garrett) Vories
was the mother of two children, as follows : Hervey, born near Campbells-
burg, Henry county, Kentucky, January 28, 1821 ; Catherine, born in 1825
and married to John A. Coons, January 2, 1843. Hervey Vories was married
on February 17, 1842, to Alazannah Carter. She was a daughter of John and
Margaret (McClure) Carter, and was born near Christiansburg, Montgomery
county, Virginia, April i, 181 5, and came to Johnson county, Indiana, with
an uncle, John Dusing, and family in the year 1838. After a long life of use-
fulness and devotion to her family, Mrs. Vories passed away, January 17,
1898, and Mr. Vories followed her to their long home January 11, 1903.
They were the parents of eight children as follows: John Rufus, Caroline
(mother of Rufus W. Terhune), William Allen, Emmeline, James Mont-
gomery, Angeline, Catherine and Hervey Daniel.

THE NALL LINKAGE.

Lena Enfield (Nail) (Doran) Terhune, first wife of Dr. R. W. Terhune,
was bom in Hodgenville, Lame county, Kentucky, September 27, 18 — . She
attended the city schools in her native place and obtained a good high school
education. She was married to John Thomas Doran, of Hodgenville, Novem-
ber 22, 1877. To this union two children were born, Russell Oscar, bom
August 25, 1878, and John Thomas, Jr., born July 4, 1880. Mr. Doran died

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848 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

in May, 1880, after which his widow returned to the home of her father, with
whom she lived in Hodgenville^ in Wichita and in Sedalia, Missouri. She
soon returned, however, to her beloved Kentucky, where she was married to
Dr. Terhune in Louisville, June 21, 1892. After her marriage she lived at
Whiteland, Indiana, until her death, October 15, 1898. In early life she be-
came a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which she continued
until the year 1895, when she identified herself with the Bethany Presby-
terian church of Whiteland. She was a daughter of Bryant R. Nail and
Catilena (Creal) Nail, of Larne county, Kentucky. Mr. Nail was bom near
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, October 16, 1831. He was a son of James and
Amanda (Boone) Nail. James Nail was born in Scott county, Kentucky, in
1787, and was one of the first settlers in Hardin county. He was a pioneer
Baptist minister and was assessor in Hardin county for many years. He
was killed by a fall from his horse in 1842. His father was a soldier of the
Revolution and also one of the first settlers in Kentucky.

Amanda Boone, mother of Bryant R. Nail, was bom in Meade county,
Kentucky, in 1902. She was a daughter of Enoch and Lucy (Goldman)
Boone. Enoch Boone, son of Squire Boone and nephew of the famous Daniel
Boone, was born near Boonesbo rough, on the Kentucky river, October 16,
1777, and had the distinction of being the first white male child bom in the
state of Kentucky. He was one of the first settlers of Meade county, where
he died in 1862, aged eighty-five years.

Bryant R. Nail was a carpenter, a millwright and a contractor and
builder. He built the Larne county court house in Hodgenville and also
several large mills and bridges in Larne and adjoining counties. He came
to Hodgenville in 1858 and lived there for twenty-nine years. In 1877 he
was appointed government storekeeper and ganger, from which position he
resigned in 1880 to be the Republican candidate for representative from Larne
county. The county was normally Democratic by eight hundred votes, but
Mr. Nail made such a vigorous campaign that he lacked but one hundred and
six votes of being elected. This was the best race ever made by a Republican
in Larne county. He was again appointed storekeeper and ganger the same
year and held this position until 1885. In 1887 Mr. Nail went to Wichita,
Kansas, near which place he bought a large farm. But three years later he
moved to Sedalia, Missouri. He died June 15, 1901. He was twice mar-
ried, first to Catilena Creal, of Meade county, November 6, 1857. She was bom
June 15, 1833, the daughter of Armstead and Margaret (Stark) Creal.
After the death of his first wife Mr. Nail was married March 22, 1864, to
Virginia Young Thomas.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 849

Mary Elizabeth Nail, eldest child of Bryant R. and Catilena (Creal)
Nail, married Hon. David H. Smith, a prominent lawyer of Hodgenville,
Kentucky, who served twelve years in the Kentucky State Legislature, ten
years in Congress and is now a candidate for the United States Senate.

GEORGE W. SIMON.

Self-assertion is believed by many people to be absolutely necessary to
success in life, and there are good reasons for the entertainment of such belief.
The modest man very rarely gets what is due him. The selfish, aggressive man
elbows his way to the front, takes all that is in sight and it sometimes seems
that modesty is a sin, with self-denial the penalty. There are, however, ex-
ceptions to all rules and it is a matter greatly to be regretted that the ex-
ceptions to the conditions are not more numerous. One notable exception is
the case of the honorable gentleman whose life history we here present, who
possesses just a sufficient amount of modesty to be a gentleman at all times
and yet sufficient persistency to win in the business world and at the same time
not appear over bold. As a result of these well and happily blended qualfties
Mr. Simon has won a host of friends in Franklin township, Johnson county,
where he is well known to all classes as a man of influence, integrity and busi-
ness ability.

George W. Simon, than whom a more popular man has not lived in
Franklin township, Johnson county, was born in Hensley township, this coun-
ty, on October 19, 1864, and is a son of John B. and Sarah E. (Wallace)
Simon. The father was a native of Prussia, and came to America, landing in
New York City at the age of eighteen years. He remained in that locality two
or three years, and in 1850 came to Trafalgar, Indiana, where he remained
for five years. He there married and took up the vocation of farming, which
he followed during the remainder of his life. He was a man of unusual
energy and enterprise, and his efforts in a business way were rewarded with
abundant success, as is evidenced from the statement that when he came to
this country he was practically penniless, while at the time of his death he
possessed an estate valued at sixty thousand dollars. He was the father of
four children, George W., Ida M., Charley and Edward.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools
of his home neighborhood and assisted his father in the operation of the home

(54)

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850 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

farm. Upon attaining mature years he took up the vocation of farming on
his own account and is now the owner of eighty-six acres of land in Frank-
lin township, to which he gives his undivided attention. He is enterprising
and progressive in all his methods, and combines stock raising with the pur-
suit of agriculture, feeding everything he raises on the place to his live stock,
of which he breeds and raises large numbers annually.

In 1892 Mr. Simon was united in marriage with Susan Anderson, the
daughter of Peter and Nancy (Gibson) Anderson. The father, who was a
native of the state of Kentucky, came to Johnson county with his family in
his early youth and spent the remainder of his life in this county.

Politically, the subject of this sketch is a staunch supporter of the Demo-
cratic party, but has had no aspirations for office holding, being content with
the exercise of the right of franchise. Fraternally, he is a member of the
Order of Eagles at Franklin and takes an active interest in the workings of
that order. Mr. Simon is a man of many praiseworthy traits, being scrupu-
lously honest in all his dealings in the business world, and possessing rare
fortitude and good judgment, advocating clean politics, wholesome living and
honesty in business. It is needless to add that such a man has hosts of
friends and stands high in the estimation of all who know him.

HON. HENRY EDWARD LOCHRY.

The history of a county or state, as well as that of a nation, is chiefly
a chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and
dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by
those of its representative citizens and yields its tributes of admiration and
respect to those whose words and actions constitutes the record of a state's
prosperity and pride. Among the prominent citizens of Johnson county who
are well known because of the part they have taken in public affairs is Hon.
Henry Edward Lochry.

Henry E. Lochry, who operates a splendid farm of four hundred and
ten acres in Clark township, Johnson county, Indiana, and who has been
honored by election to the Legislature of his state, is a native of the old
Blue Grass state, having been born at Louisville, Kentucky, on November 2y,
1863. He is the son of Fountain and Rebecca A. (Bridges) Lochry, natives
respectively of Kentucky and Indiana. The father was born in 1809 ^^^^ died
in 1 88 1 in Kentucky, where he had lived a life of honor and respectability.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 851

To him and his wife were born four children: Mrs. Fannie Small, who
lives in the state of Washington ; Harry, deceased ; Henry Edward, the sub-
ject of this sketch, and George, who died young.

Henry E. Lochry attended the schools in his native community and in
1881, after his father's death, he and his mother came to Johnson county,
Indiana, where his mother's relatives lived. She was the daughter of George
Bridges, a pioneer of this county and numbered among the prominent citi-
zens of his day. The subject and his mother settled in Trafalgar, where
the mother is still living at the age of seventy years. In the spring of 1886,
Mr. Lochry located on his first fann, where he lived seven years, and during
the following eleven years operated the farm of Mr. Landers near by. In
1903 he returned to his first place, to the cultivation and improvement of
which he has since devoted his full attention. It is one of the best farms
in Clark township, and the splendid modem residence, commodious and
substantial barns, the well-kept fences and the splendid condition of the fields
indicate the owner to l^e a man of rare judgment and wise discrimination
in the operation of the place. He exercises- good judgment in the rotation
of crops and pays due attention to other modern ideas relative to the suc-
cessful tilling of the soil. In addition to the ordinary products of the farm,
he pays due attention to the raising of live stock, which he has found a valua-
ble and profitable auxiliary to successful farming.

Politically, Mr. Lochry has always been affiliated with the Democratic
party, in the campaigns of which he has taken an active interest. In Novem-
ber, T912, he was elected representative from Johnson county to the General
Assembly for a two-year term, and was assigned to the following committees :
Agriculture, natural resources, public library, public expenditures and minis-
terial. He is a man of progressive thought and sound judgment and his
legislative career during the first session of the sixty-eighth Legislature was
highly commendable to him and an honor to his constituents.

Religiously, Mr. Lochry is a member of the Hurricane Baptist church,
to which he gives a liberal support. Fraternally, he is a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America and of the time-honored order of Free-
masonry, in which he has attained to the degree of Knight Templar, and is
also a member of Murat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Indian--
apolis.

On October 22, 1885, Mr. Lochry was married to Lillie A. Ream, a
daughter of Dr. J. B. Ream, of Trafalgar, this county. To them have been
bom two children, Harry R., who was born-on September 4, t886, and Ralph

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852 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

L., born on July 22, 1888. Harry R. graduated from the Franklin high
school and then entered Purdue University at Lafayette, where he graduated
on June ii, 19 13. Ralph L. also graduated from Franklin high school, and
from the State University at Bloomington in June, 191 2, and is now engaged
in the study of medicine at Indianapolis. Mr. Lochry has always lived along
high planes of thought and action, consequently he is admired by a large circle
of friends for his honorable career, his integrity, honesty and genuine worth.

WILLIAM J. SHEETZ.

There could be no more comprehensive history written of a city or coun-
ty, or even of a state and its people, than that which deals with the life work of
those who, by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have placed them-
selves where they well deserve the title of "progressive,'' and in this sketch
will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active and less
able plodders on the highway of life, one who has not been subdued by the
many obstacles and failures that come to every one, but who has made them
stepping stones to higher things and at the same time that he was winning
his way in material affairs of life gained a reputation for uprightness and
honor.

William J. Sheetz is a native son of the old Hoosier state, having been
born in Benton county, on the 13th of November, 1861. His parents were
Robert and Lucy (Templeton) Sheetz. The former was the son of John
Sheetz, a native of Virginia, and the latter was the daughter of Isaac Temple-
ton, also a native of the Old Dominion, both becoming early settlers of Ben-
ton county, Indiana. To Robert and Lucy Sheetz were bom the following
children: Newton, Fannie (or Frank), Agnes, James, William, Isabel, Min-
nie and Albert. The subject of this sketch was educated in the schools of his
native county, and at the age of twenty-five years he located at Millersville,
Marion county, where he remained on a farm for three years. In 1889 he
located near West Newton, Marion county, and seven years later came to
Johnson county and commenced the operation of his present farm. In 1901
he bought three hundred and seventy-six acres in Morgan county, and he
operates eight hundred acres of his aunt's land in Johnson county. Mr
Sheetz is up-to-date and scientific in his agricultural operations and by the
exercise of sound judgment, keen discrimination and indomitable energy he
has met with a flattering success in his enterprise. He carries on general

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JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA. 853

farming, raising all the crops common to this section of the country and also
gives much attention to the raising of live stock, his annual output being
three hundred hogs, one hundred cattle, one hundred sheep and one hundred
mules, th^ latter being shipped to the Southern states. Mr. Sheetz has made
many fine improvements on his farms and has skillfully rotated his crops
and kept his fields fertilized until the land has retained its original strength
and is today considered one of the most valuable tracts of farming land in
this section of the state. Mr. Sheetz, while devoted to his special line of
effort, as a successful man should be, finds time and has the inclination to give
a proper share of attention to the public affairs of his county and his support
is unreservedly given to every movement which has for its object the welfare
and upbuilding of his community. He is a man who would win his way in
any locality where fate might place him, for he has sound judgment, coupled
with great energy and business tact, together with upright principles, all
of which make for success wherever and whenever they are rightly and per-
sistently applied.

Mr. Sheetz has been married twice, his first marriage having occurred
in 1888 to Margaret Davis, who died in 1894, and in 1898 he married Eva
Robertson, the daughter of Coleman and America (Sandidge) Robertson,
of Morgan county. He is the father of two children, Mark and Sheldon.

Politically, Mr. Sheetz is an earnest supporter of the Republican party,
while his fraternal affiliations are with the Free and Accepted Masons. Re-
ligiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and takes a deep
interest in the prosperity of that society. Personally, he is a man of genial
and unassuming character, who, because of his genuine worth and his staunch
integrity, has won and retains the unalloyed respect and good will of all who
know him.

ED SIMON.

Success in this life comes to the deserving. It is an axiom demon-
strated by all human experience that a man gets out of this life what he puts
into it, plus a reasonable interest on the investment. The individual who
inherits a large estate and adds nothing to his fortune cannot be called a
successful man. He that falls heir to a large fortune and increases its value
is successful in proportion to the amount he adds to his possession. But the
man who starts in life unaided and by sheer force of will, controlled by cor-
rect principles, forges ahead and at length reaches a position of honor among

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 855

five dollars per head. As an example of the fertility of the soil, Mr. Simon
has one hundred and ten acres planted to wheat and in 1912 raised a crop of
wheat which averaged forty-two bushels to the acre, and it being a year
when wheat was practically a failure elsewhere, his entire crop was sold
for seed. The farm buildings and yards are equipped with a fine water sys-
tem, the water being pumped from a well and supplied to cement tanks wher-
ever needed.

Politically, the subject of this sketch gives his support to the Democratic
party, while, fraternally, he is affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

In May, 1901, Mr. Simon married Ellen Pool, the daughter of Scott
Pool, of Brown county, Indiana, and to them have been born six children,
four sons and two daughters, namely : Effie, Thomas, Nellie, Samuel, Charles
and John. He is a man whose genial good nature and sterling qualities have
won for him many friends, for he is esteemed as one of the township's solid
and substantial citizens, a man who has been successful both in the accumu-
lation of property and in the formation of a strong character, and one whose
judgment is much respected. He is well known throughout the country and
enjoys the good will and confidence of a wide circle of friends.

H. G. WILLIAMS.

Improvement and progress may well be said to form the keynote of the
character of H. G. Williams, a well known and influential farmer and stock
raiser of Clark township, and he has not only been interested in the work of
advancing his individual aff'airs, but his influence is felt in upbuilding the
community. He has been an industrious man all his life, striving to keep
abreast the times in every respect, and as a result every mile post of the
years he has passed has found him further advanced, more prosperous, and
with an increased number of friends.

H. G. Williams is a native of the county in which he now lives and in
which he has spent practically his entire life, his birth having occurred in
Clark township, January 11, 1847. He is a son of James and Juda (Wheeler)
Williams, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Kentucky. Soon
after their marriage these parents came to Indiana, locating near Edinburgh
Johnson county, where the father spent the rest of his days engaged in agfri-
cultural pursuits. He resided at Edinburg from the time of his arrival here
in 1820 until 1832, when he located in Clark township, where he made his

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8s6 JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

permanent home. His death occurred in 1897, at the age of eighty-seven
years, his wife having passed away the year before, at the age of eighty years.
They reared a large family, of whom five are still living and two are residents
of Johnson county. In politics, James Williams was a Democrat until the
outbreak of the Civil war, from which time on he gave his support to the
Republican party. He was a stanch supporter of the Union during the trouble-
some days of the early sixties and three of his sons enlisted for service in the
defense of their country. Mr. Williams was an active and public spirited
citizen and for the long period of twenty-nine years he rendered efficient and
appreciated service as trustee of his township. During that period he erected
three sets of school houses, one of which was the first log school house in
Clark township. He was keenly alive to the best interests of the people and
was an earnest and enthusiastic supporter of the free public school system.
He was a man among men and enjoyed to a notable degree the confidence and
esteem of his fellow citizens.

11, G. Williams was reared on the paternal farmstead and secured his
early education in the common schools, supplemented by a course at Hope-
well Academy and two terms* attendance at old Northwestern University,
now Butler College, at Irvington, Indianapolis. He then taught school for
three years, but at the end of that time turned his attention to farming. He
was also a machinist, for which he had a natural talent. In the early eighties
Mr. Williams went to Brookings, South Dakota, where he spent two years,
and while there he oi^rated a steam threshing outfit. He is now the owner
of one hundred and twenty-two acres of land, one hundred of which is under
cultivation or ready for the plow and here he has successfully carried on his
farming operations. Mr. Williams has given special attention to the buying,
breeding and raising of live stock, in the handling of which he has been re-
markably successful, being an excellent judge of stock and knowing how to
handle them to the best advantage. He has made many permanent and sub-
stantial improvements on his farm, which is one of the valuable and attractive
farm homes of Clark township.

In 1864 Mr. Williams enlisted as a private in Company G, One Hundred
and Thirty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and saw about five
months of service in the field.

On December 24, 1868, Mr. Williams married Martha E. Tracy, the
daughter of John and Rhoda (Brown) Tracy, the former of whom was for
thirty years trustee of Pleasant township and active in local public affairs.
He was a good business man and had the contract for the construction of
part of the first railroad built in the state of Indiana, running from Indian-

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 857

apolis to Madison. He died in 1898 and his wife in 1893. To Mr. and Mts.
Williams have been bom four children, namely : Flora A., who is at home
with her parents; Lulu, who became the wife of Webb Walden, of Franklin;
May, the wife of G. A. Lambert, of Anderson, Indiana; John, who is a well
known educator, being at the present time principal of the Franklin high
school. Besides their own children, Mr. and Mrs. Williams, out of the kind-
ness of their hearts, reared a boy, Lee, who is a graduate of Franklin College
and is now connected with Young Men*s Christian Association work at
Chicago.

Politically, Mr. Williams was for many years a warm supporter of the
Republican party, but is now a Progressive. He was trustee of Clark town-
ship for six years, giving a businesslike and satisfactory administration;
organizing the high school and erecting the first building. Fraternally, he is
a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the
Grand Army of the Republic. Personally, genial and unassuming, he has,
by his upright life and business success, won the respect of all who know
him. He enjoys a wide acquaintance in Johnson county, among whom are
many warm and loyal personal friends.

CHARLES J. BOONE.

The biographies of the representative men of a county bring to light
many hidden treasures of mind, character and courage, well calculated to
arouse the pride of their family and of the community, and it is a source of
regret that the people are not more familiar with the personal history of such
men, in the ranks of whom may be found tillers of the soil, mechanics, teach-
ers, as well as lawyers, physicians, bankers and members of other vocations
and professions. The subject of this sketch is distinctively one of the lead-
ing citizens of the township in which he lives, and as such has made his in-
fluence felt among his fellow men and earned a name for enterprise, integrity
and honor that entitles him to worthy notice in a work of the nature of this
volume.

Charles J. Boone, who for many years has been one of the foremost
citizens of his township, is a native of Johnson county, and was bom in
Pleasant township on a farm now forming a part of the Whiteland town site,
the date of his birth being July 23, 1866. His parents were Amazon and
Emmeline Freeman, natives respectively, of Ohio and Johnson county. Amazon

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 859

men of his community. He is possessed of strong musical talent and for a
number of years was a member of the famous Whiteland Military Band,
playing solo alto. This band was one of the most efficient in the state, winning
first prize at every military band tournament which they attended. Another
evidence of Mr. Boone's efficiency and progressive spirit was shown during
his service as trustee when he introduced the teaching of music in the schools
of the township, being the first official in this county to inaugurate this
innovation. He takes a just pride in his community and can always be de-
pended upon to lend his influence and support to all worthy movements for the
moral, educational or social advancement of the community. Because of his
fine personal qualities and the eminent success he has won and is deserving of
the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens.

THOMAS BEN7AM1N NOBLE, M. D.

The biographies of the representative men of a country, either of a past
or present generation, bring to light many hidden treasures of mind, character
and courage, well calculated to arouse the pride of their descendants and of
the community and it is a source of regret that the people are not more
familiar with the personal history of such men, in the ranks of whom may be
found tillers of the soil, mechanics, teachers, as well as lawyers, physicians,
bankers and members of other vocations and professions. Johnson county,
Indiana, has been the home and scene of labor of many men who have not
only led lives which should serve as a lesson and inspiration to those who
follow them onto the stage of life's activities, but who have also been of com-
mendable service in important avenues of usefulness in various lines. The
well remembered physician whose name forms the caption to this brief
memoir was one of the useful workers in the world's work, a man of well
rounded character, sincere, devoted and loyal, so that there are many salient
points which render consonant a tribute to his memory in this compilation.
Standing as he did for many years at the head of one of the most important
and exacting of professions, his labors were long directed to the physical
amelioration of the people of his community with most gratifying results.
Personally, Doctor Noble was aflfable and popular with all classes and stood
ready at all times to encourage and aid all laudable measures and enterprises
for the general good. By a life consistent in motive and because of his many
fine qualities of head and heart he earned the sincere regard of a vast acquaint-

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86o JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

ance, and his success in his chosen field of endeavor bespoke for him the
possession of superior attributes. Yet he was a plain, unassuming gentleman,
straightforward in all his relations with his fellow men.

Dr. Thomas B. Noble, whose death occurred at Greenwood, Indiana, on
the 6th of March, 1907', was born in Boone county, Kentucky, on February
12, 1827. He was the son of George Thomas and Louise (Canby) Noble,
and was of English descent, his paternal grandparents having been born in the
mother country. Members of the family have had prominent place in the
civic life of the Hoosier state, his father's brother, Noah Noble, having been
governor of Indiana, while another brother, Benjamin Noble, was one of the
early United States senators from this state. George T. Noble, who was a
farmer by vocation, moved in 1832 from Kentucky to Indianapolis, Indiana,
and two years later came to Johnson county, locating on a farm just north of
Greenwood, which is still in the possession of the family, and there he spent
the remainder of his life. He was a man of rugged honesty and sterling
character and by a life pure in motive and consistent in action he honored the
name which he bore.

Thomas B. Noble was indebted to the common schools of his home neigh-
borhood for his elementary education, after which he attended old Franklin
College, walking from his home every morning to Franklin and back ever}'
evening, a distance of ten miles. In 1848 he began the study of medicine in
the office and under the direction of his future brother-in-law. Dr. W. H.
Wishard, now one of the most eminent physicians and honored citizens of
Indianapolis, and in 185 1-2 he took a course of lectures and study in the Ohio
Medical College at Cincinnati. He had a natural aptitude for scientific sub-
jects and in the field of medicine his comprehension was remarkably quick
and accurate, so that when he entered upon the active practice of his profession
at Greenwood he was well qualified for his life work, in which he was engaged
continuously up to the time of his last illness. He had brought to his chosen
vocation the strength and devotion of a great soul and a broad mind and in
his life and career he lent honor and dignity to his profession. His integrity
and fidelity were manifested in every relation of life, for he early learned
that true happiness consisted in ministering to others; his career was one of
untiring activity and was crowned with a degree of success fully commensur-
ate with the devotion with which he applied himself to his labors. The ex-
ample of such a life is always an inspiration to others and his influence will
long be felt in his community, whose interests he always had at heart and
which he did so much to promote during his active life here. In dealing with

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JOHNSON COUNTY, INDIANA. 86l

mankind, his word was his bond; deceit never entered into any transactions
he had with his fellow men. His plain, rugged honesty, his open-hearted
manner, undisguised and unaffected, is to his descendants a sweet and lasting
memory.

At the time of Mr. Noble's death, the Central States Medical Monitor,
in reviewing the life and work of the deceased, gave expression to the follow-
ing beautiful sentiment: **Doctor Noble was a polished ^doctor of the old
school,' who, aside from the roughness of *Wullum McLure,' filled to the full
measure that lovable character of Ian McLaren. * * * He represented a
type of citizenship that is rapidly becoming extinct in the progressive North-
west. He began his life work in a section of the country where the pioneer
was still laying his axe to the root of the tree, where the roads were almost
impassable during a great part of the year, and where any profession or voca-
tion to be successful must needs be pursued with unflagging energy through
many hardships and for poor remuneration. Though he lived to be a part,
as it were, of another world, the impressions made by his early training were
too deep to be eradicated, and he was known throughout the county for the
simplicity of his life and the rugged honesty of his character.''

Politically, Doctor Noble gave his support to the Republican party, though
his professional duties were too exacting to permit him to take a very active
part in public affairs. In religious belief and membership he was a Presby-
terian and to the spiritual verities he gave careful and conscientious attention.

In 1855 Doctor Noble was united in marriage to Margaret A. Wishard,
a daughter of John and Agnes (Oliver) Wishard. Her paternal grand-
father, William Wishard, was born in the north of Ireland and was of Scotch-
Irish extraction. He left his native land sometime during the eighteenth cen-
tury and, coming to America, settled first in Pennsylvania. He was a weaver
by trade, but after coming to this country he followed the pursuit of agricul-
ture. Eventually he moved to Kentucky, where his death occurred. His
son, John Wishard, who also took up the vocation of farming, came to Indi-
ana in 1825 and settled on the White river, where he resided during the re-
mainder of his life. To him and his wife were bom eleven children, of whom
two died in infancy, the others growing to maturity and three still living.
To Doctor and Mrs. Noble were born eight children, six of whom are living,
namely: Agnes, who became the wife of David P. Praigg, of Indianapolis;
Margaret, the wife of E. T. Lee, of Chicago; Mrs. Martha Carter, of I^s
Angeles, California; Thomas R., a successful and well known surgeon in
Indianapolis; Mary J. and Elizabeth are at the old home in Greenwood. Mrs.

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862 JOHNSON COUNTY^ INDIANA.

Noble's death, which occurred on August 22, 1913, removed from Johnson
county one of its grand old women, who had by her life conferred honor and
dignity on womanhood and who had to a notable degree enjoyed the love and
esteem of all who knew her.

FRANK LESLIE DEER.

One of the progressive farmers and highly respected citizens of John-
son county, Indiana, is Frank Leslie Deer, who has ever taken high rank.
Possessing energy and determination, he has been very successful in making
everything he undertakes result to his advantage, and his success in his
chosen calling is attested by the fact of his having started in an humble manner
and is now the owner of valuable real estate, having accumulated the
same by his own efforts.

Frank Leslie Deer, one of the successful fanners of Pleasant township,
where he owns a fine farm of eighty acres and also operates eighty acres
of rented land, was l>orn on October 31, 1879, in Union township, this
county, and is the son of Louis T. and Nancy (Hains) Deer, both of whom
still reside in Union township, and who are natives respectively of Ken-
tucky and Johnson county, Indiana. They are the parents of the following
children: J. H., a successful physician of Zionsville, this county; Mrs. Cora
Paris, of Union township, this county; Frank L., the immediate subject of
this sketch; Herschell and Grace.

The subject received his education in the schools of his home neighbor-
hood and was reared to the life of a farmer. In 1895 he bought a tract of
land in Union township which he sold two years later and bought thirty-
two acres in White River township. In 1900 he sold that tract and bought
another place of ninety acres in Union township and in 1904 bought sixty-
five acres additional in Union township. In 1907 he bought eighty acres ot
land in Pleasant township, w^hich he rented and engaged in the mercantile
business in Whiteland, where for two years he enjoyed an excellent patron-
age. In the fall of 1910 he traded his eighty acres in Pleasant township
for another farm of the same size in this township and at the same time
disposed of his mercantile business at Whiteland. He is actively engaged
in the operation of his land and has improved the place so that its present ap-
pearance is a distinct credit to the owner. His 191 3 crops embrace fifty-five
acres of corn, tliirty-five acres of wheat, thirty acres in hay and clover and an

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JOHNSON COUNTY,

output of fifty hogs. He also conducts a c
good blood. In all his operations he is enter
up-to-date methods and among his fellow
standing.

In the fall of 1899 M^- ^^^^ was unitec
daughter of William H. M inner, and to th
Loon and Gertrude.

Politically, Mr. Deer gives an ardent ;
but is not in any sense a seeker after public
ber of the Greenwood lodge of Knights of
bership is with the Methodist Episcopal cY
activities Mr. Deer has been true to every tru
demeanor and his genuine worth he deserve
held by all who know him.

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;rc 1 - 1942

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