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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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THE INDIANA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Vol. V MARCH, 1909 No. 1
I
VINCENNES' FIRST CITY GOVERNMENT.
[The following document sent in from Vincennes by Mr. Togan Esarey
is of interest not only as a record of one of the earliest town organizations
in Indiana, but for several specific points. It illustrates fully the form of
town organization and methods of business. Members of the Board of
Trustees absent from meetings seem to have been rigorously fined in
amounts varying from twenty-five cents to a dollar. It is interesting also
to notice that regulations concerning negro slaves were matters of im-
portance in Vincennes. — Editor.]
PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRUSTEES OP THE "BOROUGH OP VIN-
CENNES" FROM AND AFTER 1ST MONDAY IN FEBRUARY, 1815.
1st Monday in February 1815.
AGREEABLY to a charter passed and approved 6th Sept.
1814 by the Legislature of Indiana, for incorporating the
"Borough of Vincennes &c and in consequence of an advertise-
ment appearing in the "Western Sun" for an election to take place
at the Court-house on the above mentioned day to elect nine fit
persons to act as trustees for twelve months in said Borough,
the Citizens met as aforesaid, and appointed F. Graeter & Joseph
Oneille to act as Judges and James G. Read & David Ruby to act
as Clerks to Sd. Election. When after being duly sworn to
swear &c proceeded to the election. When upon counting the
ballots (the poles being closed at 4 O, Clock P. M.) the following
persons were elected as follows Jacob Kuykendall, John D.
Hay, Samuel Thorn, Henry Ruble, Christian Graeter, Elias Mc-
Namee, Benj. I. Harrison, Mark Barnett & Wilson Lagow. &
whereupon, each of the Sd. Trustees, reed, the following certifi-
cate.
We the undersigned, after being duly sworn, as Judges do
certify that an Election held at the Court-house in the Borough
of Vincennes, in Indiana Territory on the First Monday in Feb-
ruary 1815, for the election of Trustees for said Borough agree-
2 Indiana Magazine of History
able to an act of the Legislature of said Territory — apd. Sept.
6th 1814. The following Trustees were duly elected.
Wilson Lagow Henry Ruble
Jacob Kuykendall C. Graeter
J. D. Hay Elias McNamee
Saml. Thorn Benj. I. Harrison
Mark Barnette
Jsh. Oneille ) judg-es of the Election.
F. Graeter j
A Copy Test.
James G. Read ) „ ,
David Ruby j
The original of the foregoing is now filed in the hands of the
clerk — as also a state of the poles, it being unnecessary to give
them a place in this Journal they are now ready for in-
spection and also the Charter.
Vincennes I. T. Feby. 8th 1815.
A meeting of the Trustees (Wilson Lagow, excepted, he being
absent) was this day attended by eight when the following Oath
was administered
"You and each of you, do swear or affirm that you will dili-
gently and faithfully discharge the duties of Trustees of the "Bor-
ough of Vincennes" according to the best of your understanding,
so help you God."
They then proceeded to business, Benj. I. Harrison was unan-
imously elected as Clerk to the board for the ensuing twelve
months, and Jno. D. Hay was appointed to act as Chairman —
Pro-tem, who was requested to take the Chair.
The Clerk (by request) of the Chairman, read the laws of the
Corporation.
A motion was made & seconded that a Committee of Jacob
Kuykendall, Christian Graeter, Benj. I. Harrison, E. McNamee,
& Saml. Thorn be and they are hereby appointed, to draught
Bye-laws, rules & regulations for the good government of this
Town.
It was moved & seconded, that Jno. D. Hay is also to be one of
the Committee.
Vincennes' First City Government 3
A motion was made & seconded, that a Committee of Benj. I.
Harrison & Henry Ruble be and are hereby appointed to draught
Bye-laws, &c for the mode of transacting business by this board,
& have it ready for next meeting.
A Committee of Benj. I Harrison and Christian Graeter were
appointed to draught a subscription, for the purpose of raising
funds for the purchase of ground to build a MARKET HOUSE
on, and should said Committee get Two Hundred & fifty Dollars
(or more) subscribed they are hereby empowered to purchase of
Pierre Boneau & wife the Lot of ground opposite Christian
Graeter's at Five Hundred Dollars, for the use of the Corpora-
tion and make report at the next stated meeting.
This meeting is adjourned until Saturday Hth next at
3o,c. p. m. 68V353
B. I. Harrison, Secretary. Jno. D. Hay, Chairman pro-tem.
Vincennes I. T. Feby. 11th 1815.
The board of trustees met according to adjournment.
The Committee of Benj. I. Harrison & Henry Ruble, made a
report, as respects the Bye-laws of this Board, which were read
and adopted as corrected.
A motion was made & seconded that the sum of two Dollars be
allowed to Benj. I. Harrison for Books purchased for this Board;
and he is hereby allowed the sum of Fifty cents for each meeting
of the Trustees, for acting as Clerk.
It was moved & seconded that as Benja. I. Harrison & Chris-
tian Graeter had raised upward of $250. by subscription they are
hereby empowered by this board, to enter into writings with
Pierre Boneau for the purchase of his Lot opposite Graeter's at
the price agreed upon $500. and make report at the next meet-
ing. And that Jacob Kuykendall is appointed also to be one of
this Committee.
This meeting is adjourned.
B. I. Harrison, Secty. Jno. D. Hay Chm. pro-tem.
Vincennes March 27th 1815.
The Board of Trustees for the borough of Vincennes met at
the request of the Chairman pro-tem, when present J. D. Hay
4 Indiana Magazine of History
Chm. pro-tem, J. Kuykendall, E. McNamee, H. Ruble, Saml.
Thorn, C. Graeter, B. I. Harrison Clk.
The board then proceeded to the Election of a Chairman, when
Frederick Graeter Esqr. was declared unanimously elected.
He was then conducted to the chair there being no officer
to be found to administer the Oath of Office, the Board adjourned
to meet on Wednesday next at 9 0,Clock A. M.
B. I. Harrison Clerk F. Graeter Chm.
Vincennes March 29th "15
The Board of Trustees for the borough of Vincennes met ac-
cording to adjournment, when present Fredk. Graeter Esq. Chm.,
Jacob Kuykendall, Jno. D. Hay, Mark Barnett, C. Graeter, E. Mc-
Namee, B. I. Harrison Clerk.
That as Mr. Chairman had been sworn in, it was moved and
seconded that the Oath be recorded — as follows.
"Indiana Territory
"Knox County
"Be it remembered that on the 28th day of March, 1815 I ad-
ministered to Mr. Frederick Graeter the Oath of chairman of
"the Board of Trustees for the Town of Vincennes — In testimony
"whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and date
"above written E. Stout J. P. K. C. Seal.
It was moved and seconded that a committee of Jacob Kuyken-
dall, J. D. Hay E. McNamee be and are hereby appointed to ex-
amine the situation of the Town Lots, &c and make report at the
next meeting of this Board.
The object of the above motion is to have each and every one
of sd. Town-Lots numbered, beginning at the upper or the lower
end of said Town.
A motion was made & seconded that a committee of B. I.
Harrison be appointed to write to Louisville for a Copy of the
Bye-Laws of that place and make report at the next meeting of
this Board.
Henry I. Mills was elected as Town Constable, by this Board
for this term in office, viz. (until next February).
This board is now adjourned.
B. I. Harrison Clerk Fredk. Graeter Chairman.
Vincennes' First City Government 5
Vincennes I. T. May 3rd 1815.
The board of Trustees for the borough of Vincennes met this
day, when present. Fredk. Graeter Esqr. Chm., Jacob Kuyken-
dall, Jno. D. Hay, Christian Graeter, E. McNamee, Wilson Lago,
Saml. Thorn, Henry Ruble, M. Barnett & B. I. Harrison Clk.
Wilson Lago being sworn in according to Law this day took
his seat as one of this board.
The Committee appointed at the last meeting of this board of
J. Kuykendall, J. D. Hay & E. McNamee made a report in
part and are allowed a longer time to finish their undertaking.
The Committee of B. I. Harrison as also appointed at the last
meeting made a report which was satisfactory.
It is ordered that a Committee of E. McNamee be appointed
to draught the following bye laws and make report at the next
meeting of this board viz.
A law imposing a tax on lots & other property within the bor-
ough of this Town, also, a law for the imposing of a Tax or fine
on all free persons for drunkenness, running Horses, in the
streets and other improper conduct. And also, a law for the
punishment of negroes & servants for improper conduct. Lastly,
a law imposing fines on owners or holders of Lots for suffering
Nuisances to remain before their Lots to the injury of the Citi-
zens.
Ordered, that Jno. D. Hay be and is considered as another of
this Committee to the second Law.
Ordered, that the above Committee as soon as said Laws are
drafted do call on the Chairman of this board & with him appoint
an extra meeting and give notice thereof to the rest of the board.
Ordered, that a Committee of Saml. Thorn & Jno. D. Hay be
appointed to contract for materials for the purpose of building a
market house, of the following dimensions 16 by 48 feet, one
story high, the pillows of Brick at equal distances of 8 ft. and to
be covered with cypress shingles, & report of the expense to the
next or future meeting of the Materials.
This meeting is now adjourned.
B. I. Harrison Secty. Fredk. Graeter Chairman.
6 Indiana Magazine of History
Vincennes May 13th 1815.
The Trustees for the "borough of Vincennes" met this day,
when present, Fredk. Graeter, esqr. Chm., Henry Ruble, Mark
Barnett, J. Kuykendall, C. Graeter, Saml. Thorn & B. I. Harrison
Clk.
It is moved and seconded that as this meeting- was called for
the express purpose of attending to the Committee of E. Mc-
Namee & Jno. D. Hay (appointed at the last meeting) one of
which being indisposed it is adjourned until Monday next at 9
0,Clock.
B. I. Harrison Clerk F. Graeter Chairman.
The Board of Trustees for the Borough of Vincennes met this
day according to adjournment being Monday 15th May 1815.
when present Fredk. Graeter esqr. Chm., Jno. D. Hay, C. Mc-
Namee, C. Graeter, Wilson Lago, Henry Ruble, Saml. Thorn,
Mark Barnett & B. I. Harrison Clk.
The Committee of E. McNamee appointed for the purpose of
making laws, &c, do make the following report, which were
passed after some amendments.
ORDINANCE, N. IV.
FOR levying and collecting taxes within the borough of
VINCENNES.
Sec. 1st. Be it ordained by the Trustees of the Borough of
Vincennes in Council assembled and it is hereby ordained that a
Tax of one and a half per cent, per annum, be laid on the valua-
tion of each and every lot, half and other less parts of Lots, with-
in the same.
2nd. Be it further ordained That the valuation of lots shall be
made and ascertained as herein after prescribed.
The assessor shall immediately after the first day of June and
shall thereafter annually proceed to number the Town Lots on a
general plat of the same, beginning on the River Wabash ad-
joining the Church Lands, and making two fair lists of the num-
ber of Lots and their owners names as far as it can be ascer-
tained one of which lists shall be deposited with the Clerk
of the Board, and the other for his own use as collector.
Vincennes1 First City Government 7
3rd. And be it further ordained that
All Lots, the owners of which do not reside in this borough of
Vincennes, as well as all those lots, whose owners are. unknown,
shall be marked and designated, as the lots of non-residents, and
shall be subject to the same rates of Taxation, as the lots of resi-
dent Citizens of Vincennes, and the assessor shall to the best of
his judgment, set down the valuation of each Lot opposite the
owners name, where this can be ascertained, and where it cannot
opposite to the number of such Lot. And be it further ordained
that it shall be the duty of the assessor when assessing the Town
Lots, to take a correct list of the names of all free male inhabi-
tants, Twenty one years old and upwards, residing in the bor-
ough, and the Collector shall collect from each and every one
of said inhabitants an head Tax of Fifty cents.
Sec. 4. And be it further ordained that
The Town Collector shall on the 1st day of July 1815 annually
hereafter begin to demand and collect the aforesaid Taxes
And, if any Lot-Holder or Renter of a Lot, refuse or neglect to
pay the amount of his, her or their taxes so demanded, the Col-
lector shall proceed to levy an execution on the goods and chat-
tels of the person so neglecting or refusing, and advertise said
goods and chattels, in three of the most public places for twenty
days previous to the sale thereof.
5th. And be it further ordained, that,
Where no personal property can be found whereon to levy for
said taxes, it shall be the duty of the Collector, to levy and collect
the Tax so in arrears by sale, at the Court House in said borough
of the Lot or Lots, for which the Tax shall be in arrear, or so
much thereof, as will bring the tax due thereon, to be laid out in
the form of a square or Parallelogram in some corner of said lot,
to be designated by the Collector at the time of sale.
6th And further ordained be it, that it shall be the duty of the
Collector, to give notice of the time & place of the sale of Lots,
for the Non-payment of the Taxes due thereon by advertising the
same for Twenty days previous to the sale, in some public News-
paper printed in the borough, if one should be printed therein
at the time, and if not by Manuscript advertisements, at three of
the most public places in the Borough.
8 Indiana Magazine of History
7th And be it further ordained that it shall be the duty of the
Collector, to give notice to one of the Justices, assigned to keep
the peace in the said borough, to attend the sale of Lots for the
Non-payment of Taxes and it shall be the duty of said Justices,,
to superintend said sales and prevent any fraud or collusion in
the same. And the said Justices shall receive One Dollar and
fifty cents for each days attendance, to be levied on the Lots
sold.
And be it further ordained that
No Collector shall directly or indirectly purchase any Lots
sold by him for Taxes due thereon, under the penalty of One Hun-
dred Dollars, to be recovered for the use of the Borough
And the Collector shall within Ten days after the sale of any Lot
or Lots make returns thereof to the Clerk of the Board who shall
record the same in which return the Collector shall particularly
state the Lot or Lots sold, and to whom, with the numbers of
sd. Lots and the owners names, and that of the Justice who at-
tended, and the expense of the sale.
Sec. 8 And be it further ordained, That it shall be the duty
of the Collector, to give the purchaser a Deed for any Lots by
him sold for the Non-payment of Taxes, which Deed shall be
witnessed by the Jvistice attending such sales, and shall be made
out in the names and form prescribed by the law of this Terri-
tory, in such cases made and provided.
9th And, be it further ordained, That in cases where the name
of the Owner or Owners of Lots, cannot be ascertained, it shall
be lawful for the assessor to assess the Lots without prefixing the
owners names, but, he shall clearly designate the number of such
Lots, and the street or streets by which each Lots are bounded,
and the Collector shall in like manner when making his Deed to
the purchasers, designate and describe the Lot, by giving the
owner's name if it can be ascertained and if otherwise, its
number in the general platte of the Town with the street or
streets by which it is bounded.
And be it further ordained that, in all cases of the sale of Lots,
or part of Lots for the Non-payment of Taxes due thereon to the
Borough, all the Title which any person or persons had, or could
have to said Lots or parts of Lots at the time of such sale, shall
Vincennes' First City Government 9
be absolutely transferred to the purchaser by the Deed of the
Collector, subject however, to be redeemed within One year after
the sd. sale, agreeably to an act of the Territorial — Legislature
"Entitled, an act to allow owners of Town Lots, to redeem the
"same when they shall be sold for Taxes And be it further
ordained, that Any person wanting to redeem any Lot sold for
Taxes shall pay the purchaser, the amount of the Tax and Costs
together with one hundred p. Centum thereon ; and shall have
such redemption entered on the Books of the Board, by the Clerk
of the same, which shall be a release of all claim of the purchaser.
10th And, be it further ordained, That the Collector shall be
bound to pay over to the Treasurer, once every week — all monies
by him received or collected for the Borough.
And be it further ordained that the fees afterwards to be al-
lowed to him by the board shall be the same as are allowed by
the Laws of this Territory to the County-Sheriff or Collector for
the collection of Taxes And, the Fees of the Assessor shall
be the same as are allowed by Laws of the Territory to County
or Township — Assessors or Listers.
11th And be it further ordained, that The Assessors and Col-
lectors shall take the following Oaths previous to entering on
the Duties of their respective offices To wit.
ASSESSORS OATH
I A. B. do solemnly swear that I will truly & without partiality
or prejudice, to the best of my abilities estimate and assess the
value of all the Lots in the borough of Vincennes — and, that I
will faithfully discharge all of the duties prescribed to me as
assessor, by the ordinance of the Board of Trustees — So help me
GOD.
collector's oath.
I A. B. do solemnly swear that I will faithfully discharge all
the duties enjoined on me as collector, by the ordinance for levy-
ing & collecting Taxes to the best of my knowledge and abilities
— So help me GOD.
10 Indiana Magazine of History
N. III. ORDINANCE, RESPECTING NUISANCES.
SEC 1st Be It Ordained by the Trustees of the Borough
of Vincennes, and it is hereby ordained that a fine not exceeding
Five Dollars nor less than three be imposed on any person or
persons who shall, cast any dead carcass, garbage, nauseous liq-
uors or other offensive matter on any street, lane, or alley, or on
any Lot within the limits of this Borough, or so near thereto as
to annoy the inhabitants in the neighborhood thereof.
Sec. II And be it further ordained, That if any person shall
place any barrels, boxes, Crates, any firewood, or timber of any
kind, any Brick, stone or earth in the streets so as to obstruct the
free passage thereof, and suffer the same so to remain for 10
hours, every person or persons so offending shall pay for every
such offence the sum of two dollars.
Sec. 3 And be it further ordained, that it shall be the duty of
the street Commissioners to remove, or cause to be removed all
nuisances from the streets, it shall be their duty to give such per-
sons so causing the nuisance, or person or persons owning such
Lot or Lots whereon such nuisance may be found or facing the
streets where such nuisance or Obstruction may have been
thrown, notice to remove the same: and if the person so notified
shall neglect or refuse to remove or cause to be removed such
nuisance or obstruction in 24 hours after such notice then the
street Commissioners shall direct the Town Constable to have
the same removed at the expense of the person, or persons neg-
lecting, or refusing, which expense and costs of suit, shall be
reasonable before any Justice of the peace in said Borough.
AN ORDINANCE RESPECTING FINE AND PROSECU-
TION.
And be it ordained by the trustees of the borough of Vincen-
nes in Council assembled & it has hereby ordained That it shall
in all cases, be the duty of any officer, or other person prosecuting
or informing against any person for Offences committed against
any of the ordinances of this Borough to do the same within ten
days after the Commission of such Offence or Offences.
Sec. 7 And be it further ordained, That in all cases where
fines are assessed, and the person, or persons fined shall neglect
Vincennes' First City Government 11
or refuse to pay such forfeitures, or goods and chattels whereon
to levy the same by distress, cannot be found such person or per-
sons shall be committed to the county jail until they pay or give
satisfactory security to pay the same.
This ordinance to have effect from & after the passage thereof.
Fr. Graeter Chm. B. T.
B. I. Harrison C. B. T.
NO. I.
ORDINANCE to provide for the legal promulgation of the
ORDINANCES PASSED BY THE TRUSTEES OF THE BOROUGHS OF
VINCENNES.
Sec. I Be it ordained and enacted, by the Trustees in Council
assembled, of the Borough of Vincennes. "That it shall here-
after be the duty of the Town Clerk after the passage of any
ordinance to cause copies of the same to be put up at three of
the most public places of the said Borough, and immediately
after putting up the three said Copies of the ordinances, to make
out an affidavit stating that he had discharged that duty agree-
ably to the provisions of the sixth Section of the Act of Assembly
of this Territory, entitled "An Act to incorporate the Borough of
Vincennes passed the 6th September 1814 a Copy of which
affidavit shall be deposited with and filed by the Officer admin-
istering the Oath, and another copy placed on the minutes of the
proceedings of the Council, which said affidavit so as aforesaid
filed, shall be held and taken to be at all times as full and suffi-
cient evidence of the promulgation of the ordinances of the cor-
poration of the Borough of Vincennes agreeably to the provisions
of the before recited act.
This ordinance to take effect upon and after the passage
thereof. Fr. Graeter Chm. B. T.
B. I. Harrison Clk.
NO. II
ORDINANCE regulating servants and people of color.
Sec. 1 Be it ordained by the Trustees of the Borough of Vin-
cennes in Council assembled, and it is hereby ordained — That
If any slave or servant, shall be found within the Borough (whose
Master employer or owner, lives out of the bounds of this Cor-
12 Indiana Magazine of History
poration) without a pass, or some letter or token whereby it may
appear, that he or she is proceeding by authority from his or her
Master employer or owner, it shall and may be lawfull for any
person to apprehend and carry him or her before a Justice of the
peace to be by his order punished with stripes not exceeding 35.
Sec. 2 And be it further ordained — That all Riots, routs, un-
lawfull assemblies, and seditious speeches by any slave or slaves,
servant or servants, or free people of color, within the bounds of
this borough shall be punished with stripes at the discretion of
a Justice of the peace.
This ordinance to have effect from and after the passage
thereof.
Attest B. I. Harrison Clk Fr. Graeter Chm. B. T.
Adjourned until 2 OClock P. M.
NO. V.
ORDINANCE
AN ORDINANCE to prevent riots in the streets or in public
houses and prohibiting the galloping of horses &c.
Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the Trustees of the Borough of Vin-
cennes in Council assembled, and it is hereby ordained, That if
any person of the age of sixteen years and upwards, shall be
found in the streets or in any public house of entertainment with-
in this Borough, Intoxicated and making or exciting any noise
contention or disturbance, it shall be lawful for any Justice of
the peace on complaint or view thereof to cause such person, or
persons to pay a fine of Two dollars with costs of prosecution for
every such offence.
Sec. 2. And be it further ordained, That if any person or per-
sons shall gallop, any Horse, Mare or gelding in any street within
this Borough, every person so offending, shall on con\iction
thereof before any Justice of the peace forfeit and pay the sum of
Five dollars with costs. The above ordinance to have effect from
and after the passage thereof.
Enacted into an ordinance 15 May 1815.
Fr. Graeter Chm. B. T.
B. I. Harrison Clk.
Vincennes' First City Government 13
Vincennes May 31 1815.
The Trustees for the Borough of Vincennes met this oay at
2 O, Clock, P. M. when present Frederick Graeter Chairman, B.
I. Harrison Clerk, E. McNamee, Ch. Graeter, H. Ruble, J". D.
Flay, W. Lago, S. Thorn, Mark Barnett.
Henry I. Mills being this day sworn in the Office of Town Con-
stable for the Borough of Vincennes agreeable to Law, ordered
that it be entered on the books of said Borough.
Ordered that the Clerk of this board do make the following
alterations, or amendments to the following Sections
John Bruner and John Bailey having been sworn in according
to Law as street Commissioners, ordered that it be entered upon
the books of the Trustees of the Borough.
Ordered, That Christian Graeter be considered as another of
the Committee with Saml. Thorn and John D. Hay (as appointed
at a former meeting) to furnish materials for the Market House,
and to have them ready by the 15th June next.
Ordered, That Ch. Graeter be appointed as a Committee to
have the fences of Doct. Kuykendall and Geo. Wallace removed
for the market square, to be built upon, which ground was given
by said Gentlemen for the use of said market square, and to be
removed before the 15th June next.
It is moved and seconded that E. McNamee and B. I. Har-
rison be appointed as a Committee to have the Corporation Laws
&c printed.
This meeting is now adjourned. B. I. Harrison Clk.
Borough of Vincennes June 19th 1815.
The board of Trustees met, with present Frederick Graeter,
Chairman, Wilson Lago, M. Barnett, S. Thorn, E. McNamee, H.
Ruble, C. Graeter, and J. D. Hay.
Ordered, that J. D. Hay be appointed as Clerk pro Tern.
On motion ordered, That E. McNamee and Fredk. Graeter
Esqr. be a Committee to revise and amend the ordinances re-
specting Sabbath breaking and Taxation, and that they report to
the next meeting, and that the said Committee report any amend-
ments which to them may appear necessary in the ordinances
generally.
14 Indiana Magazine of History
Ordered that Joseph Oneille be appointed as Assessor for the
Borough of Vincennes, and that he shall take an oath faithfully
to discharge the duties of said Office according to the ordinance
of the board of Trustees.
Adjourned until Friday morning next at 9 0,Clock.
B. L Harrison Clerk F. Graeter Chm.
Vincennes June 23rd 1815.
The Trustees for the Borough of Vincennes met this day, when
present Fredk. Graeter, Chairman, B. I. Harrison, J. D. Hay, Ch.
Graeter, E. McNamee, H. Ruble, W. Lagow.
It is moved and seconded that as Mr. Chairman was appointed
at the last meeting as one of a Committee, that Wilson Lago take
the chair.
The Committee of E. McNamee and F. Graeter Esqr. as ap-
pointed at the last meeting made the following reports respecting
amendments, alterations, repealing &c of the ordinances passed
by this board as follows,
It is ordered that E. McNamee and F. Graeter is considered as
being continued as a committee already appointed for at the last
meeting.
Resolved that B. I. Harrison and H. Ruble as a Committee
authorised to borrow a sum not exceeding $400. on the credit of
the Borough of Vincennes and that the Trustees do bind them-
selves and their Successors in Office to repay such sums, so bor-
rowed within twelve months therafter, or, so much sooner as
funds come into their hands.
NO. VII
AN ORDINANCE to prevent the storing of Gunpowder, and of
shooting any fire Arms within the limits of the Borough
Vincennes.
Whereas, the keeping of large quantities of gunpowder in
Stores and private houses within the limits of this Borough, is
pregnant with the most calamitous consequences to the lives and
property of its inhabitants whom an accidental fire may plunge at
once into irretrievable ruin, And whereas such imprudent and in-
human, if not criminal practice, hitherto unrestrained, ought to
Vincennes'' First City Government 15
be effectually checked before the misfortunes it is calculated to
produce may take place.
Therefore,
Sec. 1. Be it ordained and enacted by the Trustees of the
Borough of Vincennes in Council Assembled, and it is hereby
ordained That a fine not exceeding Twenty dollars nor less than
Ten dollars with costs of prosecution, be imposed on any person,
who shall keep in any house, shop, cellar, Store or other place
any greater quantity of Gunpowder than Twenty pounds.
Sec. 2. And be it further ordained That a fine of Five dollars
with costs of prosecution be imposed on any person who shall at
any time discharge any fire Arms within the limits of this Bor-
ough.
Sec. 3. And be it further ordained, That this ordinance shall
take effect and be in full force from and after the passage thereof
Fr. Graeter Chm. B. T.
NO. IX
AN ORDINANCE respecting the warrant of the Justice of the
peace to be issued against offenders of the ordinances of the
Trustees of this Borough, and to regulate the amount of fees
Chargeable by the said Officers.
Sec. 1 Be it ordained and enacted by the Trustees of the Bor-
ough of Vincennes in Council Assembled, and it is hereby or-
dained That, the following form of warranty, shall be used by the
Justice of the peace.
Knox County Sct.
The Trustees of the Borough of Vincennes in said County, To
the Town Constable of the same, Greeting.
Whereas Complaint hath been made before me the Subscriber
one of the justices of the peace, in and of the said County,
upon the oath of A. B. of as the case may be that
C. D. did on the (stating the Offence) contrary to the ordi-
nances of the said Trustees, These are therefore in the name of
the said Trustees, to will and require you to give notice to the
above C. D. to appear before me tomorrow by 10 O, Clock (or
16 Indiana Magazine; op History
forthwith to answer the above complaint,, and to be further dealt
withal, according to Law.
Given under my hand this day of A. D.
Sec. 2. And be it further Ordained That, the fees to be charged
by 'the Justice of the peace, so acting in the name of the said
Trustees, shall be the same as are, or may be at any future time
established by law, to be chargeable by the said Justices of the
peace within this Territory ; and that the Constable shall be en-
titled to the same fees as are, or may be allowed by law to Con-
stables within the same.
Sec. 4. And be it further ordained That, this ordinance shall
take effect, and be in force from and after the passage thereof.
Fr. Graeter Chm. B. T.
Attest B. I. Harrison Clk.
Vincennes I. T. June 30th 1815.
The Trustees for the "Borough of Vincennes" met this day,
when present Fredk. Graeter Esqr., E. McNamee, C. Graeter,
J. D. Hay, Saml. Thorn, Henry Ruble, Wilson Lago, & B. I. Har-
rison Clk.
B. I. Harrison as one of the Committee appointed at the last
meeting, for the purpose of raising a loan of $400 for the building
of a Market-house by subscription, reported he had nearly raised
that amt.
Ordered that M. Barnett be fined Fifty cents for his non at-
tendance at the last meeting of this Board, according to the Bye-
laws.
Ordered that Seneca Almy be appointed as an additional Town
Constable for this Board.
B. I. Harrison resigned his office as clerk to this Board, which
was accepted.
Homer Johnston was then elected in his stead, to fill the va-
cancy.
Resolved that the following additional rule be made to the
Bye-laws for the Government of this Board.
That the Board hereafter will receive no communication from
any Citizen or Citizens, person or persons unless the same is
committed to writing.
Vincennes' First City Government 17
This meeting is now adjourned until Friday next, 7th July and
meet every Friday following, until ordered otherwise, at 9 O. C.
in the morning.
B. I. Harrison Clerk F. Graeter Chairman.
Friday July 14th, 1815.
The Trustees for the Borough of Vincennes met this day, when
present Fredk. Graeter Esqr. Chm., Wilson Lago, C. Graeter,
Saml. Thorn, Henry Ruble, B. I. Harrison, Clk.
Ordered that Mark Barnett, be fined the sum of one Dollar, for
his non attendance at the last meeting.
There appearing no farther business before the Board, it is now
adjourned until Friday next at 9 O, Clock.
B. I. Harrison Clk. F. Graeter Chm.
Vincennes I. T. July 28th 1815.
The Trustees for the Borough of Vincennes met this day,
when present Fredk. Graeter esqr. Chm., Wilson Lago, C. Grae-
ter, H. Ruble, S. Thorn, E. McNamee, B. I. Harrison Clk.
It is ordered that B. I. Harrison be appointed as Treasurer to
this Board for their time in office, and that he gives the necessary
security according to Law.
Ordered that Doct. Kuykendall be considered as another added
to the committee for attending to the building of the Market-
house.
Resolved that all committees appointed by this board whose
duty it has been or may be to contract debts on behalf & for the
use of said shall present to the board the accounts of the persons
with whom they have contracted in order that such accts. may
be adjusted by the sd. board in sessions.
Ordered E. McNamee & Fredk. Graeter be a Committee to
draught Laws for the Market-house and make report at a future
meeting.
Resolved that the Treasurer of the board of Trustees of this
Borough be & he is hereby required to pay out of any monies in
his hands belonging to the Borough of Vincennes any account
or order passed in the Board of Trustees & signed by the Chair-
man of the same & he is in no other case to pay out any money
for or belonging to said Borough.
18 Indiana Magazine of History
Resolved further, that it shall be his duty to keep a fair account
of all monies by him reed, for sd. Borough as well as all monies
due to or from sd. Borough — & that he be obliged to render an
acct. of sd. monies when required thereto.
Ordered that E. McNamee be fined the sum of fifty cents, for
his non attendance at the last meeting.
This meeting is now adjourned until friday next at 9 O. C.
B. I. Harrison Clk. F. Graeter Chm.
Vincennes I. T. August 4th, 1815
The Trustees for the Borough of Vincennes met this dat, when
present Fredk. Graeter esq. Chm., Elias McNamee, Saml. Thorn,
C. Graeter, Henry Ruble, Mark. Barnett, J. Kuykendall, B. I.
Harrison Clk.
Fredk. Graeter esqr. having been appointed at the last meeting
one of a committee and wishing to make report in part, resigned
his Chair until that business was finished, therefore ordered, that
J. Kuykendall take the chair as Chairman pro-tem.
Ordered that Mark Barnett be a committee to arrange with
Will Lindsay the acct. presented to this board for brick-work
done to the Market-house by sd. Lindsay and make a report at
the next meeting.
as the Treasurer reported that he had collected from the dif-
ferent persons a loan subscribed by them for the purpose of
Building the Market-house, therefore, Ordered That the follow-
ing accts. do pass this board and the Treasurer be instructed to
pay them
To Benja. Beckes (for brick) $40.00
" Will Millikan (hauling same) 6.25
" Will Hendrix (one day's work) 75
" Thos. Bennett hauling 2400 brick 12.00
" Jas. White ditto 2400 do 12.00
" C. Graeter hauling 6 loads sand 75
" Saml. Thorn sundries 2.37^2
" Charles McClure counting brick 1.50
Amtg. to $75.62^
Vincennes' First City Government 19
Ordered that as Seneca Almy was elected by this Board as
Town Constable some meetings since & having taken the nec-
essary oath that it be admitted to record as follows —
Indiana Territory
Borough of Vincennes
Be it known that on this day the 30th June 1815 I administered
to Seneca Almy the oath of Town Constable of the board of
Trustees for the borough of Vincennes conformably to order.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my seal the day and
year above written.
To the Clerk B. I. Harrison
F. Graeter J. P. K. C.
esqr. of the Board of Trustees — Vincennes.
Ordered still farther, That as Benja. I. Harrison resigned his
place one or two meetings since as Clerk to this board, and
Homer Johnston elected in his stead, and he having refused to
accept of sd. appointment, it is considered that sd. Harrison do
keep the Clerkship, as it was understood so at the time of his
resignation.
This meeting is now adjourned until Friday next at 9 O'C.
B. I. Harrison Clk F. Graeter Chm.
Vincennes I. T. Aug. 11th 1815.
The Trustees for the Borough of Vincennes met this day when
present F. Graeter esqr. Chm., M. Barnett, S. Thorn, C. Graeter,
H. Ruble, B. I. Harrison Clk.
The Committee of M. Barnett appointed at the last meeting of
the Board, to arrange with Will Lindsay the amt. and inquire
into his work done to the Market-house, reported that Mr. Lind-
say would agree that he had put up about 6900 brick for which
he would take $30 but not less.
Ordered, that Wilson Lago be fined the sum of one Dollar, for
his non attendance at the last meeting of this Board.
Ordered that as B. I. Harrison had been elected as Treasurer
of this Board for their time in office and having given bond with
E. McNamee as security for his good performance & taken the
necessary Oath, that it be admitted to record, as follows,
20 Indiana Magazine of History
"Know all men by these presents, that we B. I. Harrison and
"Elias McNamee, both of Vincennes of the County of Knox and
"Indiana Territory, are held and firmly bound unto the board of
"Trustees of the borough of Vincennes & county aforesaid, in
"the just & full sum of Five Hundred Dollars, of good and law-
"ful money of the United States, to be paid to the said Board of
"Trustees as aforesaid, or their successors in office ; for which
"payment to be well and truly made we bind ourselves and each
"of us by himself for and in the whole, our heirs, Executors, and
"administrators and each, jointly & severally firmly by these
"presents — sealed with our seals, and dated at Vincennes, this
"Ninth day of August in the year of OUR LORD, one thousand
"eight hundred and fifteen.
The condition of the above obligation is such, that, whereas the
above bounden B. I. Harrison has this day been appointed by the
aforesaid Board of Trustees, a Treasurer of the Treasury of the
Borough of Vincennes in said County Now, if the said B. I.
Harrison shall and does well and truly execute and discharge the
duties of his office, enjoined upon him by the sd. Board of
Trustees, as such Treasurer, then the foregoing obligation to be
void, or else, to remain in full force and virtue —
Sealed and delivered in presence of F. Graeter.
B. I. Harrison Seal
E. McNamee Seal
Indiana Territory Knox County
Be it known that on the ninth day of August one thousand
eight hundred & fifteen, I administered to B. I. Harrison, the
oath of Treasurer of the Board of Trustees for the Borough
of Vincennes — In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my
hand & seal, the day and year above written.
F. Graeter J. P. K. C.
This meeting is now adjourned until Friday next at 9 0,C.
B. I. Harrison Clk F. Graeter Chm.
Vincennes I. T. Augt. 18th 1815.
The Trustees for the Borough of Vincennes met this day, when
present, F. Graeter esqr. Chm., E. McNamee, H. Ruble, M. Barn-
ett, C. Graeter, W. Lago, J. Kuykendall, B. I. Harrison Clk.
Vincennes' First City Government 21
Ordered that the acct. as presented to this Board in favor of
Will Lindsay for Brick work done to the Market-house of Thirty
dollars, be rejected and in lieu thereof, the Treasurer is ordered
to pay him Twenty five Dollars, out of the Treasury not other-
wise appropriated.
Ordered that the committee respecting the Market-house, do
give the necessary instructions for the building and completing
sd. House.
This meeting is now adjourned until Friday next at 9 O. C. in
the morning.
B. I. Harrison Clk F. Graeter Chm.
Friday, Augt. 25th 1815
The Trustees of the "Borough of Vincennes" met this day
when present Wilson Lago Chm. pro-tem, C. Graeter, J. Kuyken-
dall, Saml. Thorn, B. I. Harrison Clk.
It is ordered that the meeting of every Friday be dispensed
with, until further orders.
This meeting is now adjourned.
B. I. Harrison Clk. F. Graeter Chm.
Vincennes I. T. Nov. 27th 1815
The Trustees of the "Borough of Vincennes" met this day
when present Fredk. Graeter esqr. Chm., Jno. D. Hay, C. Grae-
ter, H. Ruble, S. Thorn, M. Barnett, E. McNamee, B. I. Harri-
son Clk.
Two Petitions which were addressed to the Legislature of
the Territory were read by the Clerk, one of which were to be
signed by the members of this board & the other by Citizens
of the Borough, each of which passed & a Committee of Jno.
D. Hay & C. Graeter were appointed to hand the one for the
Citizens to sign.
It was ordered that M. Barnett be fined Twenty five cents
for non attendance at the last meeting of this Board.
It is ordered that the Committee appointed to the building &c
of the Market-house do take particular care of all remaining ma-
terials and make sale of them.
This meeting is now adjourned until the last monday in Dec.
next. F. Graeter, Chm.
22 Indiana Magazine of History
Vincennes I. T. Jany. 17th 1816
The Trustees of the Borough of Vincennes met this day when
present Fredk. Graeter Esqr. Chm., E. McNamee, S. Thorn, C.
Graeter, B. I. Harrison Clk.
It was moved and seconded that Wilson Lago be fined the
sum of One Dollar for his non attendance at the last meeting of
this Board.
After due consideration, the Board made the following reso-
lution, "resolved unanimously that a Memorial which has been
first & secondly read (directed to Congress praying for the dis-
posal of the Common & Title Lots in the Borough) be imme-
diately enclosed and sent on to Congress for their consideration
& Disposal.
There appearing no farther business before the Board, it is
ordered that this meeting is now adjourned until Saturday next
at 6 0,Clock.
B. I. Harrison, Clk. F. Graeter, Chm.
Vincennes I. T. Jany. 22nd 1816
The Trustees of the Borough of Vincennes met this day, when
present Fredk. Graeter Esqr. Chm., E. McNamee, J. Kuykendall,
C. Graeter, B. I. Harrison Clk.
It is moved and seconded that Wilson Lago, be fined one Dol-
lar for his non attendance at the last meeting of this Board.
It is ordered that the Clerk of this Board do cause to be stuck
up three copies of advertisements (one in each ward) for the
purpose of having an Election of Nine Trustees, to take place 1st
Monday in February next, and to have also a Copy of the same
inserted in the Western Sun of this Town.
This meeting is now adjourned.
B. I. Harrison Clk. F. Graeter, Chm.
Vincennes I. T. Feby. 3rd 1816
The Trustees of the "Borough of Vincennes" met this day
when present Fredk. Graeter esqr. Chm., C. Graeter, Saml. Thorn,
Henry Ruble, J. Kuykendall, J. D. Hay, M. Barnett, Wilson
Lago, B. I. Harrison Clk.
It is ordered, that one of the fines as appears on record against
Vincennes' First City Government 23
Wilson Lago for non attendance at this Board, be remitted, and
that a credit be entered to his acct. accordingly for the amt. say
one Dollar.
It is ordered that the following accounts be allowed, and be
paid out of the first monies collected, not otherwise appropriated
No. 1 John D. Hay (this is not due until Aug't. next) . .$76.62l/2
" 2 Jacob Kuykendall (for lime & plank) 11.05
" 3 Jack McClure (for plank) 25.00
" 4 James McClure (for work done) 38.59
" 5 Saml. Emmerson (for timber) 46.38
" 6 B. I. Harrison (as Clerk) 37.93^4
" 7 " " same (as Treasurer) 29.96*4
" 8 Jno. B. Driemen (for scantling) 43.28
" 9 Christian Graeter (Candles &c) 3.50
" 10 Will L. Coleman (Nails) .... 1.87^
This meeting is now adjourned.
B. I. Harrison Clerk. F. Graeter Chm.
Vincennes Feby. 15th 1816
Agreeably to Notices Received by the members, from the
Judges of an Election held at the Court House in the Borough —
on Monday the 5th Inst, for the purpose of Electing Nine Trus-
tees for Said Borough the following Members met & took the
oath of office : Fredk. Graeter, Chas. Smith, E. Stout, J. D. Hay,
Jno. Ewing, E. McNamee, M. Barnett & O. Reiley.
Fredk. Graeter was then elected Chairman Pro-Tern. &
J. D. Hay Clerk pro Tern
Ordered That Chs. Smith be a Committee to direct the former
Clerk of the Board, to deposit the Books & papers belonging to
the Corporation, with the Board at the next meeting. —
Ordered That Owen Reiley be a Committee to contract for
the printing of the Act Incorporating this Borough & the sup-
lement thereto —
Ordered that John Ewing be a Committee to enquire for a
suitable place for the Board to hold their Meetings & that he
report to the next Meeting of the Board —
Adjourned until Friday next at 2 p. m.
J. D. Hay Clk P. tern F. Graeter Chmn pro tempore
24 Indiana Magazine of History
Vincennes 23rd Feby. 1816
This Board met agreeably to adjournment when present-
F. Graeter Chm. P. T., E. McNamee, C. Smith, J. Ewing, O.
Reiley, M. Barnett & J. D. Hay.
Ambrose Mallett appeared & took the oath of Office.
The Committee of C. Smith reported, that he had discharged
the duty to which he was appointed on the 15th Inst.
The Committee of Owen Reiley reported, that he had wated
upon the Printer but as the Number of Copies to be printed
was not named he was not enabled to make a Contract.
The Committee of John Ewing reported that he had attended
to his duties, that Peter Jones & M. Barnett had each offered the
use of a Room gratis, for the accommodation of the Board &
that C. Graeter offered to furnish a Room for twenty-five cents
each meeting:
Ordered that the Board hold its next meeting at the House
of M. Barnett —
Ordered that the Books & papers of the Board, now delivered
by the former Clerk, be received & kept by the Clerk P. tem.
of the Board.
Ordered that twenty copies of the Charter & suplement there-
to be printed —
Ordered that a Committee be appointed to examine the Min-
utes & papers of the former Board & report thereon & that J.
Ewing & E. McNamee be that Committee.
Ordered, That C. Smith, O. Reilley & E. McNamee be a Com-
mittee to inquire into the legal Qualifications of the Members
of this Board
Adjourned until Wednesday week at 2 P. M.
J. D. Hay Clk. P. tem. F. Graeter Chm. p. t.
Vincennes April 22nd 1816.
The Board met agreeably to public notice set up When Pres-
ent E. Stout, E. McNamee, J. Ewing, M. Barnett & J. D. Hay.
It was moved & seconded that E. Stout should take the Chair
which being carried, was complied with
John Ewing of the Committee to examine the Minutes &
papers of the former Board
Vincennes' First City Government 25
Reported in part as follows *
Bye Laws for the guidance and government of the Trustees
of the Borough of Vincennes
First, The Chairman shall cajl to order at the hour to which
the Board may have adjourned the preceeding meeting or within
half an hour after and if a majority appear, the journal of the
last meeting shall be read
Second, The Chairman shall appoint all committees subject
only to addition by motion of any member, when seconded
Third, Questions, after debate shall be put by the Chairman
in the following words, to wit. "All you who are of opinion &c
say aye, all of the contrary opinion say no"
Fourth, When a division be called for those in the affirmative
will first rise, and afterwards those in the negative, after which
the Chairman will state the decision
Fifth, When any member is about to speak or deliver any mat-
ter to the Board, he shall rise and respectfully address Mr.
Chairman
Sixth, When two or more members rise at once, the Chair
shall decide who is to proceed
Seventh, No member shall speak more than twice to the same
question or on the same subject during one sitting unless it be
avowedly to explain what he may have said
Eighth. No member shall vote on any question in the deci-
sion of which he is particularly interested but except in such
cases, all members shall vote if not excused by the Chair.
Ninth. When a motion be made and seconded, it shall be
stated or read by the Chair and is then deemed in possession of
the Board, but may be withdrawn by the mover at any time be-
fore decision.
Tenth. When a question is under debate no motion shall be
received except to amend or adjourn.
Eleventh, Any member may require a division of the question
before the Board when its sense will clearly admit of it.
Twelfth. When any two members shall require the yeas &
nays, the votes shall be entered on the minutes & the members
names called alphabetically.
26 Indiana Magazine of History
Thirteenth. Every motion must be reduced to writing if the
Chairman or any member of the Board require it
Fourteenth. If any member in speaking or otherwise trans-
gress these rules, the Chairman shall or any Trustee may call
him to order, when he shall immediately sit down until per-
mitted to explain, and if in the opinion of the Chair the offence
be flagrant he shall be subject to sensure and to fine, two thirds
of the members concuring.
15. No member shall name another who is present in debate.
16. For non attendance at special or stated meetings after
due notice, it shall be at the discretion of the Board, after hear-
ing the member in excuse to exact a fine not exceeding two dol-
lars nor less than fifty Cents
17. Every motion offered, may by vote, be laid over until the
next succeeding meeting after its presentment.
18. The Citizens who may visit the Chamber occupied by the
Trustees while in session, must not be permitted to speak or in
any respect interfere with the members or the business with
which they may be occupied
19. No communication shall be received by the Board from
any Citizen or Citizens unless it be presented by a trustee in
meeting.
20. Members are bound to attend to the duties assigned them
when absent, after being notified thereof
Ordered that the foregoing report be received & concured
in
Ordered that Charles Smith & J. D. Hay be a Committee to
obtain a Copy or Copies of former Surveys made of this town
with all other information which they can obtain on the subject
for the use of this Board
Adjourned to meet at the Court House on Wednesday 1st May
next at 3 O'Clock P. M..
J. D. Hay Clk P. tern. E. Stout Chm. P. tern.
Conveyance of Negroes in the Posey Estate 27
CONVEYANCE OF NEGROS IN THE POSEY ESTATE.
[Document in the Lasselle Collection recently secured by the State Li-
brary. For the will of Thomas Posey, mentioning- these slaves, see Indi-
ana Quarterly Magazine of History, Vol. IV, No. 1, page 9.]
KNOW all men by these presents that I Thomas Posey ex-
ecutor of the late Govr. Thomas Posey of the County of
Harrison and State of Indiana for and in consideration of the
Sum of seven hundred dollars paid as follows (to wit) three hun-
dred and fifty dollars paid the first of June next and three hun-
dred and fifty dollars paid the 17th day of October 1818, the re-
ceipt of the above sums in manner above stated the said Thomas
Posey doth hereby acknowledge, Hath granted bargained
and sold and by these presents do grant bargain and sell
unto the said Hyacinthe Laselle his executors, administrators
and assigns — a negro man named Charles and a negro woman
named Betsy for the term of eight years from the 17th day of
April 1818, Then to be completed and ended, which said ne-
grows was indentured to Govr. Thomas Posey of the County of
the name and State aforesaid, the said Laselle to have and to
hold the said negrows Charles & Betsy for the said term of eight
years from the 17th day of April 1818, until the said term of
time shall be fully compleated. And the said Thomas Posey ex-
ecutor as aforesaid, doth hereby relinquish to the said Hyacinthe
Lasselle, the said negroes and all claim or claims to the services
of the said negroes Charles and betsy for and during the term
last aforesaid. And the said Thomas Posey Executor as afore-
said doth hereby warrant and defend the said negroes Charles
and Betsey for and during the term aforesaid against the claim
or claims of himself, or the heirs of the late Governor Thomas
Posey or any person's claiming under him or them, to the said
Hyacinthe Laselle & his heirs & assigns. In witness whereof
I the said Thomas Posey Executor as aforesaid have hereunto
set my hand & seal this seventeenth day of April 1818.
Thomas Posey seal
Done in the presence of ' {illegible) , N. Huntington.
28 Indiana Magazine of History
EARLY HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE
WHITEWATER VALLEY.
BY REV. L. D. POTTER, ABOUT 1855
[A paper written about 1855 by the Rev. L. D. Potter, an early Presby-
terian minister in the Whitewater Valley, and for a long- time President
of Glendale Female College, Glendale, O. This account is an excellent
supplement for the ground it covers to H. A. Fdson's Early Indiana Pres-
byterianism, and valuable in the study of Indiana church history, a rather
neglected field in most histories of the State. For the manuscript we are
indebted to Mr. Harry M. Stoops, of Brookville.]
IT is proposed in this brief record to preserve some reminis-
cences of the efforts, successful and unsuccessful, to plant
a Presbyterian Church in Brookville, and to rescue from oblivion,
before it is too late, some facts which may be of interest, not only
to us but to those who come after us. It is hoped that additions
may hereafter be made to these scattered fragments of history
and that our efforts in this respect may stimulate others to carry
forward the work thus commenced.
The town of Brookville being laid out in that narrow strip of
country known as "the first purchase," began to have a "local
habitation and a name" in the earliest records of the territory
lying west of the State of Ohio. The first settlement in this
vicinity was made about the year 1800, after which time the tide
of emigration seems to have increased for several years. Brook-
ville having been early selected by the United States Govern-
ment as a paying station for the American Indians, increased
rapidly in population from 1810 to 1816, when the territory be-
came a State, at which time it is supposed the number of in-
habitants was nearly as great as it is now.
After the second purchase of land was made, and especially
after the complete division of the country into counties, a large
number from the town and vicinity moved away into the newer
portions of the State. Among these were several who after-
ward rose to distinction as professional men and politicians.
After this the population decreased, owing to the fact above
stated and to the extensive prevalence of sickness, until about
the year 1833, at which time, and for some years previous, more
Presbyterianism in the Whitewater Valley 29
than one-half of the houses in the town were tenantless and di-
lapidated. From that time to the present the population has in-
creased more or less from year to year.
Like most other portions of the western country, this region
was settled by persons from various sections of the United States,
and of various religious views. The majority, however, appear to
have been from the Southern States, and the prevailing religious
denomination was the Baptist.
The first Presbyterian minister of whose labors we have any
authentic record in this region was the Rev. Samuel Baldridge,
a native of Virginia, who first removed to Tennessee and after-
ward to this State, and who is still living at an advanced age.
He organized a church of seventeen members in 1811 at the house
of John Allen, near Harrison, and preached to that church stated-
ly until 1814. From 1810 to 1814 he labored as an itinerant
missionary in the Whitewater valley, having various preaching
stations from Lawrenceburg to Dunlapsville. He preached here
and at Robert Templeton's, but more frequently at John Temple-
ton's and Mr. Hanna's, near Hanna's creek. At that time there
were several families here who were either members or adher-
ents of the Presbyterian church. Among these were Mr. and
Mrs. Barbour, from Ireland ; Judge Arthur Dixon and wife
and brother, from Harper's Church, Washington county, Vir-
ginia ; Mr. Young, who kept what has since been known as
the "old yellow tavern," and who was from Pennsylvania ; Mr.
John Vincent and wife; Mr. Robert Templeton and wife; the
parents of Mrs. Ryburn ; the Knights, and Mr. and Mrs. William
McCleery, who were from Frederick, Md.
All of these resided in the town except Mr. Templeton, the
parents of Mrs. Ryburn, and one of the Dixons. The latter lived
on the Rushville road at the foot of "Boundary Hill." He after-
ward moved to a farm near Connersville, and a few years later
united with a Methodist Episcopal Church. Arthur Dixon was a
blacksmith. He removed to Connersville in 1823, and his wife
was one of the early members of the church organized there.
After the removal of Mr. Baldridge from Harrison there was
occasional preaching in Harrison, Brookville, Somerset, and the
region adjacent, by Rev. Robertson, of Kentucky, Rev.
30 Indiana Magazine of History
James Dickey, of Ohio, and others, but no regular supply at
either place for four or five years. During that time, however,
several Presbyterian families, mostly from New Jersey and Penn-
sylvania, moved to Brookville and Mt. Carmel, and from 1816
to 1825 efforts were made to gather the scattered members into
churches, which resulted in the formation within a few years
of four churches, viz. : Brookville in 1818, Mt. Carmel in 18 — ,
Somerset about 1823, and Bath in 1825.
During this period, besides occasional supplies from Presbytery
and various intinerant clergymen, the friends of Presbyterianism
were much encouraged by the faithful and zealous labors of
two young ministers who came from the East as domestic mis-
sionaries. These were Adams W. Piatt, of New York, and Wil-
liam B. Barton, of New Jersey. After spending three or four
years traversing the country from Lawrenceburg to Richmond,
these brethren, to the great grief of the people, saw fit to return
to their native States. Mr. Piatt afterward preached in several
different places in New York, and Mr. Barton settled as pastor at
Woodbridge, N. J., where he remained until his death in 1850.
The way being prepared for the organization of a church at
Brookville, Judge Loughlin, at the request of several citizens,
members and others, met the Presbytery of Cincinnati in the
spring of 1818 and requested them to visit the place for that pur-
pose. The Presbytery accordingly appointed Rev. Joshua L.
Wilson, D. D., of Cincinnati, to perform that service, and a church
was organized by him in the court-house, then nearly finished,
in May of the same year. The able and eloquent discourses
preached by this eminent servant of God are still remembered
with lively interest by some who heard them and who still sur-
vive in this vicinity. About the same time a small Methodist
class was formed, of which Samuel Goodwin was the leader, and
previous to this two flourishing Baptist churches were in exist-
ence, one three miles south of Brookville, which still exists, and
one three miles west, near the residence of Fielding Jeter, de-
ceased, which was disbanded many years ago.
The church above referred to was organized under very favor-
able auspices and at first was in a promising condition, but for
reasons which we will hereafter gfive, it went down about the
Presbyterianism in the Whitewater Valley 31
year 1821 or 1822. There was at the time no regularly organized
church in the town and no house of worship. It is to be regret-
ted that sessional records are lost, and after the most diligent
search no trace of them can be found. It is supposed, however,
that they were in the possession of Judge Loughlin, whose papers
were burned with the house of Job Pugh, Esq., of Rushville, ad-
ministrator of his estate. We present such facts in reference to
the history as we have been able to glean from various sources.
The number of members at first is supposed to have been about
twenty, whose names as far as can be ascertained are as fol-
lows: William B. Loughlin and his wife; James Goudie and
Mary, his wife ; Neri Ogden and Mary, his wife ; Obadiah Ben-
nett and Ruth, his wife ; William Rose and wife ; Andrew Reed
and Rebecca, his wife ; Joseph Goudie ; John Cummins and Mar-
tha, his wife, and two daughters, Lucinda and Mary ; Mrs. Oliver,
wife of Dr. Oliver; John Huston and Sarah, his wife; George
Wallace and Eveline, his wife; Thomas Selfridge and Mary, hii
wife ; John Vincent and w'ife ; the parents of Mrs. Ryburn (names
not known) ; Mrs. Henderson, wife of John Henderson ; Robert
Templeton and wife ; Mrs. Westcott ; Mrs. Murdock ; Mrs. Drew ;
and Jane and Eliza Armstrong. Some of these probably joined
after the organization.
The following adherents and attendants were trained in the
faith of the Presbyterian church and were probably baptized
members, but not communicants : James Wallace and Sarah, h'.s
wife, now living at the village of Union ; John Huston and Sarah,
his wife, now living in the bounds of Rushville congregation and
members of that church ; Huston (father of the last men-
tioned) now a member of the Connersville church; Mr. Meeks and
wife (the latter still living here) ; Arthur Dixon and wife ; George
Hammond, Mr. Westcott, Mr. McGinnis, Mr. Adair and wife
(the latter still living in Brookville) ; Mr. Barbour and wife ; Wil-
liam Butler and wife (now living near Brookville) ; and Mrs. Mar-
tin, mother of Amos and Mrs. William Stoops.
The places from which they came, as far as can be ascertained,
were as follows : Andrew Reed and Mrs. William Butler were
from Laurel Hill Church, Washington county, Pennsylvania; the
Goudies and John Cummins were from Tyrone Church, West-
32 Indiana Magazine of History
moreland county, Pennsylvania ; Huston from Green county, Pennsyl-
vania ; Self ridge from Indiana county, Pennsylvania ; Loughlin from
Pennsylvania ; Ogden, Bennett and Rose from Fairton Church, Cum-
berland county, New Jersey ; Henderson was also from New Jersey ;
George Wallace from Huntington county, Tennessee ; Dixons
from Harper's Church, Washington county, Virginia; Temple-
ton from South Carolina ; Meeks and Adair, not known ; Oliver
from Cincinnati ; Vincent from Fayette county, Kentucky ; West-
cott from New Jersey; Murdock, Hammond, Drew and Arm-
strongs, not known ; McGinnis and Butler from Pennsylvania ;
Barbour from Ireland. Several of these, however, had resided in
Cincinnati or the vicinity a short time previous to their coming
here and were known to Dr. Wilson.
The session consisted of five ruling elders, viz., William Rose,
William B. Loughlin, James Goudie, Obadiah Bennett and Neri
Ogden.
Soon after the organization of the church a flourishing Sabbath
school was commenced, in which nearly all of the members of
the church engaged as teachers. It is believed to have been one
the first Sabbath schools, if not the first, established in the State,
and was continued until most of the members had removed from
town. One or two of the Methodist brethren assisted occasion-
ally in the school. After this was discontinued, no other was at-
tempted for several years. The members of the M. E. Church
started one occasionally, which was at times in a good condition
and at times abandoned altogether. After the reorganization of
the Presbyterian Church, and about the commencement of the
labors of Rev. William J. Patterson, the two churches formed a
union Sunday-school, which was, however, soon divided, and
the two have been in successful operation from that time to the
present.
About the year 1820 an effort was made to erect a house of
worship. A lot was selected adjoining the old graveyard and
near the place where the Catholic Church now stands, a subscrip-
tion raised to pay for it, and the timbers brought on the ground,
but before anything further was done, nearly all the members
had left town and the people began to be discouraged. Not a
single trustee was a member of the church, the people were dis-
Presbyterianism in the Whitewater Valley 33
satisfied with the minister, Rev. G. G. Brown, who had been
preaching since before the organization of the church, and the
town was decreasing rapidly in population. Under all these un-
favorable circumstances the project was finally abandoned, and
the frame, after lying a long time on the ground, was sold. It
is now supposed to form a part of Mrs. Meek's stable, and the
lot has long since fallen into other hands.
The failure in building the house was an exceedingly unfortu-
nate blow to the interests of Presbyterianism in this place, inas-
much as the erection of a house would in all probability have
given perpetuity to the church, notwithstanding the adverse in-
fluences which were at that time in operation against the town
and church. About this time the church was dissolved and soon
after stricken from the roll of Presbytery. Three causes may be
assigned for this deplorable result in a church which was at first
one of the most promising in the State :
First, the removal of the members. All of them except Mrs.
Oliver and one or two other females left the place, most of whom
went so far away as to be entirely out of the bounds of the con-
gregation.
Second, the character of the minister, Rev. Guernsey G. Brown.
He was not a genuine Presbyterian, either in feeling or sentiment.
He was born in New England, educated in the Congregational
Church and licensed by an association in Connecticut for two
years, according to a custom which then prevailed in that church.
Under the operation of the "Plan of Union" adopted by the Gen-
eral Assembly in 1801 and abrogated in 1837, he was received as
a licentiate by the Presbytery of Cincinnati in the fall of 1817 and
allowed to labor in their bounds. Unfavorable reports soon
reached the Presbytery respecting his orthodoxy and ministerial
character, but not sufficiently tangible to furnish grounds for spe-
cific charges against him. At the expiration of the two years, he
applied to the Presbytery for a continuance of his license to
preach. Influenced by his importunity, his humble acknowledg-
ments and his faithful promises to correct some inconsistencies in
his ministerial deportment, they reluctantly consented to con-
tinue his license for another year, but at the expiration of that
34 Indiana Magazine of History
time recalled it and refused to allow him to preach longer. He
was a man of inferior talents, trifling in his deportment, unsound
according to the Presbyterian standards in his religious creeds,
and was considered by some as even of doubtful piety. He con-
sequently lost the confidence of the church and of the reflecting
portion of the citizens. He bought (in April, 1818), a lot of Allen
in the town plot called after his name, and built the house for
many years occupied as a residence by William Beeks. It was
sold under execution by Noah Noble, sheriff, in November, 1823.
He was for a time assistant editor of a paper then published in
Brookville. He afterward removed to Berksville, Cumberland
county, Kentucky, where by some means he succeeded in gaining
admittance to the Baptist Church.
Third, the efforts made to organize other churches east, west
and north of Brookville. From fragments of this divided con-
gregation were formed in part three other churches, viz., Mt.
Carmel, Bath and Somerset. The Goudies, Reed, Sering, Self-
ridge, Cummins, James Wallace, and perhaps some others went
to Mt. Carmel. Several Presbyterian families had come into the
region east of Brookville, so much scattered that it Was difficult
to fix upon a suitable location, and they held their services for
a long time in private houses, barns, and in the woods. No less
than seven sites were selected, six of which were afterward
abandoned. They were the following: (1) Near the Big Cedar
Baptist Church. Here they built a small log church which stood
for several years after it was abandoned as a place for Presby-
terian preaching. (2) Near Nimrod Breckney's, on the hill east
of Big Cedar creek. (3) On the iand of the late Peter Mills-
paugh. (4) On the land of James Goudie, Sr. (6) On the
farm of James Thompson, east of Mr. Breckney's. (7) On the
spot where it now stands, which was at that time in the woods.
The church was organized some time before the house of wor-
ship was erected.
Another church was organized about the year 1823 in Somer-
set, now the suburbs of the town of Laurel. They never had a
house of worship, but held their services in different places, most
frequently at the house of David Watson. The number of mem-
Presbyterianism in the Whitewater Valley 35
bers was at one time about twelve or fifteen and the session con-
sisted of David Watson, Reed, and Mr. Van . All of
them removed in a few years except Mr. Watson, who subse-
quently united with Mt. Carmel, and afterward with this church
(in 1841), in which connection he remained until his death.
The Bath Church, two miles east of Fairfield, was organized
in 1825, and soon after was erected the house of worship, which
still stands upon the same spot. Ogden, Bennett and Rose, all
of whom were ruling elders in the Brookville church, united with
it and were immediately chosen to the same office there.
After the dissolution of the old church in Brookville, no ener-
getic effort was made to organize another until the spring of 1839.
During the interval, however, there was Presbyterian preaching
occasionally, as will be mentioned hereafter, and several of the
prominent citizens exerted themselves at times to secure the
regular ministrations of some one of our branch of the church.
The state of religion was very low, and universalism and infidel-
ity prevailed to a considerable extent. Intemperance, profanity
and Sabbath breaking were for many years alarmingly prevalent.
The Methodist Episcopal Church, which commenced its exist-
ence in April, 1816, with a class formed by the late Samuel Good-
win, accomplished much for the spiritual interests of the commu-
nity, but its number of members was small for many years. It
began to increase rapidly, however, soon after the organization
of this church in 1839, and has ever sincf^as^^eil'lpnown, been
in a flourishing condition. v#0 s OvJ
For many years a few of the citizens of the town attended more
or less regularly the services of the Little Cedar Baptist Church,
below Brookville, which was in a prosperous condition and en-
joyed the faithful and efficient ministrations of Rev. Mr. Tyner
and Rev. Mr. Dewees. During the interval above referred to,
a few other Presbyterian families moved into the town or neigh-
borhood, but subsequently united with other churches, or re-
mained still in connection with the churches from which they
came. Among these were Mrs. Clarkson, who retained her con-
nection with Mt. Carmel until 1840; Mrs. Wise and Miss Ogden,
now of Harrison; Mr. John C. Conrad, who moved three miles
36 Indiana Magazine of History
north of Brookville. He and his wife were members of the First
Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati. There being no church here,
he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Robert W. Hal-
sted emigrated from New Jersey, remained for a time in Cincin-
nati, where he was connected with Dr. Wilson's church, and re-
moved to the West Fork, three miles west of Brookville. He
also joined the Methodist Episcopal Church and later his wife
also. Mr. Hendrickson moved from Warren county, New Jer-
sey, to his farm three miles west of Brookville. He and his wife
were brought up in the Presbyterian Church but were never mem-
bers. The same may be said of Mr. John Warne and his mother,
who came from the same region of the country. Mrs. Hendrick-
son afterward joined the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The following ministers preached in Brookville from time to
time during that long period: David Monfort, D. D., occasion-
ally from 1822 to 1830. (He was settled at Bethel Church, Ohio,
and once a month itinerated in this region. He preached here
several times with great acceptance, in some instances by re-
quest on special subjects. At one time he was waited on by
Mr. R. John, Mr. Noble and other prominent citizens, who prom-
ised him, in behalf of the citizens, one-half a support if he
would preach for them every other Sabbath.) Rev. Archibald
Craig, for several years pastor of the church at Mt. Carmel ; Rev.
Isaac Ambrose Ogden, pastor of Bath Church, who was also for
a time teacher in the county seminary; Rev. Mr. Boardman, of
whom nothing further is known ; Rev. Mr. Brich, who died in
Illinois sitting at the root of a tree while his horse was grazing
near; Rev. Alexander McAndless ; Mr. Duncan; Rev. J. Dickey,
a singularly eloquent, eccentric and attractive preacher, whose
praise is in all the western churches; Mr. Jabez Porter, a young
minister from the Theological Seminary at Andover, Mass. Mr.
Porter was in feeble health, taught for a time in the seminary
about the year 1829 and preached occasionally. He organized a
Sunday-school and tract society and was regarded a most estima-
ble young man. He was importuned to remain and make an ef-
fort to raise a Presbyterian Church, but preferred to return to
New England.
Presbyterianism in the Whitewater Valley 37
Rev. David M. Stewart came here as a teacher in 1834 and
pursued his theological studies at the same time. He was licensed
in October, 1835, and preached nearly every other Sabbath until
April, 1836, when he removed to Rushville, where he now resides.
He was licensed in the middle of his school year and requested
the trustees to release him that he might devote himself to the
preaching of the Gospel. The board consisted of J. A. Matson,
R. John, William McCleery, and others. They refused to re-
lease him on the plea that they needed his services as a preacher
as well as a teacher. He also preached at the mouth of Duck
creek (now Metamora) in Mr. Watson's house, where there were
still two or three members of the Somerset Church.
It may be proper to append here brief sketches of a few of
the persons mentioned in the above history so far as anything
concerning them is known. In doing so we observe no partic-
ular order as regards the date of their settlement, etc.
William B. Loughlin was from Pennsylvania. He settled on
what has since been called the Flint farm, on the high ground
between Pipe creek and the mouth of Snail creek, March 1, 1816.
He taught school in Brookville and on December 31, 1820, re-
moved to Rushville as a surveyor and laid off a large part of the
second purchase in Rush and the adjoining counties, and was
for some time district judge. His descendants still reside in
Rushville.
Neri Ogden and Obadiah Bennett (brothers-in-law) came, as
already stated, from Cumberland county, New Jersey, and after-
ward removed to Bath. The wife of Mr. Ogden (now Mrs. El-
well) still resides in Fairfield. Mr. Bennett died in Cuba, West
Indies, whither he had gone on a journey on account of his health.
His widow now lives in Jennings county at an advanced age.
General William Rose came from the same church in New
Jersey and settled on a farm three miles east of Dunlapsville,
and afterward joined the Bath Church. His descendants still
remain there. Though fifteen miles distant, he was one of the
most regular attendants at the services on the Sabbath, coming
down usually on Saturday and remaining until Monday. Weather
which usually detains others from going less than half a mile to
the sanctuary did not prevent him from traveling fifteen.
38 Indiana Magazine of History
John Cummins built a saw-mill at the south point of Boundary
Hill and resided there. He removed into the bounds of Mt. Car-
mel congregation.
; ; Roberf Templeton, Sr., settled three miles above Brookville
in 1806, coming from South Carolina. During the latter part of
his life he had no connection with any church, yet still maintained
a consistent Christian character and . a family altar until his
death. His reason for not uniting with the Bath Church, to
which he was sufficiently convenient, is not known. His sons,
Robert and David, and the widow of James, still reside on the
same farm.
John Vincent and wife came from Virginia, settled, in Fayette
county, Kentucky, then in Harrison, Ohio, and: removed to the
West Fork in 1800. They were both members of the old church,
but after it went down joined the Baptists. Their daughters,
Mrs. Robert Stoops and Mrs. E. Wilson, still live in our midst.
Mr. Martin and wife came from South Carolina and settled
on the West Fork in 1809. Mr. Martin was a member of the
Pendleton Church in that State. Two of their sons, William
and Amos, were members of this church at the time of their de-
cease, the latter a ruling elder. Mrs. William Stoops, also a
member, still lives in our midst.
David Watson was born in Scotland in May, 1763, and came
to America in 1801. He was a ruling elder in the church in Dun-
dee before he left the old country. After living fourteen years
in West Chester county, New York, he removed to Rising Sun,
Ind., in 1815, and to. the mouth of Duck creek (now Metamora)
in 1816, where he remained until his death, which occurred July
25, 1850, at the age of eighty-seven years. As before stated, he
connected with Mt. Carmel Church after the dissolution of Som-
erset, and then with Brookville. He was a plain but a very
intelligent man and ardently attached to the Presbyterian Church,
though charitable to those who differed from him in doctrine and
religious sentiment. During all his life, and especially the lat-
ter part of it, he was a remarkable reader of the Scriptures. The
last time that he was privileged to engage in family worship (a
few days previous to his death) he read with much feeling parts
Presbyterianism in the Whitewater Valley 39
of the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of I Corinthians, and what
was still more worthy of notice, narrated the substance of a re-
markable dream in which the Savior appeared to grant him spe-
cial tokens of his kindness in consequence of his early conse-
cration to His service, promising to take him immediately to
Himself. This was before there were any indications of special
sickness or of his being near his end. After this beatific vision he
set his house in order, waited anxiously for the hour of his de-
parture and fell asleep in Jesus after a very1 brief' confinement
to his bed. His house was a stopping place and a home for
Presbyterian ministers and a preaching station for ministers of
all evangelical denominations for thirty-five years. His thre'e
daughters still live in Metamora.
Samuel Sering was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsyl-
vania, August 17, 1781. His father emigrated to Maysville, Ky.,
in 1788, removed to the mouth of the Little Miami in 1789, and
was one of the eight who united in forming the First Presbyte-
rian Church of Cincinnati. In 1798 he removed to Turtle creek,
near Lebanon, Ohio, and became a ruling elder in that church.
In the great revival of 1801-'05 he first joined the New Lights,
and afterward, with nearly all his family, except Samuel, en-
tered the Shaker community at Lebanon, where he died. Sam-
uel moved to the farm now occupied by Silas and Abner, his
sons, in 1819, and soon after joined Mt. Carmel Church, then re-
moved to Bath, in both of which churches he was a ruling elder.
He and his wife united with this church in 1842. Mrs. Sering
died in the spring of 1850 and Mr. Sering in the fall of 1851.
John Henderson emigrated from New Jersey and settled in
Brookville before the organization of the old church. He was a
shoemaker and pursued this occupation for some time, but sub-
sequently studied law. Soon after his admission to the bar he
removed to Mississippi, where he rose rapidly to eminence in
his profession, and was for many years a distinguished United
States Senator from that State.
The first efforts toward the organization of the present church
were made in the fall of 1838. It ought, perhaps, to be here
acknowledged that the persons who took the lead in the prelimi-
40 Indiana Magazine of History
nary steps were not impelled to it by a sincere desire to promote
the spiritual interests of themselves or of the community, but
rather by a spirit of opposition to some measures connected
with the erection of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at which
certain persons not connected with any church had taken um-
brage. It is hoped, however, in the spirit of charity that there
were other reasons of a purer kind which were not apparent
upon the surface, as some of these persons were known to have
had previous partialities for the Presbyterian Church. There
were five persons residing in Brookville who had been members
of the Presbyterian Church elsewhere, who expressed a wish
to have a church of their choice here, but took no part in those
first efforts which were connected with the opposition to the
other church. At the suggestion of John A. Matson, Richard Ty-
ner and others, Jeremiah Woods addressed a letter to Dr. John
W. Scott, then professor in Oxford College, requesting him to
come over and preach. As the result of this and subsequent ef-
forts, Dr. Scott, Rev. W. W. Robertson and Rev. William Gra-
ham preached here occasionally for upwards of six months until
the summer of 1839.
In the spring of 1839 some of the brethren of Oxford began
to open the way for the organization of a church by making reg-
ular appointments here, and on the 8th of August Revs. John
W. Scott, W. W. Robertson (now in Missouri) and William
Graham (now in New Jersey), commenced a protracted meet-
ing, intending to form a church before it closed, should the
way be clear. On Sabbath, the 11th, they received four by let-
ter and thirteen by examination, formed them into a church and
administered to them the sacrament of the Lord's supper. M.
W. Hail and William McCleery were chosen and ordained to the
office of ruling elder. In October of the same year the church
solicited the services of Rev. William J. Patterson, a licentiate
of Madison Presbytery, and he commenced his labors on the
last Sabbath of January following (1840). He was elected
pastor in the early part of the next autumn and was ordained
and installed by the Presbytery of Oxford, November 19, 1840.
He continued pastor of this church until his death, September
Presbyterianism in the Whitewater Vaeley 41
20, 1844. Possessed of respectable talents, of sound judgment,
of deep and ardent piety, and of lovely and attractive manners,
he won the affection and esteem of all who knew him, and died
in the midst of his days, lamented by all the friends of true re-
ligion in this community and by his brethren in the ministry.
None saw him but to love, none knew him but to praise. The
savor of a blameless life, of a godly walk and conversation, and
of a deeply religious spirit still remained, and his name still
lingers in the memory of an affectionate flock. Truly may it
be said of him to this day, "His works do follow him." Truly
it may be said of him, as of his Master, that even those who
watched his words and conduct with an evil eye "could find no
occasion against him." His remains are buried in the grave-
yard belonging to the church.
Soon after the commencement of his ministry, the congrega-
tion purchased and fitted up the house formerly occupied by
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and received as a donation
from William W. Butler a piece of ground adjoining it for a
burying place. During the four and a half years that he labored
here there were added to the church, on examination 26, on
certificate 16, infant baptisms 10, adult baptisms 12. The total
number of communicants at his death was about 45. Five rul-
ing elders were added to the session, viz., William Patterson (fa-
ther of the pastor), John Adams, Ephraim Bennett and Amos
D. Martin.
Early in the winter of 1844-'45, Rev. John Gilchrest commenced
his labors as a stated supply in this church, and continued until
the spring of 1847, dividing his time for the first few months
between Brookville and Greensburg (where he resided during the
winter) ,and afterward between Brookville and Bath. He re-
moved to Dunlapsville, of which church he is still pastor. Dur-
ing, his ministry the church at Pennsylvaniaburg was dissolved
and the members were received to this church. Including these
there were added on examination 3, on certificate 9, infant bap-
tisms 15, adult baptisms 2.
Rev. L. D. Potter commenced his labors November 20, 1847,
and removed to Dunlapsville to take charge of the Presbyterial
42 Indiana Magazine of History
Academy located in that place, September 1, 1853. He divided
his time for one and a half years between Brookville and Bath ;
for one and a half years after this between Brookville and a mis-
sionary field west and south until the organization of the Meta-
mora Church ; then between Brookville and Metamora. He was
installed pastor of the united churches in the fall of 1851.
The present house of worship was commenced, enclosed and
the basement occupied previous to his removal. There were
added during his ministry of nearly six years, on examination
68, on certificate 20, infant baptisms 40, adult baptisms 33.
INDIANA QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Indiana State I/ibrary, Indianapolis
Published by the Indiana Historical Society
Christopher B. Coleman, Editor
EDITORIAL.
THE STATE LIBRARY AND THE ARCHIVES DEPARTMENT.
The Indiana legislature of 1909, by lack of provision for
the continuation of the work of the Archives Department of the
State Library, has probably necessitated the dropping of that
work in the near future. This is to be regretted, not only by
those interested in Indiana history, but by the general public. A
well developed archives department is getting to be recognized
as a necessity in most of the States. It forms the best means
of keeping the official records of the State, which in Indiana,
before the creation of this department, were for the most part
inaccessible and often destroyed.
The department has but fairly begun this work in this State,
and only those who know what is accomplished in other States
will appreciate the loss involved in its discontinuance. It is to
be hoped that the next legislature will restore this important
work.
While this subject is under discussion, it will perhaps not be
out of place to suggest that an agitation by all concerned be begun
now and kept up until it has accomplished its object, for the erection
of an adequate State Library building, and the establishment not
only of an archives department as it now exists, but of the
other forms of library and historical work done in other pro-
gressive States, such as Massachusetts in the East, and Wis-
consin in the West.
44 Indiana Magazine of History
NOTES.
INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The regular annual meeting of the society was held in the law
offices of its president, Judge D. W. Howe, in the Union Trust
Building, Indianapolis, Thursday, December 31, 1908, at 2 in the
afternoon. The president's report showed an enrollment in
the society of eighty-nine regular and twelve honorary mem-
bers. The publication during the year of the following pa-
pers was reported : "Making a Capital in the Wilderness,"
by D. W. Howe; "Names of Persons Enumerated in Marion
County, Indiana, in the Fifth Census, 1830," "Some Elements
of Indiana's Population, or Roads West and Their Early Trav-
elers," by W. E. Henry, being Nos. 4, 5 and 6, respectively, of
Volume IV of the society's publications, one thousand copies
of each being printed. The executive committee reported
$233.75 of the legislative appropriation available for publications
of the year ending October 1, 1909. The treasurer reported
$3,000 in the permanent endowment fund and $370.57 cash on
hand. The Indiana Quarterly Magazine of History reported
having received from the society last year $110, and the guar-
antee of $150, if necessary, for the year 1909 was renewed by
vote of the society. The committee upon Revolutionary pen-
sioners reported that 1172 had been located in Indiana. The fol-
lowing officers were elected for the year 1909: President, D. W.
Howe; first vice-president, Charles W. Moores; second vice-pres-
ident, W. E. English ; third vice-president, Bishop D. O'Don-
aghue ; treasurer, Charles E. Coffin ; recording secretary, J. P.
Dunn; corresponding secretary, C. B. Coleman; executive com-
mittee, John H. Holliday, A. C. Harris, Charles W. Moores,
Charles Martindale, J. P. Dunn.
At a meeting of the executive committee on January 29th the
society pledged itself to contribute its proportionate share, not
to exceed $200, toward the expense of preparing and publishing
an index of material in the French archives relating to the early
Notes 45
history of the Mississippi Valley, the expenditure to be under
the direction of the committee of the Mississippi Valley His-
torical Society.
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION COMING TO INDIANAPOLIS.
The American Historical Association, in its meeting at Rich-
mond, Va., in December, 1908, voted to hold its next western
meeting- — that is, December 27-30, 1910 — in Indianapolis. This
may involve sessions of the American Economic and Sociological
Societies, and in all probability will bring at least the American
Political Science Association and the Mississippi Valley His-
torical Association. In other words, at least four hundred of
the leading historical and political science workers in the coun-
try are expected at the meeting at Indianapolis next year.
This represents the result of a concerted invitation from In-
dianapolis and other parts of the State. Indianapolis and the
State at large are to be congratulated on securing this impor-
tant meeting. It is not too early to begin preparations for the
meeting. Accommodations for the various sessions and depart-
ments of the convention, providing suitable social recognition of
the distinguished men who are engaged in the work of the as-
sociation, involves elaborate planning.
Steps will probably be taken soon to organize a local commit-
tee to take charge of the arrangements. Meanwhile, let every-
thing be done to arouse public interest in this important event.
THE OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Indian mounds are attracting considerable attention in Ohio
historical circles at present. The January, 1909, issue of the
Ohio Archaelogical and Historical Quarterly contains two articles
and several notes upon .this subject. Doubtless part of the in-
terest is due to the publication of interesting articles about the
newly-discovered Serpent Mound in Warren county, which
seems to rival in importance the well-known Adams county Ser-
pent Mound. This former mound has evidently been damaged
by nature and time, but the outlines are said to be distinct, and
clearly "represent a serpent in active motion."
The State Legislature has taken enough interest in archaeo-
46 Indiana Magazine of History
logical matters to appropriate $500 for the erection of an iron
observation tower at the site of the old Serpent Mound. This
was satisfactorily installed in September of last year.
The Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly also has an
account of some native antiquities found near Cincinnati.
THE WAYNE COUNTY SOCIETY.
The Wayne County Historical Society has secured a large
room for its library and the display of its historical relics in the
Morrison-Reeves Public Library, Richmond, and the public
meetings of the society will hereafter be held in the lecture
room of the library.
THE MONROE COUNTY SOCIETY.
This society has also recently secured permanent quarters in
the Court-House, and is in the midst of an active work.
A REVOLUTIONARY RELIC.
A drum is on exhibition at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monu-
ment, which was used in the Revolution by Timothy Church, of
Connecticut. He was a drummer in the American army, taken
prisoner in 1778, carried to Nova Scotia by the British, and died
there of smallpox.
The drum came into possession of his brother John — also in
the Revolution — then to his son Isaac, then to his son George
W., who moved to Lawrence township, Marion county, Indiana,
in 1845. From him it passed to his youngest son, Joseph W.
Church, the present owner of the drum, who resides at South-
port, Indiana.
John Church, with his brothers, Philemon, Simeon and Tim-
othy, were at the Battle of Saratoga, where the last named, too
young to bear a musket, was still big enough to beat a drum.
Reviews of Books 47
REVIEWS OF BOOKS.
HISTORIC INDIANA.
[By Julia Henderson Levering (Mrs. Mortimer Levering). Illus-
trated. 538 pp. 8vo. 1909. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York,
$3 net]
Mrs. Levering's book is one of the most pretentious yet pub-
lished upon Indiana history. It is, as the sub-title implies, not
a continuous history of this State, but "chapters in the story of
the Hoosier State, from a romantic period of foreign exploration
and dominion, through pioneer days, stirring war times and pe-
riods of peaceful progress, to the present time." It is written
with enthusiastic appreciation of the achievements of Indiana
people and of the characteristics of Indiana stock.
Some of the more interesting chapters are: "How Spanish
Rule Affected Indiana," "Picturesque Indiana," "An Indiana
Type" (an account of Albert Henderson, of the family of the
authoress), "Letters and Art in Indiana," "The State Civiliza-
tion in Indiana, as Shown by Her Laws." There are in all
twenty-two chapters, which deal each with some particular phase
of Indiana's history or of natural features of the State.
Mrs. Levering, besides having the advantage of "life-long fa-
miliarity with the scenes and characters and movements of the
events mentioned," has also consulted and used most of the lit-
erature on Indiana history. The technical historian would per-
haps call for a larger use of strictly original matter, but the gen-
eral reader, for whom the book is most intended, will gain as
much interest and information as from any other book dealing
with the subject.
The religious history of the State has for the most part been
entirely neglected by authors of Indiana histories. It is inter-
esting to have the subject at least briefly touched upon by Mrs.
Levering, although her chapter upon "Early Churches in In-
diana" by no means attempts to give a full account of even the
early religious development of the State, and makes no attempt
48 Indiana Magazine of History
to estimate the significant features of religious life in this part
of the country.
Of the book as a whole it is not too much to say that it is the
most important publication upon Indiana history since Mr. J. P.
Dunn's "Indiana." It is written in a most interesting way, and
is well proportioned. It contains a large fund of information, oc-
casionally lacking perhaps in definiteness and references for veri-
fication, but undeniably more reliable than the average State or
local history. The illustrations are largely reproductions of old
prints, views of Indiana scenery and buildings. There are too
few maps, and hardly as many pictures of distinguished person-
ages as might have been used. But the book is distinctly well
illustrated. In fact, the publishers have done their work well,
as has the authoress, and the result is a book admirable in every
respect.
A good index and a short bibliography, including many —
though by no means all — of the most important works upon In-
diana history or phases of it, add to the value of the work.
Christopher B. Coleman.
THE INDIANA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Vol. V JUNE, 1909 No. 2
NORTH CAROLINA AND INDIANA.
A Tie that Binds.
BY ADOLPH ROGERS.
[A paper read before the Henry County Historical Society at Newcastle,
April 27, 1909.]
A RECENT visit to the old North State suggested this paper.
It was my third visit to my ancestral State, for my mother's
people, the Drapers, came from Perquimans county, while the
Rogers's lived in Surry county, where my father was born and
where several generations of my family lived before him. My
mother's family were Quakers, while my father's people were
Baptists. They were not owners of slaves, but were landlords,
owning their own lands, and, I trust I may be permitted to say,
were honest and God-fearing, and very worthy people to have for
ancestors. Between the older States, from which came the first
settlers and pioneers of our own State, there are strong ties of
blood and sentiment, which bind the older and newer communi-
ties.
The region embraced in what are now Wayne, Randolph and
Henry counties, in Indiana, lay in a favored region, midway be-
tween the Ohio river and the northern boundaries of the State.
It was a favored region to the pioneer coming from the sterile
fields of North Carolina and the unfertile and mountainous re-
gions of Virginia and Tennessee. When the first settlements
were made in the Whitewater valley and the territory adjacent,
the country, excepting a few treeless tracts, was a dense forest.
Giant trees of oak, walnut and poplar, destined later to become
so important in the erection of homes and supplying them with
furniture, reared aloft their majestic heads. Sugar trees, maples,
50 Indiana Magazine of History
beech, hickory, elm, ash and other varieties of trees abounded in
the forests. Magnificent sycamores grew in abundance along the
numerous streams. The woods were full of game and the rivers
and creeks teemed with fish. The climate was equable and the
soil deep and fertile. But the long years of labor in clearing
away the heavy forests, building homes and opening up of roads
can scarcely be appreciated by the descendants of the noble men
and women whose toils and privations and self-sacrifice in a fron-
tier community laid the foundations of our State. No homage is
too great to be paid to the memory of the brave pioneers who
came from the South to eastern Indiana between the years 1810
and 1835, and contributed so much to the material, intellectual
and moral development of the community.
The first settlers coming into the new State from North Caro-
lina came principally from Perquimans, Iredell, Randolph, Guil-
ford, Surry, Stokes, Forsyth and Davidson counties. In this con-
nection it is interesting to note the history and traditions of a
State which has contributed so much to our own life. In its his-
tory, North Carolina possesses a field as old and interesting as
any of the New England colonies, for here great problems of
life, both civil and religious, have been wrought out. Its coast
was the scene of the first efforts of the English to colonize Amer-
ica, and though no trace remains of Sir Walter Raleigh's settle-
ments, yet the capital of this old commonwealth worthily per-
petuates his name. The settlement of the Carolinas began early
in the seventeenth century, and long prior to the Revolution the
settlements extended from the Atlantic coast to the Blue Ridge.
The first settlers of North Carolina were principally Scotch-Irish,
with an admixture of Germans, Huguenots and Moravians, and
the settlements had so grown that at the time of the Revolution
the colony had a population of a third of a million.
When the first census was taken, in 1790, but two States, Vir-
ginia and Pennsylvania, surpassed North Carolina in population.
Including slaves, the population was 393,751, while Massachu-
setts had a population of 378,787. In religious belief the first in-
habitants were principally Presbyterians, Moravians, Lutherans
and Quakers. Religious toleration was a cardinal principle of the
colony. A large number of North Carolina Quakers came into
North Carolina and Indiana 51
Wayne, Randolph and Henry counties in the quarter of a cen-
tury prior to 1835. These worthy people were opposed to slavery
and sought new homes in the Northwest as a land of greater op-
portunity, and in the great struggle for the elimination of slavery
from the territory north of the Ohio river, they were a prominent
and decisive factor in favor of freedom.
The firm convictions of these newcomers into our State upon
political and religious questions left a deep impress upon the new
State. The first settlers of North Carolina were devoted to civil
and religious liberty, and were not more attracted to the colony
by reason of its genial climate and fertile soil than by its toler-
ance in religious matters. For all efforts to establish the English
Church as an institution of the government failed in North Car-
olina. And as an instance of the patriotic spirit of the Carolini-
ans, the encroachments of the mother country upon the rights
of the people and numerous acts of tyranny so aroused the people
of Mecklenburg county that the settlers in and about Charlotte,
on May 20, 1775, promulgated the famous Mecklenburg Declara-
tion of Independence. A beautiful monument in the court-house
yard at Charlotte commemorates the memory of the signers of
this first Declaration. And when Lord Cornwallis invaded the
old colony there was a rush to arms, and the battle of King's
Mountain, in 1780, and of Guilford Court House, in 1781, were
fought upon North Carolina soil.
And thus the first settlers of Indiana from North Carolina,
schooled in religious liberty and love of country, and the Quakers
especially, with their pronounced opposition to slavery, were a
noble band of pioneers to form a new State. Among the North
Carolina families who came into Henry county within the first
few years after its organization in 1822, were the Bales's, Ballen-
gers, Bogues, Boones, Bonds, Brookshires, Bundys, Byrketts,
Charles's, Coffins, Drapers, Elliotts, Forkners, Gardiners, Gil-
berts, Griffins, Halls, Hammers, Harveys, Healys, Henlys, Hin-
shaws, Hiatts, Hobsons, Hodsons, Holadays, Hollingsworths,
Hubbards, Hutsons, Jeffrys, Jones's, Lambs, Macys, Menden-
halls, Modlins, Murpheys, Needhams, Newbys, Nicholsons, Nix-
ons, Overmans, Palmers, Parkers, Paynes, Phelps's, Pierces,
Piersons, Polks, Presnalls, Ratliffs, Reddings, Reeces, Rogers's,
52 Indiana Magazine of History
Saints, Shellys, Staffords, Swaffords, Tweedys, Unthanks,
Whites, Whitworths, Wickershams, Wilsons, and many other
families whose names I do not now have knowledge of. Several
of these North Carolina families first settled on Nantucket Island,
Massachusetts, and later migrated to the Carolinas. In the north
part of our county, such well-known North Carolina families as
the Koons's, the Fraziers, the Wests, Julians and Cannadays
found homes. Some of these families and others came to Indiana
from Tennessee, but were of North Carolina extraction.
In a society like this, devoted to historical research, and the
majority of whose members are descended from the old North
State, it is interesting to recall some of the traits of character of
our ancestors. The people of North Carolina were ever conserva-
tive. It was one of the last colonies to adopt the Constitution of
the United States. So great was the love of its people for the
Union that it was one of the last States to secede. But when the
shock of battle came in the great Civil War, no other Southern
State, according to its population, contributed so many men to
the ranks of the Confederate armies, and the per cent, of its losses
upon the field of battle Avas larger than that of any other South-
ern State. And in the ranks of the armies of the North were
thousands of brave men, descendants of Carolinians, rendering
valiant service for the cause of the Union.
And there is also a tie of blood which binds many of our people
to the old and historic State of Virginia. The first settlers of the
northern portions of our county, and especially Prairie township,
were from the Old Dominion, with an admixture of settlers from
North Carolina, Tennessee and a few from other States. The
Virginia families included the Beavers's, Bechtelheimers, Bous-
logs, Bunners, Burners, Currents, Fadeleys, Garretts, Hales,
Hartleys, Hedricks, Hess's, Hickmans, Hoovers, Huffs, Ices,
Johnsons, Luellens, Maddys, Melletts, Millers, Painters, Pea-
cocks, Peckenpaughs, Powers's, Reeds, Ridgways, Robes, San-
ders's, Scotts, Shiveleys, Showalters, Stricklers, Swearingens,
Vances, Veach's, Waters's, Whislers, Williams's, and others.
A considerable number of the first settlers of eastern Indiana
and of Henry county came from other States than North Caro-
lina and Virginia. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Tennessee and
North Carolina and Indiana 53
Kentucky contributed to our population, and a few came from
New York, but there was very little of the New England element
among the first inhabitants. A few persons of foreign birth were
among the first settlers : John Anderson, one of the early asso-
ciate judges, was a native of Ireland, and Colonel John J. Lem-
anowsky, famous as a teacher and preacher and man of affairs,
was a native of Poland, and had served as an officer under the
great Napoleon.
The early settlers from North Carolina found homes in the
southern and western portions of the county. The majority of
them were Friends, who, with their select schools and strict rules
concerning marriage, were less liberal than now. But they were
ever the friends of education, and led pure and upright lives.
They were always the friends of the oppressed and the helpers of
the poor and lowly in life. They were progressive in adopting
the newer methods of agriculture and were prosperous, but for a
long time painted churches, tombstones and music, tending, as
they thought, to voluptuous thoughts, were held in disfavor. In
politics they were first Whigs and then Freesoilers and Repub-
licans, and under all circumstances most law-abiding citizens.
Many of the Virginia settlers possessed the hereditary pride of
ancestry common to the first families of the Old Dominion.
Some of them had been slave-holders, and the Hickmans brought
with them their slaves and gave them liberty. Many of them
were zealous in the cause of religion. A few families brought
with them their hounds and hunters' outfits, for the customs and
aristocratic diversions of their English ancestors were yet in
vogue in their native State. They were conservative and slower
than their North Carolina neighbors to give up the methods of
farming used by their forefathers upon the hillsides of Virginia.
In religion they were principally Baptists, and in politics Demo-
crats. They were hospitable, chivalric toward woman, high-
spirited and quick to resent an insult. With advancing years,
the fine farms, beautiful homes and excellent highways, and the
brick and frame churches and schoolhouses, taking the place of
the woods and cabins and bridle paths of early times, came into
existence, and while other States have contributed many noble
men and women to make up the population of our county, no
54 Indiana Magazine of History
other States have left such an abiding impress upon its material,
political and intellectual development as North Carolina and Vir-
ginia.
I was greatly impressed during my recent visit to North Caro-
lina with the improvements and advancement made since my first
visit to the State.* Improved methods of farming are in vogue.
Many of the old pine forests are being cleared up, and I saw nu-
merous ditches in the low lands, reminding me of home. Meck-
lenburg county can give object lessons in road building, for here
they cut down the high places and fill in the low places, making
their fine macadam roads as level as streets.
But one thing brought a blush to the cheek of every descendant
of the Carolinians, and that was the fact that the census of 1900
showed a larger per cent, of illiteracy in North Carolina than in
any other State. There was some excuse for this. The popula-
tion in many parts of the State is sparse, and the country moun-
tainous. Happily, this condition of illiteracy is being removed.
Some two millions of dollars, I was informed, were appropriated
for educational purposes by the State, within a recent period, in
addition to the local school revenues. In traversing a consider-
able portion of the State, a few weeks ago, I noticed new school-
houses everywhere. They dot the mountain sides and the low-
lands. And in the happy faces of the school children, upon the
playgrounds, I could not have determined, except from the phys-
ical aspect of the country, whether I was in Indiana, Iowa or New
York, so homogeneous are our people.
Unfailing courtesy is the rule everywhere. As I came out of
Dobson in a buggy I met two countrymen in the pine woods,
who lifted their hats to me. But a Southern gentleman lamented
to me that the old-time Southern politeness was slowly disappear-
ing. Commercialism has taken hold of the South, and there is a
rush for wealth there, especially noticeable in the cities. With
the vast resources of the South and its splendid climate this could
hardly be otherwise. And when people are in a hurry or deeply
engrossed, they are never quite so polite as when they have
leisure. Slavery created a leisure class in the South who culti-
vated the amenities of life, and this traditionary courtesy, even
among all classes, is everywhere apparent.
♦My first visit was in 1900.
North Carolina and Indiana 55
While visiting my daughter in Charlotte, I read several editori-
als in that excellent newspaper, The Charlotte Observer, concern-
ing the colloquialisms and peculiar expressions long in use in the
Carolinas. There was not a word or expression mentioned which
I had not heard as a boy in Indiana. And language and dialect
is always a proof of kinship.
There is a genuine respect for the Sabbath in North Carolina,
even in the cities and larger towns. The Sundays, in their quiet-
ude, reminded me of the Sundays in the old Sugar Grove neigh-
borhood, west of Newcastle, when I was a boy. And the people
are church-goers. A lady said to me that persons who did not
attend some church would not long have any standing in the
community. In the country I found some of the churches un-
locked. Two of them I entered, and I reverently stood in the old
Swan Creek Baptist Church, five miles from the beautiful little
town of Elkin, where my ancestors had worshiped.
James Bryce, the British ambassador, recently said, in address-
ing the students of the University of California, that California is
not only a State, but a country. It can truly be said that North
Carolina is not only a State, but a country, stretching five hun-
dred miles from the coast to its western extremity. It embraces
every variety of soil, from the rice fields of the seaboard counties
to the corn, wheat, cotton and tobacco fields, which I saw side by
side in Iredell, Yadkin and Surry counties. More varieties of
trees grow here than in any other State in the Union, and to this
fact, Biltmore, near Asheville, the most magnificent country
estate in America, owes its existence, for after investigation and
with thorough knowledge upon the subject, George W. Vander-
bilt selected western North Carolina, "the land of the sky," as
the one place in the United States best adapted for the founding
of a great country estate, where the greatest variety of trees,
shrubs and plants might be cultivated in the greatest perfection.
The climate ranges from the almost tropical temperature of the
southeastern coast to that of colder countries, as found in the
mountain regions, while the resources of the State are varied and
practically inexhaustible.
The valuable publication recently issued by the Census Depart-
ment, entitled "Heads of Families, First Census of the United
56 Indiana Magazine of History
States: 1790/' for the State of North Carolina, contains the name
of my great-grandfather, Josiah Draper, in Perquimans county.
My daughter, Mrs. Hugh Montgomery, and her husband and
children, dwell in the beautiful city of Charlotte. It is a far cry
from the time of the first census to the present, for my family in
North Carolina, and this must be my excuse for dwelling so long
upon the history and the splendid virtues of the people of this
errand old commonwealth-
Some Religious Developments in Indiana 57
SOME RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIANA.
BY CHRISTOPHER B. COLEMAN.
IN this paper I purpose to discuss the beginnings of the Protest-
ant churches in Indiana, and to give some account of their de-
velopment, with especial emphasis upon any changes that appear
as one compares the various stages of the State's history. I have
been frequently struck by the omission in general histories of
any account of the religious institutions that have developed in
the State. Many works there are upon the various churches and
denominations and eminent ministers, but this class of literature
seems to have kept largely to itself, and there is little correlation,
therefore, between the general development of the State and its
religious development. Yet a very little study shows that some
important facts are to be gathered by such a process.
The clear distinction between the Roman Catholic church and
other churches, and the extraneous influences that have shaped
the Catholic church within the State, together with the amount
of space that would have to be given to the Roman Catholic
church, have led me to confine myself to the Protestant churches
in this discussion.
The first years of our territorial existence, and, in fact, the
early years of our statehood, present a clear illustration of the
fact that American Christianity centers very largely in organized
churches, and that these required for their planting and support
considerable resources, both of men and of means. Between 1798
and i860 Indiana was in many instances a mission field such as
one can scarcely match to-day in the United States, and resem-
bling the Western frontier of a generation ago. Some churches,
as for instance the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Disciple,
were indeed fairly well established on an independent basis long
before i860, but we find that the Congregational and Presbyterian
American Home Missionary Society had some sixty-three men
from the East counted as missionaries, at work in this State as
late as 185 1. Among the reasons for the relative loss of the Bap-
58 Indiana Magazine of History
tist churches of the State, which were in many places first on the
ground, is the fact that so little support was given them from the
East. It is scarcely too much to say that Indiana Protestant
churches were not a natural development produced by the settlers
who came here, so much as they were a planting made by minis-
ters and missionaries from the older sections of the country.
The first Protestant church known to have been begun in this
State, and having any permanence, was the so-called "Silver
Creek" Baptist Church, organized by a few settlers along Owens
creek and Silver creek, at Charleston.* The original minutes of
this church, preserved in the State Library, bear the name of the
organizer, Isaac Edwards, and four others, apparently the only
charter members, who banded themselves together on the basis
of the Baptist Confession of Faith of Philadelphia, 1765.
Other Baptist churches were early begun in the southern and
southeastern parts of the State, and the Baptists were sufficiently
numerous in 1809 to organize two associations — the Wabash Dis-
trict Association (Knox and Gibson counties), and the White-
water Association (Franklin, Fayette, Rush and Henry coun-
ties).*
The first Methodist congregation was a church organized in
the spring of 1803, at Father Robertson's.* There were enough
Methodists in 1807, after visits of Peter Cartwright and others,
to organize the Silver Creek circuit. From this time on the
growth of the Methodist church seems to have been compara-
tively rapid.
The first Presbyterian organization was due to the missionary
work of Thomas Cleland, sent out by the Transylvania Presby-
tery to the people of Knox county.5 The "Church of Indiana"
was organized by the Rev. Samuel D. Robertson, in 1806, in a
barn of Colonel Small, about two miles east of Vincennes. The
church had the support of the Governor, William Henry Harri-
son, and his wife, who had been a Presbyterian before her mar-
riage. A regular pastor came in 1807. The second Presbyterian
church of the State was organized in 1807, the so-called "Pal-
*Evans: Pioneer Preachers of Indiana, p. 43; Stott: Indiana Baptist History, p. 37.
fStott: Indiana Baptist History, pp. 61 ff.
JStevens: History of Methodism, Vol. IV, pp. 152-153-
(iEdson: Early Indiana Presbyterianism, pp. 37-42.
Some Religious Developments in Indiana 59
myra" church, near Charleston, Clark county.* This church was
afterward merged into the church of Charleston, which was estab-
lished in 1812, and which possibly, therefore, should be called
the second permanent church. The third Presbyterian church is
said to have been constituted in 1814, at or near what is now
Washington, in Daviess county, by the Rev. Samuel Thornton
Scott, who was pastor of the earlier church at VincennesJ Until
1823 the Indiana churches belonged to presbyteries whose center
lay in either Kentucky or Ohio ; but in that year part of the State
was constituted into the first district Indiana presbytery, that of
Salem. The Synod of Indiana was organized in 1826.*
These early churches represent the religious and denomina-
tional devotion of a comparatively few settlers, and the heroism
of a few frontier preachers. The feebleness of the churches and
the hardships of the ministers can be read in any of the denom-
inational literature, and in the biographies of some of the better
known ministers. Incidentally, it should be said that nowhere
can one find a fuller or better picture of the conditions of life and
the character of society in early Indiana than in this class of
books.
A typical Presbyterian minister was the Rev. John M. Dickey,
whose average salary, including money and gifts, for the first
sixteen years of his ministry was $80. He "aided the support of
his family by farming on a small scale, teaching singing classes,
writing deeds, wills and advertisements. He also surveyed land,
and sometimes taught school. * * * In some way he secured
forty acres of land, to which he subsequently added eighty
acres." His house was a small log cabin, like those of his neigh-
bors, "floor of slabs hewed from oak and poplar trees ; small win-
dows, greased paper serving instead of glass; the chimney made
partly of stone and partly of sticks, and daubed with clay." * * *
"He also had a set of shoemaker's tools, mending the shoes of
his family and often those of his neighbors." No less heroic were
his two wives, both of whom illustrate the hardships of the
domestic life of the frontier in those days. His first wife died
two years after he began his ministry in Indiana ; his second wife
*Edson: Ibid, p. 45.
tEdson: Ibid, p. 64.
tEdson: Ibid, pp. 259-260.
60 Indiana Magazine of History
often managed the entire labor of the household, making all of
the woollen and linen garments of the family, providing hospital-
ity for numberless visitors, and rearing a large family of children
(eleven were born).*
Of the Methodist circuit riders much has been written that is
familiar literature, so little need be said. Riding over seemingly
impassable roads and swamps, threatened often and having to
defend themselves with their own strong arms against drunken
and rowdy trouble-makers, they ministered month in and month
out to small congregations, poorly supplied with this world's
goods, and at times arose to the exaltation of large revival meet-
ings, in which religious enthusiasm swept like wild-fire over
whole communities.
One of the most striking features of the early religious develop-
ment of this State is the fact above referred to, that the Baptist
churches, although first in the field and recruited also by large
numbers of settlers from the South and East, did not retain their
leadership, but became in most communities surpassed in num-
bers by the Methodists, and in many places by the Presbyterians.
The reason is probably to be found partly in the absence of effec-
tive organization and support from without, such as the Meth-
odists and Presbyterians had, and partly also in the numerous
doctrinal and practical differences developing among them, which
led in some cases to the secession of a whole congregation from
the Baptist fellowship. The organization of any sort of agency
not directly sanctioned in the Scriptures was opposed by many
influential Baptists, and in some sections the prevalent tone of
the denomination was so conservative and clannish that progress
was impossible.1'
A typical example of the disturbances and the difficulties made
by some of the Baptist leaders is illustrated in the career of
Daniel Parker, as told by a missionary Baptist of the present-day
type.* Parker and other Baptists of the "hard-shell" "Two-Seed"
variety, were so extremely attached to the idea of predestination
that the existence and development of the church was relegated
by them entirely to the arbitrary influence of the Holy Spirit.
♦Edson: Ibid, pp. 64-75.
fSee Indiana Quarterly Magazine of History, Vol. IV, No. 3, p. 149.
JStott: Indiana Baptist History, pp. 55 ff.
Some; Religious Developments in Indiana 61
They not only opposed missionary and most other forms of
evangelical effort, but divided congregations and hindered the
work of churches already started.
The Friends came into the Territory shortly after the estab-
lishment of the three denominations already spoken of. Numbers
of them settled in Orange and Washington counties, apparently
as early as 1810, and at the instigation of the West Branch of the
Quarterly Meeting of the Friends of Ohio, a meeting was held
at Whitewater, and the Lick Creek Monthly Meeting organized
(Wayne county, September 11, 1812).*
Congregations of other denominations formed in the State
early in the century, and religious life soon began to assume its
present variegated form, but the other churches can not be
treated here as fully as those given above.
A peculiar and interesting development, without much influ-
ence, however, on the general growth of the country, was the
Rappite community, which was located from 1815 to 1824 at
New Harmony, and which kept its peculiar ideas and institutions
intact, under the leadership of the Rapps. Celibacy, communism
and frequent public worship were universally and rigidly en-
forced. Copies of a little book, or collection of leaflets, are still
extant, entitled "Harmonische Lieder," bearing the imprint of
"Harmonie, 1824." It shows in the songs, written apparently by
different members of the community, the enthusiasm and relig-
ious zeal attributed by them to direct inspiration. These German
songs extol, sometimes in not unpoetic measures, the beauty of
the Harmony community, the love and passion of Christ, and the
beauty of the heavenly virtues. When the community sold its
land and possessions and emigrated to Pennsylvania, its religious
institutions disappeared with them.1"
The Congregational church, though represented within the
limits of the State by men of New England ancestry, both
physical and spiritual, and by missionaries of Congregational
affiliations, remained till quite late without an organization of its
polity in Indiana, and has always been comparatively small.
Probably no Eastern missionary organization is entitled to more
♦Evan Hadley: Historical Sketch of Settlement of Friends.
fSee p. 76 of this number.
62 Indiana Magazine of History
praise for its unselfish interest in the evangelization of the West,
of which this region was then the center, than is the Connecticut
Missionary Association. For several years* the General Asso-
ciation of the Connecticut (Congregational) churches sent mis-
sionaries West and managed their work as part of its regular
business, but in 1798, at the meeting at Hebron, Tolland county,
the churches organized a special missionary society, which en-
gaged actively in supporting and promoting "Christian knowl-
edge in the new settlements within the United States. "t In 1801
it entered into the plan of union with the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian churches, then hardly as strong as the Connecti-
cut association. In 1826 the Connecticut Missionary Society and
the Domestic Missionary Society of New York were merged into
the American Home Missionary Society, a national organization
supported by Congregationalists and Presbyterians alike — the
Congregationalists making the largest contributions. This alli-
ance of Congregationalists and Presbyterians was continued by
the New School Presbyterians after the schism until i860. The
first representative of the Connecticut Missionary Society and
its allies in Indiana was Nathan B. Darrow, who came to the
State in i8i6.j As illustrations of the work carried on by the
later organization, it contributed to the Indiana field, in the year
1830, $3,367, and had eighteen missionaries. In 185 1 it reported
sixty-three missionaries^
It is a well-known fact that this union resulted in the rapid
growth of Presbyterian churches and in the dissemination of
New England ideas, without, however, planting very many New
England churches. Yet it strikes one as rather remarkable that
out of this combined effort, into which Congregational churches
poured so many men and so much money, there came into exist-
ence in Indiana scores of Presbyterian churches, but only two
churches which the venerable Dr. Hyde, authority in these mat-
ters, could call Congregational, and both of those planted late in
the northern part of the State, at Michigan City and Orland. A
*I788-I798, Edson: Early Indiana Presbyterianism, p. 256; Hyde: Congregationalism in
indiana.
fHyde: Congregationalism in Indiana; Edson: Ibid, p. 256.
JHyde: Ibid\ Edson: Ibid.
?Hyde: Ibid.
Some Religious Developments in Indiana 63
third became Presbyterian, but a small faction, seceding, main-
tained the Congregational organization.* The reasons for this
disparity in visible results are variously stated, but these points
seem apparent : The southern Presbyterian element was pre-
dominant among the settlers, and the ministers, according to the
agreement, organized churches on that basis, the people rather
than the missionary determining the matter; the Congregational
missionaries also laid more stress on doctrine, over against the
Arminian teaching of the Methodists; the Presbyterians empha-
sized organization, and it seems to have been generally agreed
that the Presbyterian organization was best under conditions
then prevailing. At the time the Presbyterians seem to have
been most distrustful of the union, fearing subtle doctrinal devia-
tions, which, in fact, came. To-day, however, the alliance is
lamented by Congregationalists and extolled by the Presby-
terians. That it was the religious antecedents of the settlers
rather than other considerations that led to the formation of
Presbyterian rather than Congregational churches is perhaps
indicated by the fact that in the Western (Connecticut) Reserve,
where the settlers were chiefly from New England, and in Iowa,
where the same was true, the tendency toward the formation of
Congregational churches was much stronger.
The first Congregational church was organized at Terre Haul'
in 1834 by an independent Congregational minister, Rev. Mr
Jewett, who, on his way to the far West, was prevailed on to stop
at that city. The churches at Michigan City and Orland, referred
to above, were organized in 1835 and 1836, respectively. The
denominational consciousness of the Indiana Congregationalists
began to assert itself, and a national convention was held in
Michigan City in 1846 to consider the state of Congregationalism
in the West (the first national convention of the Congregational
churches, if it can be called such when only five Western and
three Eastern States were represented). Three Presbyterian
churches, in Jay and Adams counties, and others in the "Pocket,"
became permanently Congregational because of their impatience
of the lack of anti-slavery measures in their own denomination.*
A Congregational church, however, was not planted in the capital
*Hyde: [bid, p. 7.
64 Indiana Magazine of History
until 1857 (August 9), and the State Association was not formed
till 1858.*
From the time the leading Protestant denominations were
firmly established in Indiana, about 1825, down to the eve of the
Civil War, about i860, their history might be summed up as
development through denominational competition. The churches
for the most part were vigorously evangelistic. They had been
planted in the years of the great revivals (1800-1820), and liberal,
latitudinarian views gained little ground. The Unitarian move-
ment, for instance, has always remained very small, the member-
ship of its congregations even to-day being considerably less
than a thousand. The churches were led by men, simple and
earnest, narrow, perhaps, but thoroughly convinced of the neces-
sity of maintaining certain definite views concerning matters
which they held as revealed truth. The Owen community at
New Harmon)', under anti-Christian auspices, was an exotic
plant, and if one can judge by the Owen-Campbell debate at Cin-
cinnati in 1829, produced little permanent effect upon the relig-
ious life of Indiana and Ohio.t Infidelity and skepticism, and
liberal views were frequently included in the use of these terms,
in the heat of the revival spirit of the time frequently took on an
almost religious aggressiveness. There seemed to be little
ground between orthodox, militant, evangelical Christianity on
one hand, and opposition to religion on the other.
The conflict with unbelief occasionally assumed violent and
even grotesque form. A story is told* of Reverend James Jones,
a Methodist preacher, illustrating the spiritual and physical
power of some of the champions of the church. In a camp meet-
ing in 1820, or shortly after, in the White Water circuit, a woman
who had just been converted was dragged away from the altar
and the meeting by her irate husband, who threatened vengeance
on any interference. Mr. Jones was called for, and, making no
headway with mere words, finally seized the man, forced him to
his knees and then flat on his face. The minister seated himself
on the back of the sinner, and refused to release him till he
*Hyde: Ibid.
fRichardson: Memoirs of A. Campbell, Vol. II, pp. 263 ff.
JSmith: Early Methodism in Indiana, pp. 189-190.
Some Religious Developments in Indiana 65
prayed. The victim swore. But others were called on; the wife
prayed, then a number of believers, then "Brother Jones prayed,
still sitting on the quivering form of his victim and holding him
fast. While he prayed he felt the muscles of the man's arm
begin to relax, and other signs that victory was coming. * * *
Soon the man himself began to weep and cry out, 'God be merci-
ful to me, a sinner !' and soon the shout of victory came. * * *
This was the old style of doing work at camp meetings, and no
man was ever better able to do it than Reverend James Jones."
All conflicts with unbelief were not so short and decisive as
this. Atheism and other views of the world opposed to Chris-
tianity were in general more aggressive than now, sometimes
even blatant. In this, as in other respects, it is easy to see that
the separation of the church from the rest of the world was
sharper then than now, and considerations of good taste, recog-
nition of sincerity, and toleration had little place.
But conflicts with the anti-Christian forces of the community
were only half the story. Every preacher held himself in readi-
ness to meet other preachers setting forth a different gospel.
Denominational controversies raged on every side. Frequent
formal challenges and protracted debates fill the columns of
papers of the period. For the most part these concerned some
phase or other of baptism, the Holy Spirit, the process of con-
version, or the ever-recurring conflict of Calvinism and Arminian-
ism. Popular interest in such subjects was amazing. One Chris-
tian minister answered a Methodist who had preached two days
in a barn on baptism with a five-hour discourse in the same barn
on the subjects, action and design of baptism. "The barn was
a very large one, but it was full, and a great multitude stood in
the street before a large open door the whole time, giving the
most earnest attention to the discussion."* The same minister
gives a full account of a four days' debate near Madison in 185 1
which in essential features was not unlike scores of theological
contests held in the middle of the century^
If theological interests ran high, however, the lot of the theo-
logian was little better than in the early pioneer days. Salaries
*t,ife of Elijah Goodwin, p. 184.
■\Ibid, p. 223.
66 Indiana Magazine of History
were low and frequently not by any means all paid. One dis-
tinguished minister and educator gave vent in his reminiscences
to this feeling complaint: "There is such a thing as despising
the church of God, and that is, when she abounds in close-fisted
rich old men and women."*
That churches were richer and stronger appears, however,
from the introduction of "innovations," many of which were re-
sisted by the older generation. This process continued long after
the Civil War, but the bitterest opposition to innovations must
be chronicled before that. Such Methodist leaders as Father
Havens could not endure "steepled churches, promiscuous sit-
tings, organized choirs, organ accompaniments, theological
schools and a classical ministry."* The Christian church, whose
early leaders had themselves opposed innovations, was itself soon
to be taken up in a tide of prosperity, and to incorporate so many
progressive tendencies that a rather large element almost with-
drew from fellowship to form an "anti" movement.
The formation of the early Christian (Disciple) churches in
Indiana gives an interesting study to the religious investigator.
Apparently there were in the twenties and thirties of the last
century many congregations which had felt their way around to
somewhat similar positions, rejecting formal creeds as statements
of required beliefs, not requiring personal testimony of religious
experience as a test of fitness for baptism and admission to the
church. Into this group came the influence of the Campbells
from West Virginia, and of others, until a certain coherence and
corporate life developed. But as to the date when the movement
specifically began in the State, seemingly authoritative state-
ments differ by as much as twelve or fifteen years. The truth
seems to be that those churches now affiliated with the Churches
of the Disciples represent only a part of the movement, to which
the so-called New Light movement and others belonged, for the
restoration of primitive, apostolic Christianity. The leadership
of Alexander Campbell, exerted through his widely-read peri-
odical, Millennial Harbinger, and through personal visits and ac-
quaintances in the State, together with the influence of a number
•Autobiography of S. K. Hoshour, p. no.
ttife of Father Havens, by Hibben, p. 93.
Some Religious Developments in Indiana 67
of very able and zealous advocates of the same cause, gradually
brought the larger part of this "restoration" movement into one
body, the Christian church ; i. e., the Disciples of Christ. The
Christian church, i. e., the New Light movement, did not all go
this way, and has remained as a separate, though much smaller,
body. The Christians (Disciples) speedily became one of the
strongest and most aggressive religious forces of the State.
Among the most important services of the churches to the
State before the Civil War was the founding of seminaries (prac-
tically equivalent to the modern high schools) and colleges. The
seminaries have long since disappeared, either through develop-
ment into colleges or being supplanted by high schools. The
score or more of colleges now existing under religious auspices
represent a much larger number founded at one time or another
within this period. Some proved short-lived ; others had a longer
period of activity, but have since been abandoned.* Those which
survive have come to embody relatively permanent and substan-
tial interests.
The period of the Civil War, and, indeed, the years immedi-
ately preceding it, mark a transition in the history of the religious
forces of the State. Many parts of Indiana contained by that
time well-established communities, with considerable wealth and
culture. The earlier and rougher elements of pioneer days were
passing away. The opposition and contrast between the church
and the unchurched had become, if not less intense, at least more
refined. Moreover, in many places European immigrants, with
other religious ideas and customs, began to form more or less
conspicuous elements. Added to this the tremendous unifying
effects of the Civil War within the lines of the Union or the
opposition camps, as the case might be, made apparently a most
marked impression in lessening the rigor of denominational dif-
ferences. Even such supposedly inconsequential affairs as ama-
teur theatricals given to raise money for the soldiers contributed
probably to softening the ecclesiastical censure of worldly amuse-
ments. The balance between the improvement and the degrada-
tion of moral life in the North brought on by the Civil War
*For example, the college at Brookville, an account of which we hope soon to publish.
68 Indiana Magazine of History
probably never can be accurately struck.* It made some, notably
Lincoln himself, more deeply religious ; it gave others freer
course in corruption and immorality. One marked tendency,
however, may be summed up in the word liberalizing. This can
be easily traced in the subsequent development of churches in
Indiana.
Among the marked features of ecclesiastical life since the war
can be noted growth in wealth, in membership and in influence,
tendency toward interdenominational cooperation and even unity,
and humanizing of theology.
In some respects primitive conditions still prevail. The rural
church has proved more backward than the rural school. Among
the latter, especially in the last few years, a veritable revolution
seems to be taking place. Consolidation of schools has made
possible far better teaching and more effective organization than
ever before prevailed. Even where there has been a decline of
the rural population, the schools have more than maintained
their former work. Rural churches remain, however, practically
on the old basis. Consolidation here takes place only by the
dying out of weaker congregations, or by the less frequent hold-
ing of preaching services, so that communities are served by a
kind of rotation between the churches of different denominations.
One is astonished by the number of churches whose names are
carried on the lists of some denominations from which reports
are never received and in some of which no services are ever held.
The circuit rider and itinerant preacher, so necessary and useful
in the early times, survives under different conditions in a less
glorious service and with less effectiveness in the railroad
preacher of the present, living in some central location and going
to scattered congregations for preaching service on Sunday, and
to funerals and weddings on week-days, stirring religious senti-
ment by periodic protracted meetings, but seldom vitally affect-
ing the life of the community.
Town and city churches, however, have for the most part been
prosperous. The barns and log churches of early days gave
place long ago to well-built frame structures, these in turn to
brick or stone. The last fifteen years have been an era of church
♦For an interesting discussion see Rhodes: History of the United States, Vol. V, pp. 212 ff.
Some Religious Developments in Indiana 69
building all over the State, and scores, if not hundreds, of fine
stone church buildings have been erected. In this the Presby-
terian church, which early had the advantage of education and
culture, and which was probably more of a city church than the
other large denominations, still has the leadership. With less
than one-fourth the membership of the Methodist Episcopal
church, its buildings and property are valued at more than one-
half those of the other denomination, and with a membership
only one-half as large as the reported membership of the Dis-
ciples, its property is valued at twice that of the Disciples.*
The churches of the State have not only grown in membership,
but have gained upon the population, according to the best sta-
tistics available. By the report of the State Bureau of Statistics
in 1906 the church membership was then 35 per cent, of the
population of the State. These statistics, however, are somewhat
misleading. The population of the State is got from the census,
the church membership from the reports of the various churches
to their State organizations. Mistakes in the census are likely
to be omissions rather than additions. Churches, however, are
usually quick to report additions and growth, and many fail to
take account of deaths and removals, so that here errors are much
more likely to swell than to reduce church membership. Making
all reasonable allowance, however, it is safe to say that church
members have never formed so large a proportion of the popula-
tion of the State as at present. The first seven Protestant de-
nominations of the State, in order of membership, as given in the
report of the Indiana Bureau of Statistics for 1906, are the Meth-
odist Episcopal, Disciples, Baptist, Presbyterian, United Breth-
ren, Lutheran and Friends.
Practically all denominations have undergone a transforma-
tion in their popular theology. This transformation has in many
instances led to overleaping the old denominational boundaries,
and even the boundaries of orthodox Christianity. Indiana has
not to any large degree led in such movements, but, having been
started elsewhere, they have had at least their average quota
of followers in this State. The change as a whole might be
♦Indiana Church Statistics, Indiana Bureau of Statistics, 1906.
70 Indiana Magazine of History
summed up as a change in the conception of God and of religions
due to the change the last hundred years have made in the en-
vironment of American life. The hardships, struggles, poverty
and dangers of pioneer life have given place to a prosperous,,
even-going society, in which physical dangers are few and man's
control over nature for the most part assured. Accumulation
of wealth has produced here and there a leisure class. For the
most part this consists as yet of the wives and daughters of rich
men. These have different needs and different feelings from the
pioneer women who bore the brunt of the struggle of early days.
They seek a different help and comfort in their religion. Dr. J.
Franklin Jameson states succinctly the change that has come to
pass in the country as a whole. "It is a long remove from the
tribal god of the early Puritans, the vertebrate Jehovah, the self-
conscious martinet of a troubled universe, to the vague and cir-
cumambient deity of Mrs. Eddy, the fluid source of therapeutic
beneficence. But it marks a long transition in our social life.
The early colonist, his life environed with dangers and studded
with marked events, must have on high a conscious and watchful
sovereign, ever ready to protect the body and to chasten the soul
by drastic interpositions. * * * Few of us are in personal
danger. We have had years of extraordinary prosperity. The
comfortable middle-class society of our settled communities has
had little occasion to feel the heart-gripping stresses of danger
and calamity and remorse. In such a soft society, illness and
physical pain easily come to seem the chief evils of life. Con-
sciousness of nerves and consciousness of the processes of diges-
tion come to take nearly the place which consciousness of sin
held in the mind of the seventeenth-century American. Such a
society, the product of peace and industrial prosperity, is sure to
be seized with great power by a religion which cheerfully ignores
evil and which, whatever its claims upon superior intellects, pre-
sents itself to the man of bourgeois mind as primarily a religion
of healing."*
But the formation of Christian Science churches, the growth
of the New Thought movement, and the appearance of psycho-
*President's address at the American Historical Association meeting, December 27, 1907,
in American Historical Review, Vol. XIII, No. 2, p. 301.
Some ^Religious Developments in Indiana 71
therapy, are not the only religious results of our social changes.
It takes only a slight comparison to show the liberalizing tend-
ency of theological thought in general in the last generation.
Pragmatic philosophy, with its emphasis upon practical values,
its optimistic working together of all things for good, is par-
alleled by the emphasis upon practical, humanitarian results in
Christian preaching. The shaping of the personal life along lines
of useful activities is the burden of the message of most churches
to-day. Religion has much less of "otherworldliness" than for-
mer generations would have dared to suppose compatible with
its profession. This world has become not only an easier place
to live in, but an easier place to dwell on in the realm of religious
thousrht.
72 Indiana Magazine of History
COUNTY APPROPRIATIONS FOR HISTORICAL
SOCIETIES.
[The following law is printed partly in answer to inquiries and partly
because there does not seem to be much cognizance taken of it by those
who ought to take advantage of it. St. Joseph, Henry, Wayne and Mon-
roe counties are the only ones known to the editor in which historical so-
cieties receive any substantial help from the county. Yet a properly
managed historical society ought to be of great value to any community,
and under the liberal law quoted below, can be easily maintained in
almost any county in the State. — Editor.]
An Act for the encouragement of county historical societies, and
providing for estimates for same by Boards of County Com-
missioners, and for the making of appropriations for same
out of the county funds by County Councils, and for the ex-
penditures of moneys for the benefit of such societies.
(H. 379. Approved March 11, 1901.)
Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State
of Indiana, That in any county of the State of Indiana where
there now is or may hereafter be a historical society, or local
branch of a historical society, which, at the time of making peti-
tion, shall have maintained its organization and have been actively
engaged in the collection of data and material for, and in the
preservation of, county and State history and biography for a
period of not less than five consecutive years, during which it
shall have held at least one meeting in each year, at which papers
shall have been read or addresses made, in the presence of the
public, upon matters connected with the history of the county
and State, the County Council of such county may, upon the
petition of the president and secretary of such historical society
and not less than fifty voters and taxpayers of the county, having
been presented to the County Commissioners, at a regular ses-
sion of the board, and by the Commissioners referred to the
County Council at a regular or called session thereof, with esti-
mates and recommendations as to amounts of such appropriation,
or appropriations, as provided for in section nineteen (19) of an
County Appropriations for Historical Societies 73
act entitled an act concerning county business, approved March
3, 1899, appropriate out of any moneys in the county treasury,
not otherwise appropriated, a sum or sums of money not to ex-
ceed in the aggregate five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the con-
struction and furnishing of rooms and fireproof vaults for the
meetings of such historical society and for the preservation of the
records of such society and historical papers, souvenirs and nat-
ural history collections. Such sum of five thousand dollars or
less to be appropriated at one time or at various sessions of the
County Council ; such rooms and vaults to be provided in con-
nection with county court-houses or constructed separately upon
land belonging to the county and to be the property of the
county. Such rooms and vaults to be built and maintained for
the purposes enumerated in this act by the County Commission-
ers and under their supervision, as provided in section thirty-one
(31) of an act entitled an act concerning county business, ap-
proved March 3, 1899.
Sec. 2. Should the historical society for which and upon whose
petition such rooms and vaults shall have been provided by the
county, as prescribed in this act, fail or voluntarily surrender to
the county its rights and privileges thereto, or discontinue its
meetings for a period of two consecutive years, all its papers, rec-
ords, collections of every kind and furniture shall become the
property of the county, and the County Commissioners shall pro-
vide for the safe-keeping of the same before subjecting the rooms
or vaults to other uses of or by the county ; but this provision
shall not be so construed as to prevent persons who shall have
contributed papers or historical or biographical data from mak-
ing copies thereof for their own private use and profit.
Sec. 3. Should there at any time be more than one reputable
historical society or society devoted to some branch of historical
or biological investigations in any county in which such rooms
and vaults or permanent buildings as are provided for in this act
shall have been built, it may be admitted to their use upon such
conditions, to be determined by the County Commissioners, as
shall not interfere with the rights and privileges of the original
society; but appropriations of money shall be made only for one
74 Indiana Magazine of History
set of rooms and vaults or separate buildings for such purposes
in the county.
Sec. 4. Such rooms, or buildings and vaults, as may be con-
structed in any county of the State of Indiana, under the pro-
visions of this act, shall be under the joint control of the historical
society for the uses of which they shall be constructed, and its
legitimate successors, and the Board of County Commissioners
under such rules as they may, by their concurrent action, estab-
lish ; but such historical society or societies shall alone be re-
sponsible for all bills for printing, publication, stationery, records
and other expenses of every kind incurred in the prosecution of
its or their work, except such costs for the construction and main-
tenance of the rooms or buildings and vaults as are heretofore
provided for in this act.
Sec. 5. Upon or after the forfeiture or voluntary surrender of
the occupancy of the rooms or buildings and vaults to the county
by the historical society for which they were constructed, the
County Commissioners may place them in charge of another
society organized for similar purposes as the original society, if
such society exist in the county, or shall be organized to the
satisfaction of the board; but preference shall be given to a re-
sumption of the old society, or a reorganization thereof, and any
society that shall accept the use and care of the property and
occupancy of the rooms or buildings and vaults shall be account-
able to the county for the same, and they shall continue to be the
property of the county as in the first case. The purposes of this
act being to create and perpetuate a system for the collection and
preservation of local and general history, making a record of the
progress of the several counties of the State, and providing per-
manent nuclei for individual and family history and local obser-
vation of natural phenomena.
Lake County Centenarians 75
LAKE COUNTY CENTENARIANS.
BY P. IV. BALL,
Historical Secretary of the Old Settler and Historical Association of Lake
County.
AMONG our early settlers, our true pioneers, there were two
who lived more than one hundred years. One of these was
Peter Surprise, born of French parentage in a province of Lower
Canada, February 24, 1794. In 1834 or 1835 (this date is not
quite certain), following a party of French neighbors who settled
near the present Momence, in Illinois, he made his settlement in
what became Lake county. He was naturalized August 10, 1837,
by Solon Robinson, then county clerk, and died in this county
August 27, 1903, having lived 109 years and six months, or hav-
ing lived through nearly seven years of the eighteenth, through
all of the wonderful nineteenth century, and through two full
years of the twentieth century. He had in all fourteen children,
three born in Canada. Seven of these were living at the time of
their father's death. There were also living twenty-two grand-
children and forty great-grandchildren.
Our other centenarian was Mrs. Valona Cutler, a daughter
of Richard Church, who came to what became known as Prairie
West in 1836, having a family of six sons and four daughters.
Mrs. Cutler was born in 1805, the day and month not on our
record. She was the mother of six children. About 1855 the
Cutler family left Lake county. They became citizens of Illinois,
where, in February, 1906, Mrs. Cutler died, having lived more
than one hundred years. Although not residing many years in
the county, she was for a time an active, prominent and influ-
ential Lake county pioneer, and so we claim her as one of our
centenarians.
76 Indiana Magazine of History
A RAPPITE, HARMONY, SONG-BOOK.
IT has not until recently been generally known that the Rappites
had a printing press at Harmony, Indiana, during their stay
there, from 1815 to 1825. However, Mr. D. L. Passavant, who is
the leading authority on the subject, has discovered a copy or
two of a pamphlet which, with two volumes with the Harmonie
imprint at New Harmony, seem to show that quite a little print-
ing was done there. The copy which has been received for the
Indiana State Library is coarsely printed and roughly bound in
blank check forms of the Bank of the United States at Pittsburg,
where apparently the Rapps did most of their banking. The copy
belonged to Gertrude Rapp, and her name is written on the title
page. Its full title and imprint reads:
Eine kleine Sammlung
Harmonischer Lieder
als
die erste Probe
. * ' der anfangenden Druckerei anzusehen.
Gedruckt in Harmonie, Indiana, 1824.
The book is, however, merely a collection of separates, the first
group of songs being printed April 27, 1824, and the others fol-
lowing usually one a week. According to Mr. Arthur Dransfield,
librarian of the Workingmen's Institute Public Library at New
Harmony, Dr. Mueller, of the Rappite community, operated the
press, and was a man of some literary ability. According to Mr.
Passavant's information, the poetry was probably the production
of different members of the community, considered by them as
inspired, and used in the religious services of the community, but
jealously guarded from outsiders.
The first three stanzas of the first poem in the collection, the
A Rappite, Harmony, Song-book 77
first fruit of the printing press, and possibly of the poetic spirit
of the Rappite brotherhood, may not be out of place here :
i. O Harmonie, steh mit den fuessen,
Fein feste auf dem dunkeln mond !
weil du wass bessres sollt geniessen,
ja, Gott selbst bei und in dir wohnt ;
dir oeffnet sich des Himmels pforte,
das Cabinet der Heiligkeit;
und so komt nach des Herren worten,
die Ewigkeit in diese zeit.
2. Du siehest mit den alten Zeugen,
das Werk des Herrn in aller Treu ;
Jerusalem vom himel steigen,
und wie er alles mache neu;
die Braut des lams zum grossen prangen,
den edlen schmuck, in Gottes stadt,
und was er mit dir angefangen,
beschlossen hat in seinem Rath.
3. Er hat schon laengst voraus gesehen,
ein wunderschoenes Perlen volk,
die vor Ihm um den throne stehen,
und wohnen unter seiner Wolk !
ein volk das von ihm ist geknuefet,
in ein hoch herrlich Gnadenband,
und das darum vor Freuden huepfet,
ist es der Welt gleich unbekant.
78 Indiana Magazine of History
DETROIT LETTER OF J785.
[The manuscript of the following document is in the Lasselle Collection
of the Indiana State Library. As can easily be seen, it is a letter from
John MacPherson, of Detroit, to a friend, David Gray, a trader at Miami-
town (a forerunner of Ft. Wayne). The country in that part of the North-
west was still in possession of the English, the treaty of peace between
the United States and the English government in 1783 not being carried
out in respect to the evacuation of the ports in the Northwest by the Eng-
lish till after the Jay treaty of 1795.— Editor.]
To David Gray,
Merchant,
at Miamie-town.
Detroit 23 March, 1785.
Dear Sir:
I embrace this opportunity to enquire about your Health, and
the nature of times in that Country, what appearance of Trade.
its said that there is a good hunt to the Southward I hope you
will find the good effects of it, by its being in reality so. we have
had here a very mild open winter, by no means reckoned favor-
able for the hunt. Indeed the equipers has reasons to expect but
very Indifferent returns from the differant posts here abouts,
"very dull times in the fort, no business of any kind, either with
the French or Indians, the only payment that Can be expected
for Goods is flour & corn this year, and I see no prospect of
being able to dispose of it. the Contractors for the Mackina
markett gets what corn & flour they want for Goods out of their
own Shops, so that there's Scarcely any paper currency circu-
lating. Mr. McKillep told me that you was a little indisposed
when he past the Miamies coming in. I hope you soon got over
it ; the Measles raged here this season by which many Children
died. L. Williams died with that or a Sort of Scarlet fever after
Seven days Illness Andrew W.- Old Barthe has taken his de-
parture 14th Instant after about two months Sickness. You
have heard undoubtedly of the Barbarous manner Christie &
another Man was murdered at the River Rouge at young Ca-
hossa's House by a Sagina Indian apitchi Gabavey his name &
Detroit Letter of 1785 79
2 Sons, in about a week after the same Indians killed P. Jacobs
& one Guthrie - Jno. Dolton was going out with them & made
his escape. Jacobs killed one of the sons in the fray, there's
several councills been held since with the other Indians to get
them to bring the Murderers, they promise well but perform
little, apropos what do you think of the Conjunction of the Six
Come [Company?] Houses into a grand Societie for carrying on
the Indian Trade, time will discover more of the effects of that
grand undertaking, its probable that they will not find their ad-
vantage in such an Union unless they can procure an exclusive
right to the different posts. Whatever occurances of the plan
I write about it will be quite Stale to you, as you'll be better
acquainted with them than myself. Mr. Geo. Meldrum is mar-
ried to Miss Chapoton, Henry Ford to Miss Bella Andrews,
there's 2 or 3 other young ladies closely besieged so that a Short
time will bring a surrender. Robert McDougall is married to
Miss Simonette Campau. The Gentlemen of the Garison keeps
on good Sociall terms with the towns people & Major Ancrum
seems to gain peoples esteem greatly his justness & Impartiality,
no news of any kind, no accounts from Niagara or Fort Pitt, in
course no express from Canada. Now permitt me to request
the favour of you to lett me know what Mr. Rivard, La Breche,
etc are doing, do my dear Sir endeavour to get Something from
those fellows recommended to your care, as it will be very hard
times with me next Summer. I have wrote you formerly about
the way Mr. Ellice [?] got Grevarats & Visgars affairs settled,
they are Sett up again and trades in partnership at Sagina. they
are furnished with goods from Mr. Abbott & Grosbeck so that
you will be able to come on for your money sometime or other,
having nothing further to add - I remain - Dear Sir
Your Most Obedient Servant
John Mac Pherson
Prices Current
flour per C. 60
Ind. Corne per Bushel 12
Oats per Bushel 8
Venison per Car. 32 all Winter
Beef per lb. % very Scarce.
INDIANA QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Indiana State Library, Indianapolis
Published by the Indiana Historical Society
Christopher B. Coleman, Editor
EDITORIAL.
AN ACTIVE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The twenty-second annual meeting of the Henry County His-
torical Society, of which an account is given elsewhere, was held
the last of April. This meeting sustained the reputation of the
society as one of the most active and progressive historical or-
ganizations of the State. If any comment other than eulogistic
were to be made upon the work of the society, it would be by
way of warning that its membership ought to be extended more
largely among the younger element of the county. Historical
societies frequently grow out of old settlers' organizations, but
they should not be turned into old settlers' reunions, nor should
interest center chiefly in matters of antiquarian concern. The
value of history is the light it throws upon institutional develop-
ment and racial progress or degeneration. These can not be
studied by way of reminiscence and antiquities alone, but demand
observation and analysis by men whose powers are developing,
whose prime lies in the future rather than in the past. Any com-
munity makes a mistake when it conceives of the study of its in-
stitutions as a matter to be left to those who have retired from
active life and have leisure for things of little importance. Of
course, there is no money for any individual in the study of local
history, but the progress of a community involves many things of
this sort. The point is not that the older men should not be
honored members of historical societies, but that the younger
men, especially those interested in teaching and in public welfare,
should take an active part in supporting such organizations.
The Henry County Historical Society is a good example of
what can be accomplished under the present State law. The law
providing for appropriations by counties for historical societies is
Notes 81
printed in full in this number. Under its provisions it is possible
for even a few men interested in local history, continuing that
interest for a period of only five years, in which time it will nat-
urally enlarge, to receive permanent quarters for meetings and
for the preservation and exhibition of books and other objects of
historical interest. At Newcastle a fine old residence has been
bought and a valuable collection of books and relics brought to-
gether. The collection is especially complete in the field of
pioneer tools and implements. With a little more search and
careful repair of machinery now on hand, which ought to be done
at once, the society would have a very adequate apparatus for
illustrating pioneer industry, from the raising of flax and hemp
to the production of cloth. A fine specimen of early looms be-
longing to the society, formerly belonging to William Dawson,
of Spiceland, would in itself make a good nucleus for such a col-
lection.
We commend the success of the Henry County Historical So-
ciety in its collection and in its annual meetings, largely attended
and interesting as they are, as an object-lesson to all who are in-
terested in Indiana history.
NOTES.
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
The second annual meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical
Association was held in St. Louis, June 17-19 of this year. The
program, as announced, was taken up by addresses and papers on
a great variety of themes, including the Ethnology of the Missis-
sippi Valley, Physiography and History, Archaeology of the Mis-
sissippi Valley, "The Second Missouri Compromise," Coronado,
the British Attack on St. Louis in 1780. One afternoon was
given over to a conference of historical societies.
82 Indiana Magazine of History
history section of the indiana state) teachers' association.
The 1909 meeting of the History Section of the Indiana State
Teachers' Association was held April 30 and May I, at the Clay-
pool Hotel in Indianapolis. The change of time from the Christ-
mas vacation during the State Teachers' Association meetings to
the separate date in the spring proved agreeable to all who at-
tended the meeting, and, so far as could be ascertained, few who
were interested were prevented from being present by the change.
The program consisted for the most part in discussion of methods
of teaching history and the arrangement of the history course in
grade and high schools. Some criticism of the scheme of the
history course now used in the State was heard, but no change
proposed proved at all satisfactory to those speaking. All seemed
agreed in the feeling that a four-year course ought to be provided
in the high schools, but this was shown to be impossible in most
cases. The most interesting part of the program to others than
teachers was the address of Mr. Addison C. Harris on "The For-
eign Service of the United States," and the paper of Mr. John H.
Holliday on "Indianapolis in the Civil War," both given on Fri-
day evening.
The following officers were elected for the ensuing year : Har-
low Lindley, Richmond, president; J. Walter Dunn, Indianapolis,
vice-president ; Miss Herriott Palmer, Franklin, C. W. Knouff,
Richmond, and Oscar H. Williams, Bloomington, executive com-
mittee.
HENRY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETING.
This society held its twenty-second annual meeting at the His-
torical Building in Newcastle, on South Fourteenth street, Thurs-
day, April 29. The attendance was large and the program carried
out with only a few changes from the printed announcements.
Two papers presented at the meeting and an editorial comment
on the meeting are printed in this number of the magazine.
The election of officers resulted in the following selections for
the coming year : President, Adolph Rogers ; vice-presidents,
Elias Ratcliff. Rev. Fred Thornburg and Mrs. Ross Pickering;
secretary, John Thornburg; financial secretary, Loring Williams.
Reviews of Books 83
The trustees for the next year are E. H. Bundy, B. F. Koons and
H. W. Charles.
HISTORICAL PAGEANTS.
Miss Charity Dye, of the Shortridge High School faculty, has
given much time this year to working up historical pageants writ-
ten and given by members of her English classes. While pri-
marily intended as exercises in English, it is obvious that they
involve much work in history, so much so that the head of the
department of history in the same school testifies that some of the
best work in history during the year was accomplished by stu-
dents in tasks involved in the preparation of these pageants.
The culmination of the work was the presentation by the stu-
dents of a public Indiana Pageant depicting "Community Life at
New Harmony," given at Caleb Mills Hall, Thursday afternoon.
May 20. The program included stereopticon views of New Har-
mony and its people, scenes from the Rappite community, and the
representation of an Owenite men's meeting, the New Harmony
Woman's Club (the first woman's club in America, founded in
1859), and a social evening at the New Harmony Club-House. A
large and intensely interested audience attended the pageant.
Miss Dye's pioneer work has proved very successful from every
point of view, and her example ought to be followed throughout
the State. This sort of work, while it may easily be overdone and
absorb too much of the students' time, embodies elements which
can scarcely be developed by other methods, and which, judi-
ciously guided, have proved most effective in the literary and
historical training of students.
REVIEWS OF BOOKS.
TIPPECANOE BATTLEFIELD MONUMENT.
[Compiled by Alva O. Reser, published by the Tippecanoe Battle-
field Monument Commission, 1909.]
Through the efforts of many prominent citizens, and with the
help of appropriations from the State of Indiana, an appropriate
84 Indiana Magazine of History
monument has at last been erected upon the battlefield of Tippe-
canoe. The commission in charge of the work has published,
under the above title, "a history of the association formed to pro-
mote the enterprise," an account of the dedication of the monu-
ment, addresses delivered upon that occasion, and a great deal of
interesting material upon the battle itself.
father gibault and the submission of post vincennes.
The American Historical Review for April, 1909, Vol. XIV, No.
3, contains an article by Clarence W. Alvord, of the University of
Illinois, on "Father Pierre Gibault and the Submission of Post
Vincennes, 1778." The article contains several documents not
heretofore printed, the following being printed here in full :
George Rogers Clark to Jean Baptiste Laffont, July 14, 1778; the
Oath of Vincennes, July 20, 1778; Laffont to Clark, August 7,
1778; Father Pierre Gibault to the Bishop of Quebec, April 1,
1783, and the same to the same, June 6, 1786, and also May 22,
1788. The -conclusions of Professor Alvord are, in the mind of the
writer, sustained by the documents. They are summed up in the
statement, p. 548: "The plan originated in Clark's mind; Father
Gibault offered to go, but refused to take the responsibility ; Jean
Baptiste Laffont was appointed as the leader, managed affairs
openly irr Vincennes, and claimed the honor of the success;
Father Gibault evidently preached peace and union to the citizens,
probably used his personal influence to promote the enterprise,
and on his return made a written report to Clark, but denied that
he was responsible for the submission of Vincennes."
C. B. Coleman.
1730
HOOl
JOVCMlC ICOuRT
1903
1850
1300
THE INDIANA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Vol. V SEPTEMBER, 1909 No. 3
JAMES HUGHES.
BY H. C. DUNCAN.
[A paper read before the Monroe County Historical Society, December,
1908.]
OF the many prominent men who have lived in Bloomington
— and there have been many — Judge Hughes was, I think,
at once the most unique and picturesque character of them all.
Of his early life I know but little. He came here when a child
with his mother from Maryland ; his father never lived in this
State. His mother died when he was a child. The story goes
that his future wife, then married, took him in her arms, and
carried him to see his mother as she lay in her coffin. He had
quite a number of relatives — some of prominence, some other-
wise— with whom he lived until manhood. When a young
man, he was appointed to West Point, where he remained a
good student, well up in his classes, until near his graduation,
but as he had concluded he would not enter the army, he re-
signed, giving as his excuse that he did not think any man should
be educated at the expense of the Government when he did not
expect to follow the profession of arms. It appears, though, that
this conclusion was reached only after he had obtained about all
the benefits that institution afforded.
After leaving West Point he studied law, and had acquired
some reputation as a lawyer, when, near the close of the Mexican
war, he was appointed a lieutenant in the Tenth Regulars. This
was a sort of political regiment, raised near the cessation of
hostilities, which got no nearer the front than New Orleans.
Judge Hughes was a Democrat of the straightest sect, and an
ardent supporter of Polk's administration. The regiment was
recruited almost, if not wholly, in Indiana and Kentucky, and
Bv courtesy of Mr. Amos W. Btitler, Secretary of the Indiaipard of State Charities. Extended from 1903 to date by the writer.
Dotted line shows time of State supervision; solid line, insnon.
DEVELOPMENT | PUBLIC OR OFFICIAL CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS
CHARITIES
CORRECTIONS
Early Methods of Punishment:
Pillories. Stocks. Whipping-Posts. Etc.
RLTOR>
ATQRY
LSSCH.
THE INDIANA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Vol. V SEPTEMBER, 1909 No. 3
JAMES HUGHES.
BY H. C. DUNCAN.
[A paper read before the Monroe County Historical Society, December,
1908.]
OF the many prominent men who have lived in Bloomington
— and there have been many — Judge Hughes was, I think,
at once the most unique and picturesque character of them all.
Of his early life I know but little. He came here when a child
with his mother from Maryland; his father never lived in this
State. His mother died when he was a child. The story goes
that his future wife, then married, took him in her arms, and
carried him to see his mother as she lay in her coffin. He had
quite a number of relatives — some of prominence, some other-
wise— with whom he lived until manhood. When a young
man, he was appointed to West Point, where he remained a
good student, well up in his classes, until near his graduation,
but as he had concluded he would not enter the army, he re-
signed, giving as his excuse that he did not think any man should
be educated at the expense of the Government when he did not
expect to follow the profession of arms. It appears, though, that
this conclusion was reached only after he had obtained about all
the benefits that institution afforded.
After leaving West Point he studied law, and had acquired
some reputation as a lawyer, when, near the close of the Mexican
war, he was appointed a lieutenant in the Tenth Regulars. This
was a sort of political regiment, raised near the cessation of
hostilities, which got no nearer the front than New Orleans.
Judge Hughes was a Democrat of the straightest sect, and an
ardent supporter of Polk's administration. The regiment was
recruited almost, if not wholly, in Indiana and Kentucky, and
86 Indiana Magazine of History
was officered entirely by Democratic politicians. As nearly all
had political aspirations, there was more of a consuming desire
to court and receive the approbation of the administration and
the party than to advance the cause on the field, jealousies arose
which materially detracted from the regiment's efficiency, and it
was soon mustered out. There are some members of the regi-
ment yet living in this locality.
Judge Hughes, on the return of peace, returned to this place
and began the practice of law. He soon had an extensive prac-
tice for that day. As was then the custom with the best lawyers,
he traveled the circuit, which was large, consisting of eight
counties, viz. : Vigo, Sullivan, Greene, Owen, Putnam, Clay,
Morgan and Monroe. Court sat but twice a year in each county;
the larger counties, like Vigo, Putnam and Sullivan, had two
weeks, while the smaller ones, such as Owen, Monroe and Clay,
had but one week. The judge would start out, followed by the
lawyers, and the whole circuit would be frequently traversed be-
fore they went home. They all stopped at the "tavern," received
and accepted such accommodations as could there be had, took
their employment after arriving at the county seat, and, if pos-
sible, collected their fees before leaving. Judge Hughes was
thus brought into contact with and met the very best legal minds
of the circuit. The opportunities for investigating questions
were meager, the citation of authorities few, but the underlying
principles of the law were well in hand, so that the law was as
ably presented, but with less consumption of time and citation
of authorities than at the present. Outside of the circuit Judge
Hughes had quite a clientage, and for a considerable time main-
tained an office at Bedford.
In 1852 he was an aspirant for the nomination for judge on the
Democratic ticket. It early appeared that Judge D. R. Eckle, of
Putnam county, an old-time, old-fashioned lawyer, it is said, well
grounded in the principles of the common law, but profoundly
ignorant of the statutes and the decisions of the courts, would
carry off the prize of the nomination. So Hughes moved into a
higher and more dignified atmosphere, announcing that the judi-
ciary should be divorced from politics, and accordingly appealed
to the people to assist him in its elevation by electing him, which
James Hughes 87
was done by a very respectable majority. The whole circuit was
Democratic, with hardly an opposition county in it, but by a
political freak he was elected. During his canvass and for some
time prior, he was the editor of a Democratic paper which
espoused the cause of a non-partisan judiciary, and incidentally
his own cause, with fearful, forcible and convincing rhetoric.
Judge Hughes was a profound lawyer. It is doubtful if there
was a better one in this part of the State. As a judge he was
upright, bold, courageous and tyrannical. He was fearful of
public opinion, but persuaded himself that he was not. A diary
— or rather a memorandum of his proceedings at certain courts,
evidently made after the adjournment — was for some time in my
possession. In that he told of certain statutes he had construed,
and how he had ruled on certain questions, in which he would say
that, while he was convinced that he was right, he was still fear-
ful he had made a mistake, saying that certain of his friends and
prominent persons of the vicinity, naming them, had found fault
with his rulings and had attributed them to certain influences.
With a mind as clear as a bell, elegant diction, a close student
and a good reasoner, his decisions met with approbation from all
good, disinterested people. His work was peculiarly vexatious
and irksome. Educated and trained in the rules of pleading and
practice of the common law — the outgrowth and the wisdom of
years of the very best legal minds — he was called upon to con-
strue the newly adopted code, with all of its innovations and
crudities. Of a natural tyrannical and overbearing disposition,
augmented by a West Point education and service as an officer
in the regular army, he ruled the bar and controlled the proceed-
ings with a rod of iron. The court was supreme, and he was the
court. He enforced order, and demanded and procured the
proper respect for the court. He had his likes and dislikes —
generally dislikes — among the bar. Some members he could
hardly endure, others were tolerated after a fashion, and others
had his confidence and esteem. To take a change of venue from
him — now a common thing — I think much too common — was by
him considered a personal affront. In the book to which I refer,
he speaks of a lawyer who is yet living, for whom he had the most
supreme contempt and often showed it. Judge Hughes ruled
8S Indiana Magazine of History
against him. This lawyer prepared and had his client swear to
an affidavit for a change of judge on account of bias and preju-
dice. The judge says in his book: "I never knew him; did not
know there was such a man until I came across his name on the
docket; did not know his name, residence, politics or religion,
therefore could not have any bias or prejudice against him." He
then says he called in the grand jury and instructed them espe-
cially with reference to the law governing perjury and suborna-
tion of perjury, and directed the grand jury especially to investi-
gate the matter, and, if the facts warranted, to return indictments.
He then adds practically these words : "Nothing came of it, and
I think now it was a mistake."
Judge Claypool, who succeeded him, told me this story. In
those days often the judge would be late in arriving at court, and
it had grown the custom for the proper officers to meet, elect a
judge pro tern., who would call, impanel and charge the grand
jury, call the docket, attend to formal matters and have them all
out of the way, so that the regular judge, on arrival, could proceed
with the business. It was no inconvenience to the local authori-
ties, relieved the judge of much routine work, expedited the busi-
ness of court, and was considered an accommodation all around,
but especially to the regular judge. "Court week" came at Spen-
cer. The proper officers appointed Judge Franklin, now living,
an honored citizen of the State, and afterward more than once
honored by an election to the bench. Judge Hughes had a most
intense dislike for him — almost amounting to hatred. Judge
Franklin called and instructed the grand jury and did other
routine work, when about eleven o'clock Judge Hughes arrived.
Some one congratulated him on what had been done and the
dispatch made with the business during his absence. Judge
Franklin was still on the bench when Judge Hughes entered and
walked down the aisle with the dignity of a Roman senator.
Judge Franklin vacated and spoke to Judge Hughes, who never
even recognized him. He mounted the bench arid called to the
sheriff to "open court." This the sheriff did in a half-hearted,
apologetic way. "Mr. Sheriff, call the grand jury," said Hughes.
The clerk slipped up and whispered that the grand jury had al-
ready been organized and instructed. The judge waited for the
James Hughes 89
sheriff to act, turned again to him and said: "Mr. Sheriff, call
the grand jury." That official went to their room, got the bailiff
and the twelve men and marched them down in front, where they
were again called by name, tried, sworn and charged as if nothing
had been done.
When he was on the bench nearly all the traveling was by car-
riage or on horseback. About that time the Indianapolis & Terre
Haute Railroad, now a part of the Vandalia, was built. He
started to go from Greencastle to Brazil by rail, but was a little
late, and, with a railroad's usual perverseness, the train did not
wait, but went off and left him. He was not in a good humor,
but drove directly to Bowling Green, then the county seat. At
that time that road was largely in evidence in the courts. The
first thing on opening court, without any of the preliminaries of
impanelling the grand jury — then always the first thing — he called
the docket and entered two or three defaults against the road,
when some member of the bar suggested that counsel would be in
soon and it would be well to wait. He quietly responded : "The
railroad does not wait on the court, and the court will not wait on
the railroad," and went ahead dismissing cases and taking de-
faults against the railroad company.
His career on the bench was rather stormy. The bar was dis-
posed to be combative, and resented much of his arbitrary meth-
ods. They all conceded his ability, his integrity, his knowledge
of the law, and the soundness of his judgment. These were sel-
dom, if ever, called in question, but his tyranny was galling.
In 1856 he was nominated by the Democratic party for Con-
gress from the then third district, extending from here to Switzer-
land county on the Ohio river. In 1854 his implacable enemy,
George Grundy Dunn, of Bedford, had been nominated by the
remnant of the old Whig party, and was by the "Know Nothings"
elected. The district was strongly Democratic. Hughes put
himself in training to beat his old enemy, but the seeds of a wast-
ing disease had been sown by the extraoridnary labors of Dunn's
canvass, and he was unable to make the race for re-election. John
A. Hendricks, afterward colonel of the Twenty-second Indiana
regiment, and killed at the battle of Pea Ridge, was nominated
against him, but after a joint canvass in almost every township
90 Indiana Magazine of History
in the district, and in which it is said Hendricks was worsted, the
latter went down in defeat. That was in the early days of the
slavery trouble, finally culminating in the Civil War. Hughes
was a Southerner by birth and education. His political affilia-
tions had all been with the Democratic party. In this State he
was one of its recognized leaders. That party, long in power, had
become factional, with two wings, known as the Bright and the
Wright factions. One was headed by the Bright family and the
other by Joseph A. Wright. They had worked with reasonable
harmony in the campaign of 1856. Buchanan had carried the
State and the Legislature was Democratic. Both Bright and
Wright were aspiring to leadership ; both wanted to go to the
United States Senate ; a rupture was imminent, and Judge Hughes
was called from Bloomington, and solved the problem by send-
ing Bright to the Senate and extorting from Buchanan a foreign
mission for Wright. Hughes took his seat in the very heat of the
Kansas-Nebraska trouble, and at once became an administration
leader, and tried to force the Lecompton Constitution on the
State of Kansas. In a speech in Congress, delivered March 31,
1858, he used this language: "I said in, the presence of many
of my constituents, upon a temporary visit to my State, that if
every stump in Kansas were a negro, every tree upon her soil a
slave driver, and every twig upon the tree a lash to scourge the
negro to his daily toil, I would vote for the admission of Kansas
under the Lecompton Constitution to preserve the peace of the
whole country, and if my constituents did not like it and would
let me know it, I would resign." This expressed his views on
the slavery question and his attitude toward the free-State people
of Kansas.
The Republican party in that year for the first time had a
national ticket in the field, and his denunciation of the black
Republican party and of abolitionism was intense and terrific.
A master of invective and sarcasm, he let no opportunity pass of
giving that party the most severe castigations at his command.
In 1858 he was again a candidate for Congress, but the seeds
of discord sown by the administration and Douglas Democrats,
primarily over the admission of Kansas, but really over the
slavery question, had grown and so disrupted and disorganized
the party that he and it went down in defeat.
James Hughes 91
By reason of his loyalty to the administration, the energy, zeal
and ability with which he had fought its battles and with it had
gone down, he was by President Buchanan appointed a judge of
the Court of Claims to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of
Judge Isaac Blackford, also of Indiana, and one of its former
judges of the Supreme Court. While retaining his nominal resi-
dence at this place, he really from that time forward made his
home in Washington. He supported Breckenridge and Lane in
i860, but I think took little part in the canvass.
When Fort Sumpter was fired upon and the Civil War began,
he aligned himself on the side of the union and the suppression
of rebellion. He lent the whole force of his influence and energy
to a vigorous prosecution of the war. He was one of the most
pronounced and uncompromising union men in the State. His
voice was heard among his old associates and friends pleading
for the maintenance of the union and the suppression of the
rebellion. His tongue was as bitter, his satire as scathing and
his denunciation as intense toward everybody who did not lay
aside all previous party affiliations and unqualifiedly join in the
suppression of the rebellion and the support of the administration
as it had been in former days toward the "black Republicans"
and abolitionists. He was one of Governor Morton's most inti-
mate friends and advisers. He ceased to affiliate with the Demo-
cratic party, and allied himself with the party for the prosecution
of the war. He was on terms of intimacy with President Lin-
coln and Secretary Stanton, and was frequently called into their
councils. Early in the war he resigned from the Court of Claims
and entered the practice of law at Washington.
Judge Hughes always had political aspirations. Governor
Morton was the acknowledged head of the Republican party of
this State, and went to the United States Senate in 1867 without
question. Judge Hughes wanted to go. Preparatory to return-
ing to politics, he sought and obtained in 1866 the Republican
nomination from this county for the Legislature. He tempo-
rarily abandoned his law practice at Washington — the law firm
of Hughes, Denver & Peck — and went into the campaign with
all the enthusiasm and energy of a man of thirty. And such a
campaign ! Its like was never before seen in this country, and it
92 Indiana Magazine of History
is not probable that it ever will be again. This county had al-
ways been Democratic, but the war and the attitude of that
party toward its prosecution had narrowed the margin until it
was small. The bitterness engendered by the war still existed.
The soldiers were all — all that were left — at home. Hughes had
been a war man, had formerly been a Democrat. He organized
for the campaign. He had a glee club which could and did sing
all the old war songs, such as "Rally Around the Flag, Boys,"
'"Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys Are Marching," "The Old
Union Wagon," "Just Before the Battle, Mother," "Marching
Through Georgia," "John Brown's Body Lies Mouldering in the
Tomb," and many others to which the boys had marched and
sung. He got this glee club into a big wagon profusely deco-
rated, drawn by four horses, and prepared for business. He also
got a brass cannon — a six-pounder — a squad of artillerymen, old
soldiers with team and ammunition, and started out. He spoke
in all the towns and half the schoolhouses in the county. His
artillery would precede him, firing every few minutes, get to the
place appointed, unlimber, fire a half hour, when everybody
would come to see the cannon. Then the glee club got in its
work. Then Judge Hughes spoke. His speeches were simply
wonderful. What is unusual — very unusual for a stump speaker
— he never repeated. Dr. McPheeters, a gentleman of rare cul-
ture and fine judgment, told me that he heard him at least a dozen
times during that campaign, and each speech was independent of
the other ; that all were convincing models and fit for publication
without review or reformation. They all abounded in argument,
sarcasm, wit and humor ; were elegant, entertaining and capti-
vating. He carried the county, of course.
That session was a stormy one. The Republican majority was
large, Judge Hughes was the recognized leader, and he made the
minority feel the weight of his hand.
The Legislature to be chosen in 1868 would elect a United
States Senator to succeed Governor Hendricks, who had been
elected in 1863. Judge Hughes was an aspirant, and to advance
his interest he was a candidate for and was elected to the State
Senate. So was Colonel Cumback, of Greensburg, who was nom-
inated and elected Lieutenant-Governor, with the tacit under-
James Hughks 93
standing among certain politicians that in the event of a Repub-
lican Legislature he was to go to the United States Senate.
Colonel Baker was elected Governor, and he too had aspirations.
Prior to the convention Cumback had written Baker — and an un-
wise thing for a politician to do — proposing that he would not
contest with him the nomination for Governor if he, Baker, would
support him for the Senate. To this Baker replied with consid-
erable warmth, declining to make any pre-election contracts, and
stigmatizing the proposal as "indecent and corrupt." The can-
vass was serene, with apparently no selfish ends to be advanced.
Cumback, in the language of the street, was a hustler, and suc-
ceeded in getting the caucus nomination, with enough Repub-
licans staying away to prevent an election. About that time
some old, obscure Democrat from one of the back counties
offered a very innocent-looking "whereas and resolution" which,
though couched in elegant language, was impressive in tone,
calling the attention of that body to the alleged existence of the
correspondence between Baker and Cumback, and asking that it
be furnished for the use and information of the Senate. Then
the display of pyrotechnics began. Governor Baker replied there
was such correspondence, that it was private, and that the public
was not interested. Cumback stood with Governor Baker, in-
sisted it was not compromising or harmful, that he had such a
high regard for the Governor that he could not think of embar-
rassing him by asking its publication, and finally falling back on
this expression : "I shall never break the seal of a private corre-
spondence, so help me God." That, he thought, ought to settle it,
but Governor Baker waived all questions of etiquette on his part,
sent the whole correspondence to the Senate, with a communica-
tion that it was subject to the disposal of Colonel Cumback.
Everybody wanted to know its contents, and the Lieutenant-
Governor was compelled to make it public. While Judge Hughes
took no active part in the matter, everybody saw and knew that
he directed the whole proceeding. The Legislature balloted
from day to day ; the caucus stood by Cumback, but enough Re-
publicans scattered their votes to prevent an election. Finally
the Democrats voted in a body for Hughes, but enough of his
crowd still scattered to prevent an election. That was his last
94 Indiana Magazine of History
hope. He procured the defeat of Cumback, but was himself de-
feated. Subsequently he was very bitter toward some of his Re-
publican friends, who stood with him in the bolt, but went back
on him on the ballot. At the next session he affiliated with the
Democratic party. He succeeded in paying some old scores, had
one man who was legally elected expelled, but outside of this ac-
complished but little. When the Legislature adjourned he 're-
turned to Washington, resumed the practice of law, seldom vis-
ited Bloomington, taking no part in politics, and in a few years
died. His great ambition was to go to the United States Senate,
but his failure to reach that position in 1869 left him a disap-
pointed man with no political following, and closed his political
career.
Judge Hughes was in many ways a remarkable man. He had
strong likes and dislikes. Always an ultra partisan, he was
peculiar in that his best friends, and the ones to whom he clung
most persistently, belonged to the opposition. Of commanding
ability and lofty ambition, he saw others, his inferiors, outstrip-
ping him in the political race. To use a homely expression, he
always carried a chip on his shoulder. Continually in a quarrel,
generally with some one of his own political household, when he
got into a quarrel he spared not. One of his weapons was the
circular. It was an unimportant and insignificant quarrel in
which he did not card the public. It was said he kept a book — I
shall not give the name by which he called it — alphabetically
arranged, in which was set down, with place, date and circum-
stances, every questionable act of a possible adversary. He was
preparing for a controversy. In his early days the county was
strongly Democratic. In fact, it was all one way. A few of the
old-timers would get together and through the medium of an
alleged convention pass the offices around. In this Hughes was
not taken into account. He wanted some office which would take
him from Bloomington — possibly a foreign appointment, and it
was with his party friends, as it was with Lincoln, "the foreigner,
the better," so they all gave him letters of commendation, each
trying to outdo the other in certifying to his worth and singing
his praises. He never got the office, but he kept the letters.
Convention day came around again, and he threw some kind of a
James Hughes 95
firebrand into the camp. They all literally jumped on him; he
took it quietly, only saying enough to cause the flood-gates of
vituperation to be opened. They accused him of about every
crime known to the calendar, held him up as a man absolutely
without character and unworthy of the confidence of any man or
party. Hughes's time came at last, and he hauled out his letters.
He would quote the language of first one, then another, would
read that one's letter, in which so many good things were said of
him, and, shaking his finger — about his only gesture — would say :
"Didn't I tell you he would lie?"
His manner of speaking was peculiar. In a speech he never
got excited. The attribute of greatness ascribed by Josh Billings
to Washington applied to him : "He never slopped over." When
he arose to speak, it was with the utmost deliberation. He would
toy with a piece of paper, an envelope, a pencil, a book, or any-
thing on which he might lay his hand. He would pass it from
one hand to the other, look at it, turn it over, view it from side to
side; pull down his collar with one hand, then with the other;
speaking with the greatest deliberation, and apparently with the
greatest difficulty. This would become painful to the audience.
It appeared that he never would proceed. After a while and by
degrees he would warm up to his subject and the occasion, and
the listener would forget his apparent embarrassment. When it
was known he was to speak, there was always a crowd. The
occasion made no difference. The people heard him gladly.
During the campaigns of 1864, 1866 and 1868 he spoke often. One
night, I remember, during the campaign of 1866, there was a
small meeting of the Republicans at the court-house — I do not
now remember the occasion — and he came. The crowd was
small, and he was called on for a speech. I never heard it
equalled. For over an hour he stood with his hands in his pock-
ets, talked and talked — talked altogether on local affairs, of the
local politicians, of their sins of omission and commission, of
what they had done and of what they had left undone, and on
their conduct during the war. It appeared that he knew every-
thing that had been done by every man among the local poli-
ticians of the opposition, and it was as well dove-tailed and fitted
as nicely as if he had spent weeks in its preparation. On another
96 Indiana Magazine of History
occasion, during that or the following campaign, a rally with
prominent speakers was advertised. Delegations from the out
townships, glee clubs, big wagons, banners, little boys and girls
with white waists and red skirts and blue caps, were all in evi-
dence. The speakers failed to materialize, and the burden fell on
Hughes. Nobody went to hear or listen to him through curiosity,
because all had heard him speak times without number, but they
went, and he held that audience as far as his voice could reach as
I have never seen a grand rally audience held before or since. I
heard many say, Republicans and Democrats, that they had never
heard it equaled.
In the campaign of 1868 Daniel W. Voorhees was a candidate
for Congress. They had been great friends, but were then bitter
enemies — at least as far as Hughes was concerned. Hughes chal-
lenged him for a joint discussion, to which Voorhees replied that
if the Republicans would bring out some representative man who
had any standing before the community, or who occupied a posi-
tion equal to himself, he would consider it, but he had neither the
time nor inclination to stop and divide time with every little, in-
significant crossroads politician who thought he could make a
speech or might be running for the Legislature. That touched
Hughes's pride. He could stand abuse, but to be called "insig-
nificant" was too much. That day Voorhees had a meeting in
Polk township, and as a sort of counter-irritant Hughes called one
that night at the court-house, and, like the man with the heathen
Chinese, "he went for him then and there." It was a fearful
philippic. He belittled him, spoke of him as a man by the name
of Voorhees, "Dan, I believe, is his first name, who imagines he
is running for Congress and going around over the country try-
ing to make speeches," etc., and as a clincher he said : "To-day,
I understand, he is in Polk township, where the foot of civilized
man never trod."
In stature Judge Hughes was about five feet ten inches high,
was very fair, had blue eyes, a fringe of light hair at the base of a
very large and very bald head, clean-shaven and with clear-cut
features. In his latter years he became very corpulent. He was his
own master, and under all circumstances his expression was the
same. I have heard those who disliked him say he had no more
expression than a wooden Indian. It never changed. Dignity
James Hughes 97
was personified in him. No one ever called him "Jim" to his
face, slapped him on the shoulder, or took liberties with his per-
son. He never stopped on the streets to loaf. The dry goods
box of early days was to him a complete stranger. He went back
and forth from his residence to his office, speaking and nodding
to acquaintances and friends, but the occasion was rare that he
stopped and talked.
In 1869 I was at Indianapolis during the session of the Legisla-
ture, and saw him often — almost daily. He boarded at the old
Bates House — then the principal hotel — and had a suite of rooms
on the dining-room floor in the southeast corner of the building,
fronting on Illinois and Washington streets. During the session
he was never away from the city. He was never seen on the
streets of Indianapolis during the session except when passing to
and from the hotel and the old State House. When he desired to
see members or others, they were invited to call at his rooms.
He was a high liver, kept an abundance of the finest liquors in
his rooms, always accessible, and kept one or two retainers whose
sole duty it was to entertain guests, keep the stock replenished,
and to supply the wants of his friends. He drank often, taking
about a spoonful, well sweetened and well diluted. In personal
appearance he was all that could be asked. He bathed and shaved
every morning, wore a standing collar, clothed in the latest style
and with the finest fabric, wore a soft brown hat, and always
looked as if he had just stepped out of a bandbox. His hospitality
was unbounded, and sometimes his friends fell by the wayside by
reason of its abundance.
He lived in constant fear of assassination or of great bodily
harm, boasted of his bravery, of his proficiency with a pistol and
a knife, and had a disposition to redress his wrongs on the field
of honor by the rules of the code. For that purpose he had a fine
brace of dueling pistols, but they were never used in that way.
He would demand satisfaction with a dueling affix, expect some
sort of an apology, which was usually forthcoming, and it would
all pass over. Once he sent a challenge to George 'Grundy Dunn,
of Bedford, who promptly accepted and named double-barreled
shotguns at ten paces. That looked like Sherman's definition of
war; friends interceded, and the affair was never pulled off. That
closed his career as a duelist. One evening some friends were
98 Indiana Magazine of History
with him in the back room of his office, a little one-story, two-
room brick building, having some liquid refreshments, when he
told of having been waylaid, fired upon by unseen enemies and
cowardly assassins who were too cowardly to meet him in day-
light, but that he had turned loose his artillery and fired his re-
volver, at which they all ran, and that he passed on undisturbed,
undismayed, as a brave and fearless man, conscious of the recti-
tude of his life and conduct and therefore fearful of no danger.
"Dank" Spencer was in the crowd, and he and a friend who knew
his road home and about the time he would pass, and that part of
his road where assassins would probably lurk if they were about,
armed with two old muskets and a revolver each, waited for
him to pass. At the proper time they let the muskets, pointed
skyward, go off, and then began a fusillade with their revolvers
in the same direction. Judge Hughes fired from his revolver
toward the flash of the firearms and then proceeded to fall back
in reasonably good order — as good as his own and the street's
condition would permit. . The next day handbills appeared offer-
ing fabulous rewards for the cowardly and dastardly would-be
assassins, while the newspapers with scare headlines told of the
dastardly plot, of political enemies, and of his heroic stand. The
old wooden columns and the ceiling of the old courtroom bore
evidences of his inclination to shoot.
Judge Hughes, with his magnificent intellect, his great learn-
ing, with his boundless ambition, with his unimpeachable honesty
and integrity, with his ability as a lawyer and statesman, never
reached a position in the State or nation commensurate with his
attainments. He was lacking in tact; he was deficient in diplo-
macy ; he was a born fighter ; he carried his warfare to the bitter
end ; he never temporized ; he never let up ; conciliation was not in
his vocabulary; he courted no man's friendship. For these rea-
sons he was no politician. He undertook to win on his person-
ality and the merits of his cause, not by bending the hinged knee,
playing the sycophant, or pandering to the crowd.
His death was at Bladensburg, Maryland, on the 24th day of
November, 1873, caused by a fall from a carriage, while in the
fifty-first year of his age. His body was brought to this place
and laid to rest by members of the Bloomington bar, among the
scenes of his early turbulent career.
Survey of State Institutions -99
SURVEY OF STATE INSTITUTIONS.
BY AGNES TILS ON.
[A paper prepared for an historical seminar in Butler College.]
THE State of Indiana supports the following institutions:
Established
Indiana University 1820
Indiana State School for the Deaf 1844
Indiana School for the Blind 1846
Central Indiana Hospital for Insane 1848
Indiana State Prison l&59
Indiana State Normal School 1865
Purdue University 1865
Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home. 1867
Indiana Boys' School 1867
Indiana Woman's Prison 1869
Indiana Girls' School 1869
Indiana School for Feeble-Minded Youth 1879
Northern Indiana Hospital for Insane 1888
Eastern Indiana Hospital for Insane 1890
Southern Indiana Hospital for Insane 1890
Indiana State Soldiers' Home 1895
Indiana Reformatory J897
Indiana Village for Epileptics 1905
Southeastern Indiana Hospital for Insane 1905
Indiana Tuberculosis Hospital T9°7
These fall into three divisions : Educational, Penal and Cor-
rectional, and Benevolent.
The first General Assembly of Indiana Territory passed "An
act to incorporate a university in the Indiana Territory." This
act was approved November 29, 1806, and the institution was
then and is still known as Vincennes University. This was the
first institution for higher learning within the limits of Indiana.
In 1822 an act was passed by the General Assembly for the prac-
100 Indiana Magazine of History
tical confiscation of its land for the support of its new "State
Seminary" at Bloomington, and in 1824 the State formally de-
clared the Vincennes institution extinct. [Superintendent of
Public Instruction's Report, 1904, p. 501.]
By virtue of the State Constitutions of 1816 and 185 1 and the
acts of the General Assembly, Indiana University, located at
Bloomington, is the State university of Indiana. Since the year
1867 the university has been coeducational in all its departments.
All students meeting the university requirements receive the
degree of Bachelor of Arts.
There are now eighty members of the faculty. In addition to
the twenty-four departments, there are schools of law and medi-
cine. The school of law was opened at Bloomington as a depart-
ment of the university in 1842. This was, it is believed, the first
State university law school established west of the Alleghanies.
The present school of medicine is the outgrowth of the consolida-
tion and absorption of rival institutions.
In September, 1905, the Medical College of Indiana, the Central
College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Fort Wayne College
of Medicine merged under the name the Indiana Medical College,
the school of medicine of Purdue University.
In the summer of 1907 the Indiana University School of Medi-
cine and the State College of Physicians and Surgeons united
under the name of the Indiana University School of Medicine.
In April, 1908, negotiations were completed whereby the In-
diana Medical College was united with the Indiana University
School of Medicine and put under the control of the university,
the first two years of the course to be given both at Bloomington
and at Indianapolis, the last two in Indianapolis alone.
The university grounds have an extent of about seventy acres,
with eleven main buildings. The university is supported by
State appropriation, receiving ordinarily about one-tenth of a
mill on every dollar of taxable property in the State.
The board of trustees is composed of eight members, five of
whom are selected by the State Board of Education and three by
the alumni of the institution. The board is required to report
biennially to the Governor of the State, and to the Superintendent
of Public Instruction whenever requested, on all matters relating
B.— School for Blind (In-
diana School for the
Blind).
B. S.— Boys' School (Indi-
ana Boys' School).
C. I. H. — Central Insane
Hospital (Central Indi-
ana Hospital for In-
sane).
D.— School for Deaf (In-
diana State School for
the Deaf).
E. I. H — Eastern Insane
Hospital (Eastern Indi-
ana Hospital forlnsane).
F. M. — School for Feeble -
Minded (Indiana School
for Feeble-Minded
Youth).
G. S.— Girls' School (Indi-
ana Girls' School).
I. S. N.— Indiana State
Normal (Indiana State
Normal School).
I. S. U.— Indiana State
University.
N. H. I.— Northern Hospi-
tal for Insane ( Northern
Indiana Hospital for In-
sane).
P.— Purdue University.
R.— Reformatory ( India na
Reformatory).
S. E. I. H. — Southeastern
Insane Hospital (South-
eastern Indiana Hospi-
tal for Insane).
S. H. -Soldiers' Home (In-
diana State Soldiers'
Home).
S. I. H.— Southern Insane
Hospital (Southern In-
diana Hospital for In-
sane).
5. P. — State Prison (Indi-
ana State Prison).
6. S O. H.— Soldiers' and
Sailors' Orphans' Home
(Soldiers' and Sailors'
Orphans' Home).
T. H. — Tuberculosis Hos-
pital (Indiana Tubercu-
losis Hospital).
V. E— Village for Epilep-
tics (Indiana Village for
Epileptics).
W. P.— Woman's Prison
(Indiana Woman's Pris-
on).
SE.I.H.+ 1
JEFFERSONVIUE
S.I.H
.IEVAN5VILLE
Survey of State Institutions 101
to the university. The whole administration of the university is
open to the inspection of a board of visitors, composed of the
Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Speaker of the House of Repre-
sentatives, Judges of the Supreme Court and the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, and all of the accounts of the university
are regularly audited by the Auditor of State. The president of
the university, also, is ex officio a member of the State Board of
Education.
Purdue University, located at Lafayette, originated in the act
of Congress approved July 2, 1862, appropriating public lands to
the various States for the purpose of aiding in the maintenance of
colleges for instruction in agriculture and the mechanical arts.
The State of Indiana accepted the provisions of the act of Con-
gress by an act of the Legislature approved March 6, 1865, thus
providing for the establishment and maintenance of the institu-
tion. In accordance with the provisions of its foundation, the
university offers the following courses of instruction leading to
degrees: Agriculture, Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering,
Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Pharmacy. The
degree of Bachelor of Science (B. S.) is conferred for the comple-
tion of undergraduate courses. To graduate students of the
schools of science and agriculture the degree of Master of Science
(M. S.) is granted, and in the engineering schools the degrees of
Mechanical Engineer (M. E.), Electrical Engineer (E. E.) and
Civil Engineer (C. E.) are granted. The instruction corps num-
bers one hundred and forty-three, and twenty others are engaged
exclusively in the work of the agricultural experiment station.
In addition to its primary function as an educational institu-
tion, the university is charged, under the laws of the State, with
the administration of the farmers' institutes, the agricultural ex-
periment station, and the inspection and regulation of the sale of
commercial fertilizers and feeding stuffs. None of the funds
appropriated for or belonging to these departments can be used
in any way for the support of departments of instruction.
The university is supported by federal appropriations ; by in-
terest on the endowment fund derived from the original land
grant of the United States ; by a tax of one-tenth of a mill on the
taxable property of the State, and by students' fees.
102 Indiana Magazine of History
The material equipment of the institution consists of 250 acres
of land, of which 50 acres is used for campus and the remainder
for experimental plats and farming operations of the department
of agriculture. There are thirty-three buildings.
From the first the institution has been under the control of
trustees appointed either by the Legislature or the Governor.
These trustees are responsible for all official acts, and are subject
to removal.
The Indiana State Normal School is located in Terre Haute.
The statute of 1865 which created it defined its object to be "the
preparation of teachers for teaching in the common schools of
Indiana. This includes the first eight years of school work and
the high school." A legal requirement for admission is a pledge
that the applicant wishes to prepare to teach, if practicable, in the
public schools of Indiana. The school gives various normal
courses and a college course, at the completion of which a cer-
tificate and the degree of Bachelor of Arts are given, and the
diploma or life license is given after two years of successful
teaching. The school is supported by State legislative appropria-
tion. It occupies three large buildings, and a library is now being
built.
These three institutions all have free tuition to residents of the
State, and are coeducational. They are concrete examples of the
democracy described by President William Lowe Bryan, of In-
diana University, in his inaugural address in 1902 : "What the
people want is open paths from every corner of the State, through
the schools, to the highest and best things which men can achieve.
To make such paths, to make them open to the poorest and lead
to the highest, is the mission of democracy."
In her penal and correctional institutions Indiana has made
great progress. At present she supports five of these institu-
tions : The Indiana Boys' School, the Indiana Girls' School,
Indiana Reformatory, the Indiana Woman's Prison, and the In-
diana State Prison.
The Indiana Boys' School grew out of the House of Refuge
which was established by an act of the forty-fifth regular session
of the General Assembly, which convened January 10, 1867. In
Survey of State Institutions 103
1883 ^e law governing the school was radically and carefully
revised. At this time the name of the institution was changed to
Indiana Reform School for Boys. The General Assembly of 1907
changed the name to Indiana Boys' School. The work for the
boys is intended, by strict discipline and mental and moral train-
ing, to teach a boy the great lesson of life under law, that as he
conducts himself so will he be treated.
The Indiana Boys' School is a farm of 467% acres, beautifully
situated on a bluff of White Lick creek nearly a mile southwest
of Plainfield. The farm is indeed an industrial village. All the
work on the farm and in the village is carried on by the boys
themselves, under the direction of competent instructors. The
officers of the institution consist of a board of trustees, appointed
by the Governor for a term of four years. The remaining officers
are superintendent, matron, assistant superintendent, clerk, chap-
lain, physician and assistant clerk. The teaching faculty consists
of five teachers. There are also thirty-six subordinate officers in
charge of the manual training shops and other departments.
"Schools corresponding to the grades of the city schools are
maintained the year round. Quite a number committed to the
school are illiterate. These are not permitted to leave until they
at least know how to read and write and have obtained the rudi-
ments of a serviceable education. Such as have had some school-
ing, after coming here, complete the course of study. This has
been signalized and emphasized during the past two years by
graduating exercises, at which ten boys were given the regular
common school diplomas by the county superintendent of Hen-
dricks county. This did not necessarily mean that the boys so
completing the school course were entitled to leave school.
"The policy of this school is not the meting out of vindictive
punishment, but the reclaiming and reforming of wayward and
unfortunate boys through kindly but firm discipline. The pur-
pose is strictly reformative, as no bars, cells or walls are used to
confine the boys. The stigma of penal reform is kept invisible,
and the boys are made to feel as free as possible."
The Indiana Girls' School is a school for delinquent girls. It
is located seven and one-half miles nothwest of Indianapolis, near
Clermont. The school was established by an act of the Legisla-
104 Indiana Magazine of History
ture, 1869, then a part of the institution known as the Indiana
Reformatory for Women and Girls. The school was separated
from the prison and moved to its new home in July, 1907.
The farm on which the school found its new home consists of
127^2 acres. Here gardening is carried on extensively enough to
provide vegetables and small fruits for a family of nearly three
hundred. The large family is divided into eight groups — each
group occupying a cottage in charge of two women. The work
in the school compares favorably with other public schools of the
State. Moreover, each girl is given a regular course of training,
consisting of three months in laundry, kitchen, dining-room, and
other phases of housework. There are no bars. The honor sys-
tem prevails. The institution is under the management of a
board of trustees consisting of four women appointed by the
Governor for a term of four years. It is supported by the State
by an appropriation made by the Legislature on a per capita
basis.
For many years before April, 1897, there had been maintained
upon the present site of the Indiana Reformatory at Jefrersonville
a State prison which was known as the Indiana State Prison
South. The General Assembly on February 27, 1897, ordered the
prison property, which consisted of about twenty acres and sev-
eral buildings, together with the prisoners, to be transferred to
the board of managers of the Indiana Reformatory. "The build-
ings now constituting the reformatory are twenty-seven in num-
ber." [Legislative Manual, 1903.]
Section 6 of the Reformatory Act, 1897, says : "It shall be the
duty of the managers to provide for the thorough training of each
and every inmate in the common branches of an English educa-
tion ; also in such trade, industry or handicraft, and to offer such
rewards, as will enable him, upon his release, to more surely
earn his own support and make him a more self-reliant and self-
supporting citizen. For this purpose said managers shall estab-
lish and maintain common schools and trade schools in said re-
formatory, and make all needful rules and regulations for the
government of the same, and do such other acts as may be neces-
sary to accomplish such results."
The need for schooling in the common branches of an English
Survey of State Institutions 105
education on the part of men commited to the institution is very-
apparent upon a close study of the educational statistics. "Of
the 426 men received during the year which ended September 30,
1908, by an actual educational test, 11 per cent, could neither
read nor write ; 50 per cent, could simply read and write ; 34 per
cent, could not be classed beyond the fourth grade ; 5 per cent,
still possessed the essentials of a common school education ; 32
per cent, were illiterate in arithmetic, while only 6 per cent, pos-
sessed a working knowledge of arithmetic beyond the funda-
mental principles.
"The boy who remains in school until the close of the eighth
grade stands less than ten chances out of a hundred to become a
criminal, while the boy who completes his high school course
stands only seven-tenths of a chance out of a hundred." [Indiana
Report of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, p. 295,
1908.]
"Statistics show that a large per cent, of young criminals pos
sess very little, if any, skill in any trade or occupation. In order
to assist such men in finding their place in society, it was con-
ceived that industrial education, coupled with instruction in the
essentials of an English education, was the surest and most log-
ical method to follow. Trade schools are now in operation in the
following lines : Foundry, blacksmithing, broom-making, cabinet
work, carpentry, pattern-making, electrical engineering, launder-
ing, mechanical engineering, painting, printing, tailoring, tin-
smithing, bakery, library practice, masonry and shoemaking. In
each department there is a competent instructor who has had
practical experience in his line of work."
The Indiana Woman's Prison was established by an act of the
Legislature passed 1869. This was the first woman's prison in
the United States. Act No. 240, approved March 9, 1907, created
a correctional department. Before this time all short sentenced
women spent their time in county jails, idling away their time.
Although their sentence is often short, everything is now done to
teach them how to work and help them become better house-
keepers and homekeepers.
The State prison is popularly known as the Michigan City
prison. On the 5th of March, 1859, a bill became a law for the
106 Indiana Magazine of History
establishment of a new prison north of the National Road. This
institution was built in i860, and is situated at the western limits
of the corporation of Michigan City, Laporte county. "The In-
diana State Prison is no less a reformatory than any other insti-
tution of the country bearing that significant name. The parole
system is in force. School is maintained during the winter
months. Church services are held each Sunday, and the Chris-
tian Endeavor Society flourishes. A good library is accessible to
all the men." [Legislative Manual, 1903, p. 353.]
In spite of the fact that Indiana has these five institutions, she
does all in her power to keep people out of them. To this end
she has provided juvenile courts for children, the indeterminate
sentence and probation laws for adults. But if people are not
worthy of these laws, they are kept in the institutions, where all
is done to reform them and make them better citizens. In all
cases punishment is subordinated to reform. "It is presumed
that crime and ignorance have been bedfellows since the first
crime, and no doubt the close relationship has been recognized
for ages. Likewise, the present unbounded faith in education as
a character-forming agency is as old as the hills. But it has
taken a long time for the thought to filter through that education
may be as successfully used as a character-reforming agency."
[Reformatory School of Letters, October, 1906.]
We feel proud that Indiana has recognized this, and it is en-
couraging that other States have followed our example in a num-
ber of things. For example : "Massachusetts modeled her Wom-
an's Reformatory Prison after ours." [Development of Reforma-
tory Idea in Indiana," by A. Butler, p. 6.]
Mr. Z. R. Brockway, former superintendent of the far-famed
New York State Reformatory at Elmira, in an unpublished letter
to the Board of State Charities of Indiana, speaks in the highest
terms of the way in which the indeterminate sentence and parole
laws are administered in Indiana.
The Nineteenth Annual Report of the Indiana Board of State
Charities, 1908, to the Governor, summarizes these recent ad-
vances : "The Legislature of 1897 passed the indeterminate
sentence and parole laws. They became operative April 1st of
that year. The Prison South at Jeffersonville became the Indiana
Survey of State Institutions 107
Reformatory, and the prison at Michigan City the Indiana State
Prison. The new laws provided that men between the ages of
sixteen and thirty years, who would receive a prison sentence,
should be sent to the Reformatory, and those over thirty years of
age, and all sentenced for treason or murder in the first or second
degree, to the State Prison.
"The old system of measuring out a definite amount of impris-
onment for so much crime was replaced by the new laws. Under
them men are committed to the State Prison or to the control of
the Reformatory board of trustees, to be confined until such time
within the maximum term fixed by law for the punishment of the
various crimes as they show satisfactory evidence of reformation.
Provision was made for industrial training, and for giving the
illiterate the rudiments of an education. The institutions were
given authority to appoint agents to visit paroled men and in
every possible way encourage them in their efforts to re-establish
themselves. In a word, the State, instead of merely imprisoning
those who broke her laws, sought by this new system to make
better citizens of them. While apparently revolutionary in char-
acter, these laws are but an evolution of the principle embodied
in the State's Constitution of 1816 and again that of 185 1, that the
treatment of criminals in Indiana should be reformatory and not
vindictive.
"With each succeeding session of the General Assembly the
State's penal system has been modified by laws scarcely less
important than those of 1897. The indeterminate sentence has
been extended to apply to the Woman's Prison at Indianapolis.
Contract labor at the Reformatory has been superseded by trade
schools and the manufacture of goods on State account. The
juvenile court, contributory delinquency and adult probation
laws, as well as notable enactments for the protection of deserted,
neglected and dependent children, have been added to the stat-
utes. Laws have been passed authorizing life imprisonment for
habitual criminals and sterilization of confirmed criminals,
rapists, imbeciles and idiots. It would seem that provision has
been made to meet practically every phase of delinquency, from
that of the little child, whose offense might become serious if not
met by the juvenile court and the probation officer, to that of the
108 Indiana Magazine of History
most hardened criminal, whose repeated violations of law make
it necessary to deprive him for all time of his liberty.
"The majority of these enactments have been in force too short
a time to enable us to speak of results. Back of the indeter-
minate sentence and parole laws, however, is a record of eleven
years' operation. Their constitutionality has stood the test of
trial in the Supreme Court. They are constantly winning new
friends as the people of the State come to understand them and
to realize their possibilities. The last meeting of the State Bar
Association received a very favorable report from its committee
on this subject, which is printed in its proceedings. The results
achieved under these laws indicate that their operation is a de-
cided advantage to the State.
"In the past eleven years 3,983 men have been paroled from the
Reformatory and the State Prison. All of these had received
much training and they were released under conditions that im-
posed honest, law-abiding lives for a period of at least one year
each. During the term of their parole they were visited from
time to time by agents of the institution from which they had
been sent, and they were required to make regular written re-
ports. As shown by the following tabulation, a decided majority
of these 3,983 men lived up to the conditions of their parole.
Generally unemployed when their offenses were committed, they
went from prison to regular employment, and during the time
they were tested on parole earned for themselves $1,079,375.40,
an average of $270.99 each.
Reformatory.
Received final discharge 1,310
Sentence expired while on parole 229
Returned for violation of parole 326
Delinquent and at large 319
Died 49
Reporting 227
State
Prison.
Total.
911
2,221
IO4
333
250
576
106
425
30
79
122
349
Total paroled 2,460 1,523 3,983
Percentage of unsatisfactory cases 26.2 23.3 25.1
Earnings $664,996.44 $414,378.96 $1,079,375.40
Expenses 580,672.01 302,019.86 882,691.87
Savings $84,324.43 $112,359.10 $106,683.53
Survey of State Institutions 109
"The parole system has not always proved successful. As
shown above, 1,001 or 25.1 per cent, of the total number paroled
during the eleven years violated their paroles. Of these, 576
have been returned to prison and 425 are still at large. No one
ever claimed or expected that the plan would succeed in all cases.
The old system of imprisonment at hard labor, often accompanied
as it was by humiliating punishment, was not a success. Many
prison wardens who are still working under it testify that a ma-
jority of their discharged prisoners return to criminal ways. The
new system, however, has had remarkably good results. The
records of the Prison and Reformatory show that under the old
form of commitment ex-convicts were received at the rate of
fifty-eight a year ; under the new form, thirty-six a year. In the
ten years preceding the passage of the indeterminate sentence
law and the establishment of the Indiana Reformatory there were
received at the two State Prisons 8,004 prisoners ; in the next ten
years, 6,794 prisoners. There is an actual decrease of 1,210, or 15
per cent., in favor of the latter decade, and this in the face of an
increase of approximately 15 per cent, in the population of the
State. No agency but the indeterminate sentence and parole
laws and their wise administration can be given the credit for this.
"Another striking fact has been brought out by a study of the
prison records. The average length of time men remain in con-
finement is longer under the new form than under the old form
of commitment; at the Reformatory seven months, fourteen days
longer; at the State Prison one year, four months and twenty-
eight days longer. Note that while there has been an increase in
both institutions, it is greater at the State Prison than at the Re-
formatory. It is the State Prison which receives the older and
more hardened criminals.
"These facts prove that the indeterminate sentence and parole
laws of 1897 are a far more effective means of dealing with crime
than any yet tried in Indiana. With the help of the preventive
measures more recently enacted and of more loyal public sup-
port, which will come as these laws become better known, it is
safe to predict for them even greater success in the next decade."
110 Indiana Magazine of History
Indiana supports twelve benevolent institutions : The Indiana
State School for the Deaf, the Indiana School for the Blind, the
Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home, the Indiana
School for Feeble-Minded Youth, the Indiana State Soldiers'
Home, the five Insane Hospitals, the Indiana Village for Epilep-
tics, and the Indiana Tuberculosis Hospital. The first four are
not only benevolent, but also educational institutions.
The Indiana State School for the Deaf was founded as a private
school in 1843, and incorporated as a State school in 1844. The
bill of February 4, 1843, which provided for a tax of two mills
upon each one hundred dollars' worth of property for the "sup-
port of a deaf and dumb asylum," stands as the first direct tax
levy ever made for a school for the deaf. In the beginning pupils
were charged for board and tuition, except as they filed a certifi-
cate setting out the fact of their poverty. In a short time the
law was changed and everything made free to those too deaf to
be educated in the common schools. "In this liberality Indiana
has the proud distinction of having been the first State in the
union to throw open her educational doors to the deaf absolutely
without cost to them. The State now makes no charge, only
requiring that pupils shall pay their transportation and furnish
their own clothing; where this can not be done, the State pro-
vides and charges it to the county whence the pupil comes."
[Twenty-fourth Biennial Report of Superintendent of Public In-
struction.] Each pupil is required to become proficient in some
useful trade or occupation, or in the underlying principles of
several trades, while he is in attendance at the institution. All
pupils are required to labor a part of each day, the girls perform-
ing the lighter kinds of housework, and the boys working at vari-
ous trades.
At the present time the school occupies buildings in East
Washington street, Indianapolis, but new buildings are being
erected in Forty-second street, immediately north of the State
Fair Grounds. The purchase consists of eighty acres, and there
are twenty-two buildings in course of erection. The new school
is to have a capacity of five hundred pupils.
In 1844 the legislature passed a bill which levied a tax of two
mills on each one hundred dollars of taxable property for the
Survey of State Institutions 111
purpose of sending the blind of this State to the schools for the
blind in Ohio and Kentucky until a school could be established in
this State for their education. In 1846 the General Assembly
passed an act appropriating $5,000 to found a State school. The
tax was also raised to one cent on each $100 for its support. In
1848 the board purchased for $5,000 the eight-acre tract on which
the institution stands in Indianapolis. Four departments are
maintained in the school : Physical training, the industrial, the
literary, and music. The literary course is arranged to cover
twelve years.
All children between the ages of eight and twenty-one, resi-
dents of Indiana, without sufficient sight to receive an education
in the public schools, are admitted, provided they have sufficient
physical and mental ability to do fair school work.
The value of the grounds, buildings and equipment is nearly
$600,000. The annual appropriation covering all departments is
$41,000.
In March, 1867, the Home for Disabled Soldiers at Knights-
town became an institution for the maintenance not only of dis-
abled soldiers and seamen, but also for their widows and orphans.
In 1871 a part of the buildings burned, and the soldiers and
widows were removed to the National Military Home at Dayton,
Ohio. Since that time, with the exception of the eight years that
feeble-minded children were kept at the home, the orphans have
been the sole possessors of the institution. The course of study
corresponds to the course of the public schools at large. Under
the law all children over thirteen years of age attend school half
of the day and work at some industrial trade the other half.
The board of trustees of the home is composed of four mem-
bers, three men and one woman, who must be the wife, widow or
daughter of a soldier.
The School for Feeble-Minded Youth began in 1879 as an ad-
junct to the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home. In
1887 the Legislature appropriated $10,000 for the purchase of
land "at or near the city of Fort Wayne," and appropriated
$40,000 for buildings.
The school is divided in two divisions — industrial and cus-
todial. The industrial is for children who are capable of taking
112 Indiana Magazine of History
on the rudiments of a common school education. The custodial
part is an asylum for low-grade feeble-minded, idiotic and epi-
leptic children. The age limit for children is between six and
eighteen years.
The executive management of the institution is vested in a
superintendent, who must be an expert in the care and training
of feeble-minded children. The general charge and management
of the institution is intrusted to a board of trustees, consisting of
four members, one member to be a woman. The educational
department is under a principal, who is assisted by thirteen
teachers.
At the Department Encampment at Fort Wayne in 1891, $5,000
was appropriated to aid in the erection of cottages when the
Indiana State Soldiers' Home should be established. The land
offered to the home by the citizens of Tippecanoe county and the
city of Lafayette was accepted. The home is situated on the west
bank of the Wabash river, four miles north of Lafayette. The
home is for all honorably discharged soldiers or sailors and their
wives.
The board of trustees is composed of five members. These and
the commandant and adjutant must be "honorably discharged
volunteer soldiers or sailors of the Union army or navy in the
War of the Rebellion."
The constitution of 1837 contained a clause making it the duty
of the State to provide for the support of institutions for the
treatment of the insane. By this the State assumed the care of all
the insane population of the State. However, it has never en-
tirely fulfilled this obligation. It is hoped that the completion of
the new hospital, the Southeastern Hospital for Insane, will fill
the obligation. At present many insane, and especially the in-
curable insane, are kept in county poor asylums and jails.
By an act which was passed and approved January 13, 1845,
the Legislature "provided for the procuring of a suitable site for
the erection of a State Lunatic Asylum." The commissioners
bought 160 acres two miles west of Indianapolis. The State has
added many new buildings to the asylum, and it is now known as
the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane.
The Eastern Indiana Hospital for Insane is located at Rich-
Survey of State Institutions 113
mond. It is constructed on the cottage plan, and was opened
August i, 1890. It is located on a farm of 307 acres. The insti-
tution now has seventeen cottages occupied by patients, besides
twelve other buildings.
The Northern Indiana Hospital for Insane is located two miles
from Logansport. The hospital land comprises 293 acres. There
are now eighteen substantial brick or stone buildings and sixteen
other buildings.
The Southern Indiana Hospital for Insane is located on a 160-
acre farm four miles east of the city of Evansville. It was opened
October 30, 1890.
The Southeastern Hospital for Insane is located near Madison.
The land, which consists of 353 acres, was bought January 1,
1906. Work was commenced October, 1906, but owing to trouble
with the contractors it is doubtful if it is completed before 1910.
By an act of March 6, 1905, an appropriation of $150,000 was
made for the purchase of a site for the Indiana Village for Epi-
leptics and for the preparation for the reception of the patients.
The site is near Newcastle and consists of 1244 acres. There are
six buildings.
On the 19th of August, 1907, the Governor gave notice that the
village was ready for the reception of patients.
By an Act of the sixty-fifth General Assembly, approved March
8, 1907, $30,000 was appropriated to purchase 500 acres of land as
a site for a hospital for the treatment of tuberculosis. After care-
ful inspection of many sites one was decided upon. It is three
miles east of Rockville, and consists of 504 acres. The buildings
will be completed and ready for the reception of patients by next
April or May. But the General Assembly failed to appropriate
money for the opening and maintaining of the hospital, and as a
result the hospital will have to remain idle for at least nine
months.
All of the State institutions, except Indiana University, Purdue
University and the Indiana State Normal School, are under the
supervision of the Indiana Board of State Charities. The Gov-
ernor is president of the board, and appoints six other members,
three from each of the two leading parties. The purpose of the
Board of State Charities is "the supervision of the whole system
of public charities of the State." "Its duty is to see that every
114 Indiana Magazine op History
inmate of every public institution receives proper care, to see that
the public funds are properly expended, and to see that the man-
agement is protected from unjust criticism." ["Development of
Public Charities in Indiana," p. 5.] Moreover, by Acts of 1907,
chapter 98, approved March 2, 1907, these institutions are under
uniform management.
"The duties of the Board of State Charities consist of visita-
tion, inspection and investigation, and it is required to suggest,
advise and recommend those things which it believes will be of
advantage to the institutions and the wards contained therein."
[Nineteenth Annual Report of Indiana Board of State Charities,
1908, p. 7.]
Extracts from messages of two Governors illustrate the work
of the board. "The high standard of excellence attained in our
charitable and penal institutions is due in no small degree to the
wise suggestions of this board." [Message of Governor Mount,
1899, House Journal, 1899, p. 45.] "The work of the Board of
State Charities is of inestimable value. Its supervision over the
benevolent, charitable and correctional institutions is of special
value, and adds materially to the efficient, humane and econom-
ical management of these institutions." [Message of Governor
Durbin, 1903, p. 13.]
Indiana has indeed made great progress in her management of
her charitable institutions, but the two things which seem to me
to mark the greatest advance are : the way in which the institu-
tions are established, and the non-partisan control of them. For-
merly the institutions were located in the district whose repre-
sentative had the most influence in the State Legislature. But
now the Legislature makes the appropriation for the institution
and the Governor appoints a commission to select a site. This
commission looks for the best place for the institution, regardless
of politics and religion. The non-partisan control system has the
same relation to the management of State charities that the civil
service system has to the national government. For it "puts the
merit system in use, there is a prompt investigation of charges,
continual supervision, and frequent inspection." ["Develop-
ment of Public Charities in Indiana," 1900, p. 7.] As a result of
these there is a better class in charge of the institutions, and the
whole standard of the institutions is raised.
The Northern Indiana Historical Society 115
THE NORTHERN INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
B V JUDGE TIMO THY E. HO WARD,
President of the Society.
HISTORICALLY speaking, St. Joseph county is the oldest in
the State. The soil of our county was the first to receive the
imprint of the white man's foot. It is reasonably certain that
Marquette passed up the Kankakee, across the portage and down
the St. Joseph, in May, 1675 ; and it is not at all a matter of doubt
that a little over four years later, in December, 1679, LaSalle,
with eight canoes and about thirty white men, and led by an In-
dian guide, came up the St. Joseph from Lake Michigan, passing
through the city of South Bend, as well as that of Mishawaka,
and going as far up the river as the present town of Osceola.
These dates of May, 1675, and December, 1679, carry our local
history further back than that of any other county of the State of
Indiana. But the route taken by Marquette and LaSalle, that is,
by way of the St. Joseph and the Kankakee, including also the
five-mile portage connecting the two rivers, had been for ages
before the white man's coming the highway of travel and com-
merce from the lakes to the gulf. Lake Superior copper has been
traced from old Mound Builders' mines in upper Michigan to the
tombs of Peru, in South America, and it was by this ancient high-
way through St. Joseph county that this commerce was car-
ried on.
By our own portage, connecting the St. Joseph and the Kanka-
kee, came the Mound Builder, the Indian and the Frenchman,
years on years, and even ages on ages, before the English lan-
guage was heard about the great "south bend" of the St. Joseph
river.
With this fine past before their eyes, it is not to be wondered
at that those who made up the intelligent community formed
from the enterprising pioneers first attracted to the rich lands of
these valleys should at a very early date have had their attention
directed to a study of the peoples that had gone before them.
116 Indiana Magazine of History
Historical remains were in evidence on all sides. Geologically,
also, the locality was most interesting — none more so in all the
great northwest.
Accordingly, as early as 1867, if not earlier, steps were taken in
the city of South Bend for the formation of a historical society
for the study of the early history of this county and its vicinity.
It is well to call to mind the names of the eminent citizens who
took part in the organization of this early historical society. On
October 26, 1867, the first meeting took place and the following
were in attendance : Horatio Chapin, Woolman J. Holloway,
George F. Layton, Thomas S. Stanfield, Lathrop M. Taylor,
Phillip B. Boone, Charles Morgan, John Brownfield, Louis Hum-
phreys, Almond Bugbee, Joseph G. Bartlett, William L. Barrett,
John T. Lindsey, John Reynolds, Mark Whinery, Elisha Egbert,
Charles M. Tutt, Benjamin Wall, Ethan S. Reynolds, Jacob Hard-
man, Benjamin F. Price, Jacob N. Massey, Ricketson Burroughs,
Elliott Tutt, Matthias Stover, John A. Henricks, Daniel Greene,
Daniel Dayton, Daniel A. Veasey, Charles W. Martin, Schuyler
Colfax, Francis R. Tutt and William Miller.
We may confidently venture the statement that no county in
the State, at that date or at the present, could show a list of names
representing a higher type of citizenship than that represented by
those organizers of our first historical society. The organization
was completed on November 2, 1867, and many interesting meet-
ings followed. Among the most valued papers then produced
were those of Judge Stanfield and Dr. Humphreys. But one
member of the noble company still survives, Daniel Greene, now
past his ninetieth year, but still in good physical health and in the
full enjoyment of his faculties. He is a fine representative of the
superior men and women who laid the foundations of our county's
history.
The society organized in 1867 continued to flourish until after
many of the guiding spirits had passed away. There was then
for a time a lull in the study of our local history. The pioneers
had departed, one by one, and their sons and daughters did not
immediately take up the work. But the longing for the old is like
the longing for the wild ; it finally takes irresistible possession of
the soul. The rocks, the streams, the forests are again studied.
The Northern Indiana Historical Society 117
Relics are again sought for. Old books, manuscripts, tools and
remains of former days become precious once more. Again col-
lections are made, and papers portraying the past again become
fascinating.
It is not, therefore, surprising that on August 7, 1894, a party
was made up to visit the site of old Fort St. Joseph's, a little be-
low South Bend, and once the seat of government for all the
northwestern wilderness. These were reverent pilgrims who on
that day went forth to look with awe upon the ground which for
a century had been the seat of empire for all the region to the
west and the north. There was no Chicago in those days, but the
capital of the wilderness, the seat of civil and military power, the
place of merchandise and the headquarters of the Christian mis-
sions, was this old Fort St. Joseph's.
To the old fort, therefore, went our historical pilgrims on that
August day in 1894 ; and there it was that they resolved to form a
Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan Historical Society — at
least a society which should be broad enough in purpose to study
out and preserve the history of "the St. Joseph country."
On January 22, 1895, formal steps were taken to complete the
organization, and a committee was appointed to draw up a consti-
tution, rules and by-laws, which were adopted February 5, 1895.
The name finally chosen was that by which the association has
since been known, the Northern Indiana Historical Society; but
the scope of investigation was to extend to the St. Joseph valley
in general, whether in Indiana or Michigan, as well as to the
county of St. Joseph and vicinity in particular, and also to the
mysterious region of the Kankakee. Soon after its organization
the society deemed it well to secure a charter under the State law.
On February 4, 1896, articles of incorporation were drawn up,
and on February 29, 1896, the charter was issued.
The articles of incorporation provided, among other things,
that the objects of the organization should be: .
"To institute and encourage historical inquiry, to collect and
preserve the materials of history, and to spread historical infor-
mation, especially concerning the Saint Joseph valley in north-
ern Indiana and Southern Michigan ; also for the study of all
branches of general, modern and ancient history.
118 Indiana Magazine of History
"The collection and formation of a museum of historical ar-
ticles.
"The collection and preservation of a library of books and
documents.
"The general discussion of historical and literary subjects, and
the intellectual and social improvement of the society."
The charter members of the society were :
Lucius Hubbard, Martha O. Hubbard, George A. Baker, Bes-
sie A. Baker, Howard S. Stanfield, Flora L. Stanfield, Otto M.
Knoblock, Margaret S. Knoblock, Richard H. Lyon, Frances A.
Lyon, Charles H. Bartlett, Anna Bartlett, Chauncey N. Fassett.
Ann Thrush Fassett, Corwin B. Van Pelt, Marion B. Van Pelt,
Thaddeus S. Taylor, Sarah Chestnutwood Taylor, George Ford,
Josephine Oliver Ford, George B. Beitner, Flora L. Beitner, Wil-
liam B. Starr, Charles Albert McDonald, Fannie E. McDonald,
Edwin Nicar, Cora B. Nicar, Willis A. Bugbee, William B.
Stover, David R. Leeper, Stuart MacKibbin, Peter E/ Stude-
baker, Mary L. Studebaker, John M. Studebaker, Mary Stull
Studebaker and James DuShane.
Many others have since become members of the society. The
number of the directors was to be four, to be elected annually,
and these were also to constitute an executive committee who
should be the active managers of the society. The first directors
were Lucius Hubbard, president; Richard H. Lyon, vice-presi-
dent; George A. Baker, secretary, and Otto M. Knoblock, treas-
urer. For several years Charles H. Bartlett was director and
president and Flora L. Stanfield also director and vice-president.
The directors succeeding those named, and now serving, are :
Timothy E. Howard, president; Mary Stull Studebaker, vice-
president; George A. Baker, secretary; Otto M. Knoblock, treas-
urer.
The society began at once the collection of material and the
discussion of historical topics, and this work has been actively
continued, chiefly through the untiring efforts of the secretary,
Mr. George A. Baker, aided by Mr. Knoblock, Mr. Beitner, Mr.
Lyon, Mr. Bartlett and others. The collection of relics, me-
mentos, historical books, documents, pictures, etc., has long been
pronounced the finest in the State and is priceless in value.
The Northern Indiana Historical Society 119
The papers read during the first year were as follows : Life of
Alexis Coquillard, founder of the city and the county, by George
Ford ; The Carey Mission, by Margaret S. Knoblock ; Early River
Transportation, by Otto M. Knoblock; Fort St. Joseph's, by
George A. Baker; Life of Lathrop M. Taylor, by his son, Thad-
deus S. Taylor; Notable Visitors to South Bend, by Flora L.
Stanfield; Early Schools of South Bend, by Flora L. Beitner;
Kickapoo Bible and Alphabet, by Charles H. Bartlett ; First Boot
Factory in South Bend, by Chauncey N. Fassett ; Chief Topin-
abee and the Treaty of 1828, by George A. Baker; Marriage Cus-
toms of the Pottawatomies, by Lucius Hubbard ; From the Ranks
to the Staff, by Edwin Nicar.
The program for the second year provided these papers : First
Surveys of Northern Indiana, first section, by Willis A. Bugbee ;
Crimes and Casualties of St. Joseph County, by George B. Beit-
ner ; LaSalle, by Richard H. Lyon ; The Kankakee Portage, by
Charles H. Bartlett; Pierre Navarre, by Chauncey N. Fassett;
Early Manufacturing Interests, by William B. Stover; Early
Explorers of This Region, by Edwin C. Mason, honorary mem-
ber of the society and president of the Chicago Historical So-
ciety ; The Volunteer Fire Department of South Bend, by Edwin
Nicar; The Hydraulic Power of St. Joseph County, by David R.
Leeper; The Old Town of Bertrand, Michigan, by Flora L. Stan-
field; Historical Address, by Lucius Hubbard; The Press of St.
Joseph County, by Charles Albert McDonald; The Town of
Mishawaka, by Marion B. Van Pelt; First Surveys of Northern
Indiana, second section, by Willis A. Bugbee ; The Underground
Railroad, by Stuart MacKibbin ;' Lantern Exhibition of Local
Scenery, by Lucius Hubbard and William B. Stover; The Mich-
igan Road, by George Ford; Early Documentary History, from
Paris and Ottawa Archives, by George A. Baker.
Some papers since read before the society are : The Glacial
Phenomenon as Exhibited in Northern Indiana and Southern
Michigan, by Dr. Hugh T. Montgomery; The Michigan Road, by
Miss Ethel L. Montgomery; A Sketch of the Supreme Court of
Indiana, and The Story of a Park (the first of the South Bend
city parks), by Timothy E. Howard. Over sixty such original
papers have been read and placed in the archives of the society.
120 Indiana Magazine of History
The society's library is a most valuable one, consisting of from
seven thousand to eight thousand volumes and documents. It
received exchanges from over one hundred sister societies in this
and foreign countries. This library is also a depository for the
national and State publications, the latter believed to be one of
the most complete in the State.
"It is doubtful," said the industrious secretary, Mr. George A.
Baker, in an article in The Indianian for November, 1899, "*& any
other society in the country possesses such a unique collection of
early French and English relics, consisting as it does of seals,
coins, medals, crucifixes, crosses, brooches, finger- and earrings,
beads, and almost every conceivable thing used in the early days.
More than two thousand specimens found on the site of Fort St.
Joseph's alone have been presented to the society." Indeed, it
has become a matter of common occurrence for persons having
valuable historical relics to present them to the Northern Indiana
Historical Society, in order that they may be kept in a place of
security, where they may be viewed and studied by those inter-
ested in the early history of this region.
The meetings are held regularly on the first Tuesday evening
of each month, except during the summer. These meetings were
for a long time held in the upper story of the City Library build-
ing, the society occupying the whole floor with its books, docu-
ments, portraits and cases of specimens and historical relics.
When the increasing needs of the City Library made it neces-
sary that the Historical Society should seek other quarters, the
county council and board of county commissioners, under statu-
tory authority, and perceiving the priceless value of the work
already done, voluntarily offered to provide a permanent home
for the organization and its precious property. In this critical
period of the life of the society, the active assistance of Commis-
sioner Barney C. Smith entitles him to the particular remem-
brance of every friend of the organization. His proposition was
that the first floor of the old court-house, a building which is
itself a relic of great historical interest, should be fitted up and
devoted to the uses of the society. The upper story of the old
court-house had already been donated by the county to the occu-
pancy of the Grand Army of the Republic; and in it Auten Post
The Northern Indiana Historical Society 121
had long been in the enjoyment of one of the finest Grand Army
homes in the country.
By an act approved March n, 1901, it was provided that where
any historical society "shall have maintained its organization and
have been actively engaged in the collection of data and material
for, and in the preservation of county and State history and biog-
raphy, for the period of not less than five consecutive years," the
county might appropriate a sum not to exceed $5,000 "for the
construction and furnishings of rooms and fire-proof vaults for
the meetings of such historical society and for the preservation
of the records of such society and historical papers, documents
and natural history collections."
Under provisions of this act and on proper petition, the county
authorities in 1906 transformed the first floor of the old court-
house into what is one of the finest of historical rooms. The
building, a substantial stone structure erected in i860, may now
be said to be wholly devoted to historical uses ; for the Grand
Army which occupies the upper story is itself historical, and in
the nature of things will soon be historic, and this fine old stone
edifice, which sheltered the war meetings of the county in the
sixties, as it does the veterans of to-day, and where the business
of the courts and offices of the county was conducted for nearly
half a century, will for ages, undoubtedly, be the permanent home
of the historical treasures of northern Indiana.
At stated times the rooms of the Historical Society are open
to the inspection of the public and to the study of scholars ; and
the people, by their constant attendance on these occasions, have
shown their appreciation of the treasures safely housed in the
fine old structure, with its pillared portico and its simple Greek
outlines, reminding us of the days when the world was young.
Altogether, the Northern Indiana Historical Society is one of the
most interesting and valuable of the literary organizations of the
city of South Bend; and, permanently and safely located as it
now is, it is certain to become of greater interest and value as
time goes on and its treasures continue to accumulate, and to
receive the attention of the students of our history.
122 Indiana Magazine of History
DEVELOPMENT OF INTERURBANS IN INDIANA,
B Y FRED B. HI A TT.
[A paper read before an historical seminar in Butler College.]
THE originator of the electric interurban in Indiana was Mr.
Charles L. Henry. Mr. Henry, however, did not originate
his idea of the interurban at home, but while he was on a trip
inspecting some mineral land in Missouri. While there he visited
the three prosperous cities of Joplin, Carthage and Webb City,
all of which had street railways. It occurred to him that, located
as they were, it would be a great benefit to these cities if they
were connected by electric lines. This could most easily be done
by extending their street railways. He at once made an effort to
get control of the different systems, but was unable to do so, and
had to give up the idea. While this effort was a failure, he de-
cided to try his plan in Indiana. He owned the street railway
system at Alexandria, and therefore began operations at that
place.
The first step was to find out the law upon the matter. He
found that street railways were allowed to extend their lines into
the country, by getting permission of the county commissioners;
also that there was no limit to this extension. Mr. Henry de-
cided, as there was no limit to the extension, that he would be
allowed to connect two cities, so he determined to connect Alex-
andria and Anderson. The first car was run over this line Janu-
ary i, 1898. This was the pioneer interurban line of Indiana.
Prior to the completion of the Alexandria-Anderson line he
had, by consolidation with the Anderson company on September
3, 1897, formed the Union Traction Company. This first venture
was so successful that it was decided to continue the line to Sum-
mitville, seventeen miles north of Anderson. Here they con-
nected with a line built by the Marion Street Railway Company,
connecting Marion and Summitville, which added another seven-
teen miles of track. About this time Mr. Henry consolidated his
Development of Interurbans in Indiana 123
company with the Muncie Street-car Company, and bought the
Marion company. On June 27, 1899, the three companies were
incorporated as the Union Traction Company of Indiana. This
gave Mr. Henry control of the Anderson, Muncie, Alexandria
and Marion companies. The new company completed a line,
which had already been begun, to Elwood, and also built a line
from Muncie to Indianapolis by way of Anderson.
In the meantime a line had been built by the Indianapolis &
Northwestern Traction Company from Indianapolis to Peru and
Logansport. This company consolidated with the Union Trac-
tion Company of Indiana, and in 1904 the name was changed to
the Indiana Union Traction Company, which operates all of the
above-named lines at the present time.
About 1901 the management of the Union Traction Company
passed out of Mr. Henry's hands. He at once organized the
Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Company, which controls and
operates lines from Indianapolis to Greensburg and from Indian-
apolis to Connersville.
While Mr. Henry was engaged in forming these companies
and building these lines, another man, Mr. Joseph I. Irwin, of
Columbus, Indiana, suddenly awoke to the fact that an electric
car line from Columbus to Indianapolis would be a paying invest-
ment. A survey had been made several years before by other
parties, but for some reason the construction work had not been
seriously taken up. Mr. Irwin accordingly secured the rights of
the old company and began work. This company was incor-
porated as the Indianapolis, Columbus & Southern. The line
was completed from Franklin to Indianapolis in January, 1900.
It was the first line to enter Indianapolis, preceding Mr. Henry's
line by about six months. In the course of the next few years
the line was completed to Columbus, then to Seymour, and
finally, about the first of the year 1908, it was connected with the
Louisville & Southern Indiana Traction Company's lines, and
cars now run from Indianapolis to Louisville, Kentucky.
These roads were closely followed by roads in all parts of the
State. The Indianapolis & Martinsville Rapid Transit Company,
incorporated in 1901, operates a line from Indianapolis to Mar-
tinsville. The Indianapolis & Eastern, incorporated in 1901, runs
124 Indiana Magazine of History
from Indianapolis to Richmond, and thence into Ohio. The
Muncie, Hartford & Fort Wayne, incorporated in 1901, operated
for a while from Muncie to Fort Wayne, and was finally ex-
tended as far as Bluffton by the Indiana Union Traction Com-
pany, and from Bluffton to Fort Wayne by the Fort Wayne &
Wabash Valley Traction Company. In 1902 a line was built from
Richmond to Cambridge City and Milton, connecting with the
Indianapolis & Eastern. The South Bend, Laporte & Michigan
City was incorporated in 1902. The Indiana Northern (1903),
from Marion to Wabash, was built by the Indiana Union Trac-
tion Company. The Kokomo, Marion & Western (1903), from
Kokomo to Marion, was built by George J. Marott, of Indianap-
olis, and some eastern capitalists. The Dayton-Muncie line
(1903) was built by the Indiana Union Traction Company from
Muncie to Union City, thence to Dayton, Ohio. The Terre Haute
Company in 1904 ran from Terre Haute to New Harmony; it
later connected with the Indianapolis & Plainfield line, running
through cars into Indianapolis. The Indiana Railway Company
(1904) connects Goshen and South Bend, and has been extended
into Michigan. The Chicago & Lake Shore (1904) runs from
South Bend to Indiana Harbor, thence to Chicago. The Ham-
mond & Whiting (1904) connects those two cities. The Winona
& Wabash (1904) has been extended until it connects Goshen,
Warsaw and Peru. The Evansville & Princeton road was incor-
porated in 1904. Since then the Evansville Railway Company
has connected Mt. Vernon, Boonville and Rockport with Evans-
ville. The Cincinnati, Lawrenceburg & Aurora (1904) runs from
Cincinnati to Aurora.
Besides these lines, which are all completed and in operation,
there are under construction at the present time the following
lines : Crawfordsville, Covington and westward ; Indianapolis to
Newcastle and Toledo; Newcastle to Muncie; Newcastle to Win-
chester; Wabash to Rochester; Peru to Wabash; Lafayette to
Angola; South Bend to Laporte; South Bend to Michigan City
and Chicago ; Owensboro to Cannelton ; Vincennes to Princeton ;
Anderson to Shirley; Goshen to Wawasee, and Sullivan to Vin-
cennes.
Lines have also been projected, but not as yet built, from Vin-
Development of Interurbans in Indiana 125
cennes to Jasper; Goshen to Kendallville ; Goshen to Fort Wayne
by a direct line ; Fort Wayne to Anderson ; Martinsville to Bloom-
ington ; Danville to Rockville ; Lafayette to Covington and west-
ward ; Logansport to Hammond ; Greenstmrg to Madison and
Jeff ersonville ; Connersville to Milton; Newcastle to Richmond;
Richmond, Winchester and Portland ; Marion, Hartford and
Ridgeville ; Portland and eastward; Fort Wayne to Bryan, Ohio;
Auburn to Montpelier, Ohio ; and Carmel to Frankfort, by way
of Sheridan. Work has been done on some of these lines, and it
is probable that some of them will be completed in the near
future, but most of them have been totally abandoned.
In the beginning all of these roads were operated independ-
ently, but, as in all other lines of business, it was found that a
large system could be operated at a much smaller cost than that
of the small systems. This, together with the current tendency
toward expansion and consolidation, led to the combination of
the smaller companies into large systems. The Indiana Union
Traction Company absorbed a great many of them ; the Indian-
apolis & Cincinnati getting some more, and the largest and latest
combination, the Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern, controll-
ing most of the larger lines not included in the above companies.
The Indiana Union Traction Company to-day controls and
operates the Indianapolis, Logansport & Peru lines; the Indian-
apolis, Marion & Wabash lines; the Muncie & Winchester and
the Anderson, Muncie & Bluffton lines.
The Indianapolis & Cincinnati company operates the lines from.
Indianapolis to Connersville and from Indianapolis to Greens-
burg. From Connersville a line is projected into Ohio, which will
connect with Cincinnati.
The Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern company is the new-
est organization entering Indianapolis. It was proposed and car-
ried out by Mr. Hugh J. McGowan, of that city, but a great deal
of the stock is held by Eastern capitalists. By this consolida-
tion the following lines are controlled and operated : The Terre
Haute & Indianapolis ; the Terre Haute-Paris, 111. ; the Terre
Haute-Clinton ; the Indianapolis-Martinsville ; the Indianapolis-
Danville ; the Indianapolis, Richmond & Eastern ; the Crawfords-
126 Indiana Magazine of History
ville-Lebanon ; the Indianapolis, Frankfort & Lafayette, and the
Knightstown-Newcastle.
The Fort Wayne & Wabash Valley system has three divisions
— the Fort Wayne-Bluff ton ; the Fort- Wayne- Logansport, and
the Fort Wayne-Decatur. They can run their cars into Indian-
apolis over either the Indiana Union Traction Company's lines
or the Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern lines. They connect
with the former at Bluffton, Peru, Logansport and Wabash, and
with the latter at Lafayette.
The Northen Indiana Railway Company operates the South
Bend, Laporte & Michigan City and the South Bend, Goshen &
Warsaw lines. The latter line is connected with the Fort Wayne
& Wabash Valley line near Peru. The Toledo, Fort Wayne &
Chicago operates the Fort Wayne & Garrett, the Garrett, Water-
loo & Kendallville and the Kendallville-Garrett lines. The Ev-
ansville Railway Company has the Evansville to Mt. Vernon and
the Evansville to Owensboro lines.
Besides these consolidations, there are six independent lines in
Indiana. They are: The Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend;
the Evansville & Southern ; the Kokomo, Marion & Western ;
the Marion, Bluffton & Eastern ; the Indianapolis, Crawfords-
ville & Western, and the Indianapolis, Columbus & Southern.
The last two are the only independent lines entering Indianap-
olis. The Indianapolis & Louisville company operates the
through cars between Indianapolis and Louisville over the In-
dianapolis, Columbus & Southern road.
Little did Mr. Henry think when he built his first road that by
the year 1909 there would be approximately 1800 miles of inter-
urban track completed and in operation in Indiana, with an aver-
age value for construction of $7,150 per mile, the equipment
bringing it up to double that amount. And besides this, that
there would be almost half as much more under construction,
and about as much more projected with a possibility of construc-
tion. But when he opened the way there were plenty of men
ready to take advantage of it, and the result was a general invest-
ment of capital in interurban roads.
There were many difficulties in the way. At first there was no
Development of Interurbans in Indiana 127
law by which interurban companies could condemn land for
right-of-way, and their only resource was to buy when they
could. This resulted in very crooked roads. This is all done
away with now, as they have the same rights as steam roads and
can secure right-of-way by condemnation. Another great ob-
stacle was the panic of 1893. This tied up the money so that the
promoters could not get enough to build their roads. This was
the case with some of Mr. Henry's lines, and probably with the
Indianapolis, Columbus & Southern line, as it was surveyed
about this time and not built until about six years later.
When the roads began to connect with Indianapolis, it was
necessary to make some kind of arrangements with the City
Street Railway Company to enter the city. Mr. Henry made the
first agreement. It was inconvenient and inadequate. The city
company took the cars at the city limits and ran them, with their
own men, into the city to a terminal provided by the interurban
company. As time went on this became more and more inade-
quate, and another agreement was made allowing the interurban
cars to run over the city tracks without change of men, and to
make their terminus on Kentucky avenue, near Illinois and
Washington streets. This lasted until the erection of the new
Terminal Building.
As the number of lines entering the city increased, and the
traffic on the old ones enlarged, the old terminus became inade-
quate. Some of the leading interurban men conceived the plan
of building a terminal station on the plan of the Indianapolis
Union Railway Station. The result of the idea was the forma-
tion of the Indianapolis Traction and Terminal Company. The
new company purchased a site on the corner of Illinois and Mar-
ket streets, extending to the alley in both directions. Here a fine
nine-story building was erected, extending to the alley on Illinois
street and about seventy-five feet west on Market street. The
west part of the lot was given to the waiting-room and car-sheds.
The waiting-room will accommodate an enormous number of
people, while the car-sheds will accommodate eighteen cars at
one time, with a siding at the north end of it for as many more.
The tracks are arranged in pairs, with a complete system of
128 Indiana Magazine of History
cement walks. This is universally conceded to be the largest and
finest interurban terminal station in the world. On the north-
west corner of the same square the company has erected sub-
stantial and convenient freight depots.
The Terminal Company secured a franchise from the City
Council, permitting them to lay the tracks approaching the sta-
tion, and made arrangements with the street railway company to
permit the cars to run over their tracks into the city. They also
arranged with the different interurban companies, granting them
all the privileges of the station, provided they would pay to the
Terminal Company four cents for every passenger carried over
the city tracks. Their offer was gladly accepted, and it has
proved a paying investment for all concerned.
Most of the roads in Indiana are connected with Indianapolis,
and one can take a car at the station and, without more than one
change, go to almost any part of the State, and even into Ken-
tucky, Ohio, Illinois or Michigan. Local cars leave the station,
on almost all lines, once every hour, and limited cars about six
times a day.
The passenger traffic on the interurban was an immediate suc-
cess on almost all lines. Some of them have a net earning of
over $3000 per mile per year. In the beginning there was very
little freighting done on any of the roads, but it has been found
to be a paying investment to equip for it, and all the lines are now
engaged in this business. They have at least two freight trains
a day on all lines. On some of them they are run very early in
the morning, and on others very late at night, to avoid interfer-
ence with the passenger traffic, but on others they are scheduled
just as the freight trains on steam roads. Within the last two
years some of the roads have taken to carrying express, and a
very few of them carry mail. The express is carried in the bag-
gage-room of the passenger car, while the mail, instead of being
.carried in a regular mail car and being distributed, is distributed
at the post-office and then placed on the car in bags directed to a
special destination.
In the beginning interurbans were built paralleling steam roads
in almost all cases. The reason for this, aside from the natural
Development op Interurbans in Indiana 129
advantage of direct route between cities, was the great discon-
tent of the people with the accommodations offered by these
roads. The steam roads totally ignored the electric lines until a
few of them began to operate their cars. They soon saw what it
meant for them to have a car line paralleling them, which gave
hourly service and at a much reduced rate. When this dawned
upon them they would gladly have bought up their paralleling
competitors, but their charters permitted them only to extend
their business by an extension of their roads, and forbade them
buying roads to put a stop to competition. Thus, after the inter-
urban roads were begun, the steam roads were completely shut
out from them, and the only thing left was to meet the compe-
tition involved. Some of them have done this by cutting rates,
but others have practically abandoned local traffic to the inter-
urbans.
The interurban business has developed into a great industry in
Indiana, furnishing employment for a great army of men at very
good wages. It is also very advantageous to travelers. They
can come or go at any hour of the day, where previously they
had to spend half their time waiting for trains.
It has been very beneficial to the cities and larger towns, but
has been almost the destruction of many small ones through
which it passes. It has carried the trade away from small places
to the larger ones, where people have a larger selection. Some
examples of this class of towns may be found on the Indiana
Union Traction line running through Noblesville. Cicero, about
six miles north, before the interurban went through, was a good
business town, but since the car line was built the trade has gone
to Noblesville. As a result, several men have been forced out of
business, and most of the stores are for sale. Carmel, just about
the same distance south, is another example.
The frequent running of cars on all of the lines has made it
possible for the business men of the city to live out beyond the
city limits and still conduct their business, going to and from
their work on the cars. The result is that all along the lines for
several miles into the country we have nice, new, modern dwell-
ings, occupied by the city business men, city residence districts
130 Indiana Magazine of History
being almost indefinitely extended. The interurban has also been
of great benefit to the farmer. Before interurban days, when he
needed repairs for machinery he had to wait the larger part of a
day for the railroad train ; but now he can take the electric car, go
into town, get his repairs, and be home again in less time than he
formerly spent in waiting. Social intercourse, quick access to
markets, access to schools and colleges, have been made possible
to an extent heretofore unthought of.
Few industries have had so rapid a development, and, if it con-
tinues, as indications point that it will, Indiana will, in a few
more years, be covered by a network of interurban lines reaching
to all points, and binding the State together with bands of steel
so closely that it will in reality be only one great community.
Index of Historical Articles 131
INDEX OF HISTORICIAL ARTICLES IN INDIANAPOLIS
NEWSPAPERS.
PREPARED BY MISS FLORENCE VENN,
Reference Librarian, Indiana State Library.
Abbreviations: Ind. N., Indianapolis News; Ind. St., Indianapolis Star; mag. sec, mag-
azine section; p., page; c, column.
Battle-flag Commission's work, Ind. N., July 3, p. 13.
Blaine's campaign, recollections of, Col. W. R. Holloway, Ind.
St., May 16, p. 11, c. 2.
Brigham family history, Ind. St., Aug. 22, mag, sec, p. 3.
Bright, Jesse D., Letter, Ind. St., Aug. 16, p. 8, c. 3.
Buena Vista, Lasselle's map of, at the State Library, Ind. N., May
19, p. 18, c. 4.
Indiana soldiers vindicated, Ind. St., Aug. 29, mag. sec,
p. 4.
Burr family genealogy, Ind. St., May 16, mag. sec, p. 8.
Canal lock at Missouri St., Indianapolis, Ind. N., Mar. 27, p. 4, c 3.
Civil War Period, Reminiscences of Col. W. R. Holloway, Ind.
St., July 25, p. 30, c 1 ; Aug. 16, p. 8, c 2 ; Aug. 8, p. 7, c 2.
Surviving colonels of, Ind. N., July 15, p. 7, c 6.
Surviving generals of, Ind. St., May 30, mag. sec, p. 2.
Confederate soldiers in Indiana, Ind. St., May 30, mag. sec, p. 7.
Corbin family history, Ind. St., July 25, mag. sec, p. 7, c 5.
Corn growing in Indiana, Ind. St., May 23, mag. sec, p. 4.
Cost of living in Indiana, Ind. St., June 13, mag. sec, p. 3.
Crop report for Indiana, Ind. N., April 12, p. 1, c. 8.
Earlham College history, Ind. St., June 6, mag. sec, p. 2.
Fortville, reminiscenes by Silas Helms, Ind. N., July 24, p. 10.
Gibson family history, Ind. St., June 6, mag. sec, p. 3.
Gordon family genealogy, Ind. St., April 11, mag. sec, p. 4.
Grand Army of the Republic in Indiana, Ind. St., May 30, mag.
sec, p. 6.
Hale family history, Ind. St., mag. sec, p. 7, c 1.
132 Indiana Magazine of History
Henry family genealogy, Ind. St., July n, mag. sec, p. 7.
Hodges family genealogy, Ind. St., April 25, mag. sec., p. 6.
Holman, Jesse, Ind. N., July 10, p. 4, c. 3.
Howard family genealogy, Ind. St., June 13, mag. sec, p. 7.
Indianapolis, old governor's mansion, by Christian Schrader, Ind.
N., Aug. 19, p. 14, c 3.
Early Indiana days, by Wm. G. Ballantine, Ind. N., Aug. 28, p. 6,
c 2.
Indianapolis building permits in 1908, Ind. St., May 4, p. 4, c. I.
Indianapolis in the Civil War period, Ind. N., May 1, p. 2, c 4.
Indianapolis fire loss in 1908, Ind. St., April 22, p. 14, c 3.
Indianapolis Gazette, old advertisements in, Ind. N., May 29, p.
5, c. 3-
Indianapolis, old stage coach barn. Ind. N., June 12, p. 22, c 3.
Indianapolis, Roumanians in, Ind. St., Aug. 29, p. 2, c. 1.
Indianapolis, Washington street in early days, Christian Schra-
der, Ind. N., May 15, p. 2, c. 4.
Lake system of Indiana, Ind. N., July 30, p. 6, c 5.
Ludlow family history, Ind. St., Aug. 1, mag. sec, p. 6.
Marion county payers of taxes on $10,000 or more, Ind. N., Aug.
31, pp. 8, 9.
Marion county jail, by Christian Schrader, Ind. N., June 29, p. 3,
c 2.
Methodist centennial in Wayne county at Richmond, Ind. N.,
Aug. 19, p. 19, c 2; Aug. 18, p. 16, c. 3.
Mexican War, Indiana in the, by S. B. Sweet, Ind. St., June 20,
p. 20, c 1.
Mexican War, reminiscences by Gen. Geo. F. McGinnis, Ind. N.,
May 7, p. 2, c 3.
Veterans attending reunion, Ind. St., Aug. 19, p. 5, c 5.
Miami Indians in Indiana, Ind. St., Aug. 22, mag. sec, p. 1.
Military life in early days in the Lasselle papers, Ind. N., Aug. 11,
p. 3, c 2.
Mississinewa battle in 1812, Ind. N., Aug. 30, p. 2, c 2.
Morgan's raid at Corydon, Ind. N., July 10, p. 13.
Morton, Oliver P., recollections by Col. W. R. Holloway, Ind. St.,
May 9, p. 11, c 2.
Index of Historical Articles 133
Morton, Oliver P., Ind. St., July 4, p. 4, c. 2.
Museum of Edwin M. Worth at Springport, Ind. N., May 29, p.
13, c. 2.
Negro settlement at Norwood, Ind. St., Aug. 1, p. 25, c. 1.
Owen, Robert Dale, his work for women, Ind. St., Aug. 15, mag.
sec., p. 3.
Parke, Benjamin, founder of law library, Ind. N., July 3, p. 12, c. 1.
Peru, Ind., history, Ind. St., Aug. 8, p. 24, c. 1.
Pott family history, Ind. St., July 8, mag. sec., p. 7.
Price family genealogy, Ind. St., April 18, mag. sec, p. 4.
Primary election, Ind. N., Aug. 2.7, p. 7, c. 3; Ind. St., Aug. 27, p.
14, c. 3; Ind. N., Aug. 26, p. 1, c. 1.
Railway museum at Purdue University, Ind. N., p. 13, c. 2.
Saloons, statistics of, Ind. St., May 10, p. 1, c. 7; June 10, p. 10, c.
2; June 28, p. 10, c. 5; Ind. N., June 19, p. 12, c. 1 ; Ind. St.,
Aug. 29, p. 3, c. 1.
Shively, Benjamin F., autobiographical sketch, Ind. St., April 18,
mag. sec, p. 5.
Slavery clause in will of John G. Shaw, dated 1841, Ind. N., Aug.
2, p. 8, c 5.
Strother family genealogy, Ind. St., May 2, mag. sec, p. 7, c. 1.
Telephone, first in Indianapolis, Ind. N., May 21, p. 21, c. 3.
Tucker family history, Ind. St., May 9, mag. sec, p. 7.
Voorhees, Dan W., Letter, Ind. St., Aug. 16, p. 8, c 3.
Wallace, Lew, anecdotes, Ind. N., July 22, p. 6, c 5.
Williams, James D., and the campaign of 1876, by Col. W. R.
Holloway, Ind. St., May 23, p. 8, c 2.
INDIANA QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Indiana State Library, Indianapolis
Published by the Indiana Historical Society
Christopher B. Coleman, Editor
EDITORIAL.
A new department of the magazine starts in this issue — the
listing" of articles in newspapers containing historical material.
It is hoped to make this valuable for many purposes and for
many readers. More and more Indiana newspapers are giving a
place in their columns not only to news, but also to articles upon
local and State history. Some of these are perhaps of little value,
but many of them are carefully written by men who are deserv-
edly classed as authorities in the subjects of which they write.
A great deal of this material is published only in the daily news-
papers. These might very well be called daily not only on ac-
count of the number of their issues, but because they are also
daily destroyed. Nowhere outside of libraries and newspaper
offices are files of daily papers preserved. Even where they are
preserved in libraries the awkward size of their pages, the quality
of their paper and their print, and above all the enormous amount
of material they contain, usually make a search for information
impossible.
Various devices are being tried to make accessible material of
value in newspapers. Perhaps the commonest are the scrap-book
and various systems of filing newspaper clippings. Neither of
these is beneath the dignity of an historian. Mr. Talcott Wil-
liams, of the Philadelphia Press, in an address at the meeting of
the American Historical Association in 1908, dwelt at length
upon the practicability and desirability of studying recent history
through newspaper clippings. This, however, involves more
time, space and trouble than most of us can command. It is of
little value to pay some one else to do it, or to use some one else's
scrap-book or clipping file, for no two minds work alike, and no
Notes 135
man can easily track another's steps through alphabetical subject
indices.
Inasmuch, however, as one can ordinarily obtain the use of a
complete file of a local paper in the local library, and all of the
important papers of the State are on file at the State libraries, an
alphabetical list of articles in the newspapers can be easily made
as they appear. Published quarterly, as this magazine is pub-
lished, it is thought that such a list would make available most
of the important material on any given subject. It has seemed to
the editor that current events, while more important, perhaps,
than accounts of historic matters, stand in less need of an index.
They are naturally followed most easily in the order in which
they appear in the newspapers, chronologically. An article upon
Morgan's raid, or the Purdue railway museum, however, can
never be located in a paper except by chance, and the footsteps
of chance can never be traced. An index, appearing in the proper
place and time, will hereafter be furnished in this magazine for
articles containing historical material dealing with Indiana ap-
pearing in Indiana papers. The listing of an article is not an in-
dication that it is authoritative, as no attempt will be made to
value articles, but only to make them accessible to those who
wish to use them. For this issue only the Indianapolis Star and
the Indianapolis News have been taken up, but in later issues other
papers throughout the State will be searched.
NOTES.
The Ohio Valley Historical Society will hold its annual meet-
ing at. Frankfort, Ky., from the 14th to the 16th, inclusive, of
October.
Mr. J. R. H. Moore, of Harvard University, has joined the his-
tory faculty of Manual Training High School, Indianapolis.
NOW READY
"WHERE TO FIND IT"
Index to Sources of Information on All
Subjects of General Interest,
compiled by
HENRY JACOBS
Designed to make accessible all the material
on any particular subject of investigation or
study. Indispensable to writers, students,
teachers, librarians, business and professional
men.
Price, 50c postpaid
Address the Author, at
590 Prospect Avenue,
New York City,
INLY.
THE INDIANA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Vol. V DECEMBER, 1909 No. 4
LETTERS FROM EIGHTEENTH CENTURY INDIANA
MERCHANTS.
BY CHRISTOPHER B. COLEMAN.
THE following papers are from the Lasselle Collection in the
Indiana State Library. They include the most interesting of
the Early Indiana Miscellaneous Papers, I — in fact, all of any
interest that are easily decipherable. They are given in chrono-
logical order.
The earlier papers need no comment other than the word of
explanation joined with them.
Between 1785 and 1795 there are more papers. They show the
condition of trade with some detail. These are the years when
the English, after ceding all the west south of the great lakes to
the United States, still retained possession of the northern part
of this territory. Trade here was poor, and apparently becoming
poorer. There was constant danger of losing all the export trade
of the region to New Orleans. The Indians, at times, were an
uncertain quantity and at times avowedly hostile. Many of the
small merchants seem to have failed, and the large companies had
difficulty.
It has seemed best, so far as possible, to give the original
French where that was the language used, and join the transla-
tion immediately with it. One letter, that from John MacPher-
son to David Gray, in March, 1785, was printed in the June num-
ber of the magazine, but is reproduced here for the sake of com-
pleteness.
Miamie town was the precursor of the modern Fort Wayne;
Ouiatenon was near the present site of Lafayette ; the other
names mentioned are, I believe, more familiar.
138 Indiana Magazine of History
[Note of Vigoeiv to Drouet Richardville, Kaskaskia.]
je sousigne de ma marque ordinaire Devoir au Sieur Dedroit
Richarville la somme de treize livre en castor ou pelterie que
promes payer dans le cour de l'anee milsept cent trenteneuf au
Kaskakia le 21 avril 1738 marque
X
De; la Vigoeiv.
M. P. BeauliEu,
temoin.
[Translation.]
I subscribe with my usual mark that I owe the Sieur Drouet
Richardville the sum of thirteen livres in beaver skins or furs
which [I] promise to pay in the course of the year seventeen hun-
dred and thirty-nine at Kaskaskia. April 21, 1738.
mark of
X
VlGOElV.
M. P. BeauuEu,
witness.
[Sale of a negress at New Orleans, 1765.]
Ce jourdhui 3ime jour de Juliet 1765 je sous signe declare avoir
vendre et livre a Monsieur Bebecart une Negresse nommee
Pegue agee de vingt cing ans ou environ pour le pris et somme
de dix sept cent livres en letres de change a moy en main payees
et dont je tiens quite mondit Sieur a la Nouvelle Orleans jour et
an que dessus Joseph Chalon.
[Translation.]
This, the 31st day of July, 1765, I the undersigned declare that
I have sold and delivered to Mr. Bebecart a negress named Peggy,
age 25 years or about that, for the sum of seventeen hundred
livres [between $310 and $340] in letters of exchange in hand
paid and for liability for which the above mentioned Sieur is re-
leased, at New Orleans on the day and year aforesaid.
Joseph Chaeeon.
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 139
[Receipt for account of Ambroise Dagenet, Vincennes, with A.
Macomb, Detroit.]
Je certifie que Monsr. Ambroise Dagenej me devoit la Somme
de Cent six Pontes trieze Chelins & neuf pence du Cours de
New York pour arrete de Compte 19 Juin 1772 la quelle Somme
il me paya le cinq de Juin 1773. Detroit 5 Juillet 1774.
L. Dejeunet I M Temvin A. Macomb.
[Reverse.]
Registre en [illegible] au poste vincennes le 9 d aout 1774
Folio 18 Philubert, Notaire.
[Translation.]
I certify that Mr. Ambroise Dagenet owed me the sum of one
hundred and six pounds, thirteen shillings and nine pence of the
currency of New York for the settlement of his account down to
June 19, 1772, which sum he paid me the fifth of June, 1773.
Detroit, July 5, 1774. A. Macomb.
[On the back.]
Registered at Post Vincennes, August 9, 1774.
Folio 18. PhiujbErt, Notary.
[Note from Rocheblave, commander of Fort Gage, which the
English built near Kaskaskia to take the place of Fort Char-
tres, to Mayon, a merchant, at Vincennes. The letter was
written only twelve months before Rocheblave surrendered
to Clark.]
Monsieur
vous m' aviez flate d l'espoir de vous voir en ce pays, sans doute
que la nature des afaires ne vous la pas permis, j adresse votre
billet a Mr. Legras a qui je vous seray oblige de le payer me
trouvant tres gene. Je vous ofre volontiers mes services si je
puis nous etre utile. Jay l'honneur d'etre bien sincerement
Monsieur
votre tres humble et
tres obeissant serviteur
Fort Gage le 19 Juin 1777. Rocheblave.
140 Indiana Magazine of History
[Addressed.]
A Monsieur
Monsieur Mayon
negotiant
a St Vincennes
[Translation.]
Dear Sir:
You flattered me with the hope of seeing you in these parts.
But not doubting that circumstances do not permit it I address
your letter to Mr. Legras, whom I will thank you to pay as I am
very hard up. I gladly offer you my services if I can be of use to
you. I have the honor to be, sir, sincerely
Your very humble
and obedient servant,
RochEblavE.
[Addressed.]
Mr. Mayon,
Merchant,
St. Vincennes.
[Advertisement for stolen boy.]
Clarksville April 26 1783
Was taken from this place about the 18th of February Last a
boy named John Scroggan about Eight years and one half of age
of a fair Complexion pitted with the Small-pox he had Short
fair hair Suposed to be taken by the Kickabouse or Windots
if said boy be found a Reasonable reward Shall be paid by me
Tohmas Scroggan.
[Account of McKay with Adhemar St. Martin.]
McKay
Miamis a Adhemar S. Martin
1785
Fevrier 6 5 lbs. X/A Tabac a 6 lv [31 10 torn out]
9 5 lbs. Sucre a 30s [7 10 torn out]
Mars 3 34 lbs. farine a 20s 34
St. Vincenne sur une montre [27 torn out]
May 13 4 Brides a 5lv 20
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 141
16 i au y2 ruban a 20s 1 10
Juillet 3 1 chapeau laine 6
10 1 au ruban noir 1 10
28 2 lb. 54 savon a 40s 4 10
Avoust 5 2 lb. Castor a 3I 6
7bre 9 x/2 lb. The verd a 24 lv 12
152I.
par compte avec M. hiacinte
Laselle et Cole En pelteries [?] . 90 15
242I. 15
par compte avec Mr. L. Baby-
En argent 27IV.
a st vincenne le 6e 8bre 1785
Mr. Lasell demande le port
du payement jusqu' au mir
par restant de compte I2lv.
par Mr. Le Fevre 98 no
Miamitown
1785
February
6
9
March
3
May
13
16
July
3
10
28
August
5
September
9
3521v. 15
[Translation.]
McKay
with Adhemar St. Martin.
5% lbs. tobacco @ 61 31 livres 10 sols
5 lbs. sugar @ 30s 7 10
34 lbs. flour @ 20s 34
Vincennes, on a watch 27
4 bridles @ 5I 20
iy2 yards ribbon @ 20s 1 10
1 woolen hat 6
1 yard black ribbon 1 10
2%. lbs. soap @ 40s 4 10
2 lbs. Castor @ 3I 6
y2 lb. green tea @ 24I 12
152 livres
142 Indiana Magazine of History
By account with Mr. Hyacinth
Laselle & Co., in peltries [?]... 90 15
242I. 15s.
By account with Mr. L. Baby in
silver 27I.
at Vincennes the 6th of Octo-
ber, 1785.
Mr. Laselle asks for the carriage
[charge] out of the payment
to me [ ?] by the remainder of
account 12I.
by Mr. LeFebvre 98 no
3521. 15s.
To David Gray,
Merchant,
at Miamie-town.
Detroit 23 March, 1785.
Dear Sir:
I embrace this opportunity to enquire about your Health, and
the nature of times in that Country, what appearance of Trade,
its said that there is a good hunt to the Southward I hope you
will find the good effects of it, by its being in reality so. we have
had here a very mild open winter, by no means reckoned favor-
able for the hunt. Indeed the equipers has reasons to expect but
very Indifferent returns from the differant posts here abouts,
very dull times in the fort, no business of any kind, either with
the French or Indians, the only payment that can be expected
for Goods is flour & corn this year, and I see no prospect of
being able to dispose of it. the Contractors for the Mackina
markett gets what corn & flour they want for Goods out of their
own Shops, so that there's Scarcely any paper currency circu-
lating. Mr. McKillep told me that you was a little indisposed
when he past the Miamies coming in. I hope you soon got over
it; the Measles raged here this season by which many Children
died. L. Williams died with that or a Sort of Scarlet fever after
Seven days Illness Andrew W.- Old Barthe has taken his de-
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 143
parture 14th Instant after about two months Sickness. You
have heard undoubtedly of the Barbarous manner Christie &
another Man was murdered at the River Rouge at young Ca-
hossa's House by a Sagina Indian apitchi Gabavey his name &
2 Sons, in about a week after the same Indians killed P. Jacobs
& one Guthrie - Jno. Dolton was going out with them & made
his escape. Jacobs killed one of the sons in the fray, there's
several councills been held since with the other Indians to get
them to bring the Murderers, they promise well but perform
little, apropos what do you think of the Conjunction of the Six
Come [Company?] Houses into a grand Societie for carrying on
the Indian Trade, time will discover more of the effects of that
grand undertaking, its probable that they will not find their ad-
vantage in such an Union unless they can procure an exclusive
right to the different posts. Whatever occurances of the plan
I write about it will be quite Stale to you, as you'll be better
acquainted with them than myself. Mr. Geo. Meldrum is mar-
ried to Miss Chapoton, Henry Ford to Miss Bella Andrews,
there's 2 or 3 other young ladies closely besieged so that a Short
time will bring a surrender. Robert McDougall is married to
Miss Simonette Campau. The Gentlemen of the Garison keeps
on good Sociall terms with the towns people & Major Ancrum
seems to gain peoples esteem greatly by his justness & Impartial-
ity, no news of any kind, no accounts from Niagara or Fort Pitt,
in course no express from Canada. Now permit me to request
the favour of you to lett me know what Mr. Rivard, La Breche,
etc are doing, do my dear Sir endeavour to get Something from
those fellows recommended to your care, as it will be very hard
times with me next Summer. I have wrote you formerly about
the way Mr. Ellice [?] got Grevarats & Visgars affairs settled,
they are Sett up again and trades in partnership at Sagina. they
are furnished with goods from Mr. Abbott & Grosbeck so that
you will be able to come on for your money sometime or other,
having nothing further to add - I remain - Dear Sir
Your Most Obedient Servant
John Mac Pherson
Prices Current
flour per C. 60
144 Indiana Magazine of History
Ind. Corne per Bushel 12
Oats per Bushel 8
Venison per Car. 32 all Winter
Beef per lb. x/% very Scarce.
[Receipt by Jacques Godfrey.]
Je Reconnoit avoir Receit de Paul Gamelin un Billiet consenty
par le sieur Francois Remaux de la somme de quarante et une
livres en paux de chevreuilles recite [?] et un Dito du sieur
Joseph Lamoureux de la Somme de cent dix sept livres dix sous
en pelteris et trente huit livres en paux de chevreuilles a la des
ouialtanont au oui le 23 avril 1785. pour m en faire payer sy je
peux et Remettre les effet au dit sieur Paul Gamelin ou les dix
Billiet Jacques Goderoy.
[On other side.]
Receit a compte de [illegible] par Billet De Joseph Lamoureux
par Louis Da Bois April 15, 1787
Paul Gamelin et CiE
[Translation.]
I acknowledge the receipt from Paul Gamelin of a note signed
by Sieur Francois Remaux of the sum of forty-one livres in deer
skins [?] and another of Sieur Joseph Lamoureux of the sum of a
hundred and seventeen livres and ten sous in peltry [furs] and
thirty-eight livres in deer skins at Ouiatenon at the Ouia
[Weatown] the 23d of April, 1785, to collect if I am able and
send the effects to the said Sieur Paul Gamelin or the said notes.
Jacques Goderoy.
[On the back.]
Received on account of [illegible] by note of Joseph Lamour-
eux by Louis Da Bois. April 15, 1787. Paue Gameun & Co.
[George Leith, Detroit, to David Gray, Miamitown.]
Private
Dear David :
It is now a long time since I had the pleasure of receiving a
few lines from you ; tho' at the same time I can assure you that it
would afford me much satisfaction to hear from you when you
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 145
have a liesure hour, so I therefore beg you will write me a few
lines upon receipt of this and let me know how your affairs comes
On in the Indian Country as I sincerely wish you great success.
I hope you will be able to get our adventure in Co. with you
settled this summer & that it will turn out well, be that as it
may ; I am well convinced you do every thing for the best.
Symington & Douglass of Niagara have been obliged to give
up their Effects to their Crs. & Mr. Robertson of this place trans-
acts their Business at Detroit, he showed me a few days, a very
large account the Estate of Symington & Douglass has against
you & was asking at me when you would come to Detroit I told
him I was not certain but imagined you would be some time
this summer.
You know very well what kind of a man Robertson is, therefore
as a friend I would advise you not to come to Detroit this summer
if you have nothing pressing to bring you in as he will do every-
thing in his power to detain you & give you trouble.
We have wrote you & Ironside at this time along with the
goods left last fall the numbers of which you have here inclosed
& in expectation of hearing from you on receipt of this I remain
with much regard
Dear David
Yours Sincerely
Geo. Leith.
Detroit, 3d April
1786.
[Addressed.]
Mr. David Gray
Merchant
Miamis Town
[George Sharp, Miamis, to Paul Gamelin, Vincennes.J
Miamy, 23rd Juin, 1786
M Gamelin
Je viens recevoir quatre Balots de Detroit pour vous qui j'en-
voye par cette occasion maque P G No. I, 2, 3, 4. J'ai recu aucun
lettre de Detroit avec ils arriveront ici apres demain avec votre
restant vous avez rien a payer pour les hommes, on vous a Charge
146 Indiana Magazine of History
ici pour la Portage. Excusez, comme je suis bien presse. Croiez
moi etre votre sincere ami Geo. Sharp
Faiseur pour la Societe de Miamy
Votre Merchandises sont de la Societe de Miamy
[Addressed.]
Mr. Paul Gamelin, Neg[ocian]t,
P. S. Vincents
[Memorandum note on back.]
7^2 poudre pour Paul Gamelin.
[Translation.]
Miamis, June 23, 1786.
Mr. Gamelin :
I have just received four bales [packages] from Detroit for you,
which I send on this opportunity marked P G No. I, 2, 3, 4. I
received no letter [s] from Detroit with [them]. They will arrive
here the day after to-morrow with the rest of your goods. You
have nothing to pay; you are charged here with transportation.
Pardon, as I am very much hurried. Believe me your sincere
friend, Geo. Sharp,
Agent for the Society of Miami.
Your goods are from the Society of Miami.
[Addressed.]
Mr. Paul Gamelin, Merchant,
Vincennes.
[Memorandum.]
7^2 [lbs.] of powder for Paul Gamelin.
[From George Ironside, Miamis, to David Gray, Vincennes.]
Miamis 26th November 1786
Dear Sir,
Yours of the nth. Currt. I received yesterday, & I assure you
was glad to learn your safe arrival at the Ouias, but for god's sake
dont pay a visit to the lads of the Vermilion as you did to those on
this side of the Ouias, or you mayn't get so well off.
The Dog I have sent to Constant by his man & I dare say he'll
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 147
use him well as I never saw a man have a greater desire of any-
thing than he had for the Dog.
The Flour I have secured for him & if any opportunity offers by
water to the Ouias this fall I shall forward it, but there seems to
be little appearance of any as the River here is frozen over. I'm
afraid Mr. Mcintosh's goods & those of the Company must winter
here.
Tell Mr. Mcintosh I would have sent him down his men by
land, but I thought it better to wait eight or ten days longer, in
expectation of the Water's rising, if they dont they shall be sent
by land along w. those of Mr. Vigo as it serves no purpose to keep
them here, while they may be useful to him at the Poste.
Colas [ ?] has been at Rochedebout & tells us Trimble & Stew-
ard arrived there from Detroit & report & by that time Meldrum
was dead his horse having stumbled & thrown him & entirely
bruised his stomach & carried away all the fleshy part of his sore
leg.
Trimble is married to a young Irish girl by whom he got £ iooo
St[erlin]g to return to Ireland along w. David White next sum-
mer for good & all.
At Rochedebout the Indians report that the Americans are at
Presquille [on Lake Erie] building large vessels, but as yet it is
not known for certain.
There is not a bit of Sealing wax [?] in the house either for
Constant or you or I should have sent it, it went all to the Poste
last Spring I am
Dear Sir
Yours Sincerely
Mr. D. Gray. Geo. Ironside
[Addressed.]
Mr. David Gray
Poste St. Vincennes.
[George Sharpe, Detroit, to David Gray, Vincennes.]
Detroit, 18 Jany 1787.
Dear Sir,
Since my last nothing new has occurred here of any conse-
quence.
148 Indiana Magazine op History
I am hopeful my letters in answer to yours from Uhias [Ouia]
are all received - and that you are now snugly settled at P. St.
Vincents for the Season.
From the peaceable inclination of the Indians it is without a
doubt that you can get safe up next Spring w[it]h your peltry -
as it is intended to have a considerable Quantity of Goods at
Miamis early next Spring. If any your eloquence with the
French will prevent any of them from going to N. Orleans indeed
I should think it not safe as in all probability the Spaniards will
retaliate. I hope & request you will inculcate the best notions
in their minds in this respect, it being the prime object, likewise
they should all forward their Peltry uncommonly early next
Spring, in order to have their assortments in time.
Please let me know what Quantity of Peltry Messrs Jos. S.
Marie, Chapeau, & Janot may have next Spring. & if Mr. Makay
be returned In my last I inclosed you a draft on F [?] B.
Chapoton for £ 20 [illegible] for a Perroque I sold him which I
hope he will pay — Likewise recommended it to you to take
cognizance of every circumstance whatever wherein we were
interested — In case Mr. Thomson or Makay should be absent
when Criote returns from Cumberland I beg you will forward
him immediately to Miami w[i]t[h] what he has got, if he should
be unfortunate enough to return light please employ him to
Miamis in some ones Perroque who will pay his wages & Dubois
also —
Mr. Pollard and Mr. Sinclair are, to sett off next week for P.
Vincents I shall write by them, this is only a precarious con-
veyance. Neglect not in comp'y with the other Traders to send
us an express early as everything will be done here to facilitate
your affairs — News in my next.
Remember the main point, Gray, and no fear
I am Dr Sir Yours Sincerely
George Sharp.
Messr. L. J. Shepherd desire their respects
Mr. D. Gray.
[Addressed.]
Mr. David Gray Merchant
P. St. Vincents
Letters prom Eighteenth Century Merchants 149
[George Ironside, Miamis, to David Gray, Vincennes.]
Miamis 16th Febry 1787
Dear Gray,
I am favored with yours of 3rd Ulto. inclosing one for Sharp
which after having perused I have forwarded to Detroit. The
fate of Chapeau makes me uneasy about your getting clear of that
Cursed Country, for God's sake if there is any risque be wary
how you undertake the Voyage to the Miamis rather if you think,
advisable, if there can be no communication by Detroit by the
Wabache, send them to New Orleans. Macomb desires me not
to forward Mclntoshes Goods, they seem at Detroit to think of
leaving off all Intercourse with the Poste, as the Company writes
us the same thing respecting their Goods in the Store. However
you'll not mention this to any of the Postiques as they would wish
to hide this their resolution till they see if times Change.
You will soon have Steward [or Heward] at the Post, he is
expected here daily, in the service of the Co. so that it seems
Sharp does not mean to visit that Corner this Summer. Goods
in all appearance will be very scarce here this summer. The
winter here has been very unfavorable both for the work of the
Village & the Indians hunt, the snow has not been upon the
ground above Eight days the whole winter.
We have had a sort of a Dance here once a Week during the
winter, which has made us pass our time pretty agreeably. — The
Different Nations have sent an Embassy to Congress to desire
them to rest on the other side the Ohio & upon these terms they
would make peace w[ith] them, which terms if they dont accept,
the Indians are no[w] holding Council Chez les Chats to adver-
tise all the different nations upon the Mississippi to hold them-
selves in readiness early in the Spring to fall upon them & force
them into a Compliance. Captain David setts off from there in
two or three days to advertise the Chickasaws & Chocktaws &
Cherokees. I am Dear Sir
Yours Sincerely
Geo. Ironside
[Addressed.]
Mr. David Gray
Post Vincenne
150 Indiana Magazine of History
[From Geo. Ironside, unaddressed.]
Miamis, 27th. Febry 1787
Dear Sir,
Inclosed is a letter from G. Sharp which arrived here yester-
night by an Indian from Detroit. Nothing new from that Quar-
ter. Leith has sent me a few European News Papers & by all
appearances the war between France & England is not very far
off. Nothing else worth communicating.
Shall write you more fully at next opportunity.
I am Dear Sir
Yours Sincerely
Geo. Ironside
[George Ironside, Miamis, to David Gray.]
Miamis 4th. March 1787.
Dear Gray,
By Cola [?] who arrived here yesterday & sets off today with
Adhemar [St. Martin] I embrace the opportunity to slip you a
few lines.
In all appearance the Wabache will be scarcely passable this
Summer unless early in the Spring. For God's Sake, as soon as
you can, set off early from the Post or you will certainly run a
great risque of losing your life Inclosed are some accts. all I
have time to send you they are just going off.
Dr. Si[r]
Yourrs Sre
Geo. Ironside
[George Ironside, Miamis, to David Gray, Vincennes.]
Miamis, 15th March 1787.
Dear Sir,
The Grandmaster is the Bearer of this, who is sent by the Com-
pany to transact their affairs at your place. I dare say he'll have
occasion to use all his eloquence in their cause to prevent them
from going to New Orleans.
Sharp will be here very soon & means to spend the Summer
here.
Mr. Leith tells me that if Lorimier goes to Detroit the Major
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 151
will make him make restitution of the things he took of Joe, but
I'm afraid he wont trust himself there.
I have searched all the house for Chorette's note of hand but
cant find it pray if it is among your papers send it up. I mean
to make an excursion his way as I hear he has got some property
in his hands at present.
Mr. Stewart tells me the Major [Ancrum?] has express orders
not to deliver up Detroit [to the United States], so that I dare
say we shall soon have a general war. They expect news of
Importance by the express from Niagara which was not arrived
St. [mistake for When?] St. left Detroit.
Groosbeck is married to Miss Beufait & Rede is going to be
married as soon as Rivard returns from the Ouias to Madmle
Wishing a safe return
I am Dear Sir
Mr. David Gray
Yours Sincerely
Geo. Ironside
[Addressed.]
Mr. David Gray
Mercht
Poste Vincenne
[George Ironside, Miamis, to David Gray, Vincennes.]
Miamis, 15th April
Dear Sir, 1787
By people arrived here from the Poste I have the last accounts
of you since hearing from yourself last January. They tell me
you are in the River St. Francois in pursuit of Pierre. It is hard
if, after so much pains you dont make something of him, &
Alexander gives me some hopes. All Im afraid of is from the
Wabache Indians in your way up, for Gods sake make informa-
tion at the Poste before you set off as in all appearance there will
be trouble there this Summer.
Bertheaume has made Sixty Packs as Im informed & will be
here in a few days & here I have 21. The trade here is entirely
stopt at present, they wait the arrival of Sharp for Rum 28 kegs
152 Indiana Magazine of History
of which were serit up all at the same time & are now lodged in
the Store so that little more can be made here this Spring.
The Delawares of the White River are all now settled at the
Corns. Towns [?] & the Shawnees are going to have lands here
so that the trade of this place will greatly augment.
I have got little or nothing of Joe but as he takes in his Credits
he gives us them & asks for no goods.
The prices of Pelteries [peltries] is yet a Problem but Im
afraid will not be much better than last year. The Company
have not an ounce of Goods till they arrive from England &
you'll see a scarcity this Summer of Indian Goods that has not
been experienced in this Country for a long time.
No body has nor will undertake the trading of Rum which
occasions that the best & better part of the Peltry will go to
Rochedebout were it not for that we might yet make a few
Packs here & if Sharp arrives here soon he'll have a forte Affaire
to keep the Store from being plundered if he wont sell it. They
say that as the Grand Master of the Rum is not here they cant
insist upon people selling what is not their own but as soon as he
arrives they think he will set up Indian Tavern in which he will
be waiter.
Carleton is now Viceroy of British America. The Canadians
on his arrival mounted him on a Throne which they carried in
Triumph to the Castle of Louis crying long live the benign
Carleton the father of Canadians.
Lorimier is fled from the face of his Creditors & gone to the
Illinois may the Devil be his Pilot.
I have found a good friend in Maechat [illegible] & found him
to be the man I thought him.
I am
Dr. Sir Yours etc
Geo. Ironside
[Addressed.]
Mr. David Gray
Merht
Poste Vincennes
Forwarded by Mr. Alexander
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 153
[Adhemar St. Martin, Miamis, to Paul Gamelin, Vincennes.]
Miamis, Le 20e juin 1788
Mon cher amy
nous sommes arrive a cette place en assez bon Etat mieux que
chapoton nous lavait annonce. Car sous l'oublie du papier que
Cournoyer Devoit remetre a Constant Je crois qu'il ne nous en
auroit pas Conte une Carote de tabac Je vous renvoye par
Asselin 5 poches, Je vous auroit Envoye une livre depoivre mais
n'y en a point du tout icy. peut etre cournoyer En apporterat-il
Je vous en Envoyerer.
Cy joint l'etat de l'argenterie que j'ay laisse a M. Chapoton
vous luy demanderez
q0 f 640 grandes Epinglettes
390 petites ditto
12 Brasselets a poignet
5 grande Croix double
1 ditto simple
6 moyenne Croix double
2 roux d'oreilles
1 Brasselets a Bras
4 grandes Epinglettes
3 noyaux d'argent
sur quoy il a Envoye un fan [?] d'huile a ma femme seulement je
soupconne qu'il En a Eu d'autre et qu'il a Envoye pour luy meme
au Detroit qu'importe vous Luy demanderez Compte et qui vous
donne son billet de ce qu'il manquera apes la valeur du fan d'luile
que nous avons eu rabatu — si toutefois il ne vous remet pas l'ar-
genteries en nature
Vons ferez Compte a asselin de 120 lv. — sur quoix vous raba-
terai 50 lv. que jay paye a la Chine sur le restant vous retienderz
votre Compte et reglerer letout avec luy.
Blondiche et moy nous souhaitons Bonnesante a Madame et la
famille au garcon (est y noir done?) sharp dit n'avoir point
parle de tout cela, mais il en a bien rit) Compliment a nos amis
vos voisin et Croyez moy votre
Veritable amy
Adhemar Stmartin.
154 Indiana Magazine of History
[Addressed.]
Monsieur Paul Gamelin
[Translation.]
Miamis, June 20, 1788.
My Dear Friend :
We arrived at this place in better shape than Chapoton fore-
told, for with the forgetting of the paper which Cournoyer was
to give to Constant I believe that it will not have cost us a roll of
tobacco. I send you by Asselin 5 sacks. I would have sent you
a pound of pepper, but there isn't any of it here at all. Perhaps
Cournoyer will bring some of it. I will send you some [then].
Here follows the statement of the silverware which I have left
to Mr. Chapoton. You will ask it of him.
490 J 64° Iar&e Pins
390 small pins
12 wrist bracelets
5 large double crosses
1 large single ditto.
6 medium double cross[es].
2 ear-rings
4 large pins
3 silver cores
Added to which he has sent a [?] of oil to my wife. But I sus-
pect that he has another and that he has sent it for himself to De-
troit, which means that you must demand an account from him
and he must give you his note for what is lacking after the value
of the [ ?] of oil which we have has been subtracted, if, of course,
he does not give back the silverware itself.
You will have an account with Asselin for 120 livres — from
which you will deduct 50 livres which I have paid [ ?]. Out of the
remainder get back your account and arrange the whole with him.
Blondiche and I wish good health to madame and the family,
to the boy (is it then black there?) Sharp said all that was not
spoken of but he laughed well at it). Compliments to our friends,
your neighbors, and believe me your
Sincere friend,
Adhemar St. Martin.
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 155
[George Sharp, Miamis, to Paul Gamelin, Vincennes]
Monr Gamelin Miamis 7th July [1] 789
Mons —
J'ar recu Votre lettre comme un grand parti de Votre ordre
etait deja envoy e — je vous envoy e ce qui nous avons ici jusqu au
Uhais, comme 1 aux est [illegible] belle, j'envoye aussi d'ordres a
Peyette de les envoye par la premiere occasion avec les Drap &
Couverts des Mons Chapeau — s'il ne trouve pas de les envoyer il
vous avertira — le restant de vos merchandise s'il n'en restant
seront envoy par Mr Vigo, comme je part pour Detroit Demain.
j'ai envoye un Voiture [?] devant mon Tabac au Uhias, avec
ordres aux hommes de donner le preferance a vos pacquets, s'ils
peuvent tous amener ils ameneront tous, sils non, Je ai fait [or]
dre a Mr. Metter d'envoyer le restant comme l'eau est belle —
J'espere que vous n'avez pas refuser les merchandise par rapport
qu'on vous n'a pas les envoye avec la premiere occasion, le plus
grand parti de votre ordre n'etoit pas ici, comme vous pouvez
scavior en demandant de Mr. St. Marie & cie et bien sachant que
on recevra ces articles les premieres jours apres lieur Depart.
Je croies que a serve mieux de les envoyer tous ensemble — et si
Mr. Bondy avoit retarder comme il m'avoit promi, vous les
aurez eu il est longtemps, & tous ceux qu'ils sout parti d'ici au
poste peuvent bien vous dire s'ils veulent. comme je me suis in-
teresse pour votre Peltry, ainsi vous me ferez j' espere aucunes
reproaches, sil le merchandise n'etoit pas ici daus les temps, je ne
peuvoit pas les envoye — mais apres tout en tous cas que vous ne
pourrez sans vous faire tort accepter les merchandise, vous
avez que donner toutes a Mr. Robert Makay & le restant
del'ordre sera toujours envoye,soit a vous ou a lui comme il vous
plaira
Cependant je crois que vous vois bien vos interets et que vous
prenderez pas de Merchandises ailleur que de Nous, voyant qui
nous cherchons que faciliter notre Praitque, & de lieur donner le
Merchandises ici au pris de Detroit sans frais ou risque
Mes Compliments a Mr. Dajenet & Gamelin & je suis avec re-
spect Votre Serviteur
Geo. Sharp
Faiseur pour le Societe de Miamis
156 Indiana Magazine of History
Je vous envoye au Uhias a present
P G une Balot No 5
une [illegible] Blanc.
[Addressed.]
Monsieur Paul Gamelin
Mcht
Poste St Vincents
[Translation.]
Miamis, July 7, 1789.
Mr. Gamelin,
Sir: — I received your letter when a large part of your order
had already been sent on. I sent you what we have here as far
as the Ouia [Ouitenon] as the water is good. I send also orders
to Peyette to send them on the first opportunity with the cloth
and covers of Mr. Chapoton. If he does not get [an opportunity]
to send them he will warn you. The rest of your merchandise,
if there is nothing else, will be sent by Mr. Vigo as I start for
Detroit to-morrow. I have sent a messenger [?] before my to-
bacco with orders to the men to give the preference to your
packages. If they can take them all they will take them all, if
not, I have given orders to Mr. Metter to send the remainder
when the water is good. I hope that you have not refused the
merchandise on the ground that it was not sent you on the first
opportunity. The larger part of your order was not here, as you
could know by asking Mr. St. Marie and Company and knowing
well that these articles will be received within a few days after
their departure I believe it better to send them all together. And
if Mr. Bondy had waited as he promised me, you would have had
them long ago. And all those who have started out from here to
the post [Vincennes] can easily tell you if they wish how I have
interested myself in your peltry.
So you will not reproach me, I hope, if the merchandise should
not be there in time. I could not send them. But, after all, in
any case that you can not, without injury to yourself, accept the
goods, you have only to give them all to Mr. Robert Makay and
the rest of the order will in every case be sent either to you or to
him as it pleases you.
However, I believe that you see your own interests clearly and
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 157
that you will not take goods elsewhere than from us, seeing that
we try only to accommodate our customers and to give them
goods here at the Detroit price without expense or risk.
My compliments to Messrs. Dajenet & Gamelin. I am with
best regards, Your servant,
Geo. Sharp,
Agent for the Society of Miamis.
I send you at Ouia at present
P G a package No 5
a [ ] white.
[Adhemar St. Martin, Miamis, to Paul Gamelin, Vincennes.]
Miamis, Le 18 Aoust 1789
a Mousieur
Paul Gamelin
Mon cher amy
Je ne say comme cellecy vous parviendra, a tout hazard je vous
souhaite a tous une Bonne sante et meilleur reussite dans vos af-
faires, que parmy nous — comme je pense que vous avez retire
quelques choses de mes debiteurs je vous prie payer a M. Cour-
noyer trois ou quarte cents francs en pelteries, cette somme avec
l'argenterie qu'il a eu l'automne derniere approchra la Balance
de mon Compte avec luy, et s'il manqurit quelques choses, apres
compte regie je luy remetre, cest pour le tabac quil a
l'aisse chez moy Lete dernier que j'ay prit pour mon compte,
je me flate que vous arrangerez cela avec lui — Si vous avez du
tabac envoyer en trois ou quatre Balots Si vous trouvez occation
jusqu'au ouias, pour lors je serez a meme de l'avoir en cas de
Besoin
Je ne vous parlerez pas de nos affairs car je Crois quelle ne
vont mieux que cy devant. Si cependant vous avez de Bonne
nouvelle a m'en appendre faites moy les savior cela flatte tou-
jours Bien des Compliments a vos dames et famille a nos amis
commun Brouillet, etc et suis de tout coeur
Votre tres humble
Mon cher amy serviteur
Adhemar St. Martin.
158 Indiana Magazine of History
[Addressed.]
Au Monsieur
Monsieur Paul Gamelin
au poste Vincenne.
[Translation.]
Miamis, August 18, 1789.
To Mr. Paul Gamelin,
My dear friend : — I do not know how this will get to you, but
at any chance I wish you all a good health and a better success
in your affairs than there is among us. As I think that you have
gotten something out of your debtors I pray you to pay Mr.
Cournoyer three or four hundred francs in peltries, that sum
with the silver which he had last autumn will nearly equal the
balance of my account with him, and if he should be short any-
thing after settlement I will send it to him ; it is for the tobacco
which he left with me last summer which I took for my account,
I flatter myself that you will arrange that with him. If you have
any tobacco send two or three packages of it if you find occasion,
for then I will be able to have it in case of need.
I will not speak to you of our affairs for I think they are not
going better than formerly. If, however, you have any good
news to tell me, let me know ; that is always pleasing. Many
compliments to your ladies and family [and] to our common
friends, Broulett, etc., and I am with all my heart, my dear
friend, Your very humble servant,
Adhemar St. Martin.
[From Josiah Bleakley, Cahokia, to unknown.]
Gahokia, March 4, 1795.
Dear Sir:
We arrived at Kaskaskias early in the evening of the fourth
day from Riviere des Embarras.
The 26th day ulto at daybreak a party of Americans, Sixteen in
number, attacked some Miamis Lodges that were encamped
within three leagues of this village, hunting and making sugar.
They had been there about twenty days and consisted of Eleven
men, I know not how many women and children. Seven men
were kild and one wounded, also, by accident firing in the Lodges
Letters from Eighteenth Century Merchants 159
two women & one Girl wounded, one of the women are since
dead. There was a tolerable Booty taken, Eight horses Six
rifles Six packs of Skins and furs, Kettles Axes etc. — The Amer-
icans had three men of the Whiteside family wounded, but not
dangerously. I am afraid this affair will cause some Indian
partys Shortly to turn out, and be very troublesome to the Set-
tlement. No news from Canada nor New Orleans. Trade here
very bad, we. had great hopes from the Mississipy, letters just
arrived worse than last year. The Riviere du Moin has done
pretty well. Please present my respectfull Compliments to Mrs.
Vanderburgh Mr. Bird Mr. Evans & the Doctor. I am Dr Sir
With Esteem
Your most obt
& afft Servt
Josiah BlEakxey.
[Unaddressed.]
New Madrid, March 19th, 1798.
Sir:
I received your letter of last Month respecting a House and
Lot in St. Vincennes which I claim under a Purchase from John
Baptist Barcelow, whose Rect I have in February 1792 for one
hundred Pounds french weight of Beaver Fur.
From what I have been able to Learn there is little Doubt but
that this Mr. J. B. Barcelow has the Right to Sell, nor does it
appear that he has ever sold to any one else ; I am told indeed
that his Father in his Life Time made some conveyance of this
Lot; but his Father had no Authority for this Act and the Son
when he arrives to Age must convey his own Property. This
Lot was never the Right of the Father, but was conveyed to
John Baptist Barcelow ; who is now willing to Convey it to me
or my Assigns.
If you care to take Mr. Barcelow's Right, I shall be willing
to take a hundred & fifty Pounds french Wt. Beaver Fur for it.
I am Sir
Your very Obed. Servt.
Richd. J. Waters.
160 Indiana Magazine of History
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS IN INDIANA, J8J8-J846.
BY MARGARET DUDEN.
* I rHE State system of internal improvements which was
■^ adopted by Indiana, in 1836, was not a new measure ; nor
did the adoption of the system, at that time, grow out of a new
and hasty expression of popular sentiment. For a period of more
than ten years the expediency of providing by law for the com-
mencement of a State system of public works had been discussed
before the people of the State by governors, legislators and dis-
tinguished citizens."
The central and northern part of Indiana had felt a need of a
system of internal improvements. "The experience of the north-
western campaigns of the War of 1812 had demonstrated the fu-
tility of military operations with inadequate means of transport-
ing troops and supplies. A national military highway across
the Old Northwest was demanded."
As early as 1818, Governor Jennings, in his message, urged
the consideration of a system of canals and roads, saying: "The
internal improvement of the State forms a subject of greatest
importance and deserves the most serious attention. Roads and
canals are calculated to afford facilities to the commercial trans-
actions connected with the exports and imports of the country,
by lessening the expenses and time attendant, as well on the
transportation of the bulky articles which compose our exports,
as on the importation of articles, the growth and manufactures
of foreign countries, which luxury and habit have rendered too
common and almost indispensible to our consumption." A sys-
tem of canals would arouse "a more general intercourse between
citizens, which never fails, in a great measure, to remove the
jealousies of local interests, and the embittered violence of po-
litical feuds, which too often produce the most undignified re-
sults to our republican institutions."
In 1822 Indiana and Illinois conjointly began to adopt meas-
ures for the improvement of the Grand Rapids of the Wabash
River.
Internal Improvements in Indiana 161
This was a definite step toward the development of the Wa-
bash route as something more than a waterway of canoe trade.
And in 1823 the subject of connecting- the Maumee and Wa-
bash Rivers by a canal navigation was considered by the legisla-
tures of both Indiana and Illinois.
"The Erie Canal had just been completed. Indiana was
a growing State, but it was hindered by its poor facilities for
getting to market its surplus products. The only market open
to Indiana was that of the South. They were dependent upon
the flatboats which carried the surplus products to the southern
markets. Those countries bordering on the Ohio river were
the fortunate ones, for the interior settlements were practically
cut off from any market, except in the fall and spring."
So in 1822 we find the following statements in Governor Hen-
dricks' message to the General Assembly, December, 1822 :
"We ought to leave free and unshackled, as far as we can, our re-
sources for improvement, and purposes which the interests of
the State may hereafter require, if not at our hands, at the
hands of those who succeed us. In this way we shall best dis-
charge our own duties, and not consult the interests of the com-
munity. Let us not lose sight of those great objects to which
the means of the State should, at some future day be devoted —
the navigation of the falls of the Ohio, the improvement of the
Wabash, the White river and other streams, — and the construc-
tion of the national and other roads through the State."
In December, 1826, Governor Ray delivered the following
statement, before the Assembly: "On the construction of roads
and canals, then, we must rely, as the safest and most certain
State policy, to relieve our situation, place us among the first
States in the Union, and change the cry of 'hard times', into
an open acknowledgment of contentedness." "We must strike
at the internal improvement of the State, or form our minds to
remain poor and unacquainted with each other."
In his message of 1827 Governor Ray again favors internal
improvements, especially since the Federal Government had
given land to Indiana, estimated to be worth $1,250,000, to aid
in the construction of a canal connecting Lake Erie with the
162 Indiana Magazine of History
Wabash river, and in making a road from Lake Michigan
through Indianapolis to the Ohio river.
In 1832 the Internal Improvement work was begun. Mr.
Cochrum in his history calls attention to the fact that the Asiatic
cholera had caused many deaths in Indiana that year, and that
the corn crops had failed; yet the canal commissioners completed
their surveys and prepared bonds, which were sold in New York
to the amount of $1,000,000 at a large premium.
"The work of opening a road from Lake Michigan, through
Indianapolis to Madison, on the River Ohio, was begun, under
the authority of the State, in 1830, and in 1832 the construction
of that part of the Wabash and Erie canal which lies within the
borders of Indiana." The amount spent for the improvement of
the Michigan road was $54,000, of which $52,000 was realized
from the sale of land, appropriated for its construction.
"The Michigan road began at Trail Creek on Lake Michigan;
the road runs easterly to the southern bend of the St. Joseph
river; thence southward to the Wabash river, which it crosses;
thence to Indianapolis ; thence southeast to Greensburg ; thence
south again to Madison." This road served as a route for immi-
gration, but it lost its usefulness when the Wabash and Erie
canal was built.
In 1832, thirty-two miles of the Wabash and Erie canal were
placed under contract.
Little progress was made during the first year, although local
interest ran high. Meetings were held along the line to promote
the rapid building of the canal. Committees worked to secure
legislative action for additional surveys. The scarcity of good
material for locks and waterways proved the greatest obstacle.
By 1834 a small part near Ft. Wayne had been completed, and
the first canal boat launched.
The enthusiasm for the canal was great at the very beginning.
"The old Northwest is especially well adapted to the develop-
ment of canals. The broad strip between the Ohio river and
the lakes is remarkably void of elevations deserving the names
of mountains. Sluggish streams abound through its vast plains.
Broad alluvial valleys follow the larger streams and invite the
Internal Improvements in Indiana 163
construction of canals and railroads. Few locks were necessary,
and the material like timber and stone were close at hand."
During the year 1835, the Wabash and Erie canal was rapidly
constructed. The middle division, extending from St. Joseph
river to the forks of the Wabash, was completed. This finished
section was thirty-one miles in length and cost $232,000.
But, in the meantime, it had been necessary to make another
loan of $400,000. Transferable certificates of stock, 6 per cent.,
for twenty-five years, were issued.
Nevertheless by the middle of summer boats were running on
this part of the canal.
During the period 1830-1835, the population of Indiana in-
creased greatly. The necessity for roads and means of trans-
portation grew with the population. The financial success of the
Erie canal aroused among the newer States a similar enthusiasm
for internal improvements.
Accordingly a bill, known as the Mammoth Bill, was presented
to the Legislature of 1835. The cost of the system was esti-
mated at $5,910,000. The plan provided for an extension of the
Wabash and Erie canal from Tippecanoe to Lafayette ; also for a
network of connecting canals, railroads and turnpikes. The dis-
cussions upon this bill were animated, nevertheless it failed at
the first session, because of a demand for more definite in-
formation.
In 1835 the Legislature appropriated the sum of $227,000 to
extend the Wabash and Erie canal from the mouth of the Tippe-
canoe river to Lafayette. The same legislature desired to in-
vestigate the feasibility of the Mammoth Bill, therefore it pro-
vided for a series of surveys.
During the elections of 1835, the question of internal improve-
ments became an issue.
The General Assembly met December, 1836, and Governor
Noble in his message recommended the expenditure of $10,000,-
000 on such a system of internal "improvements.
The Legislature passed a bill providing for a system of im-
provements, which had been introduced on January 27, 1836.
In the House sixty-five had voted for it, and in the Senate it
passed with a two-thirds majority.
164 Indiana Magazine of History
This bill provided for a Board of Internal Improvements,
which was to consist of nine members. These members were
to receive their appointment from the governor.
The act benefited all sections of the State, for it provided for
a system of trunpikes, canals and railroads, with the Wabash and
Erie canal and the Ohio river as the main arteries.
The passage of this act caused great rejoicing throughout the
State. It was expected and believed that the revenues the State
would enjoy from the various works would make taxation un-
necessary. The system was expected to make all men rich. A
period of wild speculation followed. Trading of all kind be-
came active. The provisions of the Act of 1836 are as follows:
I. The Whitewater Canal was to extend from Hagerstown
to Lawrenceburg. The act provided for a connection between
the said Whitewater canal, and the Central canal, either a con-
nection by canal or by railroad. One million four hundred thou-
sand dollars was appropriated. If Ohio declined to construct the
part of the canal which would be in her territory, the commis-
sioners were to construct a railroad from some point near Harri-
son to Lawrenceburg, wholly within Indiana. (This canal had
been agitated as early as 1822. The survey and location and
contracts for building the various sections were let at Brook-
ville September 13, 1836, under the auspices of the State. The
canal was completed from the Ohio river to Brookville, as well
as about one-half of the work from Brookville to Cambridge
City, in 1839. The session of i84i-'42 Legislature chartered the
Whitewater Valley Company, with a capital stock of $400,000.
In October, 1843, tne canal was extended from Brookville fifteen
miles to Laurel ; to Connersville, twelve miles farther, in June,
1845; and in October, 1845, it was completed to Cambridge City.
The entire' cost to the company was $743,000. It was operated
for several years until the Whitewater Valley railroad super-
seded it. The canal company constructed the canal only as far
as Cambridge City. In 1846 the Hagerstown Canal Company
was organized and the canal reached that place in 1847. But the
canal soon fell into disuse except as a source of water-power.)
II. The Central canal, 290 miles. This canal was to begin
Internal Improvements in Indiana 165
at some suitable point on the Wabash and Erie canal, between
Ft. Wayne and Logansport ; it was to run to Muncietown, thence
to Indianapolis, thence down the valley of the west fork of said
river, thence to Evansville on the Ohio. The appropriation was
$3,500,000.
(The section from Indianapolis to Broad Ripple was the only
completed portion. The work was begun in 1837, and prose-
cuted up to 1838. A great deal of work was done on the canal
between Indianapolis and Wabash town. The canal was almost
completed from Indianapolis to the bluffs of White river when
the Board of Internal Improvements failed. The Legislature
authorized the sale of the Central canal to outside parties. It
was sold to parties in New York. Now it is owned by the In-
dianapolis Water Company.)
III. An extension of the Wabash and Erie canal from the
mouth of the Tippecanoe river down the valley of the Wabash
to Terre Haute, thence by route surveyed on Eel river, so as
to connect it with the Central canal at the point designated in the
said survey, or else by the most practicable route from Terre
Haute, so as to connect with the mouth of Black creek, in Knox
county. The appropriation was $1,300,000.
IV. A Railroad from Madison, through Columbus, Indian-
apolis and Crawfordsville, to Lafayette. Appropriation $1,-
300,000.
(The State began this work and completed twenty-eight miles,
and incurred one-half the expense of grading and bridging the
next twenty-eight miles. The heavy work on the Madison plane,
the high embankments and bridges, and the deep cuts south of
Vernon, caused this part of the road to cost at the rate of $40,-
000 a mile. The part finished by the company, from Six Mill
creek to Indianapolis, cost the company which took possession of
it in February, 1843, less than $8,000 a mile.)
V. A Macadamized Turnpike Road from New Albany
through Greenville, thence as near Fredricksburg as practicable,
through Paoli, Mount Pleasant and Washington to Vincennes.
The appropriation was $1,150,000.
VI. A re-survey of the Jeffersonville-Crawfordsville route.
166 Indiana Magazine of History
If practical to build either a railroad, or a turnpike, beginning
at Salem.
VII. The sum of $50,000 was appropriated for the removal of
obstructions to navigation in the Wabash river between its
mouth and the town of Vincennes.
VIII. Erie and Michigan Canal or Railway, was to begin at
or near Ft. Wayne and run to Lake Michigan, near Michigan
City, by way of Goshen, South Bend and Laporte, if this route
was practicable.
(No part of the Erie and Michigan canal was ever completed.)
A loan of $10,000,000 had to be made in order to begin this
system.
In 1836, thirty-one miles of the Whitewater canal from Law-
renceburg to Brookville was placed under contract, also twenty-
three miles of the Central canal, which was to pass through In-
dianapolis. Twenty miles of the southern division of this work,
from Evansville into the interior, was also placed under contract,
and the cross-cut canal from Terre Haute to where it intersected
the Central canal near the mouth of Eel river, was all under
contract for construction.
As soon as the work was begun, there was a great desire on
the part of the people to see it finished without delay.
In his message of 1836, Governor Noble feared, "That the
rapid disbursement of money would lead to extravagance, high-
living, and then a reaction, when the system would become a
burden."
If all the works authorized had been completed, they would
have cost $30,000,000, and the whole tolls would not have paid
for the repairs of the first twenty years. In many places public
works were begun where there was no surplus of labor or of
produce, and here the lot speculator was the only person who
could be profited. It was a fortunate thing that the credit of the
State failed before all the indebtedness contemplated had been
incurred.
The Auditor's report for 1848 appears as follows:
Internal Improvements in Indiana 167
COST.
Jefferson & Crawfordsville Road $ 339,183.78
Lafayette & Indianapolis Road 73,142.87
Wabash Rapids 14,288.42
White Water Canal 1,092,175.13
Madison '& Indianapolis Road 1,624,603.05
Wabash and Erie Canal, East of Tippecanoe 3,055,268.97
Wabash & Erie Canal, West of Tippecanoe 1,245,290.54
Eel River Cross Cut 436,189.88
S. Division of Central Canal 575,646.49
Wabash and Ohio Canal 9,169.94
New Albany & Vincennes R. R 696,516.47
N. Division of Central Canal 882,088.93
Erie and Michigan Canal 160,708.87
$10,204,273.39
SUMS RECEIVED FOR TOLL.
Madison & Indianapolis R. R $ 85,436.68
Wabash & Erie Canal (east) 1,174,611.83
Wabash & Erie Canal (west) 526,847.61
New Albany & Vincennes Road 27,311.34
Northern Division of Central Canal 15,008.76
$ 1,829,216.22
"The causes for the disastrous outcome were various. The
financial distress which swept over the country in 1837 was
partly to blame." The tolls were insufficient, and the authorities
lost largely by selling bonds on credit. In several cases the pur-
chaser failed through unsuccessful speculation to be able to meet
his obligations to the State. When the crash came there was a
general suspension of every sort of business. The State's finan-
cial ruin was great.
In 1839, the entire State system of public works was paralyzed.
The State could not find purchasers for its bonds. The pay-
ments of the contractors ceased on their contracts. The board
could no longer meet its obligations, and consequently aban-
doned all work in August, 1839.
168 Indiana Magazine; of History
In order to provide means for the payment of the contractors,
and other public creditors, the Legislature authorized an issue
of State treasury notes to the amount of $1,500,000. These notes
formed a circulating medium which for a brief period passed at
its normal value, but early in the summer of 1842, when there
was about $1,000,000 of this currency in circulation among the
people, it suddenly depreciated in value from 40 to 50 per cent.
The Legislature of 1841 passed a law authorizing any private
company to take charge of, and to complete any of the works,
with the exception of the Wabash and Erie Canal, which was re-
tained by the State. The act abolished the Board of Internal
Improvements, the office of fund commissioner and chief engi-
neer. It provided also for a State agent who was to perform the
duties of the fund commissioner.
By 1841 the State debt grew to $13,148,453 of which $9,464,453
was on account of the internal improvement system. This sum
steadily increased because of the unpaid interest. On the other
hand, Indiana had two hundred miles of canal in use, yielding
$5,000 in tolls, two railroads yielding $26,000 annually, and sev-
eral useless fragments of canals.
The Cross Cut canal, and the southern division of the Central
canal, on which little had been accomplished, became integral
parts of the Wabash and Erie waterway on its extension to the
Ohio river.
The State made several attempts to finish the Wabash and
Erie canal, and in 1841, it was successfully operated from Ft.
Wayne to Lafayette, and paid a fair revenue to the State. In
1841 and 1845 Congress made a second and third grant of land
to aid in the construction of the canal. But all these efforts
were futile.
The Legislature of 1845 had two problems which confronted
it. (1) To complete the Wabash and Erie canal; (2) To man-
age the State debt.
Indiana, however, was not the only State which had embar-
rassing financial conditions, as Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michi-
gan and Illinois defaulted in their payments of interest. .
At this time the dissatisfied creditors both of Europe and
Internal Improvements in Indiana 169
America, appointed a Mr. Charles Butler as their agent, in order
that he should endeavor to obtain relief for the bondholders.
The Legislature of 1846 finally solved the problem by passing
the Butler Bill. This bill divided the State debt into two parts.
As to the one part, the State agreed to pay interest and ulti-
mately the principal out of taxation. For the interest and prin-
cipal of the other half, the creditors consented to look to the rev-
enues of the Wabash and Erie, canal. This canal was placed
under a board of trustees, one member of which was to be chosen
by the State Legislature, and two members were to be selected
by the bondholders. The canal was not placed in the hands of
the bondholders, but the canal was placed in trust for their
benefit.
In 1847 the board met. Mr. Butler was chosen president. The
newly organized board of trustees received the Wabash and Erie
canal in 1847. It was completed by this management to Terre
Haute in 1849, and to Evansville in 1854. The entire length of
the canal in Indiana was 375 miles. It extended 84 miles in
Ohio. This made a total of 459 miles. The enormous work,
which cost so many million dollars, lasted only a few years,
owing to its being paralleled the entire length by railroads. The
canal caused a large emigration to the sections for many miles
on both sides of the canal throughout its entire length.
Thirty-eight counties in Indiana and nearly nine counties in
Illinois, including an average of 22,000 square miles, were di-
rectly affected by the canal.
In 1874, the Wabash and Erie canal was abandoned. The
court ordered a sale of the canal. The property with the right
of way and lands were sold February 12, 1877, to speculators,
but no attempt was made to repair and maintain the canal. It
rapidly fell into complete ruin, and as a money-making institu-
tion the canal had utterly failed.
Many towns which had suddenly sprung into existence as
promising centers, have passed with the canal, as for example,
Lagro, Lewisburg, Georgetown, Carrolton, Americus and Lock-
port, all of which are almost forgotten. Miss Coman, in her
Industrial History of the United States, says: "We see then
170 Indiana Magazine of History
that the crisis of 1837 checked the mania for canal building none
too soon. Much of the capital so invested was lost, for the
canal was destined to be superseded by the railroad. Canal
traffic was often interfered with by slack water, floods and frosts ;
the traffic was necessarily slow. A railroad can be built through
the mountainous country at one-third of the cost of a canal, and
over heights water can not be conducted over."
And so in Indiana we find the railroads, which were usually
built by joint stock companies and chartered by the State Legis-
latures, taking the place of canals. But the construction of rail-
roads forms another chapter of Indiana history.
Poutical Letters of the Post-Bellum Days 171
POLITICAL LETTERS OF THE POST-BELLUM DAYS.
From the Doouttle Correspondence with Thomas A.
Hendricks.
CONTRIBUTED BY MR. DUANE MO WRY, MILWAUKEE.
IN the letters which follow will be found a touch of the politi-
cal feeling which existed shortly after the war between the
States. The authors of the letters and Mr. Doolittle, to whom
they were addressed, played an important part in the political
drama of the time. They were all prominent public characters,
and their patriotism was always beyond question.
The originals of the letters are in the possession of the contribu-
tor, and they have never appeared in print. The student of In-
diana history will, it is believed, be glad to know of these letters
and to peruse them.
Indianapolis,
Aug. 31, 1871.
Hon. James R. Doolittle,
My Dear Sir :
Your kind note of the 29th is rec'd. I was gratified at your
flattering nomination, & that you promptly accepted. Our paper
publishes your speech this morning, & I will have the pleasure
of reading it this evening.
How far we will be able, from this State, to help in your can-
vass, I can not now say. Ohio has made demands upon us, which
must be respected, too. I will advise you. Indiana owes you
all the help she can give.
I fear you will feel an adverse wind from the charges made by
the New York Times against the City & County officers, but I
feel sure you will achieve much in this contest. You will have
the heart of the Indiana democracy with you.
With warmest wishes,
Truly yours,
T. A. Hendricks.
172 Indiana Magazine of History
[Note;. — This letter refers to the nomination of Judge Doo-
little by the Democratic party of Wisconsin as its candidate for
governor. And the speech mentioned was Mr. Doolittle's ac-
ceptance of the nomination. The reputation of ex-Senator Doo-
little as a campaign orator was well known throughout the coun-
try, and was essentially national in its scope and character. It
was recognition of this fact that induced Mr. Hendricks to say
that the democracy of Indiana owed Mr. Doolittle all the help
it could give him. Reciprocal political assistance was due him.]
Private. Indianapolis,
January 27, 1877.
Hon. James R. Doolittle,
My Dear Sir:
Your favor of the 25th is rec'd. I take it for granted that
Judge Davis will not resign before the 4th March. I think he
will favor Drummond as his successor — but do not know. He is*
a good judge but an ultra opponent of the Democrats. Mr. Sena-
tor McDonald will have a good deal of influence in the opposi-
tion. You had better write to him at once. Should Gov. Tilden
& myself be declared elected I cannot yet say what will be my
position towards the administration touching appointments. It
has heretofore been held that the V. President can have nothing
to say. I do not see any reason for that, and I am sure no such
rule ought to apply to myself, nominated as I was. I will be very
glad to see you appointed. I will drop a note to Senator McDon-
ald, that he may not commit himself. In ten or twelve days we
will know who is to control the appointment. Should Judge
Swayne be the 5th man of the Court, I will feel that the result is
very doubtful. He is an intensely bitter partisan.
Truly yrs,
T. A. Hendricks.
[Note;. — This letter deals with questions growing out of the
campaign when it was claimed that Samuel J. Tilden and
Thomas A. Hendricks were elected President and Vice-Presi-*
dent, respectively, of the United States. Judge David Davis had
recently been elected United States Senator from Illinois. This
would cause a vacancy on the United States circuit court bench.
Political Letters of the Post-Bellum Days 173
Evidently, Mr. Doolittle was seeking to have this appointment go
to him. And he was interesting Mr. Hendricks in his behalf, in
case the Democratic candidates for President and Vice-President
were given the certificates of election. Subsequent events, how-
ever, established the success of the Republican candidates, Hayes
and Wheeler, and with it went the hopes and ambitions of Judge
Doolittle. This letter has some interest as giving some estimate
of officers in the public eye at the time of its writing. It shows,
too, a warm place in Mr. Hendricks's bosom for his political
friend and associate, ex-Senator Doolittle, of Wisconsin.]
Governor's Island, N. Y.,
September 14, 1880.
Hon. James R. Doolittle,
Chicago, 111.,
My Dear Sir:
This morning brings in the good news from Maine where you
have rendered such valuable service.
I have requested that your Indianapolis speech be distributed
throughout the country : I believe it treats nearly all the leading
questions ; but if on revision you find that you did not cover all
the vital issues, I take the liberty of suggesting that you seize an
opportunity to do so, in order that the record of this campaign
may be valuable in history. I am aware of the extent and thor-
oughness of your labors : I intend in the foregoing remark not
to depreciate them, but to indicate the obligations you are under
by your ability and your relation to parties, to treat the great
governmental questions at issue, for the benefit of our country-
men now and hereafter. I am,
Very truly yours,
Winf'd S. Hancock.
[Note. — General Hancock's reference to a speech which Judge
Doolittle delivered in Indianapolis during the presidential cam-
paign makes this letter a bit of interesting political history. It
also emphasizes the great influence and power of Mr. Doolittle as
an effective campaigner. The speech, of course, was delivered
some time during the fall of 1880, and prior to the date of the
letter of General Hancock.]
174 Indeana Magazine of History
The subjoined letter from Judge Doolittle to Mr. Hendricks
is valuable from several points of view. It deals with interesting
data connected with President Johnson's administration, with
which, of course, Judge Doolittle was very familiar. What he
says about that administration may be regarded as authoritative,
because his confidential relations with it are matters of history.
He was a confidential adviser of Mr. Johnson, and he had been
previously of Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Doolittle's discussion of the
political outlook with his political friend is interesting, if not
altogether convincing. He was right in predicting the nomina-
tion of Mr. Cleveland for President. But it seems that Mr.
Hendricks was to be his running mate. However, those of us
who knew Judge Doolittle, believe his letter was entirely honest
and sincere. He thought here was the opportunity to win a
State and a national victory at the same time.
It is difficult to find many letters prepared by Judge Doolittle
in his private correspondence. It was not his practice to keep
copies of his letters, but this seems to be an exception to the rule.
A diligent search has been made to find, if possible, Mr. Hen-
dricks's reply, but it has not been discovered. It would be inter-
esting to know what was his answer to Mr. Doolittle's sugges-
tion to stand for governor.
The readers of your quarterly are to be congratulated to have
the opportunity to read this interesting letter. It has never been
offered for publication before. DuanS Mowry.
Milwaukee, Wis., October 18, 1909.
Racine, Wis., June 19, 1884.
Hon. Thos. A. Hendricks.
My Dear Sir — Upon conference with Mr. Kimball, one of my
intimate 'friends, I have determined to write you upon a matter
of great personal interest to you, and to our cause.
After I saw Mr. Tilden, at his home, at Graystone, last Novem-
ber, I knew his candidacy was simply impossible. Your name
was so associated with his upon the "old ticket," in the memories,
affections, and, if you please, in the patriotic indignation of the
whole Democratic party of the country, that a separation of the
Political Letters of the Post-Bellum Days 175
two names, and a breach of the "old ticket" was also impossible,
as it seemed to me.
I was also led to think, that in the existing state of things,
neither your name with Mr. Tilden's, nor separate from it, would
this year, be likely to be placed in nomination upon the "Ticket,"
for President, or, for Vice President.
The action of the convention in New York, yesterday, makes
it almost morally certain, that Gov. Cleveland will be our candi-
date for President; and, from all that has been said by other con-
ventions, and by the press, as well as from private correspond-
ence, it seems likely that Col. McDonald will be placed in nom-
ination for Vice President, if our friends outside of Indiana are
satisfied that it meets with your approval.
And now my dear sir, allow me as one of your sincere friends
to say, in all frankness, I hope it will accord with your best judg-
ment, and the good of our cause, to allow our friends in Indiana,
to place your name, in nomination for Governor. Not that it will
add any honor to those already conferred upon you, by your
great state ; but that it can give the whole country the assurance,
that New York and Indiana will give their votes for Cleveland and
McDonald, for President and Vice President, in the coming
election.
For myself, I have no aspirations for any place, whatever. I
look for my reward, not in official position, but in my vindication.
I have fought the good fight of faith. I have fought for principle ;
whether that led me to act with, or against, the Democratic party,
or, with, or against, the Republican party,
In 1847, when, by treaty, we had acquired the Free Territories
from Mexico, and Gen'l Cass proposed by "diffusion of slavery"
to spread it out so thin in the Territories that it would die out of
itself, I was severed from the Democratic party, under his lead,
and helped to organize the Free Soil party.
Then a young man, from Western New York, I offered in the
Democratic Convention, A Resolution "declaring the uncompro-
mising hostility of the Democracy of New York against the ex-
tension of slavery into the Free Territories recently acquired of
Mexico by any act of the General Government."
That resolution was rejected, or laid on the table by one ma-
176 Indiana Magazine of History
jority. Upon that vote, Robert Morris, of New York city, the
president of the Convention of Syracuse, of February, 1847,
angrily tore the resolution in pieces, and threw them on the floor.
The idea was not destroyed. A copy of the resolution was pre-
served. On that rejected resolution, called the "Corner Stone
Resolution," the Free Soil party was organized. It sent a Dele-
gation to Baltimore, was refused admission except they come in
with their votes neutralized by a hostile Delegation. They with-
drew from the Convention, (I among them). We nominated
Martin Van Buren. Then followed the Buffalo convention ;
which also nominated Van Buren, and Chas. Francis Adams.
The result was, that Corner Stone Resolution, wrecked Gen'l Cass
with his diffusion of slavery theory. Taylor was elected, and Cali-
fornia came in as a Free State.
Then came a truce. Both parties pledged themselves anew,
not to agitate the slavery question, and that the statu quo in the
Territories, including the Mexican law of Freedom in the new
ones, and the Missouri Compromise in the old ones, should re-
main.
My war against the Democratic party then ceased ; and I sup-
ported Pierce, in 1852.
But as if the Devil had control of things, in 1853-4, Dixon, a
whig senator from Kentucky, introduced a bill to repeal the
Missouri Compromise. In vain Houston and Benton raised their
warning voices against it. In vain Douglas first reported against
it. In vain President Pierce and the Washington Union op-
posed it. The infernal measure once before the Senate, began its
work of mischief; till at last, Douglas gave way, — hoping that
with the Squatter Sovereignty panacea, he could get rid of the
question. The result was, it only opened wide the Territory of
Kansas for the extremes to challenge each other to mortal com-
bat. It, in fact, began, right then and there, the Civil War,
which, afterwards, led hundreds of thousands of brothers, with
hands stained in brother's blood, to battle and to death.
The establishment of the Slave Code of Kansas, as the result
of the Border Ruffian invasion and subjugation of that territory,
and the vote of the Democrats in Congress to sustain that Code
by the Federal Army, again severed me from that party ; and I
Political Letters of the Post-Bellum Days 177
joined to help organize the Republican party of 1856. In 1857 I
entered the Senate. You know all the rest. I will not repeat
what is so familiar to you.
The Republican party was organized as a states rights party.
While it opposed slavery extension into the Free Territories, it
denounced any invasion of the rights of the states as among the
gravest of crimes. It was born of a protest against Federal
usurpation ; a protest against the Fugitive Slave Law ; a protest
against the Slave Code of Kansas ; and, especially, a protest
against using the Federal Army to enforce that Code ; and to
force upon a people, a Constitution which they had rejected, but
which was declared adopted upon a false return of more than
5,000 votes of men, whose names were never found in Kansas,
but found in an old Cincinnati Directory.
In saying that the Republican party was organized as a states
rights party, I speak only of what I know, for I drew the very
call upon which the Republican party, the People's party of
Pennsylvania, and the Union party of New Jersey, were brought
together in the convention at Chicago, in i860, which nominated
Mr. Lincoln.
The rights of the states were recognized in the strongest terms,
not only in the platform on which Mr. Lincoln was elected, but
especially, in that resolution of July, 1861, after the war had be-
gun, passed unanimously by Congress, two days after the disaster
at Bull Run, — the most solemn declaration a nation could make,
before God and the civilized world.
-But after Lincoln's assassination, the control of the Republican
party passed into the hands of Thad. Stevens ; who really h^d
more power than ever Robespierre had in the French Conven-
tion, and in all its ideas it was revolutionized, and carried right
over and entirely outside of the Constitution.
His great genius, indomitable will, and his great passions, in-
flamed into an intensity of hate, by the destruction of his Iron
Works by the rebel forces at Gettysburg, made him burn and
flame like an electric light, so intense and fierce that lesser lights
were dim ; and the Blaines and Logans were boys under him.
Unfortunately, President Johnson, as true a patriot as ever
lived, by his want of tact and by his mistakes in extempore
178 Indiana Magazine of History
speeches in which he would indulge, in spite of the advice and
counsel of his best friends, lost control, and the power to hold on
to the policy of Lincoln. Johnson refused to appoint Morton in
his Cabinet, which place Morton was ready to accept, after his
Richmond speech. Had Johnson done so, Morton had sufficient
organizing power, with Johnson's aid, to resist Stevens and his
followers in their radical revolution. But he did not appoint him
Secretary of War. He kept Stanton to betray and to ruin him ;
to betray and to ruin Lincoln's policy, of Reconstruction under
the Constitution. Though Stanton himself drew the very Recon-
struction Proclamation, and though it was unanimously approved
by all Lincoln's Cabinet, twice read over in presence of Gen'l
Grant himself, yet Stanton betrayed it under Stevens' lead.
Then came the rejection of Sherman's terms of Capitulation by
Johnson's army, because it seemed to recognise the States of the
South as being still states in the Union.
To cut this letter short, Stevens and his followers got complete
control of the Republican party, and revolutionized it. He
boldly declared that we were "outside" the Constitution, in deal-
ing with all the States South of the Potomac.
Then, under Stevens, the Republican party did, what the Re-
bellion could not do; it broke the Union. It expelled ten States.
It reduced them to Five Military Provinces. It subjugated
10,000,000, of people to military law. It abolished all civil law
from the Potomac to the Rio Grande; and, (to quote Garfield),
"with a steel pen made of a bayonet," two years after the war was
over and peace proclaimed, erased from the Constitution the
sacred words, "Habeas Corpus," and "Right of Trial by Jury,"
and wrote in their places "Martial Law," and "Drum Head Courts
Martial."
Time fails me to tell you of all its great crimes ; of the degrada-
tion and corruption of the South ; of Disfranchising by Test
Oaths the intelligence and character of the South ; of filling their
Legislatures with ignorance and stupidity ; of the robbery by
carpet-bag thieves of those states by the fraudulent issue of
bonds, to $126,000,000; of the degradation of the suffrage of the
South, instead of qualifying and elevating it, and with it elevat-
ing the enfranchised race ; of all these things, which make the
Political Letters of the Post-Bellum Days 179
heart sick to recall. Add to all this the nepotism, corruption,
whiskey thief jobbing of Grant's administrations, and both of
them, which show that great as he was as a soldier, he never had
any more fitness for the civil duties of President, than he has
lately shown himself fit to be the head of a great Banking House
in Wall Street.
Add to that, the great unpunished fraud and outrage of 1876.
The bribery, by which half a million stolen from the Treasury by
Star Route thieves under Dorsey, was spent to buy votes in
Indiana in 1880; and more humiliating, even, than Bribery itself,
the fact that Arthur, the present President of the United States,
without blushing, at a public dinner, when an ex-president sat
by his side, openly, as if honors were being given to some great,
conquering hero, boasted of the achievement of Carrying Indiana
by wholesale Bribery, as if it were a great victory.
O, my friend ! when I think of this party in power, having thus
proved faithless to the Idea upon which it was elected, upon
which I helped to form and organize it, how, instead of being a
states rights party, maintaining the Union to be sovereign in all
national affairs, and that the States are still sovereign in all their
domestic affairs, it has now become the party of Centralization ;
— substantially denying the obligations and limitations of a
Written Constitution, and maintaining that Congress can do any
thing and every thing which it is not expressly forbidden to do ;
— and, that it is all honey-combed through and through with
corruption ; when I call all these things to mind, words fail to
express the necessity to overthrow that party ; and to place the
administration in the hands of the true Democratic Republican
party, regenerated as it now seems to be, and to bring true and
genuine reform with it, into every branch of the government.
Let me therefore, knowing as I do your devoted love for the
country for which you have labored and sacrificed so much, not-
withstanding your personal disinclination to do so, ask you once
more, to consent to put on your armor; once more, to become the
candidate for Governor of Indiana. By that act, close up the
ranks in New York and Indiana, unite all our forces, divide our
adversaries, everywhere, and make victory sure.
180 Indiana Magazine of History
Excuse this long and hastily written letter, for which the deep-
est solicitude is my only apology.
As ever,
Sincerely yours,
J. R. Doolittle).
The following letter from Mr. John Bigelow confirms what
Judge Doolittle had written about the availability of Mr. Samuel
J. Tilden as a presidential candidate:
July 6, 1884.
Hon. J. R. Doolittle :
My Dear Sir — Though Governor Tilden has never been sick in
bed a day since I have known him, now more than forty years,
nor ever so ill as not to attend to current affairs, he is not strong
and has no expectation of being ever any stronger. He does not
feel that if elected to the Presidency he could realise the reason-
able expectations of his friends or of the country. It was this
apprehension which led him to decline the nomination in 1880
and there is no reason operating now, except the greater apparent
unanimity of the party and the deduction of four years from the
working balance of his life, that was not operative then.
I take no responsibility in saying, not only that the Governor
does not wish the office but he does wish not to assume the bur-
dens which it would impose upon him.
From a conviction that the anxieties of a canvass and the labor
incident to a regeneration of our administrative system would
interfere with the regularity of life and the repose which are in-
dispensable to his health and comfort, I approved entirely of his
course in 1880 and I am very reluctantly constrained to approve
of the course which he now seems determined to pursue.
I regret that from the very nature of the situation I can not
give a more explicit answer to your favor of the 2d inst., nor one
more in harmony with what I suppose to be your feelings.
Yours very truly,
John Bigexow.
As a contribution to the discussion mentioned in Judge Doo-
little's letter, Mr. Bigelow's statement is valuable. D. M.
Indiana Society D. A. R. 181
INDIANA SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION.
Report of the State Historian, October 12, 1909.
'"T'HE chapters, from their reports, show a healthy vigor and
■^ growth along historic lines. Their programs are worthy of
a place with the programs of literary clubs. The zeal and in-
terest in patriotic education ; in locating and marking the graves
of Revolutionary soldiers and other historic spots; the steady
and patient endeavor to Americanize our foreign newcomers — all
this work, so dear to the hearts of our most American Hoosiers,
is growing and strengthening daily.
One strong indication of this growth is the wonderful forma-
tion of new chapters ; thirty-seven counties are now represented
by the forty-five chapters that have been established in our State
since the work was begun in 1894 by Mrs. Chapin C. Foster, our
first State Regent. The history of our earlier years shows what
uphill work was this forming of chapters ; but as each chapter is
established it does its part in a very important branch of patriotic
education — the spreading of the spirit of patriotism among our
own people. As each chapter is formed, the near neighbors' am-
bition is aroused, and now it has almost become a question
whether our State Regent shall organize at once, or form a wait-
ing list and organize as fast as she can get around to them.
In July your historian sent a circular letter to each regent
asking the cooperation of the chapters in collecting fragmentary
history of early Indiana, accounts of early settlers, court-house
records, old letters and documents. This letter has already met
with a generous response from several chapters.
The Manitou Chapter of Rochester has a member, Marguerite
Miller, who had already collected and printed in book form bio-
graphical sketches of the early settlers of Fulton county — not
hearsay accounts, but the story of these early lives and struggles
with the hardships in the wilderness by the very people who ex-
perienced them. It is a splendid piece of work.
182 Indiana Magazine of History
Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter, of Fort Wayne, has sent me a
similar publication, "Reminiscences of Old Fort Wayne by
Those Who Know."
A week after these letters were sent out, without having heard
of the work your historian was endeavoring to induce others to
take up, I was assigned by the Indiana Historical Society the
editing of a pamphlet containing the "Assessment List of Indian-
apolis, 1835," together with a biographical sketch of the assessor,
George M. Lockerbie. The preparation of this sketch brought
to light many interesting and valuable incidents connected with
the early history of Indianapolis.
Also, shortly after the circular letters were well on their way,
Mrs. Mortimer Levering, who within the year has written a book
on early Indiana, wrote me suggesting that the Daughters start
this work in Indiana. All this goes to show that the wave of
historical research which enthusiastic Daughters started eighteen
years ago is still rolling over our land, and that Indiana Daugh-
ters are not out of its track.
Eliza G. Browning,
State Historian.
List of Indiana Histories 183
LIST OF INDIANA HISTORIES.
B Y HARL O W LINDLE Y.
9 ■ HE following historical material relating to Indiana is avail-
* ible in the Indiana State Library. The list does not pretend
to be exhaustive or complete, but only suggestive, and is pub-
lished to meet a demand which has been made for Indiana ma-
terial of a general historical nature.
Ball, Timothy Horton
Northwestern Indiana, 1800-1900. II., maps, O. Crown
Point, Ind., 1900.
Cauthorn, Henry S.
History of the city of Vincennes, Indiana, 1702-1901. Terre
Haute, 1901.
Cockrum, William M.
Pioneer history of Indiana, including stories, incidents and
customs of the early settlers. Oakland City, Ind., 1907.
Conklin, Julia S.
Young people's history of Indiana. II., O. Indianapolis,
1899.
Cox, Sanford C.
Recollection of early settlements of the Wabash Valley.
Lafayette, Ind., i860.
Dillon, John B.
History of Indiana from its earliest exploration by the Euro-
peans to the close of the territorial government in 1816. Vol.
1, O. Indianapolis, 1843.
with a general view of the progress of public affairs in In-
diana from 1816-1856. Indianapolis, 1859.
Dunn, Jacob Piatt
Indiana, a redemption from slavery; new and enlarged ed.
Map. 1905. (American Commonwealth series.)
English, William Hayden
Conquest of the country northwest of the river Ohio, 1778-
1783, and life of Gen. George Rogers Clark. 2 vol. Indian-
apolis, 1896.
Glascock, Will H.
Young folks' Indiana. II, O. Chicago, 1898.
184 Indiana Magazine of History
Goodrich, DeWitt C. and Tuttle, Charles R.
History of the State of Indiana. II., O. Indianapolis, 1875.
Haymond, William S., ed.
History of the State of Indiana. II., O. Indianapolis, 1879.
Indiana Historical Society
Publications, 1895-
Indiana Quarterly Magazine of History
1905 to date. Vol. I to date.
Indiana State Library, comp.
History pamphlets (miscellaneous).
Indianian, monthly
Vol. 1-7. 1897-1900. Indianapolis.
Law, John
Colonial History of Vincennes. Vincennes, 1858.
Moore, E. E., comp.
Hoosier cyclopaedia; a compilation of statistical, official,
historical, political, and general information adapted espe-
cially to meet the need of busy Indianians. Connersville,
1905.
Northern Indiana Historical Society
Publications, Nos. 1-3. South Bend, Ind., 1899-1900.
No. 1 — St. Joseph-Kankakee Portage, by George A. Baker.
2 — Glacial phenomena in Northern Indiana, by Hugh T.
Montgomery.
3 — Indiana Supreme Court, by Timothy E. Howard.
Popular History of Indiana, with introduction by Mrs. T. A.
Hendricks. Indianapolis, 1891.
Smith, Hubbard M.
Historical sketches of Old Vincennes. Vincennes, 1902.
Smith, Oliver Hampton
Early Indiana trials and sketches. Cincinnati, 1858.
Smith, William Henry
History of State of Indiana. 2 vol. Indianapolis, 1903.
Thompson, Maurice
Stories of Indiana. II., O. New York, 1898.
Wood, Aaron
Sketches of things and people in Indiana. Olcott, 1883.
Woollen, William Wesley
Biographical and historical sketches of early Indiana. In-
dianapolis, 1883.
Index of Historical Articles 185
INDEX OF HISTORICAL ARTICLES IN INDIANA
NEWSPAPERS.
PREPARED BY MISS FLORENCE VENN,
Reference Librarian, Indiana State Library.
Abbreviations: Ind., Indianapolis; mag. sec, magazine section; p., page; c, column.
Adams county. Robert Simison's recollections of early days in
Adams county. Muncie Star, Nov. 26, 1909, p. 10, c. 1.
Armstrong, John. Description of grave of Clark county Revolu-
tionary soldier. Ind. Star, Sept. 26, 1909, mag. sec. p. 5, c. 1.
Brute de Remur, Simon William Gabriel. Life of Bishop Brute.
Evansville Journal-News, Oct. 31, 1909, p. 8, c. 2. Ind. News,
Oct. 23, 1909, p. 2.7, c. 6.
Carrington, Henry B. Col. Holloway's recollections of him. Ind.
Star, Oct. 10, 1909, p. 37, c. 1.
Coquillard, Alexis. Founded South Bend. South Bend Tribune,
Oct. 9, 1909, p. 13, c. 1.
Douglas, Stephen Arnold. His visit to Indianapolis during the
early months of the war, as described by Col. Holloway. Ind.
Star, Oct. 3, 1909, p. 10, c. 3.
Education. History of public schools in Wayne county recount-
ed at centennial celebration of their founding. Richmond
Palladium, Sept. 19, 1909, pt. 1, p. I, c. 7.
History of public school system of Mishawaka. South Bend
Tribune, Oct. 6, 1909, pt. 1, p. 14, c. 4.
Friends, Society of. Story of their discovery of the Whitewater
valley. Richmond Palladium, Oct. 4, 1909, p. 3, c. 3.
History of establishment of Whitewater monthly meeting.
Richmond Palladium, Sept. 4, 1909, p. 8, c. 1.
One hundred years of the Quaker church in Indiana. Ind.
Star, Oct. 10, 1909, mag. sec. p. 5.
Greenawalt family. Sketch of history of old South Bend family.
South Bend Tribune, Oct. 6, 1909, pt. 1, p. 9, c. 1.
Harrison, William Henry. Journal kept by Peter Jones of Har-
rison's expedition from Vincennes to Fort Wayne, has been
186 Indiana Magazine of History
discovered at Washington. Ind. News, Sept. 25, 1909, p. 14,
c. 1.
Description of old Montgomery homestead, which often
sheltered Gov. Harrison. Evansville Courier, Sept. 7, 1909,
p. 6, c. 3.
Holloway, William R. Reminiscences of Indiana during Civil
War times. Ind. Star, Sept. 5, 1909, p. 5, c. 3 ; Oct. 3, 1909,
p. 10, c. 3; Oct. 10, 1909, p. 37, c. 1.
I. O. O. F. History of order in Muncie. Muncie Star, Nov. 9,
1909, p. 8, c. 1.
Rebekah degree celebrates fifty-eighth anniversary. His-
tory of order. Ind. Star, Sept. 19, 1909, p. 10, c. 2. Muncie
Star, Sept. 19, 1909, p. 9, c. 1.
Indiana — History. Recently discovered letter written by Cor-
nelius Pering, describing Indiana life in 1833, forms valuable
addition to state's historical literature. Ind. Star, Oct. 10,
1909, mag. sec. pp. 6, 7.
Indiana — History — Civil War. Col. Holloway's reminiscences
of war times in Indiana. Ind. Star, Sept. 5, 1909, p. 5, c. 3 ;
Oct. 3, 1909, p. 10, c. 3 ; Oct. 10, 1909, p. 37, c. 1.
South Bend in the Civil War. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 9,
1909, p. 8, c. 3.
Indiana — Military history —
19th Regt. Reunion of. List of those present. Muncie
Star, Oct. 7, 1909, p. 10, c. 1.
2 1 st Battery. Photograph of members taken twenty-two
years ago. South Bend Tribune, Sept. 20, 1909, p. 8.
24th Regt. Historical sketch of. Evansville Journal-News,
Sept. 26, 1909, pt. 2, p. 2, c. 5; Oct. 3, 1909, pt. i,p. 7, c. 2; Oct.
10, 1909, pt. 2, p. 3, c. 1 ; Oct. 24, 1909, pt. 3, p. 9, c. 2.
30th Regt. Holds 28th reunion at Goshen. Ft. Wayne
Journal-Gazette, Sept. 24, 1909, p. 7, c. 2.
47th Regt. Holds 27th annual reunion at BlufTton. Muncie
Star, Sept. 16, 1909, p. 6, c. 3.
57th Regt. Story of its flag. II. por. Muncie Star, Oct. 5,
1909, p. 7, c. 1.
57th Regt. List of survivors. Muncie Star, Oct. 1, 1909,
p. 12, c. 5.
Index of Historical Articles 187
57th Regt. Sketch of history. Celebrates 30th reunion.
Muncie Star, Sept. 29, 1909, p. 1, c. 3.
82nd Regt. Battle flag found after long search. Ind. Star,
Sept. 24, 1909, p. 1, c. 5.
87th Regt. Holds reunion in Lafayette. Lafayette Courier,
Sept. 16, 1909, p. 7, c. 3.
129th Regt. Holds reunion at Angola. Ft. Wayne Journal-
gazette, Oct. 9, 1909, p. 6, c. 5.
Indiana academy of science, twenty-fifth anniversary. Sketch of
its history. Ind. Star, Nov. 21, 1909, p. 9, c. 1.
Indianapolis. Lockerbie's assessment list of 1835, published by
Indiana Historical Society. Ind. News, Oct. 29, 1909, p. 13,
c. 1.
Christian Schrader's pencil sketch from memory of the site
of the Union Station, sixty-three years ago. Ind. News, Nov.
9, 1909, p. 3, c. 2.
Johnson county. Sketch of its history. Ind. News, Sept. 25,
1909, p. 14, c. 5.
Koons family. Family reunion to celebrate long residence in
Wayne county. Richmond Palladium, Sept. 9, 1909, p. 5, c. 6.
Lockerbie, George Murray. Sketch of early resident of Indianap-
olis. Ind. News, Oct. 29, 1909, p. 13, c. 1.
Maps. Paoli man owns map of Indiana dated 1817. Ind. News,
Nov. 13, 1909, p. 24, c. 4.
Masons. History of Scottish rite branch in Fort Wayne. Ft.
Wayne Journal-Gazette, Nov. 17, 1909, p. 7, c. 2.
Michigan and Erie canal. Great meeting to be held in November
in Fort Wayne to discuss waterways. Ft. Wayne Journal-
Gazette, Sept. 21, 1909, p. 1, c. 7.
Answers received from congressmen in response to invita-
tions to attend waterways convention. Ft. Wayne Journal-
Gazette, Oct. 23, 1909, p. 1, c. 1.
r Surveys of several routes made by W. T. Harris. Ft.
Wayne Journal-Gazette, Oct. 29, 1909, p. 1, c. 7.
Importance of canal to middle west. Ft. Wayne Journal-
Gazette, Nov. 4, 1909, p. 1, c. 1.
Benefits to be gained by constructing Toledo, Ft. Wayne
and Chicago canal. Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette, Oct. 18,
188 Indiana Magazine of History
1909, p. 1, c. 7; Oct. 25, 1909, p. 1, c. 7; Oct. 26, 1909, p. 1, c. 7;
Oct. 27, 1909, p. 1, c. 4.
Value of Toledo, Ft. Wayne and Chicago canal, with map
showing saving of distance. Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette,
Nov. 10, 1909, p. 9.
First day's session of convention. Ft. Wayne Journal-Ga-
zette, Nov. 11, 1909, p. 1, c. 3.
List of delegates chosen by Ft. Wayne convention to repre-
sent Michigan and Erie canal before National rivers and har-
bors congress. Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette, Nov. 12, 1909,
p. 1, c. 2. .
Convention adopts resolution requesting government to
make topographical survey, as soon as possible, of district
through which canal is to pass. Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette,
Nov. 12, 1909, p. 1, c. 6.
Resolutions adopted by Ft. Wayne convention. Ind. News,
Nov. 11, 1909, p. 1, c. 8.
Closing session of convention. Ft. Wayne Journal-'Gazette,
Nov. 12, 1909, p. 1, c. 7.
W. T. Harris's report on proposed canal. Ft. Wayne Jour-
nal-Gazette, Nov. 12, 1909, p. 10, c. 3.
Mills, Anson. Presents fountain to native town, Thorntown.
Sketch of his career. Muncie Star, Sept. 19, 1909, sec. 2, p. 3.
Mishawaka. History of public school system. South Bend Trib-
une, Oct. 6, 1909, pt. 1, p. 14, c. 4.
Muncie. Personal recollections of fifty-one years in Muncie by
John C. Eiler. Muncie Star, Sept. 17, 1909, p. 4, c. 3.
Fight made by first members of W. C. T. U. against liquor
in Muncie, in 1874. Muncie Star, Sept. 30, 1909, p. 5, c. 1.
Negroes. Story of settlement made in Indiana by freed slaves
of John Randolph. Muncie Star, Nov. 14, 1909, p. 7, c. 1.
Northern Indiana Historical Society. History and work of organ-
ization. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 8, 1909, p. 11, c. 1.
Ohio river. Description of first steamboat on the Ohio and its
first trip. Evansville Courier, Sept. 25, 1909, p. 1, c. 1.
Pering, Cornelius. Recently discovered letter written by him, de-
scribing Indiana life in 1833 forms valuable addition to
Index of Historical Articles 189
State's historical literature. Ind. Star, Oct. 10, 1909, mag.
sec, pp. 6 and 7.
Railroads. Reunion of veterans of Nickel-plate road held in Fort
Wayne. History of the road. Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette,
Sept. 4, 1909, p. 1, c. 1.
Revolutionary soldiers. Homestead of Joseph Woods, Revolu-
tionary soldier who settled in Gibson county. Ind. Star, Sept.
19, 1909, p. 33, c. 2.
Description of grave of John Armstrong, Clark county Rev-
olutionary soldier. Ind. Star, Sept. 26, 1909, mag. sec. p. 5,
c. 1.
Shackelford, James. Death of captor of "Raider" Morgan.
Sketch of his military career. Evansville Courier, Sept. 8,
I9°9» P- 5- c- 2-
Simison, Robert. Reminiscences of early days in Adams county.
Muncie Star, Nov. 26, 1909, p. 10, c. 1.
Slavery. Story of slave-owner who tried to recover fugitive
slaves in South Bend. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 6, 1909,
pt. 1, p. 15, c. 1.
South Bend. Recollections of South Bend of fifty years ago.
South Bend Tribune, Oct. 5, 1909, p. 4, c. 1.
Landmarks of South Bend, forty years ago. South Bend
Tribune, Oct. 6, 1909, pt. 2, p. 8.
Andrew Anderson's recollections of South Bend fifty years
ago. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 6, 1909, pt. 2, p. 9.
Old time photograph of prominent citizens. South Bend
Tribune, Oct. 6, 1909, pt. 2, p. 9.
Recollections of South Bend in 1832 by Daniel Greene.
South Bend Tribune, Oct. 6, 1909, pt. 1, p. 16, c. 1.
First brick house built in city. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 8,
1909, p. 4, c. 4.
Story of its founding and early history. South Bend Trib-
une, Oct. 9, 1909, p. 13, c. 1.
South Bend in the Civil War. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 9,
1909, p. 8, c. 3.
Taverns. Some old Indiana taverns. Ind. News, Nov. 20, 1909,
P- 15-
190 Indiana Magazine of History
Temperance. Fight made by first members of W. C. T. U.
against liquor in Muncie in 1874. Muncie Star, Sept. 30,
1909, p. 5, c. 1.
Vorhees, Daniel Wolsey. Character and career of. Evansville
Courier, Nov. 7, 1909, p. 6, c. 3.
Waterways. Gov. Marshall investigates financial difficulties in-
curred by State in former years, for the improvement of
waterways. Ind. News, Sept. 20, 1909, p. 9, c. 1.
Riesenberg challenges Gov. Marshall's views. Ind. News,
Sept. 25, 1909, p. 11, c. 3.
Blatchley does not approve of improvements of waterways.
Ind. News, Sept. 25, 1909, p. 11, c. 5.
See also Michigan and Erie canal.
Wayne county. History of public schools in Wayne county re-
counted at centennial celebration of their founding. Rich-
mond Palladium, Sept. 19, 1909, pt. 1, p. 1, c. 7.
Whitewater valley. First settled by Quakers. Richmond Pal-
ladium, Oct. 4, 1909, p. 3, c. 3.
Woods, Joseph. Homestead of Revolutionary soldier who set-
tled in Gibson county. Ind. Star, Sept. 19, 1909, p. 33, c. 2.
INDIANA QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
Indiana State Library, Indianapolis
Published by the Indiana Historical Society
Christopher B. Coleman, Editor
EDITORIAL.
The American Historical Association cerebrates its twenty-
fifth anniversary at the annual meeting at New York this month.
The date is December 27-31, Monday to Friday. As is customary,
the historians will be joined by the American Economic, Amer-
ican Political Science, American Statistical, American Social Sci-
ence, and Mississippi Valley Historical Associations, the Ameri-
can Sociological Society, the American Association for Labor Leg-
islation, the Bibliographical Society of America, and the Amer-
ican Society of Church History. This formidable array of learning
will undoubtedly eclipse the Hudson-Fulton celebration of the
early autumn. Several of the foremost institutions of New York
City are uniting in the entertainment of the visitors, among them
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, which gives a lunch-
eon Monday noon ; Columbia University, which gives the freedom
of the university buildings and several luncheons and receptions
and a dinner ; the New York Historical Society, and the Chamber
of Commerce, at which will be held several of the meetings of the
American Economic Association. The social features of the ses-
sion close with a reception by Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vander-
bilt at their residence on Fifth avenue and Fifty-second street.
The headquarters of the American Historical and the American
Economic Associations will be at the Waldorf-Astoria.
Programs of the meeting may be had by addressing Waldo G.
Leland, secretary of the American Historical Association, Carne-
gie Institution, Washington, D. C. Among the sessions which
will attract the widest interest are doubtless the opening night
meeting at Carnegie Hall, at which there are to be addresses by
President Taft, Governor Hughes, Mayor McClellan, Dr. Nich-
olas Murray Butler and others, the presidential addresses by
Professor Albert Bushnell Hart, of the Historical Association,
and Professor Davis R. Dewey, of the Economic Association, and
the breakfast at the Waldorf-Astoria, with reception to foreign
guests and brief addresses, Wednesday noon. Among the well-
192 Indiana Magazine of History
known guests from abroad are expected Mr. Prothero, of London,
Professor Eduard Meyer, of Berlin, and Embassador Bryce, of
England. The program as a whole is unusually attractive and
strong.
Those going from the central and southern portion of Indiana
will probably find the most convenient train is that leaving In-
dianapolis over the Pennsylvania railroad Sunday morning at
8: io. It is to be hoped that a large number will attend from this
State, especially in view of the fact that the next succeeding meet-
ing of the Association is to be in Indianapolis.
NOTES,
The Henry County Historical Society held its semi-annual
meeting on Thursday, October 28, at the building of the society
in Newcastle. The program embraced among other things ad-
dresses by the president, Adolph Rogers, and by Frank J. Hall,
Lieutenant-Governor of Indiana. The officers are Adolph Rogers,
president; John Thornburg, secretary; Loring A. Williams, finan-
cial secretary; Dr. Thomas M. Gronendyke, treasurer; E. H.
Bundy, Henry Charles, B. F. Koons, trustees.
We have received Publication Number Six of the Old Settler
and Historical Association of Lake County, a pamphlet of twen-
ty-nine pages, selling for 25 cents. It contains papers and ad-
dresses of the meeting of the Association at Crown Point, Au-
gust 24-25, 1909, and a very interesting account of a trip made to
Chicago from Eagle Creek, Lake county, in 1838 by Judge David
Turner and two companions. The officers of the Association are
as follows: President, Sam B. Woods; vice-president, John
Hack; recording secretary, Mrs. H. Groman ; curator, Mrs.
Pattee; treasurer, Miss. Edith Dinwiddie ; historical secretary.
T. H. Ball.
The Ohio Valley Historical Association held its third annual
meeting at Frankfort, Kentucky, October 14-16, inclusive. The
meeting is reported to have been successful in every respect. The
program was an exceptionally good one, both in the character of
the subjects discussed and in the selection of speakers.
INDEX OF VOLUME V.
Contributed articles are indicated by italics, authors of articles by small
caps, and books and papers referred to, by quotation marks.
Page
Adams county, churches in 63
Alexandria- Anderson interurban 122
Alvord, Clarence W., "Father Gibault and the Submission of Post
Vincennes" 84
American Historical Ass6ciation 45, 191, 192
Ancrum, Major, commandant at Detroit 143, 151
Anderson, Judge John 53
Anti-slavery movement 63
Archives Department of Indiana State Library 43
American Home Missionary Society 57
Work in Indiana 62
Baldridge, Rev. Samuel 29
Ball, T. H., Lake County Centenarians 75
Barcelow, J. B 159
Barnett, Mark, trustee of Vincennes 1 fit*.
Baptist churches 30, 34, 35, 53, 57, 58, 60
Bath, Presbyterian church at 34
Bennett, Obadiah 37
Bibliography of Indiana histories , 183, 184
Bigelow, John, letter to Senator Doolittle 180
Bleakley, Josiah, at Cahokia 158
Bright faction of the Democratic party 90
Brookville 28 ff., 164
Brown, Rev. G. G 33, 34
Browning, Eliza G., Indiana Society Daughters of the American
Revolution 181, 182
Bryan, W. L 102
Butler Bill, The 169
Butler, Charles, agent of creditors 169
Butler, William 31} 41
Campaign of 1884 174^180
Campaign of 1866 in Indiana 91 ff.
Carleton, viceroy of Canada 152
Centenarians 75
Central Canal 164 ff.
Central Indiana Hospital for Insane 99, 112, 113
Challon, sale of a negro slave 138
Chapeau 148, 149, 155, 156
Chapoton 143, 148, 153
Charities and Corrections in Indiana, chart opp. 85
194 Indiana Magazine of History
Page
Map opp. 100
Charleston, Baptist Church at 58
Presbyterian Church at 59
Christian Science 70, 71
Churches in Indiana 57-71
Circuit, judicial 86
Circuit riders, Methodist 60
Civil War, effect on churches 64, 67, 68
Clarksville 140
Cleland, Rev. Thomas 58
Cleveland, Grover 175, 180
Cochrum, "Pioneer History of Indiana," quoted 162
Cola 147, 150
Colleges ': 67
Christopher B. Coleman, Letters from Eighteenth Century Indiana
Merchants 137-159
Religious Developments in Indiana 57-71
Review of "Father Gibault and Submission of Post Vincennes" 84
Review of ' 'Historic Indiana" 47, 48
Congregational churches 57, 61-64
Connecticut Missionary Association, work in Indiana 62
Constant 146, 147, 153, 154
County Historical Societies 80, 81, 82
Appropriations for 72-74
Cournoyer 153, 154, 158
Cross Cut Canal 165, 168
Cumback, Lieutenant-Governor 92, 93
Cummins, John 38
Cutler, Mrs. Valona, centenarian 75
Dagenet, Ambroise, Vincennes trader 139
Darrow, Rev. Nathan B 62
Daughters of the American Revolution, Eliza G. Browning 181, 182
Davis, Judge David, successor of 172
Democratic party 90 ff.
Denominational competition in churches 64 ff.
Detroit, letter from, in 1785 78, 79
Development of Interurbans in Indiana, Fred B. Hiatt 122-130
Dickey, Rev. J 36
Dickey, Rev. John M 59, 60
Disciples, churches of 57, 66, 67, 69
Doolittle, Hon. James R., correspondence with Thomas A. Hendricks. 171-180
Dransfieid, Arthur 76
Dubois, Louis 144, 148
Duden, Margaret, Internal Improvements in Indiana, 18 18- 18 '46 . .160-170
Duncan, H. C, James Hughes 85-98
Index of Volume V 195
Page
Dunn, George Grundy 89, 97
Durbin, Gov., message of 114
Early History of Presbyterianism in the Whitewater Valley, L. D.
Potter 28-42
Eastern Indiana Hospital for Insane 99, 112, 113
Edson, "Early Indiana Presbyterianism" 28
Electric interurbans in Indiana 122-130
Esarey, Logan, Proceedings of trustees of Vincennes 1
Fayette county, churches in 58
Fort Gage ' 139, 140
Fort St. Joseph's 117 ff.
Fort Wayne, reminiscences of 182
Franklin county, churches in 58
Friends 50, 51, 53, 61
Fulton county, biographical sketches 181
Gamelin, Paul, at Vincennes 144, 145, 146, 153, 155, 156, 157
"Gibault, Father Pierre and the Submission of Post Vincennes," by G.
W. Alvord, reviewed 84
Gibson county, churches in 58
Gilchrest, Rev. John 41
Godfroy, Jacques, receipt by 144
Graeter, Christian, trustee of Vincennes 1 ff.
Graeter, Fredk., judge of election at Vincennes 1 ff .
Gray, David, merchant at Miamis 78, 142, 144, 145, 146, 147, 149, 150, 151
Grosbeck 143, 151
Hancock, Winfield S., letter to Senator Doolittle 173
Harmonie, Rappite community at 61, 76, 77
Harris, Addison C 82
Harrison, Benj. I., trustee of Vincennes 1 ff .
Harrison, Gov. William Henry 58
Havens, Father 66
Hay, J. D., trustee of Vincennes 1 ff .
Henderson, John 39
Hendricks, Col. John A 89
Hendricks, Governor 161
Hendricks, Thomas A., correspondence with J. F. Doolittle 171-180
Henry, Charles L., originator of interurbans 122 ff.
Henry county 49 ff.
Henry county, churches in 58
Henry County Historical Society 80, 81, 82, 192
Hiatt, Fred B., Development of Interurbans in Indiana 122-130
Historical articles in daily newspapers 131-133, 185-190
Historical Association, Ohio Valley 192
Historical Pageants 83
Historical Society, Mississippi Valley 81
196 Indiana Magazine of History
Page
Northern Indiana 115-121
Historical Societies, Appropriations for 72-71
County 46
National 45
State 44, 45
"Historic Indiana," Julia Henderson Levering, reviewed 47, 48
Histories, Indiana 183, 184
History Section of the Indiana State Teachers' Association 82
Holliday, John H 82
Howard, Judge Timothy E., The Northern Indiana Historical So-
ciety 115-121
Hughes, James, H. C. Duncan 85-98
Immigration into Indiana 31, 32, 36, 49-56
Indeterminate sentence 106 ff .
Index of Historical Articles in Indiana Newspapers, Florence
Venn 185-190
Indiana Boys' School 99, 102, 103
Girls' School 99, 103, 104
Historical Society 44, 45
Indiana Histories, Harlow Lindley 183, 184
History of 47, 48
Reformatory 99, 104, 105
School for Feeble-Minded Youth 99, 111, 112
School for the Blind 99, 110, 111 I
Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home 99, 111
State Board of Charities 113, 114
State Institutions, Survey of 99-114
Chart opp. 85
Map opp. 100
State Normal School 99, 102
State Prison 99, 105, 106
State School for the Deaf 99, 110
State Soldiers' Home 99
State Teachers' Association, History Section of 82
Tuberculosis Hospital 99, 113
University .99, 100, 101
Village for Epileptics 99, 113
Woman 's Prison 99, 105
Indianapolis and Terre Haute Railroad 89
"Indianapolis Assessment List" 182
Indians.. 140, 143, 147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 158, 159
Insane, hospitals for 112, 113
Internal Improvements in Indiana, 1818-1846, Margaret Duden. .160-170
Inter urban railroads, development of in Indiana 122, 130
Ironside, George, at Miamis 145, 146, 149, 150
Index of Volume V 197
Page
Irwin, Joseph 1 123
Jay county, churches in 63
Jennings, Governor 160
Kankakee river 115
Kansas-Nebraska question in Indiana politics 90
Knox county, churches in 58
Kuykendall, Jacob, trustee of Vincennes 1 ff .
Lagow, Wilson, trustee of Vincennes 1 ff.
Lake County Centenarians, T. H. Ball 75
Lake County, Old Settler and. Historical Association 192
L/amoureux 144
La Salle 115
Laselle, Hyacinthe 27, 141, 142
Lasselle Collection 137
Laurel 34
Lebanon, Shaker community at 39
Leith, George, Detroit 144, 150
Lemanowsky, Col . John J 53
Letters from Eighteenth Century Indiana Merchants, Christopher
B. Coleman ; 137-159
Levering, Julia Henderson, "Historic Indiana," reviewed 47, 48
Levering, Mrs. Mortimer 182
Lick Creek monthly meeting (Friends) 61
Lindley, Harlow, List of Indiana Histories 183, 184
Lorimier 152
Loughlin, William B 37
Macomb, A., Detroit trader 139, 149
MacPherson, John, at Detroit 143
MacPherson, merchant at Detroit 79
Madison Railroad 165
Mammoth Bill for internal improvements 163
Market house, Vincennes 3, 5, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23
Marquette 115
Maumee river, improvement of 161
Mayon, merchant at Vincennes 139, 140
Mcintosh 147, 149
McKay, trader at Miamis and Vincennes 140, 141, 148, 155, 156
McNamee, Elias, trustee of Vincennes 1 ff .
Meldrum, George 143, 147
Methodist circuit riders 60
Methodist Episcopal churches 35, 57, 58, 60, 69
Mexican War 85, 86
Miamitown (Miamis) 137, 140, 141
Michigan City, Congregational church at 63
Michigan City Prison 105, 106
198 Indiana Magazine of History
Page
Michigan Road 162
Miller, Marguerite, on Fulton county biographies 181
Ministers, early, in Indiana 59 ff.
Mississippi Valley Historical Association 81
Monfort, Rev. David 36
Monroe County Historical Society 46
Morton, Oliver P 178
Mount, Governor, message of Ill
Mowry, Duane, Political Letters of Post-Bellum Days 171-180
Mt. Oarmel 30 ff.
Mueller, Dr., Rappite 76
Museum and library of Northern Indiana Historical Society 118-121
Negroes 53, 138
In the Posey Estate 27
In Vincennes 11, 12
New Albany and Vincennes Railroad 167
New Harmony, Owen community 61
Rappites at 61
New Orleans, trade with 137, 118, 149, 150
Newspapers 185-190
Newspapers, index of historical articles in 131-133, 185-190
Noble, Governor 163, 166
North Carolina and Indiana, Adolph Rogers 49-56
Northern Indiana Historical Society, Judge Timothy E. Howard. 115-121
Northern Indiana Hospital for Insane 99, 113
Owen community at New Harmony 64
Ogden, Neri 37
Ogden, Rev. LA '. 36
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society 45, 46
Ohio Valley Historical Association 192
Ohio Valley Historical Society 135
Oneille, Joseph, judge of election at Vincennes 1 ff .
Orange county, Friends in 61
Ouiatenon 137
Pageants, Historical 83
Parker, Daniel 60
Parole system in prisons and reformatories 106 ff .
Passavant, D. L 76
Patterson, Rev. William J 40, 41
Pennsylvaniaburg 41
Penrose, Mary, "Reminiscenes of Old Fort Wayne" 182
Phillibert, notary at Vincennes 139
Political Letters of Post-Bellum Days, Duane Mowry 171-180
Posey, Thomas, estate of 27
Index of Volume V 199
Page
Potter, Rev. L. D., Early History of Presbyterianism in the White-
water Valley 28-42
Preachers, early Indiana 59 ff.
Presbyterian churches 62, 63, 69
Presbyterianism in the Whitewater valley 28-42
Protestant churches 57 ff.
Purdue University 99, 101, 102
Quakers 50, 51, 53, 61
Railroads 160-170
Randolph county 49 ff.
Rappite community at Harmonie 61, 76, 77
Rappite song book 76, 77
Religious Developments in Indiana, Christopher B. Coleman 57-71
Republican party, Senator Doolittle's arraignment of 175-179
Reser, Alva O., ed., "Tippecanoe Battlefield Monument" 83, 84
Richardville, Drouet, note to 138
Rivard 143, 151
Rocheblave, commandant at Fort Gage 139, 140
Rochedebout 147, 152
Rogers, Adolph, North Carolina and Indiana 49-56
Ruble, Henry, trustee of Vincennes Iff.
Rush county, churches in 58
Scott, Rev. Samuel T 59
Sering, Samuel 39
Shaker community at Lebanon 39
Sharp, George, at Miamis. 145, 146, 147, 149, 150, 151, 152, 155, 156
Silver Creek Baptist Church 58
Silver Creek Circuit, Methodist 58
Six Companies, traders 143
Slaves 53, 183
In the Posey estate 27
Vincennes ordinance on 11, 12
South Bend 115 ff.
Southeastern Indiana Hospital for Insane 99, 113
Southern Indiana Hospital for Insane 99, 113
St. Joseph county 115
St. Joseph, Fort 117
St. Martin, Adhemar, trader at Miamis 140, 141, 150, 153, 157
State Institutions, Survey of 99-114
Chart opp. 85
Map opp. 100
Steward 147, 149, 151
Stoops, Harry M., of Brookville 28
Sunday-schools 32
Surprise, Peter, centenarian 75
200 Indiana Magazine op History
Page
Survey of State Institutions, Agnes Tilson 99-114
Symmington & Douglas, traders 145
Synod of Indiana, Presbyterian 59
Taxes, Vincennes town ordinances on levying and collecting 6-9
Templeton, Robert 38
Tennessee, immigration from 52
Terminal building for interurbans, Indianapolis 127, 128
Terre Haute, Congregational church at 63
Theology 64-67, 69-71
Thorn, Samuel, trustee of Vincennes 1 ff.
Tilden, Governor 174, 180
Tilson, Agnes, Survey of State Institutions 99, 114
"Tippecanoe Battlefield Monument" (Alva O. Reser, ed.), reviewed 83, 84
Trade Conditions, 1765-1799 137-159
Traders, early 78, 79
Traders, letters from 137-159
Turnpike, New Albany-Vincennes 165
Universities 99-102
Venn, Florence, Index of Historical Articles in Indiana Neivspa-
pers 131-133, 185-190
Vigo, Francis 147, 155, 156
Vigoeiv, note of 138
Vincennes, charter of 1
Vincennes' First City Government, original document 1-26
Vincennes, ordinances of 6-16
Vincennes, Presbyterian church at 58
Vincennes University 99, 100
Vincent, John 38
Virginia, immigration from 52
Vorhees, Daniel W 96
Wabash District Association (Baptist) 58
Wabash-Erie canal 162-170
Wabash river, improvement of 160-170
Washington county, Friends in 61
Washington, Presbyterian church at 59
Waters, Richard J 159
Watson, David 38
Wayne county 49 ff .
Wayne County Historical Society 46
White river, improvement of 161, 164 ff .
Whitewater Association, Baptist 58
Whitewater valley 28-42
Whitewater canal 164, 166 ff.
Wilson, Rev. Joshua L 30, 32
Wright, Joseph A 90
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